Showing posts with label dvr recorders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dvr recorders. Show all posts

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Pyle Home PTCDS5U Vintage Turntable with CD/Cassette/Radio/Aux-In/USB/SD/MP3 and Vinyl to MP3 Encod

Pyle Home PTCDS5U Vintage Turntable with CD/Cassette/Radio/Aux-In/USB/SD/MP3 and Vinyl to MP3 Encoding(Black)
  • Two Speed (33/45 RPM) Turntable - Plays CDs and MP3s from USB/SD - 3.5mm Auxiliary Input Jack - 3.5mm Headphone Jack
  • AM/FM Radio (FM 88 - 108 MHz, AM 540 - 1600 kHz) - Extra Bass Control System - LCD Display With Blue Backlight
  • Cassette Playback With Single Key Design - Dial Scale With Illumination - Power Source: AC 110 / 220 V
  • USB/SD Card Slots - Play MP3s or Encode Vinyl to MP3 - Rotary Volume Control - Dimensions: 15.98'' (W) x 13.62'' (D) x 8.66'' (H)
  • Converts Vinyl, Cassette Direct to USB/SD Card - Remote Control for CD with 12 Buttons

Okay this is my video review of the pyle home PTCDs5U. It is basically an all in one sound system which has virtually every kind of playing device imaginable. All the way from Lp's and casettes to mp3. For a bedroom or living room this has adequate sound power. I am impressed by all the featureseven 1/8 jack or usb for your mp3. Quality of build is above expectationsin a matt black wood with a sort of 20s-30s vintage look. Radio dial even moves like an old time player. I am back to playing my lps againvery happy.

Buy Pyle Home PTCDS5U Vintage Turntable with CD/Cassette/Radio/Aux-In/USB/SD/MP3 and Vinyl to MP3 Encod Now

I couldn't be happier so far with this purchase. Despite the small internal speakers, the volume and quality of sound is more than ample to fill our 2 bedroom apartment and probably annoy the upstairs neighbor on occasion. It is no thumper, and it lacks the fullness an audiophile would cravebut for the money and size it is sufficient.If you wanted a be-all end-all system, you wouldn't be looking at this happy little thing anyhow, you would be over in Sony or Jensen building a piece-by-piece rack system. My intent here is value for the dollar and between the media options offered and the quality of the device, this was a good buy.

It is getting hard to find a quality vinyl player these days that has more to offer than just the turntable itself. This unit covers all the major media bases. I have not used the conversion to mp3 yet, but that was a big plus in my consideration. Get that vinyl onto digital so you can have the good old stuff everywhere you go without repurchasing it. Don't let your musical roots fade away with the media it is stored on RIAA be damned (literally).

The only con I have found so far is a double edged sword while the ability to tune in AM/FM stations is lacking a bit due to its manual nature (the tuner is the white oval you see in the image) that is also a good part of it's charm it is a mix of old school and modern, and it does so in a classy manner. I would sooner have that white oval manual tuner than a second digital display (such as the one below it which is the control display for CD's and USB device folders).

Good device, I would give it 5 stars but it would have to deliver above dollar value to rate a 5th one. It does great at being what it is but more speakers (perhaps side mounted) and a fuller quality would have gotten that 5th one nailed down.

Read Best Reviews of Pyle Home PTCDS5U Vintage Turntable with CD/Cassette/Radio/Aux-In/USB/SD/MP3 and Vinyl to MP3 Encod Here

I'm no expert, but I absolutely love this record player. It looks even better in person, and I love the old style mixed in with the new. I can even hook it up to my Bose mini sound system and it sounds great!

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I was very pleased with the Pyle PTCDS5U stereo. It did everything I wanted, play music from my flash drives, micro SD cards, cassettes, records, CD's, and from the AM/FM radio. I really don't understand the poor feedback people give because they are not satisfied with the sound from the internal speaker. If you want better sound, just plug this unit into external speakers. I don't see the big deal. I'm just glad I can finally play all of my music media with one small compact unit instead of separate components for everything.

I was disappointed to find out that this unit only plays records at 33 1/3 and 45 RPM speeds. I neglected to check on the record speeds as I figured since this was a newer model than the Pyle PTCDS2UI, it would still have the ability to play records at 78 RPM speed. The Pyle PTCDS2UI also has a dock to play music from your iPhone or iPod. I'm just not sure why a newer model would have less than the previous model.

This unit also comes with a remote control, which really comes in handy when you are playing tons of music from your flash drives in the USB port. The remote and the unit itself has buttons to allow you to skip to the next song or skip to the next folder of music on your flash drive. It comes with instructions on how to get started with the unit but it was pretty easy setting everything up and using it. Overall, I am very glad I bought this.

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Well, all i can say is....if you have one of these and it actually works the way it's supposed to....count yourself lucky! I got mine today and it will not read ANY of my cd's! I've tried 20 different cd's, store-bought and cd's i've burned myself, and this unit will not read ANY of them! The record player and tape player both work ok. The auxilary option will play your ipods but the play-back volume is quite low, even at the highest settings (this also goes for the phonograph playback). My advice? Stay away.....there's about a 50% chance you will get a defective unit.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Sony DCR-HC32 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom

Sony DCR-HC32 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical ZoomI almost purchased the 42 instead of the 32, but after checking them out at the store I decided on the 32. The Samsung 353 was also in the running but one look in the store and I knew Sony was the way to go. I am glad I decided on the 32 because the only real difference was the CCD, which is 340k instead of 680k effective. It turns out the 32 does such a good job with the 340k I can't tell the difference, and for $150 less. The other only real difference is the color viewfinder on the 42, but who uses a viewfinder anymore. It doesn't come with a firewire (iLink) cable so be prepared to purchase one, especially if you have a mac. I am happy with our choice and look forward to many edited videos to share with the family.

I wanted a miniDV camcorder that had a Analog to Digital passthrough capability so that I could convert all my old Hi8 tapes to DVD's. I wanted one that was small and light, had a large zoom range, and was good on batteries. After agonizing over choices between Canon ZR, Elura models or the Sony HC32 I finally settled on the Sony. So far, no regrets.

The video looks great. Colors appear very accurate and bright. I just turn on the camera and it does all the work. I don't mess with manual features much. If you do, this is probably not the best choice of cameras.

The management of the battery is uniquely good with Sony camcorders. You get a constant rundown of how many minutes of battery life you have left that is pretty accurate. The optional extended batteries are expensive, but provide amazing battery life. Even the small battery that ships with the camcorder gives me over an hour of use.

The camcorder is very small yet is still comfortable to hold.

The LCD screen is top notch.

The Analog to Digital Passthrough works great. I converted a 2 hour tape to my Mac with no problems. The audio and video remained in sync for all two hours.

I cannot hear any camera noises on the tape. Some people complain about the built in microphones picking up camcorder noises on these little camcorders. I looked for it and did not hear any, even after transferring video to my computer.

Some other thoughts on the camcorder.

The touch menu system is not so bad, easier than most other camera menu systems. The only problem is that certain options go away when you are not in the correct mode.

The camera does fine with low light until it is dark enough to want lights on in the room. The night shot really goofs up the colors (like a poorly colorized movie). My old Hi8 camcorder actually does better when it gets dark out (I guess this is not surprising since the CCD is bigger yet it has less pixels).

The docking station is fine if you only connect the camera to one TV or device. If you need to move it around, then I would perfer not to deal with it but this is a pretty minor detail.

The camera is a bit expensive and accessories are even more expensive. The Canon ZR-200 is very similar in capabilities (not sure if the video quality is as good) and a good bit less expensive. I borrowed a friends ZR-85 and thought the video qualitiy was not as good especially in less than ideal lighting. I think Canon improved the low light video for the ZR-200's however.

Buy Sony DCR-HC32 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom Now

Just an FYI for some of the previous reviewers: the problem of CCD failure that affected earlier versions of this Sony camcorder line is not an issue in the 2005 models. For complete information on the Sony CCD problem, see;

http://www.imaging-resource.com/badccds.html

Functionally, this is a great camcorder for the price. The ergonomics are particularly nice very comfortable and easy to use. Good low light performance. Just wish it had a colour viewfinder and that Sony had included a small Memory Stick.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCR-HC32 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom Here

This is a very good camera for the price range. I have always had good luck with Sony products, unlike some of the reviewers here. The resolution of the viewer window and the image quality itself is more than what I would expect from a camera in this price range.... it's pretty decent. For what most people use DV cams for, this is camera doesn't suck at all.

I like how tiny it is. It doesn't go much past the palm of my hand when I'm holding it. Also it was very easy to figure out just by exploring the menu on the touch pad. Color graphics & icons on the menus add a nice touch. A beginner could start filming very soon after opening the box, I think. The camera feels sturdy in my hand, I mean I don't feel like the viewer window is going to break off when it's open or that I could easily break the buttons with normal use.

As others have mentioned, you have to buy a 4 to 6 firewire if you have a mac because the iLink cable that comes with it is a S-video input for TVs. Also the battery that comes with it is the 30 minute battery but I would have bought an extra one anyway because you never want to wait around while your only battery is charging. The software CD is a do-it-yourself install, at least for Mac. It might not be for PC. I'm used to being guided through the installation process... (since at least the early 90's!) but I had to drag the folder to my hard drive my darn self. A minor thing but I would have expected more from a major company like Sony.

But the reason I give it a 4 star rating instead of 5 is because the firewire goes into the base, not the camera so you cannot have the camera on a tripod while it's connected to your machine. I realize this will not be a big problem for very many people but since I do stop-motion animation and use frame grabbing software, I need to have it connected to firewire and on a tripod in while I'm working. I almost returned the camera when I discovered this but instead I hot glued velcro to the bottom of the base and to my tripod adaptor so I could have the firewire plugged in and attached to the tripod....kinda ghetto. I figure it was worth it though since I got such a good camera for the price (I paid $299 on sale for it.)

If you're looking for a decent but cheap camera I would recommend either this one or the hc42 if you want to shoot in widescreen.

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I love this camcorder it has a great resolution video and easy to use,

the only thing is that mac users have to buy the iLink cable 4pin to 6pin.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Panavise 809 Camera Window Suction-Cup Mount

Panavise 809 Camera Window Suction-Cup MountDue to the low price and generally good reviews, I bought this item. The suction grip is very strong; there seems to be no risk that this will fall off a window even with a small camcorder attached. Mine did not come with the extension arm, so my camcorder had to be mounted upside down on the windshield. The image can easily be rotated 180 degrees within Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9 editing software, so being upside down is not a problem for me. Furthermore, having an extension arm might likely result in less stability, so it's probably best to use the shortest/sturdiest mount possible. (I haven't tested that claim so it might not be true.) My camcorder, with optical image stabilization, zoomed all the way out for the widest view (also the least sensitive to vibration), and driving on a reasonably smooth paved road even as slow as 20mph exhibited very noticeable vibration. The vibration is too great to use the video. Much smoother video is obtained by hand holding a camcorder in a moving vehicle; your body and arms act as shock absorbers and dampen vibration preventing it from reaching the camera. With this mount, small vibrations from the moving vehicle are transmitted directly to the camcorder and it seems to be amplified by the time it gets there. Furthermore, my high-definition camcorder, with a CMOS image sensor (which uses a "rolling shutter"), exhibits noticeable skewing artifacts from frame to frame as a result of the vibration, so there are not just blurred frames and jittery motion, but distorted frames as well. Consequently, even using a motion stabilization algorithm during post production won't produce acceptable results.

This mount should be excellent for situations where there is no vibration and no need to pan or otherwise modify the camera settings or view during exposure, but seems useless from a moving vehicle unless it's moving very slowly on smooth pavement.

---------IMPORTANT UPDATE -----------

I just noticed a few recent reviews that mentioned they received a knock-off, rather than a genuine Panavise 809. After studying the Panavise picture on this page very closely, I see that my unit is not a genuine Panavise 809, either. (There is no manufacturer or product ID on my unit or on the packaging, so I have no idea who manufactured it or what its true model name is.) I purchased my unit from Vangoddy through amazon.com. Perhaps that explains why so many other reviews are so good (especially the video review left by Thomas which shows, though at slow speed, how good his unit works) and my results are so bad -and I mean BAAAD, truly unusable. There is no comparison between the results I obtained and those that Thomas showed in his video.

This clearly is designed to be a CCTV mount. As such, with most CCTV cameras having top mounted attachment, I have no doubt that it works flawlessly.It is very well constructed and does indeed have amazing suction power and solid construction without any "wriggles".

I bought it hoping that I could use it on the fairly steeply raked windshield of a late model Civic to film driving routes with my digital camera. Even though I have a low profile "ultracompact" digital camera, there was not enough room between the windshield and the mount to allow me to mount the camera unless I mounted it upside down, which I obviously could not do because of the inability to rotate the resulting movie.

FORTUNATELY I discovered that the Civic has a flat non-porous ( i.e. plastic ) top gauge cover, and was able to mount it on that. But the vast majority of cars have curved top gauge covers, so I don't think this will be suitable for any but a few car models for the purpose I'm using it for.

If Panavise could come up with the same assembly and a U shaped holder for mounting a camera with a standard tripod screw thread from the bottom, BELOW the mount now that would be far more useful.

Buy Panavise 809 Camera Window Suction-Cup Mount Now



The product is really awesome.

The only thing you need to be careful is the extension arm.

If you have an oversized camera or a camcorder, you'll definetely

need an extension arm which originally doesn't come with the product.

Please see my user photos after January 8th, 2010.

The user photos showing the extension arm are a little confusing.

I bought a geniune one directly from the Amazon, and it doesn't have

the extesion arm which I later got directly from PanaVise. The guys

over there are terrific, and extremely helpful. They said the model

with the extension arm should be called as 809-X.

The video was recorded with Xacti 1010

I passed over two railroad crossings (at 1:44 and 3:33), the road

was terrible. The vibration and shaking is acceptable.

Read Best Reviews of Panavise 809 Camera Window Suction-Cup Mount Here

When I first got into highway videography, I purchased a small Aiptek camera Aiptek IS-DV2.4Blue MPEG-4 Digital Camcorder with Video Stabilization (Blue) and I was looking for a windshield mounting option. I purchased this unit but the angle of the mounting arm made it unusuable with my truck windshield. So I sent it back to Amazon and opted for a Sunpak Clik n Stick mount Flexpod Click N' Stick Suction-cup Monopod. I recently upgraded to a Panasonic SDR-H40 videocam Panasonic SDR-H40 40GB Hard Drive Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and needed something a little more substantial to hold the bigger, heavier camera. I originally thought that this unit, attached to one of those GPS friction mount pads that can be placed on the dashboard, would be perfect, but then I found out that Panvise now includes a mounting arm extension with this unit. (See the customer photo that shows the extension arm and a camcorder mounted in a car). So I bought another one. This appears to be just the solution for mounting a video camcorder in a vehicle. If you order one and the extension arm isn't included, just contact Panavise directly and they will send you the extension arm for free. No instructions for installing the mounting arm extension were included, but it's pretty easy to figure out how to install it. This unit holds tightly and seems to be pretty stout and secure. The mounting arm extension Panavise now includes makes all the difference in the world. I think the company realized that there is now a market for sturdy vehicle camcorder mounts. I recommend this highly! Can't wait to try out this setup and see how it works!

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Purpose brought: Used to make mounted vehicular videocam.

Pros: When set properly, this device sticks like glue!

Cons: Small swing arm limits mounting positions.

The suction seal is very strong and after two weeks I still can't physically remove it unless I use the pressure release lever.

The small arm limits the placement and use of a camera (ie: camera is inverted when mounting on a windshield), but it is perfect for holding small camcorders and digital cameras on a smooth, non-porous upright surface.

If you already have a small handheld videocam and wish to use it as a vehicle cam, Use this and a 90mm mounting pad mounted on top of the dashboard as a cheap alternative to buying a dedicated vehicle camera.

Great product but only 4 stars due to the small swing arm.

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Monday, September 1, 2014

Lorex 4-Channel H.264 DVR with 4 Wireless Cameras (LH1140501C4W)

Lorex 4-Channel H.264 DVR with 4 Wireless CamerasThe biggest problem with this system is the very reason I bought it. The wireless system is not consistent and drops the connection constantly. I should have known that this would be an issue when I read all of the reasons why it loses communication in the instruction manual. If you have an average size home, you will have this problem. The actual componants do work fine, when it works. If you have a small house or apt,

This system is right for you.

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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Panasonic DVD-S54K 1080p Upconverting DVD Player

Panasonic DVD-S54K 1080p Upconverting DVD Player
  • 1080p Upconversion via HDMI
  • Multi Format playback: DVD, DivX, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW
  • Viera Link to Panasonic Televisions
  • Advanced Surround Sound

There are DVD players out there in the same price range that offer a better picture. But what the Panasonic has going for it is rugged construction, a good remote, quick loading, easy set up and it plays everything (not multi-region though). I bought the S54 to replace my S47 which has given me six years of good service and is still running (the motor is getting tired though). I have tried other brands, including a Philips, which gave me just six months of service. So six years of intense use for this price is excellent (My friend's S47 is still going strong after six years). I watch my quality DVDs on a Denon or Marantz, but like all good DVD players, they can't handle shoddy media. They stick, skip or refuse to load. Which is why I always have a cheap DVD player on hand for less than perfect media. The S54 does that job in style, none of that dreaded 'disc error'. Simply put, this Panasonic range is the AK47 of DVD players. If it had better picture quality it would rate five stars.

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I just bought one to replace an older, but much better, Panasonic DVD-S97. This S54 player requires a lot of settings to up-convert to a new LCD 1080p TV using HDMI cable.

Unfortunately, with all the correct settings, it will not up-convert -the picture looks like 480p, not 1080p. Using the same TV, cable, DVD disc, my old Panasonic S97 player displays a gorgeous up-converted picture, compared to the S54.

Panasonic doesn't seem to care either. Their profits will come from selling Blu-Ray, guess they don't much care about the quality of this 'transitional' DVD player.

Don't buy the S54 if you expect up-conversion to a 1080p LCD TV. I also have an older Toshiba DVD recorder/player connected to the same TV, it up-converts perfectly.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DVD-S54K 1080p Upconverting DVD Player Here

This DVD player is worth more than its cost. The price is great for a full featured, multiple format player. For those of us waiting for Blueray players to become reasonably priced, this product fits the bill.

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great picture quality, so far watched 2 movies and they looked incredible. much clearer then a reg DVD player@ 480i. the only fault that I see is the tray is a little flimsy. I would recommend this DVD player.

I own a DMR-ES25 Panasonic recorder and wanted a player with DVD-RAM capabilities. However when I hooked this up to my 1080p LCD TV through HDMI, I noticed that the resulting picture was noisy and much worse than the 1080i upconversion coming from my old Panasonic's HDMI output. There was practically no noticeable difference between the 480p and 1080p outputs when watching DVDs. It was as if there was no upconversion. I even experienced occasional video and audio loss. BTW I was using the same HDMI cable to compare my DVD recorder and this unit, so I don't think that was the issue here. The menu screen had superfluous white dots in random places.

Also the tray is flimsy and it's hard to get DVDs out. I ended up returning it. I either got a bad unit or the quality of the upconversion circuitry is just not up to par compared to older generation Panasonics.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Casio Exilim EX-M2 2MP Digital Camera, MP3 Player and Voice Recorder

Casio Exilim EX-M2 2MP Digital Camera, MP3 Player and Voice RecorderI am overall pleased with my purchase.

PROS:

1. really nice style; eye-poppingingly small; attractive aluminum finish; fits in pocket/take it with you everyday.

2. fast response (due to fixed focus lens which is also a con); ready to take a picture almost instantly.

3. video mode is very fun; takes decent mpeg videos with sound even in low light; i use this feature a lot.

4. mp3 function is awesome; except included earbuds are useless (too big for ear hole); good battery life.

CONS:

1. picture quality only fair; fixed focus optimal for subjects around 3-5 ft away. closeups & landscapes not so sharp. low light stiuations for stills pretty bad (i dont like to use flash).

2. quality of remote unit for mp3 is bad. after only 2 months the wire crapped out (must jiggle and hold in a certain position for sound to come through).

3. battery life for stills & videos could be better but not really bad.

4. only 8MB built in memory; i recommend buying 256MB SD card (i wasted money on separate 64 & 128 cards)

you could get better optics in a similarly small package (the sony dsc-u20 for example; sharper pictures but poor video quality, no sound or mp3, cheap plasticy case); but the combination of the mp3 function, fast response as well as attention getting style made this the choice for me.

I love this camera! It is so easy to carry around with you. I use the MP3 function daily, and now also have a camera on me at all times to take shots of interesting things. I also use the video function a fair bit just need to figure out how to email video "greetings" to people. I plan on using it to email birthday wishes to friends/family.

The buttons on the camera are small, but fairly easy to use I don't have any difficulty using them. The on/off button is quite close to the power button so you need to be careful which one you are pressing. It is very easy to add MP3s onto the camera connect the camera to your PC and copy and paste as you would move any other files. Very simple!

My only complaint about this product is the accompanying software is not user-friendly. I don't like how it downloads all of your pictures into one library. It is very difficult to access a single picture because they are all lumped together in a combined file. One minor concern is the battery it uses a rechargable lithium battery. So you need to put it into the cradle to recharge. The battery is excellent(5 hours), but if the battery runs out, you can't just run to the store and buy more. This hasn't posed a problem for me, but is something to be aware of if you are planning on using the camera all day (i.e. don't play the MP3 player when you are out taking pictures for the day if you don't have access to your recharger)

The 12MB onboard memory is enough for just taking pictures. If you plan on using the MP3 function, and taking full advantage of the video and sound recording capabilities, you need to buy a SD memory card (these are pricey). I originally bought a 64MB card, which gives you about 1 hour of music play (but that uses up the card). I recently purchased a 256MB card and recommend others purchase at least 128MB. I have over 40 songs on my 256MB card, and still have room for over 300 normal sized pictures, or about 16 30-second videos. For everyday use, this is perhaps too much memory, but if you plan on travelling, you'll need it.

This product is perfect for anyone who travels a fair bit. I really like how it combines several useful features into one product. I don't know how good the quality of the pictures are in professional terms. I am just your average user the pics look great to me. This camera also comes in a 1.2 megapixel version I purchased this one (2.0 megapixel) because the pictures had better depth. There is only a 4X digital zoom this means your pictures lose clarity as you zoom in. The latest version of this camera has an optical zoom, but the camera is about twice as thick, and does not include the MP3 player. I find the 4X digital zoom is adequate for my needs. Overall a fantastic product!

Buy Casio Exilim EX-M2 2MP Digital Camera, MP3 Player and Voice Recorder Now

I purchased this camera instead of a higher quality camera because of its size and its functions. The mp3 player part of it is awesome and the size of it is very convenient. its a great camera, although the quality of the pictures arent that great. i recommend this camera for people looking to take everyday pictures, but if you're looking for quality, this camera might not satisfy you. i bought a 256 memory card with it, and it allows me to have as many things on my camera as i desire. great design very stylish.. =]

Read Best Reviews of Casio Exilim EX-M2 2MP Digital Camera, MP3 Player and Voice Recorder Here

I bought my girlfriend the Exilim S2 about a year ago, she got fed up with me using it, so I had to buy my own. The thing is just amazing. Simple to use, in a beautiful, sturdy, magnesium, credit-card sized body. And the battery lasts ages. Picture quality on the lower resolution settings isn't so good, and the digital zoom is rubbish, but that's hardly the point. This is a camera for snaps, moments where you just want to reach into your pocket and snap what's in front of you. The computer interface is a doddle I use it with my Mac, and all the file formats are standard so you can use it with just about anything. I know about five people that have gone out and bought this camera after I demonstrated it to them, I should be getting commission from Casio!

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The camera is extremely nice.. its small.. light weight.. the picture quality is nice.. even though while taking the picture using digital zoom just blows it up and makes it blurry.. other than that the quality its fine.. transfering files to and from the camera is easy..once its hooked up.. its detected as a removeable disk.. where you can preview all the images, delete, edit, and store.. you can also put mp3s on it.. there is already a seperate folder where you can put the mp3s... the battery life of the camera is fairly decent.. i was listening it for about 5 hours and it used only half the battery... while taking pictures... about 50 pictures with lcd and flash on will take almost half the batterys power.. the power button and the shutter button is very easily distinguishable and wont be that easily pressed unless you have enourmous fingers.. overall this camera is worth the money

Saturday, August 2, 2014

SAMSUNG SPH A640 SPRINT BLACK CAMERA CELL PHONE

SAMSUNG SPH A640 SPRINT BLACK CAMERA CELL PHONEI purchased the A640 when I renewed my Sprint Plan last July. From day 1, there were little annoying things about the phone: Way too easy to bump the speaker phone button when you are just holding it, no actual Bluetooth ("extra" pay service), REALLY short standby time, etc.

The kicker was when the thing started shutting off with no warning. First it would happen occasionally, then frequently, then it got to the point where as soon as I powered up the phone it went black and I could no longer make ANY calls.

So, with 4 month old phone in hand, I tried to get a replacement. My Sprint retailer in town is not OWNED by Sprint, so it has only a 90 replacement policy, oh and they don't sell that model of phone anymore.

I called Sprint and they said that I needed to take it to a Sprint repair center (the nearest one is 160 mile round trip on icy rural roads), where they would see if they could fix it. I called the repair center and they told me it would be $55 and if they couldn't fix it, it would have to go back to the manufacturer (Samsung). I called Samsung, the current wait for phone replacement on the A640 is 8-10 WEEKS.

So my options are: 1) pay $55 and probably lose my phone for 2-3 months but continue to pay for service (total $150), 2) replace the phone at full price ($200), 3) cancel my Sprint contract and pay the early termination fee of $175. This is all over a 4 MONTH OLD PHONE!!!!

I finally found a Sprint sales store only 80 miles away round trip who was willing to swap the phone for $35. After telling this story, the associate replied, "I am not surprised, I have had 3 of these things returned already for the power issues".

The take home lesson? DON'T BUY THIS PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I chose this phone because I wanted an easy-to-use, basic phone without a mp3 player and all that.

I haven't experienced any of the problems that the other people here have. I experienced the echo problem with another phone, but it was a problem with the network at that location, not the phone. Re the inside screen not turning off in power-save mode, I just tried it and it does turn off when I close the phone, just as it is supposed to. In fact I can see the screen go on when it hits a certain angle when opening. I think that person had a bad switch in the hinge.

So.

The good:

It is small, or at least small enough. It doesn't feel bulky in the pocket like my old Sanyo did.

The black shiny finish is part of the case and won't scratch off, unlike the silver paint on so many other phones.

It sounds fine, but not as good as my old Sanyo. Sometimes I could wish it went louder.

Reception is fine. I drive all over Denver and I have never had a dropped call.

It has speakerphone. It doesn't have a separate speaker on the outside, it just turns up the volume on the earpiece speaker. So I thought it would sound terrible, but it turns out it works okay.

It looks cool, or at least the high-schoolers I teach tell me so.

It is cheap. I got it for $29 when I renewed my plan.

The bad:

There is no silence button. When I attend a meeting or go to a movie, I have to open it up and hit the volume down button about 8 times. A single button that just turned off all the sound would be much better.

The keypad is a little difficult to use. It feels nearly like a flat surface, with very slight grooves to distinguish one button from another. Further, the buttons are not arranged in straight rows; the middle buttons, i.e., the 2, the 5, the 8, and the 0, are dropped slightly. These two things mean it is basically impossible to use the phone without looking. That isn't unique to this phone, of course. What I usually do is put a tiny drop of super glue on at least the "talk" and "end" buttons, so I can feel them and press them without looking.

When you go to the contact list and hit the first letter of the name you want, there is a delay before the screen shows you the names. It isn't a long delay, but it is there.

The voice command capability is versatile, but it means you have to tell it what you want to do, i.e., you have to say "Voice dial." That is the only voice command I would ever want it to do, but you have to tell it that every time. Also it doesn't work very well. I believe the software for that is not actually in the phone. It is either something like a java applet downloaded to phone on the fly, or it is done centrally on some server. The good thing about that is you don't have to (and you cannot) train the phone to recognize your particular voice. The bad thing is that the voice recognition doesn't work very well, especially with unusual names, of which I have lots.

The top and bottom feel nearly identical, so it is easy to open it upside down. If this problem keeps bugging me, I may file some notches on one side of the case, or do something else to let me feel which side is up.

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I got my A460 for several days. It looks good and feels comfortable in hand. It has all the features listed in the website. Voice call quality generally is good. I can hear the other party clearly and other peoples have no complains about my voice. The speakerphone works nice in quiet environment. In noise environment or if both party speak simutaniously echo builds up occasionally , but it's OK most of the time.

I almost loved my new toy when I discoved a few drawbacks (careless design/buggy software?).

1. In the power-save mode, both the external LCD and the internal (main) LCD are activated by pushing a button or an incoming call when the phone is flipped. While the external LCD will eventurally turn off automatically, the internal LCD STAYS ON FOR EVER! This can be verified (unless I got a bad unit) by looking into the slit between the main LCD and the keypad in a dark environment. So the power of the battery is used for the unneccessary illumination of the internal LCD which nobody can see since the phone is flipped. Call this Power-save ???

2. Ok, get back on power-normal mode. When charging the phone, again, both the external LCD and the internal (main) LCD are lit even when the phone is flipped. People like me usually put the phone on charging before going to bed and remove the charging cable in the morning. That means the LCDs are on THE WHOLE NIGHT when nobody is looking at it. Not only it makes no sence to me to let them on when nobody is using it, but also I suspect that the lifetime of the LCD will be greatly reduced.

3. A minor point. When using the phone with a earbud, you have to hold the quick button in the mic for about 5-8 seconds to active the phone and start a voice service. A little too long for me. 2-3 secondes should be better.

I would rate this phone 5 stars if Samsung or Sprint releases an upgraded software to fix the above mentioned problems soon, especially no. 1 and 2. But for now, 3 stars is the highest that I can give.

Read Best Reviews of SAMSUNG SPH A640 SPRINT BLACK CAMERA CELL PHONE Here

I changed phones when adding my mother to my account. At first, I liked this phone, but the more and more I use it, I wish I would have kept my other phone. One bothersome thing: when I receive a call, the phone displays the wrong time displays the time of the last call received or made. You have to turn the phone on and off to clear the memory or something. Another problem: one does not have the ability to tailor the hot keys on this phone as you can with other models. I'm stuck with this phone until I reach my anniversary date and can trade it in. :(

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This phone lasted only 3 weeks before it would no longer power on. Even before that I wasn't crazy about the phone. I didn't like the location of the speaker phone button. I was always hitting it by accident and locking the keys shouldn't be required in my mind.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder

Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder
  • Play, pause, fast-forward, or rewind "live" television broadcasts as you're watching them
  • 30 hours' recording time; uses the TiVo hard-disk recorder platform
  • Designed to work with standard-definition terrestrial broadcasts as well as with digital satellite systems and cable programming services
  • TiVo service offers: recommendations for shows that match your interests, exclusive editorial programming that includes
  • Monthly subscription to the TiVo service is available for $12.95;
  • Lifetime subscription to the TiVo service can be purchased with a single payment of $299 [contact TiVo at (877) 367-8486 for more information]

There's no other way to put it I LOVE my Tivo! (Sony SVR-2000)

It has completely changed the way I watch TV and it means I can watch what I want to watch WHEN I want to watch it (and skip commercials)!

While not recommended for everyone, I hacked my Tivo to be a total of 160 hours (two 80GB drives). I now have tens of shows available for watching whenever I feel like it. There's always something on!

My non-technophile wife even said that she was getting addicted to Tivo (a tremendous two-thumbs up from her!).

All in all, this ranks up there on my list of all-time coolest products ever.

Strengths:

Features of the service time shifting of programs, pause/rewind/fast-forwarding of recorded and live programs

Hard drive access is instant no waiting for tapes to rewind

Ability to create a video-on-demand system

Strong support of user community search for "Tivo Community" on the web for more information

Hackable!

Weaknesses:

Can be slow to load some screens

Best if you can split your TV signal to watch something else while Tivo is recording

Basic recording level is coarse I recommend Medium (about 20hrs of time on the SVR-2000)

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My wife and I became addicted to TiVo within 1 month after installing it. We have gone from watching 90% live TV/10% recorded (VCR) to 90% Tivo/10% live TV! We hardly watch anything anymore at its regular time. We simply pull up the "Now Playing" menu, which lists all the shows I have previously recorded, and watch whatever we're in the mood for drama (Law and Order or Once and Again), comedy (Friends, South Park), reality TV (Survivor, Fear Factor), or sports (Illinois basketball, cliff diving).

There are so many cool things about TiVo, but these are my THREE FAVORITE things:

1) Season Pass, which once you set it up, allows you to record a particular show EVERY time it's on or all shows with a particular actor or subject,

2) Easy to record (simply choose the show, not the time and channel) and easy to find and play (scroll through "Now Playing" list of prerecorded shows and choose "Select" to play),

3) Record two shows at once (like Survivor and Friends, which both start at 8:00 on Thursday) with a DirecTV/TiVo combination receiver, which we have.

We started with the monthly subscription and moved to the lifetime after just a month (it's good for the life of the box, not you). We have a Sony model, and I've found Sony to always be reliable (two TVs, one VCR). I bought a 4-year warranty as a safety precaution (new technology and insurance against the lifetime subscription). DirecTV customer service is decent, but not great (they handle the TiVo side as well). The BEST resource for TiVo is the TiVo AVS forum, which you can link to from the Buzz section of the TiVo Web site. It's a "must read" prior to buying this unit. But I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the coolest, most liberating invention to come out since the World Wide Web. No joke! You will fall in love with your TiVo too.

Read Best Reviews of Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder Here

I bought a SONY SVR-2000 as a Father's Day present for my husband in June 2001 and set up yearly Tivo service. At first, we were very disappointed. We experienced recurring modem problems that rendered our recorder useless after two weeks (because the recorder was unable to update the program data) and had to have the recorder serviced twice within the first two months. In addition, we had paid for a year of service, and we did not think that Tivo would give us credit for any of our 'down time,' since it was due to SONY's recorder.

But SONY and Tivo came through for us. In August, SONY offered to replace our SVR2000, and we accepted. We have had absolutely no problems with the new unit. Also, Tivo refunded the money we paid for the amount of time our recorder was out of commission. (I did not have to fight either company; both were great about setting things right.) So, after a rough start, we are very happy SONY/Tivo customers.

I bought Tivo thinking that I was purchasing an electronic 'toy' that my husband would love and that I would have no interest in. Once I experienced Tivo, however, I loved it too. Just as I would never go to back to changing the channel manually (remember having to get up and turn those knobs?), I would never go back to pre-Tivo TV.

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I instantly fell in love with my machine. I heard about it alot but it is helpful to actually see it work in order to get the full impact. It is essentially like a VCR on steroids and then some. Contrary to another reviewer, you CAN watch one thing while tivo records another you just have to split the signal. That is easy and the parts at radio shack will cost you (...) and the Tivo help line will guide you if needed. I called them 10 times in the first week and they were great. The ability to pause live shows and rewind has become a great feature for me where as at first it seemed a bit if a gimmick. I cant go into all the features there are many. Suffice it to say, it it breaks tomorrow, I would get another one. It is a bargain at twice the price. My only gripe is that the tivo remote does not have a TV/VIDEO button on it which you need to watch one show and tape another. This means I cant toss my tv remote away. Big deal I guess. Installation can be a bit tricky if you have a bunch of components like me, DVD/VCR/TV, but the customer service will be there for you. ENJOY. Hope this helped you.

I have owned this unit for over 2 years. I am addicted to Tivo. The problem is Sony. You must understand that these units rely heavely on a working modem. If you modem dies, you can no longer use the unit and you cannot just open the unit and put in a new modem. You MUST send it back to the manufacturer. After one year of ownership, my Sony modem failed. I had to send the unit back to Sony for [$$$] repair. Now, last week, my modem failed again. Sony is no help whatsoever. I am guessing that this is the reason that Tivo has started to manufacture the hardware themselves. As luck would have it. I just decided that I would never do without my Tivo so before the subscription rates went up a few months ago, I switched to the lifetime service for [$$$]. (now about [$$$]). Now I am faced with paying [$$$] again to repair the modem or buy a new unit. Sony has offered no explanation as to the cause of the modem problems and has basically said tough luck. Tivo has agreed to transfer my new membership to the new recorder if purchased from them but that is another [$$$]. I have already layed out [$$$] for the past two years of Tivo, I don't know that I am smart to sink anymore money into this investment.

Look really hard at the manufacturer and warranties before buying a recorder. Maybe one procuct worth the extended warranties. I liked Tivo so much that I bought one for my parents 2 Christmas's ago. I bought them the lesser Phillips, due to cost, and they have never had a problem.

I would buy the Tivo product if starting now. At least you have leverage with getting them to fix the unit so you can continue with their service.

Bottom line: Tivo is Great! But pass on the Sony recorders...

Monday, July 21, 2014

Samsung USB 2.0 External Optical Drive SE-S084D/TSBS Super WriteMaster, Slim External DVD Writer (G

Samsung USB 2.0 External Optical Drive SE-S084D/TSBS Super WriteMaster, Slim External DVD Writeri like to keep my reviews simple.

this dvd burner is simply perfect.

it's smaller than the previous model from Samsung. the touch open feature is quite nifty. very light and quiet when i burned a few dvd's. i've connected it to my PC & MacBook Air 11" with no problems on either one. this is a much better option over the Apple SuperDrive. the SuperDrive can ONLY be used on the MB Air's. it's more expensive than most external dvd burners. why would you want to get it?

Edited: i forgot to mention that i use this DVD burner for both my desktop and laptop. unfortunately on my laptop there are only 2 USB ports. one on each side. the MacBook Air is sort of limited in that area. in any case, the DVD burner WILL WORK with only one USB cable slot plugged in. i think it may run a bit slower if you are burning something though, which will probably be due to the power outage limit that USB ports have.

do yourself a favor and get this if you need an external burner. you won't regret it.

I've used this drive with a windows 7 desktop, Windows XP desktop, iMac running Snow Leopard 10.6.5, and MacBook pro running Snow leopard 10.6.6. The drive works great, good speed, reliable use. I would say the most frustrating part of this product is that it has no power-cord and requires two USB ports to operate. occasionally it will (randomly it seems) work with only one USB port, but I have only seen that on occasion. I am very disappointed with this part of the drive, however aside from that it has worked flawlessly. I've burned DVD at full speed in both Windows 7 and Mac OS X. It is compact, and requires very little to setup, simply just plugin and use. When I installed this product using the discs that came with it in Windows 7 it brought me into this very confusing application that claimed I needed a firmware update, however when I checked on the website it said I did not.

conclusion

It's a solid product that works well under most operating systems. Be prepared to surrender TWO USB ports to it though.

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I bought this for use with my new MacBook Air and my home server

Things I like:

1. Very compact. About a size of a double cd case

2. Very quiet for such a compact drive. Just a bit noisier than my internal dvd drive.

3. Requires only one usb port. Some drives need 2 usb ports, but this one runs fine on just one.

4. Plug and play. No drivers needed. Works great on Mac and PC.

5. A steal at $40 shipped

Things I don't like so much:

1. The small form factor is cool, but the black version looks and feels plastic. I'm not saying that it's flimsy, because it's not. However, next to my new Mac Air, it looks and feels kinda cheap

2. The soft touch eject doesn't work on Mac. You have to drag the icon to eject.

3. The Nero 9 software works with PC only.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a tiny, simple dvd drive that works with both Mac and PC.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung USB 2.0 External Optical Drive SE-S084D/TSBS Super WriteMaster, Slim External DVD Writer (G Here

Just received this latest version of Samsung external DVD ROM. 100% described as product spec, slim and super light weight.

This DVD ROM is very compatible with my Toshiba Netbook NB205, only use one USB port instead of 2 ports for power. No driver needed base on Windows 7 Starter, just plug then you go. To play DVD movies with proper software is working great, I played one movie already. Reading sounds are acceptable for me.

Even we can find more cheaper one in the market, but you will get what you pay for. Products always have its cost and quality, so this device is worth the money for my Toshiba NB205.

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For those of us who are buying multiple external drives for, er, migrating our video DVDs collections to our computers, these are fantastic! I am using two on an external (powered) usb hub and plan to get a couple more. It's well worth the cost to speed up the process from one-disc-at-a-time slowness. One caveat, each drive does require a full-power usb port, so a powered usb hub is a necessity.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Mustek Dv326l Video Camera Black, 3Mp, 4Xdig

Mustek Dv326l Video Camera Black, 3Mp, 4XdigI received this camera Mustek DV326l a couple of years ago as a promotional gift from my bank, Bank of America. I didn't have a camera or the money to buy on so I was quit pleased at first to get it. And things got better from there. I have become a photographer. The camera is simple but effective. I have a large capacity chip in the little card slot in the bottom of the camera and can take literally thousands of pictures and hours of video. I bought a lite weight tripod for it for about 10 dollars that improves stability but I don't use it unless I am doing staged photos or videos. I have also used it as a webcam for my computer and can down load pictures to my computer this way or by removing the chip and downloading from it.

I joined a local photography club. I appologized for the humble little camera I have and was told that the eye of the person behind the camera is more important than the type of camera.

I could prase this camera more but I will leave off now.

Thanks

James Turner

the only thing that's a disappointment is it runs off of batteries but i geuss it doesn't matter depends on how often you use this. its a great size for small hands. for my husband it barely fits his hand. i bought this to record major events in my childrens lives so that they have the memory when they're older. love it.

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My son wanted a camcorder for Christmas. Looked at all the varieties and price points and chose the Mustek based on a large number of positive reviews. Put together a package (tripod, camera bag, and memory card) at a very reasonable price. Good value for the. money

Read Best Reviews of Mustek Dv326l Video Camera Black, 3Mp, 4Xdig Here

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Verbatim Premium 4 GB CompactFlash Memory Card 95500

Verbatim Premium 4 GB CompactFlash Memory Card 95500I'm not a professional photographer who earns a livelihood from photography. I just takes lot of pictures with a 10.2 MP D-SLR in RAW mode, so I need a lot of storage when I'm shooting. This seems to work well, although I'm sure there are faster cards. I haven't had any problems so far. The price was right, too.

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Sunday, June 15, 2014

Motorola KRZR K1m (Sprint)

Motorola KRZR K1m
  • Elegantly Engineered With Distinctive Metallic Gloss Finish and Precision Touch Keypad
  • Experience Streaming Sprint TV or Sprint Music Store With Power Vision Add-on Plan Feature
  • Bluetooth Wireless Technology
  • Built-in MP3 Music Player With Touch-sensitive External Controls
  • 1.3 Megapixel Camera Takes Print Quality Photos and Short Video Clips

The less than perfect rating reflects my disappointment with the Sprint software, not the phone. This is a spectacular phone, and I cannot find anything that is even remotely disappointing about the phone itself.

Sprint, on the other hand, needs several months to be ready for the release of this phone. I should note that I bought my phone directly from Sprint, not from Amazon. The software on the phone made in conjunction with Sprint is idiotic at best. On the side of the phone is a USB connector, which is the only port on the phone. A logical outcome of this (Verizon did this with their software) is to use this USB port to allow direct connection to your computer. After several hours with Tech Support at Sprint I finally learned that this was a feature missing in the Sprint version of this phone. As such, in order to transfer data between the phone and your PC, you must have a card reader and remove the Micro SD card (you must remove the battery cover to do this).

Additionally, when I called to activate the phone I had to speak with 3 Sprint reps before I found one that had any idea how to activate the phone. The first two I spoke with did not believe me that Sprint had service for this phone. Keep in mind I ordered this phone from Sprint directly.

Yet another gripe about Sprint is the (lack) of what comes in the box. With the Verizon version a small adaptor comes in the box so that you can directly connect a 2.5mm headset to the phone. This is handy considering how much the phone is touted for its MP3 capability. The Sprint version does not come with this. At first Sprint reps told me it was an accessory, so I asked to purchase it and then found out that it is not available and they do not plan to stock it anytime soon. I called Verizon and they only have the adaptor with new phones. The result is that you can ONLY use bluetooth headsets with this phone until an adaptor becomes available.

My last gripe about Sprint. When I went to my local Sprint store to have the phone numbers from my old phone transfered to my new KRZR, they told me they could not do it. Apparently Sprint has not sent out the cables needed to do so yet, and the manager told me they expected to get it in a few weeks to over a month. A few weeks? A month? I have settled with the painstaking task of manually transfering my 250+ contacts to the new phone.

My advice is to switch to Verizon if you plan to get this phone. I have had Sprint for 7 years and have been happy until now. They are completely unprepared for the release of this phone and I forsee a less than stellar effort to correct these problems. Verizon also offers the phone at a lower price for anyone willing to sign a contract. Why deal with the hassle of searching out several accessories that should come standard with a phone?

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The Motorola RAZR got an extreme makeover in order to reveal this must have mobile phone/fashion gadget.

This phone is perefected in such a way that all the little things that I didn't like about RAZR where taken care of.

PROS:

1. Of course it is the most stylistic phone that I have seen so far.

2. Call quality is very good.

3. Broswer is very practical and usable.

4. Playing music using the touch controls on the flip is very practical and serves like an mp3 player.

5. What I like very much is that I accidentally dropped this phone two times and to my surprise it with stood the fall both the times. I actually was very surprised that it only made very minor scratches which are barely visible. This actually proved that the material is of very good quality.

CONS:

1. The games provided (demo version) times out almost immediately. This defeats the whole purpose of experiencing the game before actually purchasing the full version.

2. The front plate requires cleaning on daily basis as it catches finger prints very easily.

Read Best Reviews of Motorola KRZR K1m (Sprint) Here

I just got my first plan, being on a Pre-paid plan with Boost Mobile before this. Paying 20 bucks every 3 weeks was starting to bug me, and I was beyond paranoid about my minutes. So I decided to get the lowest plan at 30 bucks and get a new phone as well. I looked around and first decided on the Samsung M500, but it wasn't available in the store(I didn't want to put my SSN over the internet). So I went to Best Buy and saw that the KRZR was on sale for half price at 40 bucks. I heard about the lag etc, but decided to give this a try since I heard it was pretty popular. I am really glad that I did buy this phone!

Alright, on to the phone itself. Most importantly, the reception is really good on this phone. I almost always have a clear signal and always have a good quality receiving of calls. Listening to someone talk is always clear, but sometimes I do break up to others when I have 0 bars but still have connection. Overall reception is excellent (4.5 stars).

This phone doesn't look just hot, it is downright SEXY. Put this next to a RAZR and it definitely shows that it's made better, with the glass on the front and chrome body. The back is actually rubber, making the phone really comfortable in your hand. I didn't know this until I actually got the phone. I have never gotten so many compliments about my phone, a lot of people already know it by name yet it isn't very popular yet. The displays are amazing, with full color, and the blue touch screen music icons are pretty cool when you are using the mp3 function. More on that later.(5 Stars+)

The actual firmware on the phone is really cool. I love the way the menus are set up with the transparancy so that you see part of your wallpaper, it makes the menus look more modern. Like people have said, there is lag on this phone, but if you already have a Motorola then you should be used to it, as all of them have lag. NO its not like 2 seconds of lag, its a few milliseconds. The most lag I have is with pictures and the tab menu, but the tab menu can be changed to a list or grid, making it faster.

Construction wise the phone is very well made. The only complaint I have is the cheap usb door on it, since mine broke off on the first day. I can still put it back on, but I'm afraid I'll lose it. Other than that its very well made.(4.5 Stars)

The Mp3 Player and ringtones on this phone are awesome. This is probably going to replace my Toshiba Gigabeat since it's so easy to carry around. I ordered a 3.5mm adapter for the phone, but so far the speaker is really good quality for listening to ringtones, mp3's etc. It get's really loud and is better quality than the RAZR, which is really cool. You can do what I did and get a 1 gb Micro SD card(up to 2) for like 10 bucks and store a little more than 16.5 hrs of music on it, close to 500 songs at 64 bitrate. Also, you can get a data cable for a small fee and Motorola Phone Tools to get free Ringtones and convert video for your phone.(5 Stars)

The camera is pretty cool for the KRZR. The quality isn't amazing, but it is really good for the small lense it has. I took a pic of myself and edited it a little with Paint Shop Pro Photo and it looks like it was taken from a camera. Overall verry good (4 Stars)

I love the BlueTooth capability of this phone. It was nice and easy to set up my headset. All I did was click and hold my Jabra headset until the light turned solid blue, then searched for handsfree on the device. Voila! The headset works! This is an exceptional feature and I highly recommend it for anyone that needs handsfree while driving.(5 Stars+)

I don't have Sprint PowerVision so I don't know how good those features are. The game demo's are sub par, as you get like 2 minutes with each of them, and I don't want to spend the money on buying a new game. Same goes for texting, since I didn't sign up for that either.

Overall, I love this phone! I really can't keep my hands off of it, with its sexy styling, good reception, and good features such as camera and mp3 player with touch screen. The lag doesn't bother me too much, and I bet you'll get used to it, and with the right software this phone is really customizable. Buy a Blue Tooth headset and a memory card and you've got the ultimate phone, complete with mp3 and handsfree communication. Lets recap shall we?

Pros

-Downright SEXY styling-will most definitely grab others' attention

-Very good reception, except for areas of no bars (which seldom occurs)

-Comfortable to use with the rubber on the back

-Mp3 Function will probably replace my 10 GB Gigabeat

-Camera convenient unless you need perfect quality prints

-Good firmware, love the functions

-MicroSD and BlueTooth a good addition to an already amazing phone

-Amazing display, looks sharp

-Good quality construction, looks better made than current RAZR

Cons

-Little bit of lag, but easy to get used to

-Flimsy USB door, gotta watch out not to break it off

-Wierd place for MicroSD, under battery door, hard to open etc.

-Game demos a joke-only 2 min. of trial. Games too expensive

-Waste of money to pay for ringtones etc. from Sprint.

As you can see, my Pro's most definitely outweigh my cons, and my cons are not substantial. A few firmware upgrades can probably solve some of the lag, and the other things aren't too much of a pain. I would recommend this phone to ANYBODY that wants more than just a plain phone and is looking for something exciting and cool. If you don't like it, you do have 30 days to cancel without penalty, according to Sprint. So give it a try! What's there to lose?

*EDIT* I just got my headphone adapter and the Audio quality is amazing! It is as good if not better than my Toshiba Gigabeat, which is really saying something since its from a phone. I strongly suggest you pay the extra 5-10 bucks to buy this add-on.

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First of all I didn't buy this phone from Amazon.

I bought it at Christmas and have had nothing but problems with it. Sprint has been NO help. I have wasted hours on the phone with customer service and have been to three Sprint Repair Centers. One was going to charge me $35.00 just to look at the phone. This phone is 2 1/2 months old and it was an expensive purchase.

There is a serious problem with lag with this phone. You don't see any numbers on the screen until what seems like seconds after you press each number key. It is so frustrating.

Text messaging is a joke. I used to have fun txt messaging. Not anymore. The default of multi-tap will switch to something else after 2 or three entered messages and there is no switching it back to multi-tap. I have to shut down the phone and restart to get it to switch to multi-tap.

I can't wait to get rid of it. I am so thoroughly disappointed with Sprint but I'm stuck in a 2 yr plan now. I wish I had bought the Treo.

Don't make the same mistake I made.

The only thing that this phone has going for it is the looks...it is VERY stylish and i get complimented on it every time i use it.

I bought this phone directly from sprint and it has been a complete nightmare!

First of all the phone is rediulously slow as far as when i dial numbers i am on the fourth or fifth one before they come across the screen. Also, when i press any button the response is maybe three or four seconds and i am talking 1-one thousand 2one thousand...

Second, i was playing a game on the phone and the circular plastic piece in the enter of the navigational keypad came off on my thumb as if it was glued on with elmer's...

and i am not rough with phones. i don't know if it was the sprint version or motorola, but i am ready to throw this phone against the wall, but since i am so vain i give it 2 stars just for the looks. but i am getting rid of it because looks ain't everything.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Q-See QT4516-1TB 16Channel DVR Real Time CIF/D1 Resolution H.264 Replaces QT426-1

Q-See QT4516-1TB 16Channel DVR Real Time CIF/D1 Resolution H.264 Replaces QT426-1got it delivered at 3pm and had it setup in two hours. Works great, can watch and record from my phone or tablet. Very straightforward setup and intuitive user interface.

do what it is suppost to do. so far all is good. need to read instructions and be patience.

call for assistance when first set up, did not read instruction, call customer support they were very helpful and they solve the problem. thanks.

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Friday, April 11, 2014

FlexARMOR X Compact TOUGH Portable Hotspot Carrying Case for Overdrive Pro / CLEAR Spot Voyager / N

FlexARMOR X Compact TOUGH Portable Hotspot Carrying Case for Overdrive Pro / CLEAR Spot Voyager / Novatel MiFi Jetpack / Elevate 4G / Novatel Wireless 2200 / T-Mobile Sonic & MoreI bought this to protect my sons hot spot. he uses his laptop in school because he has vision problems and needs to read the text in a larger font. I was worried that he would break the hot spot carrying it around with him all day in his backpack. so far it seems like the case has protected it from all the rough handling that a teenager can put something through

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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Sanyo Incognito Prepaid Phone (Boost Mobile)

Sanyo Incognito Prepaid PhoneBottom Line: a good phone at a reasonable price if you do a lot of mobile e-mail and prefer a physical keyboard. It is as useful for e-mail as a Blackberry, at a much lower price.

I wanted a cell phone that had a large physical keyboard for writing e-mail when I am away from my computer. The Sanyo Incognito has the largest physical keyboard that I have seen on a pocket size phone and it is easy to write even a lengthy e-mail at a good speed.

I have service through Boost/Sprint and have had no problem getting a strong signal, even indoors, in the Houston, Texas area. The Boost version of the Incognito comes with a good app for texting, and it took just seconds to set up my Gmail e-mail account.

The Incognito can be used as a phone with the cover closed. It is an invisible touchscreen until you release the screen lock...then it lights up so you can dial a number. I have set mine to auto re-lock so that the phone doesn't dial numbers while sitting in my pocket...so I have to remember to release the screen lock to answer incoming calls. It also works well as a speaker phone. Open up the phone (it looks like a mini-netbook computer when opened) and you can use voice recognition to call numbers in your contact list. The speaker phone mode works well even if I am five or six feet away from the phone.

The internet browser included with the Boost version of the Incognito is very basic. It works best by setting all of your favorite websites as "Favorites". That way, you can go directly to websites instead of through the clunky browser. I also downloaded the Opera Mini 5 browser and installed it as an app. It works well with many websites, such as ESPN or Google News. Some websites connect as "mini" version formatted to fit a phone screen. Others connect as the full-zize version, and Opera lets you scan across the page and then zoom in to the section you want to read. Opera would not let me enter numbers from the Incognito. The basic Incognito browser would let me enter numbers, such as entering a password for my Amazon.com account.

Videos from YouTube work well, but the Boost Incognito will not play video at sites such as the New York Times because it can not use Adobe Flash.

You can buy a mini-SD card to transfer songs from your computer to the Incognito. It has a very basic camera without a flash. You must open the phone into its "mini-computer" configuration to use the camera and the lens is positioned where your hand is sure to get in the way. That makes the camera pretty much useless.

If your primary use for a cell phone is mobile e-mail, the Incognito is a good alternative to a Blackberry, at a much lower price.

This was our first foray into Boost Mobile space to take advantage of the very reasonable all-you-can-eat service (web, talk, text) rates. The phone was chosen because of the advertised touch surface and fold out keyboard with a full color internal screen for web and texting, pics. The experience of using the phone when closed takes a bit of a acclimation period. The numbers fade out of view after a certain time which can be perplexing on any manufacturer/utility company's support line (Press 1 for English now). The calls were clear and sounded great. The main use for the phone was texting which was a joy with this keyboard. It provides solid feedback when keying in a reply and the spacing between the keys helps for accurate input. The built in web browser and default menu choices on the phone are fine but we opted to install Opera's Mini web browser for a much faster and modern look and feel to browsing (use the directional arrows on the keypad and the two main buttons under the screen for most actions). The biggest drawback is the somewhat plastic feel of the body, we invested in a screen protector for the outside face (recommended) and internal screen. Overall a solid phone!

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I had this phone for 7 months before the charger spot quit working and the phone was useless. However that being said it is a great phone. It plays youtube videos and has an mp3 player built in. Sound is good too. For $50 a month it was great. Im buying another one to replace the broken one so its well worth the $100 or less to buy this phone. And we live in the middle of no where and get great signal.

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I've had this phone for a little under a year. It really is a good phone, sturdy, reliable. It has AIM, Yahoo, and MSN along with Email and Youtube.

I bought it when it was relatively new and a bit more expensive then it is now.

Overall, Good phone for a good price.

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This phone has a fantastic keyboard and loads Youtube videos and Facebook very quickly, making it useful when you're bored and want to kill time. However, the phone isn't too great when it comes to doing what phones are supposed to do: making phone calls.

The touchpad disappears and has to be controlled by the user. I've missed quite a few calls because I didn't get the touchpad to appear quickly enough or had it fail to respond when I pressed the answer button. Going through an automated system is a nuisance with this phone because of how fincky the keypad is. It is very sensitive to smudges and sweat on the keypad, and won't work too well if either are present making it a less than ideal phone for Florida in the summer which is what led me to replace it after a short 4 months.

My phone also had frequent "system errors" when I closed the slide out keyboard and took several minutes to recover.

This phone also had really really lousy service, even for a Boost phone. We live in a semi-rural area and my husband's (also boost but different model) phone had significantly better signal virtually everywhere we went except right in the middle of town.

All in all, for 80 dollars, I was not happy with the phone and wanted to get rid of it within a month of purchase.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Internetvue IV-2020

Internetvue IV-2020Don't waste your money. It doesn't work for watching video on TV. It only works when there are images without movement like word, powertpoint ETC. I have a good computer and still I get a lot of freeze images.(while transmiting video)

Monday, January 20, 2014

Onkyo DXC390 6 Disc CD Player

Onkyo DXC390 6 Disc CD Player
  • You can even remove and replace 5 CDs as one continues to play
  • 128x Oversampling digital filter assures that you get the most precise and faithful playback of all recorded frequencies
  • Multiple playback modes with 40 track programmability and 6 selectable repeat modes
  • Optical Digital Output for optimal digital sound performance through many current amplifier or receiver components
  • Single Bit DAC for optimal accuracy and superb sound output from your analog components

I bought an Onkyo C-390 refurb model a few months back and have had excellent results. I burn my own music CDs on blank CDR or CDRW media using the CD burner on my Home PC. The C-390 tracks everything I've thrown at it very accurately without a hitch. It even plays MP3 files burned onto CD. Plus the remote control unit is full featured and works flawlessly.

There are two digital connections, a digital fiber optic TOSlink and a digital coax connection on the back of the unit. I use the fiber optic TOSlink connection to my reciever. A digital connection will give you the purest output. There is also the typical analog RCA jack connection.

The only flaw I have to report is the carrousel makes a bit of a whirling noise when changing CDs. This is NOT reproduced through to the speakers but is simply low-level ambient room noise. Other than that one minor quibble I can give this CD Changer my highest recommendation.

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This 6-disc CD changer from the audio experts at Onkyo is most definitely an unbeatable value. It's sound quality clearly rivals that of other high-end players costing up to three times as much! The construction is very, very sturdy and the remote control is very easy to use. The sound quality is all-around-excellent with smooth and deep bass, an almost-crystal-clear midrange and a well-defined treble (highs). If you're looking for a good CD changer priced at under $300.00 this is the one to get.

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I don't typically take the time to write product reviews, but I also rarely feel as frustrated as I do right now.

I purchased this CD player in March 2008. Six months later it stopped working. Onkyo gives you a one-year service warranty and advised me to take it to the nearest repair facility, which turned out to be about 45 minutes away from me.

It took the repair people 2 months to fix this unit. They had to order three rounds of parts, and basically rebuilt the entire unit at a cost that well exceeded the original purchase price. Fortunately, the warranty covered the expense.

Unfortunately, the unit broke again a week later.

I tried calling the original retail store for an exchange, but they referred me back to Onkyo.

An Onkyo Service Manager refused to take back the unit or offer any compensation. He said I needed to go through three rounds of service repairs before they would offer an exchange. When I explained that their service center had already gone through three order of parts and still couldn't deliver a working unit, he said there was nothing more he would do.

I'm not the kind of consumer that gets upset easily and makes unreasonable demands. But after all the hassle I've been through with this product, I feel Onkyo should offer me an exchange. I have several other Onkyo components and am otherwise happy with their performance. However after this ordeal, I'm inclined to find a different product maker.

Caveat Emptor!

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Well, buying this player was a mistake. We were in a hurry to find a multi-disk changer before our wedding. I always thought Onkyo was a good name and I had found some favorable reviews. The audio is fine with this player, but about 2/3 of the time it won't recognize CDs. It doesn't matter if the CDs are commercially produced or home-burned, and I keep my CDs in very good shape so it's not a matter of fingerprints and scratches. It's also interesting that if I advance to about track 3 until the CD is recognized and then back up to track 1 it will usually work... what a pain in the ___. It's done this since day one but with the wedding arrangements I didn't have time to return it to the vendor within the first 30 days.

Now the changer is bad, but so far trying to get through to their support has been even worse! For 4 months I've been trying to call in at different times of different days during their support hours. First off, I always get "your call will be answered in 59 minutes". After about 30 minutes I typically can't wait any longer so I have to hang up. Once I let it go on for 30+ minutes than was disconnected. This morning we're up to 66 minutes (since I started this I'm up to 72 minutes) on the phone timer and they say the call will be answered in 8 minutes. If I get anywhere with them I'll update the review, but my current opinion is DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS COMPANY'S PRODUCTS, especially this model CD changer.

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I give this unit 5 stars because I feel that it is an exceptional value you get very high quality for a realistic price.I was after an audio system for my den that wouldn't break the bank.I figured on using my dvd player to play my cd's as well,but then remembered the purpose here was to play MUSIC.I decided for a modest investment,in this case around 150 bucks,I would be getting enhanced audio fidelity compared to the dvd player.6 disc wasn't too important to me,but it's a fun feature none-the-less.Mine hasn't produced any noticeable mechanical noises that I feel would detract from the value of this equipment.I have been very pleased with the sound quality,not really an "audiophile" but I can hear a distinct difference playing my cd's versus the dvd player (I was a bit sceptical that their would be any discernable difference).

As other reviewers have noted,dedicated cd players are oddly becoming increasingly more difficult to locate.If I had any negative thing to say with this player would be that it's rather LARGE,to accomodate the changer carousel I would have prefered having a single tray player,but ironically couldn't find one with comparable quality that wasn't more expensive!

Saturday, January 4, 2014

VideoSecu 9 Channel 12V DC CCTV Key Lock Security Camera Distributed Power Supply Box for Home Surv

VideoSecu 9 Channel 12V DC CCTV Key Lock Security Camera Distributed Power Supply Box for Home Surveillance System PWD91SM C51If you are looking for a substitute for transformers, this is a great choice. This unit is small and and looks good attached to the wall. I made this purchase for a 4 camera system after the original equipment transformer overheated and melted, but luckily there was no fire. This unit is enclosed in a metal box and fused at the AC input as well as the individual distributions.

Compact size & works great. Nice rubber inserts to prevent the metal case from cutting wires inserted. Easy to mount. Straight forward manual.

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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

HDE® Swivel Wall Mount for Security Camera

HDE® Swivel Wall Mount for Security CameraI have eight home security cameras from Night Owl and the wall mounts needed changed, I could not find this item anywhere let alone for a decent price was so happy to have stumbled upon this HDE Swivel Wall Mount it was super cheap and 100% compatible with my Night Owl cameras. Saved me major money. Highly recommend this product.

Made in China. Works ok but is cheaply made. I would not trust mounting these brackets on the wall. I have then mounted up 90 degrees and they are hard to tighten.

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Saturday, October 12, 2013

HD 720P 20 Meters Waterproof Video Action Camera Sports Action Camera Helmet mini DV Bike DVR Camer

HD 720P 20 Meters Waterproof Video Action Camera Sports Action Camera Helmet mini DV Bike DVR Camera RecorderI bought this exact camera from "sports vue" look them up they were advertising there camera as the wave. The first one lasted less then a week before it stuck its self in the standby postion unable to turn off or operate. After 3 emails and 4 phone messeges to there support line and 3 weeks of waiting I called my credit card company and put it into question . Only after retracting the funds did they return my messege and offered to send me a new one right away and allowing me to keep my current defective camera.. gee .. thanks..well another 2 week's later no camera. Ah yes they forgot to send it out ..so another week I get my new camera took it for a hike test run works great made a really cool movie which I thought had excellent video quality and despite the terrible custumer service I am happy till 2 weeks later I'm preping for a caving trip and couple check my equipment to find now both my cameras have the same problem . So ..looking for a new camera I see this and even though its a.diffrent company name I feel the need to warn others incase its the same product under a diffrent company name.. best of luck

I got the camera this weekend and i went to try it in my pool, in my bike, and in my car, and for the price it was a very good buy!

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