WD TV Live Streaming Media Player Wi-Fi 1080p

• Enjoy Internet entertainment on your TV
• Play your personal media collection
• Built-in Wi-Fi and intuitive interface
• High-performance, streaming-ready WiFi
• Bring the arcade to your HDTV
• Audio Formats Supported: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS
• Image formats Supported: JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG
• Video Formats supported: AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1),TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1) MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, FLV (h.264)

I recently decided to start a little weekend project of completely digitizing my 200+ home DVD collection. I wont get into any arguments over the legal ramifications of this type of project, but rest assured every digital movie in my collection is a straight rip of a physical DVD I own. That being said, I really needed a good option to actually "deliver" these movies to my HD TV in my living room. I have an Xbox 360 but that just didnt seem to be making the cut. So I started researching these fancy smart set-top boxes.

At first I was convinced the Roku XS 2 was the way to go but I started reading more and more about its lack of specific filetype support (i.e. MKV, M4V, AVI to name a few). That and it really didnt do network streaming/sharing well (if at all). I saw the WD TV Live HUB with 1TB harddrive for 199 and thought that was just a little too steep for my price range (the Roku is 99 afterall). Then I somehow accidentally found this device on Amazon. The price was right, and the specs seemed right. Too good to be true?

No! This device is incredible! First of all, I cant get over how tiny it is! Its literally thinner than a regular DVD case and maybe as tall as 2 dvds stacked. It sits nicely right next to my 360 with some breathing room! It only comes with a cheap pair of composite (or maybe component I didnt check) cables but I quickly ignored them due to an extra HDMI cable I had lying around. That coupled with the extra optical cable I had as well completed this package although Im sure many will argue that its fairly lacking that the unit didnt come with either in the box (I agree but both cables can basically be purchased for an extra 10 bucks so not that big of a deal and I did have extras lying around).

Basically, setup took seconds and I had it online in no time. It found my wifi box right away although it appeared to have little to no "connection" strength (it showed no bars). This isnt unusual as my wifi router is fairly weak and my laptop consistently has issues dropping the connection etc which is unfortunate because the box is only upstairs and like 20 feet away?! But I digress. After the wifi connected I downloaded all the latest firmwares (quickly and painlessly) and was up and running! All the online services you could want are on the dashboard. A few notables I saw missing were Amazon Unbox and HBO Go but Im not sure what the situation is with those on other devices (Roku supports Amazon Unbox I think? 360 will have HBO Go in like 3 weeks?). But, this review really wont/doesnt cover all of those online services available to the unit. I tried Netflix and Pandora and they both worked fine. There are also a few games preinstalled which is neat I guess.

So, later in the night I put it through its paces. I basically threw every type of movie file I could at it, all with different file sizes and resolution (all streamed off a network share). I tried some 480p DVD rips of M4Vs, some 720p AVIs, even some 1080p MKVs. All streamed flawlessly (even over my poor wifi connection!). I was never disappointed. Even browsing the folder structure via the network share was quick and painless with no delay (with only 120ish folders so far). Later in the night by the time I was on my 3rd movie I noticed that the lip syncing was off. I started to panic! Was my too good to be true situation finally starting to show its true colors?! I tried a few other movies and all seemed fine, but that one with the syncing issue was consistent. Then I noticed in the quick options a Lip Syncing delay option. Toggling this (delay or advance) by 100ms chunks fixed the problem perfectly! I was VERY relieved to see that this option existed and it was so quick and easy to get too as I could see this being an issue for certain files etc. Lastly the only other issue I really noticed was that home videos taken with my Flip cam (1080p mp4s) were very choppy and delayed/unwatchable. I have experienced this before on every device Ive tried to watch them on (i.e. 360/PS3/etc). I have to assume that this is simply the result of trying to stream a file thats too large over my weak wifi network. Hopefully a Wireless N router will find its way under the Christmas tree this year!

At the end of the night I was very thrilled with the little device! Its doing exactly what I could want and more! My ONLY purpose for buying the unit was to stream my digital DVD collection via my network. The fact that I can throw an external HDD on the unit if I want to stop dealing with the network is gravy! Add on top the online services like HuluPlus, Netflix, Blockbuster, Pandora, etc, etc, and I have one tiny little unit that packs quite a punch! Most users here will review the online services and only glance over the networking/file type support. Hopefully Ive done the opposite here and covered all the "other" angles that most people arent concerned with!

PS Its worth noting that I cant really see a reason to get the more expensive WD TV Live HUB with built in 1TB harddrive. Its lacking WIFI and something else I cant recall but you can get an external 1TB drive for basically 1 hundred bucks anyway nowadays and just attach to the WD TV Live unit and have the same situation only better (because you have a replaceable drive AND wifi built in!).

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---------------UPDATE 5/25/2012-------------------

There's been a lot of changes since writing this review but just this week, WD updated the youtube leanback app and made a ton of improvements!. Now I can play my new videos from my subscriptions playlist :) There's also more data provided about each video and a sleek ui overhaul. You can also control the app through your iphone/android device (haven't tested this yet). Nice job WD! Loving this so much now!

--------------/Update----------------------------

I want to start by letting you all know that I'm very picky about my electronics and I'm not easily satisfied nowadays, so I always play with several products before sticking with one. I've gone through the wdtv live plus (grey model with small remote), sony smp-n100, and the apple tv 2 before trying out this device (also used various BD players, gaming consoles for netflix/youtube streaming). I must say that this unit takes the cake in terms of what you get for the price.

Too lazy to give you my full story and thoughts so I'm just going to sum it up and give comparisons to the atv2, which I'd consider the next best choice for a set top box.

-Video quality exceeded my expectations (netflix, youtube, network streaming)

-Youtube steams HD (unlike smp-n100 and other revisions of the wdtv live/plus)

-Wifi is integrated in this unit but won't see my N network (no big deal)

-Youtube won't allow you to access your subscriptions from the app, only your favorites list, search, popular videos, and your published videos (biggest downside for me)

-Can stream nearly every video file format I would ever use

-Netflix app on this device functions very well, better than other devices I've used.

-Includes a few games like chess, memory, dumb boring stuff mostly.

-The remote is more responsive and has more buttons (which I love) than the other model I used (WDBABF0000NBK-NESN)

Okay, now for my comparison of the WDBHG70000NBK vs the apple tv:

Both devices operate exceptionally well compared to the sony smp-n100 and the wdtv live (WDBABF0000NBK-NESN).

I was very pleased with the performance of Youtube and Netflix on both the apple tv 2 and the WDTV live; However, I appreciated the interface of the atv2 Netflix app slightly more simply because it gave me more choices and allowed me to specify sub-genres of movies to choose from and giving me similar movie/tv choices based on the content that's currently selected... similar to how Youtube shows related videos on the sidebar. The wdtv live had slightly better loading times with netflix buffering than the atv2 but not by much. The major selling point for me on the wdtv live was the fact that it consistently streams HD and doesn't change the video quality as often as atv2 did while watching Netflix. I hated switching from HD to SD or worse during a movie!!! The atv2 also has a noticeably blurry/pixelated image quality even while streaming HD content. That alone was the reason why I had to try out this revision of the wdtv live. This unit does not experience the loss of image quality that my atv2 had undergone, but I read somewhere that atv2 uses a different bandwidth standard for HD streaming than other devices and will dynamically change the quality while streaming without notification to avoid disturbances... I have a 20Mb downstream rate... still looked ugly with my 20Mb connection so I'd stay away from that unit if picture quality is important to you. Your wife probably won't find it irritating but if you've gotten used to the clarity of 720p, you WILL see the lack of focus and pixelation while using netflix on the atv2 (youtube was less noticeable). Jailbreaking the atv2 was a MAJOR selling point for me and in my opinion, increases the value of the unit by at least another $100 if you use the couch surfer addon or xbmc :) I won't go into that but google it if you want to learn about it.

WDTV live also supports almost every video format you'd ever want to stream from your pc so you wont have to go through the hassle of converting file types to make them work on your device. Atv2 lacks strongly in this department.

Alright, I'm getting restless typing all this ****. I'd rate the wdtv live a 9/10 and the atv2 an 7.9/10.

I'd highly recommend this device especially for the price!

PSIf you buy elsewhere, make sure you buy this unit with the large remote (as seen in the picture listed) not the version with the tiny remote, that's the old model and it sucks compared this this one. I'm too lazy to list the details, just take my word for it. I'm a wizard.

Edit 1: Found a few minor negatives about this device that I'd like to address here for the manufacturer to make notice of:

1. HDMI cec cannot turn off the device when Netflix app is open due to confirmation promptFIXED!

2. Youtube app should include subscriptions section or the ability to view only videos from specific usersFIXED!

3. New FW update causes issues with video output when the device wakes from sleep (might be related to hdmi cec)

4. general sluggishness of the menus with all the additional apps taking up space, maybe give us an option to uninstall certain apps?

5. youtube leanback has occasional buffer error where it wont come out of a buffer ring state

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I got this media player elsewhere locally, before Amazon dropped their price. Anyway, the GUI is fine. It's easily navigable, not cluttered at all, presented in a beautiful package, and certainly easy to read. All pluses there. The first videos I attempted to play were 720p mkv files over wireless network (on a 1TB HDD connected to my computer in the basement via USB). After taking a few seconds to gather the first few pictures from the USB--> wireless connected storage device, the WDTV Live streamed the videos seamlessly! I even paused one for like 8 minutes while making dinner, and it resumed with no noticeable glitches, artifacts, or rendering/buffering. The second (and only other) file type I attempted to play was a 1080p TS file I had recorded from my cable box. This took a little bit longer between hitting play and seeing video on the screen, but time was minimal. I want to say no more than 4 or 5 seconds. Again, it had to pull the video from the HDD to the computer via USB, and then again from the computer to the media player over the wireless G network. This video also played flawlessly! No artifacting, no rendering/buffering/, no audio sync issues or dropped frames. It plays video from hella far away on the network beautifully, and resumes from pause just as well! I only have 2 cons listed below:

-The out-of-box immediate software update took EONS! I was waiting for the newest firmware to download for almost 30 minutes.

-The remote control has highly raised rubber buttons that cannot be pressed in fast succession, or must be pressed a little bit harder in order to get signal sent. It's annoying, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. (Also, on this note, there are privately developed remote control apps for both Android and iOS in their respective app stores which may be an alternative for myself or some of you)

In conclusion, the new interface is exactly what I was expecting (if not better) after seeing last years release of the GUI on the hub. This player plays absolutely everything! It even plays items from peripherals on computers 2 floors down in my house wirelessly with very little wait time or visible effort. The price point is fantastic, and the product does not disappoint.

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In my review, I'm going to tell you how you can easily play all of the popular video formats/container formats with the following requirements: WD TV Live WDBHG70000NBK, a PC with adequate storage for your media, and a home network. Scroll down to ::HOW TO:: if you don't want to read my preface, albeit I recommend it for those who are new to all of this, so they have an understanding of the what and why this method, I feel, is the best.

*UPDATE: I changed references to PS3 Media Server to Universal Media Server, as it is a more up to date piece of software, headed by those who contributed to the PS3 Media Server project)

::PREFACE::

It always shocks and pains me whenever I read about people who can't seem to get certain file formats to play natively with their Media Renderer, so they decide to go through the laborious and error prone process of converting and re-encoding all their files into a format that they know will work with their device. Worse yet, they'll write off their otherwise great device as a piece of garbage, switch back to using risky and insane roundabout methods for media playback, or give up on networked home entertainment altogether, without ever getting to experience how great/economical/simple a functional, networked home entertainment setup can be.

I've been running networked home entertainment setups since around 2007, have tested many pieces of software and hardware, and have settled on this one solution that has been able to handle pretty much everything that I've thrown at it for years, with only very minor, albeit acceptable limitations. My setup requires having a networked PC to work as the actual media server which handles all of the processing gruntwork and compatibility issues that you find people moaning about in reviews on the shortcomings of various streaming media devices. While a lot of people desire ultimate simplicity by just having a box connected to the TV and internet, with no mucking about with a PC, this is a flawed methodology, as the variety of DLNA Media Renderers (ie: Xbox360, PS3, WD TV Live, AppleTV, Roku, etc) all have different, hit-and-miss support for various file types, meager, limited and slow onboard storage, and quite often do not have the horsepower to support quality playback of the most demanding files (1080p video playback with a full surround 7.1 channel DTS Audio stream). Others believe they can re-encode their way out of compatibility issues by converting those pesky (in reality, wonderful) .MKVs into .AVI, .TS, or |insert-filetype-here|. Format conversion is probably one of the absolute worst things someone can do, as PROPER video encoding requires a bit of know-how, the right encoding tools, no interruptions and perfect RAM, as even the slightest processing interruption or memory error can cause video and audio artifacts, loss of quality, and/or synching issues. I'm sure you've all come across and downloaded "crappy encodes" or "rips". A good, proper networked home entertainment setup can play just about any file natively, without requiring the user to convert anything. Make the player fit the file, not the other way around (time consuming). By incorporating a PC with the right UPnP media server/playback software, you eliminate the guesswork out of the compatibility, get access to a vast file library on much faster storage, much easier media management, and few worries of performance anxiety, so long as your computer is decently up to speed and has a fast enough network. Essentially, the PC + software does all of the work, while the Media Renderer, like the WD TV, is just the pretty front end that accesses it. In reality, this applies to AND works with many DLNA compliant Media Renderers, not just the WD TV Live...but there are compelling reasons why I have switched to this device.

The WD TV Live caught my eye because it uses very little power, is DLNA compliant, is inexpensive and has a fairly easy to understand interface. I had been previously using my Playstion 3s reliably for years, but as I've had less time for video games, and my wife and I were predominantly using them for Netflix and media server video playback, I could no longer justify their gluttonous power consumption. My original PS3 Fat was consuming a 160W at idle and up to 180W during playback, with the PS3 Slim consuming around 80-90W. It was having a pretty serious effect on my electricity bills. WD TV Live? A scant 6.6W while playing a 1080p video being served by my PC, idles at 5W!! And it functioned just as well as my PS3, with an interface that was a lot more attractive than Sony's XMB (cross media bar).

If you're adequately sold on this product and are interested in getting a great networked home entertainment setup started, continue on!

::HOW TO::

You'll need the following:

PC running Windows/MacOS/Linux, at least a Core 2 Duo @ 2.4Ghz and 2GB RAM. I recommend Intel i3 2300 or i5 2400, as they have fantastic power consumption:performance ratios. The more HDD space you have, the better.

Home network. For high end media streaming, nothing beats wired gigabit ethernet. If you worry about cabling, Amazon carries some fantastically discreet flat Cat6 cables here: Cables Unlimited UTP-1800-50W UltraFlat Cat6 Patch Cables (50 feet, White). Wireless is doable, but you must often turn down quality or face ugly stuttering issues. No less than 802.11n (Wireless N)

A DLNA compliant Media Renderer, aka the WD TV Live WDBHG70000NBK

1: If your PC is going to just be a dedicated media server, remove any and all codecs you may have previously installed. If you are also going to use it regularly and watch video with it, I recommend only having one codec pack installed, such as CCCP codec pack. In many cases where people can't play videos from their computer, it is because they have too many garbage codecs installed over each other.

2: Google and download Universal Media Server for your flavor of OS (I use Win7) and install the latest stable version on the computer hosting your files. Your computer + the media server software will be the brains behind your media streaming experience. It is a wonderfully coded pieces of open source software that can natively stream many video types to a wide variety of devices, including PS3, Xbox360, Boxee, WDTV Live (of course) and many more. It comes with all of the proper encoders to stream natively, or if it has trouble, it can transcode (on the fly video conversion to a compatible format, without damaging the original file) a wide variety of file types. It also supports multiple processors, multiple audio and subtitle tracks, and can read DVD ISOs. There are many options to explore, but for most people, everything works out of the box.

3. Launch Universal Media Server

4. Go to Navigation/Share Settings tab.

5. Add all folders that you would like to access from your WD TV Live

OPTIONAL (These settings have always worked for me, for just about any video, albeit the default out of box settings will work for most)

6. Go to Transcode Settings tab and see "Common Transcode Settings" options. I have mine set to use all cores and only "Remux when audio is AC3..." as the only things checked.

7. In the Transcode Settings tab and "MEncoder" options, I have "Use multiple cores" and "Remux videos with tsMuxer..." as the only things checked

8. In the Transcode Settings tab and "txMuxer" options, I have "Force FPS parsed from FFmpeg" as the only thing checked.

9. Hit the "Save" button on top and "Restart Server"

10. Start your WD TV Live

11. From the Videos tab, select your media source as "Media Server" (this can also be accessed by hitting the red button). You should see the Universal Media Server listed. Select it and start enjoying your collection! If you can't see the Universal Media Server listed as a media source, check your WD TV Live network and workgroup settings and ensure that they match your network. On your PC, ensure that it is "network discoverable" .

:: NOTES & LIMITATIONS ::

You'll notice an extra "Transcode" folder in all of your video folders. Transcoding, as mentioned before, is a method where the Universal Media Server will convert the video to a compatible format on the fly, without damaging or altering the original file. This is why it is good to have a PC with some horsepower. Transcoding is rarely used, only on the rare occasion that a file doesn't play natively. The folder can be disabled from showing withing PS3 Media Server.

One HD videos, fast forward or rewind buttons do not work well. Rather, pause the video and jump to specific times. Attempting to fast forward will overflow the memory buffer (HD video uses a lot of bandwidth) and can possibly crash Universal Media Server, resulting in you getting up and restarting the program on your PC. This is the biggest limitation.

Many videos in containers like MKV support and contain multiple subtitle and audio tracks (different languages, director commentary), use the "Subtitle" and "Audio" buttons to effortlessly switch them.

The default firmware on the WD TV Live will work just fine, but input response on older firmware is slow. WD frequently improves their product with regular firmware updates that have proven themselves to be beneficial.

:: OTHER THOUGHTS ON WD TV LIVE ::

I'm really happy with my WD TV Live, especially when used in conjunction with great UPnP media server software like Universal Media Server. WD TV Live will work with other UPnP media server software (ie: PS3 Media Server, PlayOn, TVersity, Plex) but I've found Universal Media Server to be the quickest, most lightweight, and most compatible with various video formats. Even without a PC serving media through a UPnP program, the WD TV Live is still a good device. It does natively support an impressive number of video types, but it did struggle with keeping up on some, crashing in one case. This device is a worthy investment for the amount of things you can do and access with it. If you invest a little time in understanding how media streaming works, and how to get the most out of it, you will absolutely love it.

I hope someone will benefit from my mega information dump!

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UPDATE January 30, 2013

Well, a new firmware update just killed my WDTV. It no longer sees my Windows Share even though every other device on my network does (AppleTV, Windows Computers, Mac Computers, etc). My Windows Share does not even appear on the list of Windows Shares. There is a thread on the WD Forums with users having the same issues as well as other issues with this firmware:

In addition phone technical support is useless and rolling back to previous firmwares as suggested does not work either. Everything was working just fine before this latest update and now the unit is useless even after trying to rollback firmware.

Doesn't look like WDTV cares either.

=================================================

This product is a nice upgrade over the previous model since it does add Wifi and a greatly improved GUI. But some of the new features are kind of handicapped.

-The wireless N function of this device is 2.4ghz only. So if you have a 5ghz wireless N network you will be stuck either changing your router settings or using wireless G

-The metadata information only downloads for files that are directly attached to the device through USB not over the network.

-Unable to rate or add favorites for your files or folders over the network, only on directly attached storage.

Overall, still a great product since it plays everything I've thrown at it but could've been much better.

Emerson GQ756 CDG Karaoke Player

• Mix and Record Music and Voice
• 20W Speaker
• Includes 100 MP3G Songs on Disc
• Remote Control
• Digital Echo & Digital Key Control

I bought this as a gift. Needless to say I was quite embarrassed as I watched the birthday boy open it up. When he opened it up I immediately noticed that the box looked like it had been already opened and used by somebody else. In other words somebody returned it and I bought it. Once it was plugged in, none of the features worked including the USB drive which is the reason why I bought it in the first place. I kept getting errors and it even had difficulty reading the CD player. The karaoke player has a "cheap" feel to it as far as quality. I know it isn't exactly pricey but you would think it would have a more durable feel to it. I returned this the very next day! Save yourself time and money and look at different ones!!!

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My kids love this Karaoke Machine, but within one week the power connection and the microphone connection shorted out and would not work consistently. My girls are not hard on things (ages 11 and 7). Emerson just didn't make a high quality product.

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I was very excited to receive this machine. In fact I gave away one that was working fine in anticipation of receiving this model. It never worked. It powered on but nothing worked. Had to return. Bummer... :(

I would love to give more stars. Wished I had received a working model to really evaluate.

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I'm so disappointed with this machine! I bought it for the main purpose of recording my singing and making cd's. It skips, cracks and distorts the words on so many songs. Sometimes they play and the next time they don't. My cd's are perfect with no scratches or fingerprints. I'm on my 4th machine since Christmas from Kmart and I will be returning it this week. I used an sd card and did manage to make one cd from the 4 machines and it sounds great! I had to connect the machine to a larger tv and speaker because if you don't your voice sounds distant from the music on your recording. The machine is very easy to use and if it wouldn't skip I would give it 5 stars and buy an extra one.

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My experience is with the GQ755 which is no longer available. The GQ756 looks like an upgraded replacement. The 755 was purchased from Amazon less than a year ago and should still be covered by the 12 month warranty. The unit no longer reads CDs neither CDG nor plain CD. This is Emerson's response to the online request for assistance via their website:

"The GQ755 was discontinued and out of stock last year. No repair or replacement options exist for that player. kevin"

I have read that others had similar problems with that unit. It is obviously cheaper for Emerson to drop a defective model and stop honoring the warranty rather than fix or replace the defective units. Their warranty is not accurate as written. It should read: "Warranty is good for 12 months or until the model is discontinued, whichever comes first." Before you purchase an Emerson karaoke machine, make sure that the model has been out long enough to have a good history of reliable performance because the 12 month warranty may not be honored if the model has extensive problems.

Panasonic RR-US006 IC Digital Voice Recorder

If you take multiple notes and have to be able to later review them quickly this unit can save hours of time and frustration once in the cradle you can jump back and forth, "rewind" and "fast-forward" with ease. Also, no more fumbling with microscopic controls and indecipherable output, the cradle controls are large enough to use easily, and the internal speaker provides much clearer replay.

I don't know if Panasonic still makes these I bought mine refurb, but they do show up on eBay from time to time.

Update:

FYI part # RR-QR005, which shows up on eBay form time to time, had the same form factor and hand-held features, but does NOT interface with the RR-US006 base unit.

Verizon LG VX-5400 Cell Phone

Bought this phone because it was Verizon compatable and twenty dollars. It works fine and do not have any problems with it. It is no thrills but works. It is a get me by phone until I get something better. Old timey texting...Would recommend for an emergency phone or for someone that does not text or talk a hugh bit. It is my everyday phone and I only talk for maybe a hour total in a day and it is fine.

Great price and does all the things I need, very simple. I just want to talk, text, and use the calendar. Works great!

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1. This phone lasts 2 weeks on stand by!!!!!

2. Water will not stop this phone!

I have had this phone for 3-4 yrs every night in my humid bathroom showers before I was informed by Customer Service Representative, that I probably should not be doing that. Humidity is the same as dipping the phone in water, I guess? well, ah, I did that too... : / ah.. ahem.

The phone has fallen in the child's bathtub and the little purse belt clip would get soaked before I realize it to remove the phone from the soaking wet purse. This phone is amazing! I have never DL games, APPS, or Music tones, but I believe they are available, I just do not know what website to visit to obtain such things? My one half complaint, is that I have trouble working the Blue Tooth (My phone has blue tooth, I do not see this listed here for some reason¿?) but the trouble could be user error or the fact that the phone was consistently next to the shower with me every night for three years. I have Never operated Blue tooth functions in my life, and I'm not even sure I have the correct password. (This: depends on your talk/data plan with verizon,) .. but My phone has no memory card to remove photos, they must be upload to Verizon Pix Place at 25 cents per photo or txt pic to a friend to email back to your PC. Other that Blue Tooth, I could not see a way to get the photos off my camera phone. It seems to have pretty good memory for the price! I have over 560 photos on my phone with more memory available. My phone is not capable of carrying MP3s, however, I am sure Zune is available "live" via the web browser, just can not DL the songs due to the somewhat less than stellar memory size.

Recently, I even accidentally left the phone out in the rain. Literally. rain. I knew it was going to rain that night. I dropped the phone! Eek! I searched and searched! I could not find the phone in the dark, as it was still in "standalone mode" for movies, church and stuff. plus it is always on Vibrate. In the morning dew/rain (I am pretty sure it did rain as predicted). There was the phone! The screen even lit up for me when I opened the phone! Wow!

Finally, I am upgrading now to a new phone for a better camera.

I love this phone though! I really do! Wallpaper on main screen and front is not static. It is set by the user. I like this phone! It's simple, yet I always find some interesting new function hiding somewhere on the list. Such as "add... graphic" of small cute yellow smiley face, or even animation to boring txts. My friend sat on and broke his smart phone. I can't help but ask "How smart is your 'Smart Phone' now, mister?" : ) no, really, I had two friends that had to repair smart phone and i phone, (the iphone actually places random calls when in my friend's pocket! ! Really!! really!!!) I never did trust those touch screens. I have crushed my LG phone by laying down, my hip, my entire body weight on my friend's carpet more than once. It keeps functioning just fine. This makes me very nervous to buy a new phone! Why would I give up such an amazing phone???????? I've held on to this phone for 3 years! I love this phone! What if my next phone is not this wonderful?

My plan was pay-as-you go, with $1 per all day internet access (only on days you use it), $1 talk all day verizon to verizon, and ten cents per text message (without incurring the $1 daily use activation fee). $15 was sufficient for my texting needs. (including many 25 photo text messages, my favorite fun...).

I believe the SAR rating was like 1.2 .... for my phone, .. this Amazon phone (although same model number as under my battery) may be some version of upgrade. I don't see the blue tooth function listed. My phone even has voice recognition Command "call ____" function. I have not used this, but it seems wonderful. I've seen my friend use this with his Iphone over the car speakers. Yes, I have the same technology on my phone. Blue tooth???....Anyway, That's pretty neat, from 4 yrs ago, technology.

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This company's service was unbelievably great. This particular phone could not get service. I called and they sent a label and another phone immediately. However this one did not work for me either. They sent me another type and it was great. The service was fantastic.

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I bought 2 (used) cell phones (included 2 chargers...home and auto) from this supplier. Both units looked very good, but while one worked like new, the other had some intermittent operating issues. I called the vendor customer service number and a replacement phone was sent without any hassle. The replacement phone arrived the next day, along with a prepaid mailer to return the unit with the intermittent problems. I will be looking for this suppler the next time I need phone stuff.

Pyle PSPL05R Digital Sound Level Meter with Recording Function

I'm happy this isolates the sound being recorded, its sensitive and very accurate yet withstands recording ambient noise, partly to due with the wind screen cover on the microphone receptor which without will pick-up even the sound of breathing so hard to get accurate readings without it......EXTREMELY SATISFIED!!!

Like the first reviewer, I also just received this item so I can't say much about its performance, but the manual is so bad it is unintelligible. That immediately puts into doubt the quality of the engineering in the product. The legends on the smaller buttons are somewhat faint but I wouldn't say they look worn off on mine. I downloaded a PDF user manual at the Pyleaudio.com website and it is even worse (scrambled pages). For half the price I could have purchased a unit that lacked the record and some other features, and those featurese are not going to be usable unless I can puzzle out how to use it on my own.

The sturdy, padded cases is nice. It is easy to turn the power on and get a reading. Hitting power again briefly toggles on a backlight (that's nice). By randomly pushing buttons, I can change between A and C weighting (there is no information about why one would want to do that but that is easy to learn on the web). The large, central "Level/Rec" button switches between dB ranges and includes "auto" at setting 04 for the full stated range of 30-130dB. The "F/S" (fast/slow) button obscurely toggles a mark below the dB level numbers from left to right but doesn't seem to change the fast rate (faster than every second) that the readout changes. I think "Slow" is supposed to update each second.

Oddly, when I change the range, the readout changes dramatically. That doesn't make sense to me. I would think in the wrong range it should be pinned at the max or min level, but holding the unit in my hand while my laptop is nearby reads ~33 at level 1 (30-80), ~44 at level 2(50-100), ~60 at level 3(80-130), and back to ~33 at level 4 (auto). The values change continuously within a small range at all settings. A tiny word appears in the upper left corner if it is out of range ("over" or "under") -not really legible without a magnifying glass, but once you know it is there, that is useful. But the design of the range feature seems almost as bad as the design of the manual. Can I even trust the simple readings without separately calibrating the device? I guess it is useful for relative readings.

It has a "time chip" feature which seems to allow setting date and time. That would be nice but I can't tell how to use it yet and so I don't know if it keeps track of date and time when turned off or when the battery is changed. The manual claims it supports a separate power supply using the non-existent "DC 9V connector on the side panel." It does have a tripod jack.

When I figure out how to use the max/min and recording functions and get a better idea of how useful this device is, I'll update the review. Unfortunately I'm not going to invest in an different, more expensive brand/model or a $300 calibration device, so I will not be able to know if it is accurate, just reproducible.

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The meter is very nicely packaged in a foam lined snap-to-close carrying case.

The user manual was poorly written by someone whose first language is NOT English. Cannot figure out how to complete some functions. It is terrible.

Some of the screen printed labels on the meter buttons / switches are faded and hard to read, as if the meter had been used a lot...even though it is new.

Also the manual says that an AC adapter can be used but there is no place on the unit to plug it in!

I have not actually used the meter yet, so the jury is still out on its performance.

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The recording function appears to only capture the data for each point that you hit record. Other data logging sound level meters capture a stream of data over the period that you choose. This was a critical feature for me so I returned it and purchased the Extech HD600 Datalogging Sound Level Meter (which is 5x more expensive but that's what you have to pay for data logging). My frustration with this product is that the description is unclear about the "recording function" feature. Otherwise I'm sure it's a fine sound level meter for live monitoring.

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I bought this sound meter after much research. I looked at several other brands and models and decided to try this one because it offered a wider range of coverage and the cost was not too high. This meter covers decibel ranges down to 30db which I needed. Measurements down to 30db allow you to measure ambient room noise in very quiet situations such as urban household environments. If you attempt a measurement in a sound proofed room then you will get an Out of Range indication but that's to be expected. It also has preset ranges that allow for more precise measurements and a wide range preset that covers the whole spectrum that the meter is capable of measuring. The display is well lit, easy to read but the controls can be a bit cumbersome until you get used to them. The sensitivity is good also, it seemed to respond to even a dog barking outside in the distance which is encouraging. The case it comes with is well padded and provides quite a bit of protection for transporting the unit from place to place. All in all, this meter is a pretty good sound meter for the price and works well. I would recommend it highly.

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Optical Digital Audio Cable 6 Feet

Maybe SF Planet had a decent cable as pictured at one point, but mine was a very thin cable (think wire thickness) and does NOT have the heavy jacket as pictured and described more like 2.5mm NOT 5mm. It IS inexpensive and works, (so far, if it gets a little strain I wonder) but don't go with this one if you want a decent quality cable. Maybe other sellers listing under this item actually has one with a heavy jacket, but how can you be sure?

I bought two of these awhile ago. They worked and have not failed yet. I'm not sure about the quality because I don't have them hooked up to an expensive sound system but they are not very thick cables.

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Well I just bought this a couple days ago and the shipping was very quick. The product itself looked very cheap, so i was a bit skeptical. After I tried it I couldn't believe the audio quality, It was just amazing. It is cheap, but definitely rich in audio. Highly recommend.

Read Best Reviews of Optical Digital Audio Cable 6 Feet Here

Yes ... it's VERY thin. But it works fine! If you need industrial strength, go elsewhere, but for most applications, it's perfect.

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These are great HDMI cables. They are high quality and work very well. I recommend these cables to anyone looking for quality at a very reasonable price.

Olympus® VN-701PC Digital Audio Recorder

When pressing "record" button it goes into some sort of "pause" mode -but it doesn't tell you that. You have to press record twice in order for the device to start recording. Really annoying!

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

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

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ION Audio VCR 2 PC USB VHS Video to Computer Converter

I purchased this unit after trying various other methods of getting my old family VHS tapes onto my computer to make DVD's. I was not happy with anything I had tried so this was my last resort. Truthfully, I hated to spend the $ on another VCR. I read the reviews on this product after I purchased it and immediately second-guessed my reasons for purchasing. I planned to return it due to the dismal reviews but it ended up sitting in the box for a month. Finally I decided I might as well try it. I'm so glad I did!

This product is easy to use out of the box. Plug it into the wall, plug the USB into the computer, install the software, put in a tape and press record. I like that you can leave it recording and go do something else. I found the software installation very quick and easy. The documentation with the unit is not very detailed but it is a very simple program to figure out. I like that you can edit the video within the program before burning to DVD. I like that it saves the files onto computer in JPEG files so I can further edit and play with them in MovieMaker or another program. This unit/program can not be faulted for poor quality from old VHS tapes. I feel that some reviewers blame this unit for that. I have not yet tried this with my vhs-c tapes and adapter. If any problems are encountered I will report.

The software burns DVD's very nicely, has a menu format and different choices of menu designs. It also will print DVD jewel case inserts to match. Someone's review also seemed to blame this unit for their machine not having enough memory for video. It's fairly common knowledge that video eats up memory. Each of my 2 hr. vhs tapes is hogging up to 4 GB's on my harddrive. My solution was to purchase a portable external hard drive that I will put all family video on and that takes care of that!

I've had no problems with dropped frames but do occasionally have some problems with tracking that I feel are not the fault of this machine but due to the fact that most of my tapes are a quarter of a century old! The only fault I can find so far with this unit is that the tracking buttons don't make much difference in quality when I do have a problem. During these times, I take the tape and put in another VCR in my house and tweak it as much as I can. I expect to lose some video after all this time in storage and so far, out of 15 tapes, I'd say I've only had to edit out about 15 minutes due to tracking problems.

This unit, in my opinion, has already paid for itself. The cost of someone else converting these was expensive. I am very happy with this product; it's doing exactly what I needed it to do!

Update: All vhs tapes copied fine to pc. I then moved onto vhs-c and mini-dv tapes. I did not use the adapters and instead used the cables that came with each camera. I used the video cameras as the vcr to play the tapes and then ran them through the Ion VCR 2 PC. (The video and audio cables plug easily into the front of the unit) Set the tape/other switch to other and you're good to go. Everything went off without a hitch. I am very happy with this machine and the software. The instructional manual can be accessed while running the program by pressing the F1 key on your keyboard. This is very helpful with the software.

just finished my first VHS Tape to MPEG conversion with the VCR2PC and it couldn't have been easier. the only issue i ran into was installing it on Windows 7 x64 because the driver on the CD isn't digitally signed. however, you go to the site and under documentation & downloads i got the instructions on how to update the driver and the digitally signed driver for x86/x64 XP/Vista/7

the video and audio quality was an exact replica of the original tape.

here are the steps i took:

1. plug VCR2PC into outlet

2. insert cd into PC

3. plug usb cable into PC and VCR2PC

3.a at this point it should have auto installed but i just got a message box in the tray that said your hardware was not installed correctly.

3.b i went to Device Manager and there a yellow exclamation on VCR2PC, i right clicked on it, updated the driver and pointed to the CD

3.c the driver installed successfully but Windows Vista/7 x64 disabled the driver because it was not digitally signed by the publisher

3.d i went to www.ion-audio.com/vcr2pc click on Documents & Downloads and downloaded the following:

3.d.1 VCR 2 PC NTSC Hardware Driver [v1.43.07.50]

3.d.2 VCR 2 PC Driver Update Instructions

3.e i unzipped the NTSC Hardware Driver zip file to a temp folder C:\Temp

3.f i went back to Device Manager right clicked on VCR2PC and updated the driver again this time pointing to C:\Temp

4. from the CD i ran the setup file on the root of the CD and ran the default settings

5. i opened EZ VHS Converter (ArcSoft product, excellent software package that is compatible with Media Center remotes)

5.a i got an error that said there is a problem with my sound device, i ignored this error

6. i put in Rush Hour VHS tape which wasn't rewound so it started automatically in the middle. i got audio perfectly and in sync so i figured the error about the sound device wasn't worth looking into

6.a i rewound the tape and played from the beginning

7. the movie box says approx 97 minutes so i set EZ VHS Converter to record for 1 hour 40 minutes

8. when the tape got to the point where i wanted to start the recording i just clicked Record

8.a 1 hour and 40 minutes later i had my MPEG version of my VHS in my Videos folder. (My Documents/My Videos)

you can also set it to record for more time and just click Record/Stop to manually adjust the length of recording time.

there is also a check box you can check for automatically creating a DVD.

the 1 hour 40 minutes converted to a 2.94GB MPEG.

it also has composite out and single channel audio out so it can double as a standard DVD player.

the one drawback to this product is the lack of editing software. i don't need it but it is definitely something that should be included. however, there are plenty of free editing tools out there.

i'm sure some of the negative review are from people using underpowered computers that couldn't keep up with the conversion. i have no idea what the minimum specs would be as i haven't found them anywhere. you shouldn't need a real powerful computer but i could the average user with their junked up PC having an issue.

it says right on the FAQ that it isn't compatible with XP/Vista 64-bit. but in the drivers both on the cd and the downloaded version there is a 0140_x64.sys file and a 0140_x86.sys file so obviously the drivers are either compatible or they aren't fully tested yet. i've tested both Win7 and Vista 64 and both work fine

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I was really hopeful about this product. I really would like to easily convert a bunch of old videos we have from my childhood.

Beyond the hardware complaints, my #1 problem is: THEY INSTALL AD SOFTWARE ALONG WITH THEIR OWN SOFTWARE.

The software that you have to install to record things from this unit also installs Arcsoft drivers for video encoding/decoding. The Arcsoft drivers install a service on your computer that ALWAYS runs in the background, and another service that displays ads for their products in the bottom right hand corner of your screen... even if you have all other software closed.

You can opt to "stop showing these", but their background service called "Arcsoft Connect" continues to run in the background doing God knows what.

There is no way to UNINSTALL this without uninstalling all of the recording software.

Do a quick Google search for "Arcsoft Connect" and you'll see many other complaints with this software.

My other problems were with the tracking. On many older tapes, the tracking would continually adjust itself. There is no way to manually adjust it; after playing with this thing for hours, the tracking buttons on the front don't seem to do anything. Even when the auto-tracking gets it right, it starts auto-tracking again and messes up all over again.

This is a great concept, but very poor implementation. Cheap hardware, cheap software. Not many options. They probably cut a deal with Arcsoft to use their drivers for free if Arcsoft could display ads.

This seems to be a problem with all of Ion's products; they're just cheaply made.

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Like you I read the reviews for the Ion VCR 2 PC converter. The reviews seemed split between fantastic and piece of crap. Tough to reconcile, huh? It really worked quite well right out of the box. Loading the software was simple and the controls were pretty intuitive. I've enjoyed loading different VHS tapes, etc.

It seems that the complaints are glitches computers that didn't work well with it and/or folks who expected a lot of editing abilities they aren't there. This is great for converting VHS to PC just what I wanted, just what I got I love it!

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This was very easy to use, installed first try. I am using Windows 7 on a quad core computer with 4Gb of memory. Video-wise it was OK although it seemed to have tracking problems once in awhile where a noise bar would work it's way down the screen.

It is the audio that is terrible. When VCR's first came out they had a stationary head for the audio that read from a track on the very edge of the tape. The video was laid down by a rotating video head that was able to lay down a terrific amount of information because the rotating head made it appear that the tape was moving at a very fast speed. The actual tape was moving very slowly and so the audio was mono and had a terrific amount of wow and flutter; it would also fade in and out if the edge of the tape had the slightest imperfections. After a few years the audio was added to the rotating video head and so it was extremely good quality and also was stereo. Even the cheapest VCR's today have the audio on the rotating head for good sound quality (I just bought a refurbed VCR/DVD combo for my RV and the sound is great).

I looked everywhere but nowhere could I find where this unit was getting it's audio. My suspicion is that it is getting the sound from that old technology stationary audio head, mono and terrible sounding.

I have returned the unit and will go with a conventional VCR and an analog to digital converter to input into my computer.

Sorry to be so technical but it's the only explanation I think for the terrible sound. This item could be a great item but I think they went the cheap route on the sound and are losing sales because of it.

StarTech SVID2USB2 USB S-Video and Composite Video Capture Cable with Audio TV Tuners and Video Cap

While this product is actually pretty good for a simple USB capture device, you HAVE TO, HAVE TO, HAVE TO get the most *current* drivers for it to work optimally. I understand the pain that 99.9% of users have with installing and using this product and I partly blame StarTech and the Chinese / Taiwanese hardware industry.

Guess what, if you get updated drivers from StarTech's site, they're old. "What? But StarTech makes this thing, they'll have the newest drivers. Right?" Wrong. In fact, this device is really just a re-branded product call the GrabBeeX+deluxe made by VideoHome of Taiwan. The drivers on StarTech's site are newer-ish but since the Taiwanese company that makes the GrabBeeX+deluxe (a.k.a StarTech SVID2USB2) is still around and have WAY newer drivers than what StarTech offers, go to their web site and get the latest drivers (look for the GrabBeeX+deluxe). Unless you really know computer's and how to read driver properties, you'd NEVER figure it out. It's no surprise this product gets a bad rap. Also, you can and should upgrade the GrabBee video capture software to version 1.0.9.3 if you go to VideoHome's site (see link info below). Startech's GrabBee video capture software (bundled or on their support site) is the WAY old version 1.0.7.6. The newer 1.0.9.3 version has updated codecs (read more below).

Having 21+ years in IT to track down who makes these obscure hardware components has become a refined skill and I can say that the chipset that is in the device is made by eMpia and it's the 28xx series. But don't go to eMpia's site to get newer drivers, go to the makers of the GrabBee hardware / software (VideoHome): . tw and look for the product called GrabBeeX+Deluxe (USB Grabber). Under the "Driver" and "AP" section you can find the newest drivers and version of the GrabBee capture software. By the way, the newer GrabBee capture software has capture software and codecs as new as Feb of 2011 and supports formats like XVid and has a far newer MPEG encoder than even the 1.0.7.3 version. These newer codecs will yield far better results and are more optimized to take advantage of modern CPU features like SSE2/SSE3/SSE4 (which help in video / audio / multimedia processing) that the older codec versions were not as well optimized to use.

Do yourself and others a favor and get the newer drivers and GrabBee software and THEN review this product. What comes out of the box is ancient as far as drivers and capture software go and you WILL HAVE PROBLEMS, especially if you have Vista or Windows 7. By the way, the latest drivers do work on Windows 7 64-bit.

One other issue some people might have and not realize is that your computer may only have USB 1.1 ports. For this device to work well, you have to know if you have USB 1.1, USB 2.0, or USB 3.0 ports for it to plug into. You should also try and figure out if you have the chipset drivers for your motherboard installed already as they can help immensely. Also, if you're not tech minded, you may not know that in your computer's BIOS, your USB settings may be, by default, set to not fully utilize the max speed of you USB 2.0 ports which is called HighSpeed. USB 1.1 uses FullSpeed and USB 3.0 uses SuperSpeed. Theoretically, a USB 1.1 port has just enough bandwidth to capture *compressed* MPEG1 video stream but not raw, uncompressed video streams which is why you need USB 2.0 or faster. Also, having a slower speed IDE or SATA hard drive that spins at 5400RPM or less may impede writing to the hard drive fast enough and cause drop-outs and other anomalies. Always defragment your hard drive!

It's no surprise people get frustrated with this nifty device. I hope posting the below link directly to the GrabBeeX+deluxe will help some of you. Everything you need for updated drivers and GrabBee capture software is there (copy and paste to your browser and just remove the spaces): and if it doesn't work, go to VideoHome's site and click on Products > USB Grabber > and find the GrabBeeX+deluxe at the bottom of the list and click More Details. The Driver and AP sections are what you want to download from. Have fun!

UPDATE 6/27/2011: GrabBee software 1.0.9.6 is now available on the .

UPDATE 8/9/2011: Well, it seems VideoHome has retired the GrabBeeX+Deluxe from it's products page in place of new hardware and as such have made it a bit tougher to easily find the driver. You can now find it here: go to VideoHome's site and choose Technical Support > Download, change Product Name to USB Grabber, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and go to page 2 or click Next >>. Have fun.

UPDATE: 8/15/2011: Amazon has removed the links to the drivers so follow the directions I have up on my 8/9/2011 update.

UPDATE: 10/4/2011: It seems eMpia has updated their drivers for this device around 8/23/2011 even though it seems VideoHome has stopped updating them. Just do a search for BDA_082311_UAC and that should get you to the eeti . com web site. If not, try and remove the spaces. Updated my driver to one from 8/23/11.

UPDATE: 1/30/2012: Don't use the eMpia driver from eeti . com. It seems others have been having issues with the eMpia drivers from 8/23/2011 so it seems you might be best to stick with the drivers dated 4/22/2011 from Videohome's web site.

UPDATE: 10/5/2012: Although I have not tried them yet, eMpia has updated their drivers in February 2012 (WDM_Media_D020412_EMPAudio.rar & WDM_Media_D020412_UAC.rar). Do a Google search for WDM_Media_D020412_EMPAudio (you'll need Winzip to open the RAR files) and it should be the first hit pointing to home dot eeti dot com dot tw / web20 / ic_suppot dot html. I know some of you had issues with the August 2011 driver so these might be a bit better. Don't know yet if they work on Windows 8.

UPDATE: 1/29/2013: The videohome site (videohome dot com dot tw) has newer "official" drivers for Windows 8 support (dated 2011) and also GrabBee 2.0 (do a Google search for GrabBee_V2.0.0.0.zip, it should be the only hit that comes up).

I spend a lot of money online shopping mostly for tech type items. This video capture cable is by far THE BEST VALUE FOR MY MONEY THAT I EVER SPENT! If you buy a machine that can copy VHS to DVD you are talking $ 200 + and if you check the on line reviews they all are poorly rated.

Using this product you can copy VHS tapes to an external hard drive and make your entire collection of VHS tapes portable. Of course instead you can copy them to your internal hard drive and then burn them to a CD. This product is terrific BUT instructions included in the package are very very limited( as in almost nonexistent). Do not use the included software Cd for installation instead go to company web site and down load software from there. Tech support also rates 5 stars. No long wait and they know their stuff. I have recommended this product to all of my friends.

This is NOT a planted review. Having used this product to copy many hours of tape I can honestly say I would have paid double the price and still thought it was terrific. If you want to copy VHS tapes undoubtedly this is the way to do it

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StarTech SVID2USB2 USB 2.0 Video Capture Cable

Works great but do not load the driver & software that comes with it in Vista. It will crash your computer. Call StarTech and they will give you a direct link to download of the correct Vista driver software. You can then edit in Windows Movie Maker and record in Windows DVD Maker. Once you get it connected it is a snap to convert from analog devices.

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1) Don't use the GrabBee software. It automatically turned off Windows 7's User Account Control (a safety feature). The reviews that call GrabBee spyware may be right. I used Microsoft's free Windows Media Encoder.

2) Download the driver from StarTech's website. It's newer and better than the one on the disk.

3) Buffer the video to a temp file if the software lets you. Even though my laptop was new, it dropped frames like raindrops without it. That may be why so many reviews complained about getting out of sync.

The physical box is fine, and now that I've figured out the software, using it is routine. Best of success.

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Don't waste your money on Dazzle Pinnacle, if you want to convert your old home VHS's into computer files and DVDs, get StarTech! Remember to install your software BEFORE you plug in your hardware.

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Canon VIXIA HF M52 10x HD Flash Memory Camcorder

I was after a well priced HD camera for recording family events etc and came across this one. Did HD, good reviews and plenty of internal memory with space to add more with an SD Card. The camera has plenty of options but is missing some that other, cheaper, cameras have such as night vision recording.

Recording quality is as good as you could expect from a HD camera and the output is high quality easily sent to a computer through Wifi or the cable in the box where you can edit it with whatever editing software you might have including Windows Live Movie Maker.

Only real downside is its size which could be a benefit to some. However, for me it is a bit too small for my hands. Men might have trouble really holding this comfortably for any length of time.

Although this camcorder has a lot of functionality, I was still able

to start using it right away in auto mode. I am impressed by the

quality of the photos and videos.

After four outings with this camcorder, I can't wait to begin using

it in manual mode, and learning how, and when to use the

cinema filters.

Don't waste your time with the Pixela VideoBrowser editing software which is included in the package. It's the pits, and

there's no real support for it. Otherwise, I would have given

this review five stars.

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Really clean Video and Color, especially with the HD Max settings for Recording.

Professional level CMOS sensor and processor as used in higher-end Canon models.

Added a 32 Gb SD Card easily installed and purchased at Amazon for like $35 for a total of 64 Gigabytes 6 Hours of top quality Filming!

Transfer to your PC and remove from the Camera Memory to clear it out. *Note the M50 which is identical but with less GB built-in, save $100 and buy the SD Card?

Not really using the Wi-Fi options, but could really help if mounted as a Baby, Nanny or Security Cam to be remotely viewed or recorded.

Added the boom Mic which mounts on top, helps to pick up Folks talking while blocking out surround noise.

For me, using a great Video Editor tool like Sony Vegas Pro really makes it all come together well!

Read Best Reviews of Canon VIXIA HF M52 10x HD Flash Memory Camcorder Here

I'm very happy with my purchase. The quality is fantastic. I've been filming indoors without any extra lighting and it comes out great. In fact the video looks brighter than the original space.

I bought an external mike which I need an adapter because it has a mini adapter on top of the camera. $20 for the adapter.

It is smaller than it looks online. I don't have a problem with that though. My hand fits fine and I have an average man's hand. Fit's in a small camera bag and easy to transport.

Love the built in memory. I may never need a card.

The next level up is probably the g10 and that is about $1,400. Not worth the extra money to me, even though I use this professional to video tape my magic shows.

It has a nice feature where the focus locks on your face. You walk around and it follows you. (not the camera, just the focus "box."

I haven't even got into the wi-fi yet.

I could rate this 5 star, but I'm thinking the g10 would be 5 star.

I would highly recommend this camera for the family and professionally.

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For a very lightweight and simple camera, this guy gets the job done. We use this camera for interviews and needed something small, inexpensive and easy to use. We love the fact that it can record directly to MP4 in various resolutions to make editing that much easier. In conjunction with 128GB SanDisk SD card(s), we were able to record well over 40 hours of video without any issues. After 30mins of consistent recording, it will stop, but I am sure there is a setting for that. We've always been big fans of Canon and this sub $800 camera does a fantastic job. Well worth it.

Ceton Echo & InfiniTV 4 PCIe Bundle

• Bundle of Ceton Echo and Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe
• Transform your Windows PC into the ultimate multi-room entertainment solution
• Watch and record 4 HD cable channels at once using Windows Media Center with InfiniTV 4 PCIe
• Extend your Media Center experience to a second TV set with Ceton Echo
• Save $50 vs. ordering separately

For someone using Windows Media Center, the PCI card is a must. The Echo (Media Center Extender) is OK for it's compact size, but lacks the power and responsiveness you get from using an Xbox as an MCE. The product itself has been good my issues are primarily with Window Media Center and its stability.

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I have this combo in a HTPC and remote TV. Despite negative comments in the past about the extender which I wondered about I took the chance. This extender is smooth and works just like I expected. No problems, easy to set up. The infiniTV is a little more complex and involves the cable company to enable the Mcard for paid content. Needless to say anything involving Fios (for me) take time and never works first time. Still once you are through that step this combo works great. I particularly like the quad tuner most competition only do dual or triple and I needed more.

great buy

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I give this a three star rating because half of the time it was 5 star, the other half it was 1 star. I soooo wanted this setup to work but ultimately i returned it to Ceton.

The Echo worked GREAT! I got this when it first shipped and there were some bugs initially but they were all addressed via firmware updates. The Echo (with updated firmware) is a 5 star product.

I have a brand new Dell XPS 8500 and setup of the InfiniTV card was pretty simple. There was a little monkeying around with the cable company to get things going but once setup i didn't have any issues on the cable company side of things.

The InfiniTV never felt very stable however. Anytime i used my work VPN it would cause the card to become unrecognized. I submitted a support ticket and Ceton quickly got me a work around (disable and then re-enable the InfiniTV). I don't mind workarounds...but they are still an indication that things aren't working how they should.

After about a month of use the bad stuff started to happen. The InfiniTV would stop working so I would try the workaround...which occasionally wouldn't work so i would reboot...and then Windows wouldn't load (an error about a missing bootmgr would come up). I found a workaround for this insert the Windows install disk and i was able to get back to Windows and everything looked fine. I went through this a few times over the course of a few weeks and felt like it was a manageable (though not ideal) setup.

And then the "Insert Windows install disk" workaround didn't work and my PC was dead. Couldn't get it to boot from the install disk so i had to reinstall windows.

Game Over InfiniTV. I use this PC for work and having to reinstall Windows is a deal breaker.

I'm sure there was something that I did along the way to contribute to the failure, but that's what happens when you have to use workarounds.

In Ceton's defense, they were always very responsive to support tickets and were very quick about getting me a refund. I talked to them for about 20 minutes on the phone about the refund and the offered to have an ex Microsoft employee (one with deeeeep windows skills) dial into my PC and see if there was a way they could fix the problem. I commend them on their commitment to their product and support. However, i wasn't willing to take the risk again.

I plan to try this setup again in a few months. I love WMC and loved the Echo. The solution just didn't feel fully baked when i tried it.

5 Port full 1080p HDMI switch With REMOTE For: Blu-Ray, PS3, Xbox,HD-DVD, HD-DVR, Digital Satellite

only complaint was no where in any of the inclosed instructions was the manufactures name, thus was unable to use with my harmony remote. It does work quite well with the remote that came with it.

Gino DVR CCTV Camera Holder Plastic Wall Mount Bracket Stand Black Rotatable 5"

The plastic camera mounts were as I ordered. I found the the threaded screw that attaches to the camera was not long enough. I have first alert security cameras. The cameras have a kinda hood on them. So I went to the hardware store, where I had to buy a female bolt extension and bought a 3 in threaded rod and extra nuts and washers. I had to spend an extra 5.00 to retrofit the camera mounts.

Belkin GoStudio Recorder for iPod (Green/Gray)

• Record directly to your iPod in 16-bit, 44kHz digital audio quality
• Built-in speaker for instant playback
• 2 combo microphone inputs; 3.5mm mini-jack microphone input
• 2 built-in microphones for stereo recording with independent gain control
• Master level control with signal/clip LED's; Direct monitor level control

Shortly after we began using the GoStudio, we noticed that it really drains batteries fast. Too fast. The owners manual refers to an optional "AC Power Supply" (Part #F8Z295-PWR) so I tried to order one. No such item could be found on the Belkin website or anywhere else that Google can search.

By phone, Belkin Technical Support told me the part doesn't exist (even though I got the part number from the manual and there is a clearly labeled jack for it to connect to). He referred me to Belkin Customer Support who told me the item does exist, but Belkin is not selling it yet. He recommended I use the specs listed in the back of the book to go find one myself.

I found a source on ebay that sells power supplies and ordered one with the same specs (+5VDC, 1A, etc.) from Hong Kong. After 3 weeks it finally came but the plug doesn't fit! Belkin Customer No-Service tells me to take it to a Radio Shack and try to find one with the same specs that will fit. No such luck.

Now, I am stuck with a Belkin GoStudio that drains batteries like Dracula drains blood and Belkin won't sell a power supply for it. I consider this extremely poor product support and will certainly never buy anything made by Belkin again.

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I purchased this in order to record special music presentations in church (and rehearsals, talks, etc) where other (or more advanced) recording equipment was not available. I haven't used it with microphones beyond the on-board mics, but those functioned as I would have hopedlike a tape recorder for your iPod. Is the sound crystal-clear and studio quality? No. But I got exactly what I paid for (although, the sound is much higher quality than cassette recorders I have used in the past).

It is light-weight and very easy to use. I can't speak to its durability because I have been fortunate to not drop it as of yet. It may not look terribly sophisticated, from an aesthetic standpoint, but it gets the job done. If you are a novice with recording technologies, I think this is a nice piece of starter equipment because it has a simple, intuitive (to a point) design for not a huge financial investment.

--It does drain the iPod battery pretty quickly, but this has not been a problem in my personal usage so I didn't factor it in to my rating.--

I have also been very pleased with the way it handles input from a cassette player. Between the GoStudio recorder and iTunes, I was able to improve the quality of what was a pretty rough live tape recording. It actually minimized some of the hissing and distortion, then enhanced the vocals. This was a nice way for me to put our musical program on cd for distribution among church members who otherwise would have gotten the dubbed cassette.

I would recommend this product to other beginners as myself. If more advanced technology is available, this is obviously not an equal alternative. In cases where this is the only recording equipment available to you, it is a pretty cool gadget.

Read Best Reviews of Belkin GoStudio Recorder for iPod (Green/Gray) Here

I purchased the Belkin to record an orchestra I was playing in. Esthetically, it looks, as someone pointed out, like a early model cell phone: clunky. For supposedly a more high end ipod interface, it has a very lo-tech feel to it. I used the attached mics but ran into the problem of harddrive noise from my ipod classic. I guess a non-harddrive ipod is the way to go. On my particular unit I wasn't able to make my own mic work. I suspect it was a returned defective unit that the resaler didn't notice/care was such. Because I was recording so close to the source (within the brass section of an orchestra), I had to shut the thing down, levels-wise, to not get a distorted result, something my Sony minidisk does better with less bells and whistles.

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I've been in film and video production for . . . well, when I started out, we were still using 16 millimeter film and recording sound on a Nagra tape recorder. One trick I learned was to tape record my research interviews with the same Nagra and microphone we'd use for the on-camera interview. By doing so, I could use the research interview as voice-over material to add to the on-camera bits.

Then things went digital. It was great for the camera crew: quality went 'way up while cost and size went 'way down. The only problem was that I suddenly couldn't record audio anymore. Digital audio recorders just cost too much, or the ones that didn't lacked professional features like XLR connectors and plug-in power. Meanwhile, in my pocket was an Apple iPod that could store hours of CD-quality audio. What I wanted was a recording interface that would let me plug my pro and pro-sumer stuff into the iPod--and wouldn't require me to mortgage my house (especially since I live in an apartment).

The Belkin GoStudio does the job for me. It has two good built-in mikes for stereo recording, two combo connectors (XLR and quarter-inch) for external mikes, a stereo mini mike jack with plug-in power, on-board playback, and a bunch of other features that make it useful. Best of all, it lists for about $150 (US), and I've seen it on Amazon for under $100 (also US, of course). I've only had it a few weeks and I've used it to get good recordings of interviews, sound effects, and my own incoherent rambling that I call "thinking out loud." I use an 5th generation iPod with a 30-gig drive, but it's compatible with a number of iPods and Nanos, but not the iPhone. I know 'cause I tried it.

The GoStudio is not perfect. The biggest problem is that the built-in mikes pick up handling noise and even the whine of the iPod as it writes to the hard drive every few minutes. Others have also said that the GoStudio burns through its two AAA batteries pretty quickly. I haven't had this problem yet because most of my recording is a few minutes here and there. More annoying is the need to keep a supply of AAA batteries handy, when most of my other stuff (GPS, MagLite, etc.) uses AAs.

But these problems aren't hard to work around. Handling and drive noise can be circumvented by using external microphones and the tripod socket on the bottom of the GoStudio. There are few occasions when I'd use the built-in microphones anyway. As for extra power, the GoStudio has an auxiliary power port, so just take it down to Radio Shack and get a generic wall wart AC adapter. For portable recordings, it shouldn't be too difficult to hack an external power supply for the aux port, or just carry extra AAA batteries.

I'm using the GoStudio to record research interviews for documentaries, "found" sound effects, and my guitar playing (which I wouldn't exactly call "music"). One of these days, good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, I'll get a proper digital field recorder, but in the mean time the Belkin GoStudio is good enough for boot-strapping.

I love this thing. It is a versatile recorder with all the adjustments you would want. I record interviews, pods casts, and live music. I play in a musical group and can record the music to practice with. This is truly an asset to my equipment.

Samson Go Mic Compact USB Microphone - Plug n' Play

• Portable USB condenser microphone
• Plug and Play Mac and PC compatible, no drivers required
• Custom compact design that clips to a laptop or sits on a desk
• Perfect for recording music, podcasting and field recording
• Ideal for voice recognition software, iChat, VoIP and web casting

Having misplaced my Blue Snowflake USB mic, I decided to give this recently introduced, competitively priced USB mic from Samson a try. (Samson is maker of the highly popular and effective Zoom personal digital recorders--the H2 and the H4n.) It's an attractive, fully outfitted piece of equipment, with handsome packaging (a small black box and zippered carrying case with aesthetics apparently inspired by iPod). It's smaller and lighter than the Snowflake--more diminutive than the picture would suggest. Yet the audio quality strikes me as being somewhat warmer and richer, favoring the bass frequencies of spoken narration more than the Snowflake, which has slightly cleaner and clearer definition at the treble end.

The Samson Go was seen instantly by my iMac, and recording was as advertised: "Plug n' Play." The mic is somewhat more sophisticated than the Snowflake in terms of "latency" settings (it permits direct monitoring via headphones connected to the mic to insure no delay, or lag time, between transmission and reception), and there's a three-way switch for directional patterns (the manual could be clearer, however, about the difference between "cardioid" and "cardioid 10 pad.") No matter. The mic performed virtually flawlessly right out of the box, with no tampering with the switch.

It's extremely sensitive, slightly more so than the Snowflake. Yet I was unable to avoid the "P" popping sounds, regardless of how close I got to the mic and muted my consonants. So be prepared for the addition of some sort of "pop filter" device (either one sold on Amazon or a self-designed one, using a nylon stocking).

The mic can be clipped to the top of a computer screen or mounted on a mic stand (using a supplied adapter or ordering a properly sized one from Samson). Yet with its heavy base plus the flexible, tilting mic, it can be placed on a flat surface--much like the Snowflake, but with greater stability and without any intrusive cable. (The Snowflake tends to "flop around," requiring some balancing of the device by the user.)

My biggest disappointment thus far is that the clip, as alluded to by another reviewer, does not open far enough for attachment to a desk-top computer (it should be an ideal fit with most notebook machines). Although the Snowflake doesn't use a spring clip, it suffers from the same limitation. If you're especially concerned about durability, the Snowflake appears to be the heavier, more rugged mic, with thick metal and no tiny switches or spring clips to wear out. The Samson is the more delicate and refined of the two. But don't kid yourself. Either mic will exceed the capabilities of your computer's built-in mic and perhaps the owner's expectations. On the other hand, neither is a match for the Shure SM7B that I'm accustomed to using at a local broadcasting studio. Still, Samson would appear to have a winner with this little wonder, whether it's used in conjunction with a computer to record full-frequencied music or "realistic"-sounding narration.

Buy Samson Go Mic Compact USB Microphone - Plug n' Play Now

In the realm of digital recording, the idea of a USB-powered condenser mic was really just an inevitability, but Samson has truly impressed me with their Go Mic. This little microphone has a surprisingly rich sound to it, and captures an impressive dynamic range. The transducer is a mere 10mm, but don't let the diminutive size of it fool you; you can capture some high-quality, professional sounds with this microphone. I use mine primarily as a to-go mic for my laptop recording studio, capturing vocals and guitars with it.

One caveat I would like to mention about using this device in a multitrack context: the use of the default driver for this device is definitely not recommended. Check out ASIO4ALL, a free driver that recognizes your audio hardware and gives them a generic but highly effective ASIO driver, which cuts down on latency big time. Definitely avoid the default Windows driver if you're looking for performance.

The great thing about this microphone is that it has a headphone jack on it, which further reduces the effects of latency in a multitrack context. While it does not reduce latency per se, it can remove the latency between what you hear out of your speakers, making multitrack recordings well-timed. The headphone jack was the deciding factor between this and the Blue Snowflake, which is similarly priced. I have no experience with the Snowflake, but I know it does not have a headphone jack and its clip with which to mount the mic on a laptop is free-hanging, not spring-loaded like the Go Mic. The thing I love about the Go Mic's clip is it will attach to either the top or the side of your LCD screen, which is handy.

If you're a musician who travels with any frequency, definitely look into the Go Mic. You can't go wrong for the price, and its size is tiny enough to stow away in even the smallest laptop bag (even netbook bags). The quality of sound is great, too. This product, alongside my Korg nanoKEY, makes studio productions on the road a reality for me, and I'm thrilled with my purchase.

Read Best Reviews of Samson Go Mic Compact USB Microphone - Plug n' Play Here

I just received the Samson Go Mic today. First impressions:

1. beautiful packaging (very Apple-like)

2. Awfully cute, small condenser mic

3. Sound quality is remarkably good

I tested the mic and was surprised at how clean it sounded. Lacks some bass unless you're right up on it, but is perfect for on-the-road podcasting, on-line meetings or webinasrs.

Con:

Only one, the clip is really meant for a thin laptop screen and not a regular monitor. So that limits the usefulness to remote uses.

For the price, it's one of these gotta have toys that's actually a real mic. Good job Samson!

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There are a lot of great reviews here already, which prompted me to purchase this mic, but it seemed the number of reviews for my particular use were lacking, so here's another review from a singer-songwriter perspective.

Background: I have been playing music and writing songs for years, and I'm a gearhead so I already own tons of recording equipment in all shapes and sizes. You name a recording interface, I've probably owned it at some point, and I currently have a fully functional pc recording setup with a rackmounted pc and USB interface.

That being said, I can't carry my setup around in my pocket. Inspiration can strike at anytime, and this mic is so small that I can put it in the case and fit it in my pocket with my cellphone and keys. The pics offer no perspective on how small it really is, but to be sure, this thing is TINY.

I use REAPER as my DAW, and having used so many interfaces, I've done a fair share of troubleshooting to get devices to be recognized and function as they should, but this mic is truly plug-n-play. The mic has the omni switch on the side, which is a great feature and makes a world of difference depending on your application. The mic is super hot, and picks up sound beautifully in both modes. My intention was to have a small mic to plug in and record rough versions of "in progress" material, but just for kicks I plugged some earbuds into the headphone out to check out the direct monitoring. It works as advertised, but what I did not realize is that the pc sees the Go Mic as a mic input AND an audio output, so the headphone out can be used to monitor the WET signal from the DAW, which is GREAT news, since I like a little reverb and compression whenever possible, and it's nice to be able to eq to my taste. I add these FX in the chain so that I'm still recording just the dry signal from the mic, but I get to hear it in real time with whatever EQ and effects I like. I experienced no latency, but USB is USB, so any latency would be the fault of the computer rather than the mic anyhow.

Depending on the environment you're recording in and on your proficiency in the post production department,it's easily possible to get high quality tracks using this mic. If someone says otherwise, it's either because they own much more expensive mics, whose existence they need to justify, or because they don't know what they're doing. This is not a $1k ribbon mic, but it does stand up to several mics all the way up to the $200 range.

This mic sounds great, has an impressive form factor, and once you factor in the crazy low price, you really can't go wrong here. If it were lost or stolen, I'd order another one immediately without hesitation.

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I just received my Samson Go Mic two days ahead of schedule and I could not be happier. I took it out of its impressive package, clipped it to my Asus Netbook which I am running on Ubuntu Linux, plugged it into a USB port set my sound preference and away I went. For the last two hours I have been playing my mandolin and singing at my computer and playing back on my stereo speakers. The sound is clean and natural. I can't believe this little gem only cost me fifty bucks (it's worth the ninety list price).

I am set up next to a noisy heater that the mic has not picked up when I have it set at either cardioid setting. When I set it for omni-directional, I walked fifteen feet away and it picked me up clearly without me raising my voice.

The mic's actual size is similar to a large pencil eraser. It folds into itself for storage in a nice little case that come with it. It is a sturdy, serious piece of equipment.

Yee Haw, highly, highly recommended!