Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Premiere Elements 3.0 Bundle

• Use flexible layout options for your photo creations: blank slate, basic frameworks, or professionally designed themes
• Easily upload your creations and Flash-based photo galleries to the web from directly within Photoshop Elements
• Make good photos great with superior photo-editing tools
• Easily assemble your video clips in the Sceneline
• Import video from virtually any device, including HDV and DVD camcorders, web cameras (WDM analog), MPEG-4 video recorders, and mobile phones

This is quality software.

It has the right feature set. No superfluous stuff like backup software and DVD duplication software, as is the case with Roxio MyDVD9.

The user interface is simple and intuitive enough that I was able to start creating a DVD from multiple video clips of our baby that I had scattered around. I didn't use the help file, I just installed it and started. I only referred to the manual for advanced functions.

And advanced functions it certainly has. I like the ability to create multiple audio and video tracks separately and blend them together. I like using Photoshop Elements to create slide shows in my DVDs by porting them to Premiere Elements with a click it's simple, cleaner and quicker than any other product.

The output stage where one encodes a DVD is simple and reliable. I have a relatively slow PC, and certainly didn't want any error messages coming up several hours into an encoding job for creating an hour-long DVD.

The integration between Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements goes more than skin deep. They share the same user interface, and one can send pictures and videos from one package to the other.

It has never crashed, even in Windows.

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Our photo and video editing softwares were both very basic and "old", so we decided to upgrade a couple of months ago. After reading many reviews on different bundles, we decided to get the Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Premiere Elements 3.0 bundle. We've played around with the Premiere Elements a bit, and it's really awesome. Much better than the Pinnacle Studio 8 we had before. All the basic functions are easy to use and very intuitive, though we haven't gone and figured out the more advanced features yet. The Photoshop Elements is a wonderful tool, as well. We recently had to scan in a lot of old pictures (as in 20+ year old b/w photographs). They needed a lot of touching up, and Elements 5.0 worked wonderfully for that. I could adjust the lighting and sharpening, fix the colors and scratches, and the pictures turned out amazing. You'd never be able to tell they were scanned images from such old photographs. The program is also very intuitive. I could do all the things I wanted to do without having to read the manual. Of course, I'm still just touching on the surface of what all is possible, and I plan on reading the manual and studying the program in more detail once I have the time to do so, but for what I need right now, it's easy to use and does a good job. There are only two things I have to comment on that I don't like about the Adobe bundle, and they are the reason why I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5.

1. The stated minimum requirements for this bundle are 512MB RAM. That's what we had on our computer, and while the program worked, it was so painfully slow that it wasn't feasible to really use it. We ended up upgrading to 1GB, and it's been working great since. So if you have less than 1GB RAM, make sure you upgrade before getting this software!

2. The red-eye fix in Photoshop Elements, or lack thereof. There is an auto red-eye fix, but it doesn't work very well. It finds red eyes in all kinds of places, just not where they actually are. Sometimes it covers half the face, sometimes only half of the eye, etc. etc. etc. There is an option to manually show the program where the red eye is, but it still doesn't work right. Maybe there's another trick I haven't found out about yet, but as of right now, I usually give the fix tool a shot, and if it doesn't work I take the picture back into my old editing software and fix the red eye there. I'm really very disappointed with this, as fixing red eyes is something you have to do quite frequently when editing pictures.

Overall, the software has been very easy and fun to work with, even for an amateur like me. :o) If Adobe can adjust the minimum requirements recommendation and fix the red-eye fix tool, it's going to definitely deserve 5 points.

Read Best Reviews of Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 Premiere Elements 3.0 Bundle Here

I started with Adobe Elements Photoshop 3 and Premier 1. This is my 2nd upgrad. My computer is 2 years old and I'm glad I bought Pentium 4 with a lot of RAM and hard drive. This upgrade is great. Major improvement from Elements 4&2. If you used Premier 2 extensively you will find that this upgrade will make your work much easier. An iprovement to axccess all menues, love the new time line (now it has two time lines were you can switch between them, the old one + the new one were you can go to each scene in a click. You can narrate directly to your timeline. I tried my USB mic, it did not work. I read a little and tried my old serial mic, it worked beautifuly. During narration, premier will add a new audio segment in the timeline. The best way is to turn off the sound and used headphone to hear your video and narrate during playback, otherwise you'll get an echo (you'll be recording your voice and the playback at the same time).

Major improvement in photoshop too.

Just double check system requirement before purchasing. It is worth upgrading your copmuter to take advantage of these programs.

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I haven't had an opportunity to try Premiere Elements thoroughly, so this review is based on Photoshop only.

I wanted a new photo editing program to replace Micrografx 7, which I'd had for years. One thing I wanted was a larger selection of automated features. Every week I take pictures of animals for the Humane Society, and I wanted decent shots without spending hours fixing common problems (poor lighting, green and yellow eyes, etc.). I also had gotten a lot of old family photos that I wanted to restore, but there were too many to manually fix every flaw. While the Auto Smart Fix isn't perfect, it frequently gets a shot good enough for my needs with a single click. If that doesn't do what I need, there are plenty of other tools (both automated and manual) for color, lighting etc. It would have taken hours to touch up some of my old color photos without features like "Remove Color Cast" and "Adjust Color For Skin Tone." I've also found the Spot Healing Brush is a great tool for fixing dust and scratches without adjusting the whole photo and sacrificing image quality.

In addition to automated fixes, I wanted more advanced features for fine tuning. Tools like Auto Smart Fix are a great starting point, especially when the picture doesn't need to be perfect, but it rarely gets a really special picture as good as it could be. One of those tools was layers. I've tried working with layers in another program, and PSE was far superior. It's also very easy to fine-tune colors without spending a lot of time. When I'm not in a hurry, I can almost always discover something new that helps me to take my pictures to a new level.

Overall, I'm very pleased with PSE 5.0. However, I didn't give it 5 stars, largely because it lacks toolbar shortcuts for tasks like "Undo" and "Open" that were available in PSE 4.0. This isn't a big deal for me because I prefer the Undo History palette over the shortcut, and I like to use Ctrl+O or the File Menu instead of the Open shortcut. These omissions don't seem to make any sense, though, and they could be very annoying for some people. There are also fewer Sharpen tools than in 4.0, though I've found what remains is usually sufficient. There are some nice new features that version 4.0 lacked, such as "Convert to Black & White," but these aren't enough to justify an upgrade. Many people would probably be happier with the older version, which is still available on Amazon.

If you don't have recent photo editing software, I highly recommend PSE 5.0. If you're satisfied with what you have, or if you already own PSE 4.0, save your money.

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I am a longtime Photoshop user, and bought the Elements bundle to be able to do slideshows. After getting Photoshop Elements to get rid of red eye, I exported the photos to Premier Elements. Once it burned my DVD, all of the photos were gone from my system; the DVD images were very fuzzy (and I had selected the highest resolution and had plenty of disc space left over).

I am very disappointed in these products, and would caution others in using them. If you do, be sure to work from copies of your photos (which I did fortunately).

JVC Everio S GZ-MS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom

I have had this camcorder for about a month. The main reason I bought this camcorder was for convenience. I have MiniDV camcorder as well, but I never got around to uploading video from camcorder to computer and then converting AVIs to mpeg to DVD. The workflow with MiniDV was too time-consuming and needed a lot of system resources (1 hr AVI takes about 13GB disk space!).

This camcorder was great. For around $320-ish, its great value. Its totally solid state, no moving parts. I use 16GB SDHC card (around $50-ish), that card can record about 3hr58min video in best quality. The battery lasts about 2 hrs. I doubt I will ever shoot more than 4 hr video in a day. you can always back up your video on a computer at the end of the day or buy multiple SDHC cards.

You can use the included USB cable or a SD card reader to upload mpeg files to a computer. You can upload video and burn a DVD in as little as 10 minutes (if you go straight to DVD and do not edit). You can also upload your video you-tube or other video hosting websites. It comes with included software that is supposed to make YouTube uploads easy for the user. I like to do it myself, have not used the software that much.

The picture quality of this camcorder is amazing. Its not a HD camcorder, so don't expect wonders on your HDTV, but picture quality is very good on SDTVs. The low light capabilities of this camcorder are great. However, auto white balance under light bulbs (indoors) is not that great. You will get better results with manual white balance. Recorded sound quality is OK, not great, but OK. It comes with 35X optical zoom, which is the best in its class. It has digital image stabilization which works very well. this camcorder does allow some manual controls for the enthusiast.

JVC has this new laser touch based interface. It sure looks fancy, but is not great to use. It takes a little getting used to and you never really get a hang of it. Its not very accurate. But this is a simple camcorder and most uses will use it in auto mode all the time. So, the laser interface is not a deal-breaker kind of a thing.

This is a very small camcorder. Its very light. Its easy to handle and feels firm and secure in my hands. It does not come with a neck strap (I just use the one from my previous MiniDV camcorder). It has a built-in lens cover, which is better than some pastic-ring-tied-with-thread lens caps which are annoying. The included battery lasts about 2 hrs. It can also take still pictures, though I have never used it to take still pictures so far.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and would definitely recommend this to a friend.

I wanted to get a camcorder that recorded onto SD cards so I could place the card into a media reader, download the footage, and edit in Sony Vegas. Here's what happened:

Forget about the camera's Quality settings for video. You'll probably want to set it to the highest setting, and never touch it. I get 2 hours of widescreen footage on an 8GB card at the highest quality setting. By not using any moving parts to record an image, camcorders like this are reduced down in size to (roughly) a soda can!

Having downloaded some test video to my Windows XP PC, I noticed that each video file has a separate 3K document that tags the video as being full or widescreen. Because this tag isn't included in the video, editors like Vegas will open ALL the video as fullscreen. However, look for a free program online named SDCopy which puts the tags in the files. Don't worry -it happens as quickly as making a copy of the file. It's not like SDCopy has to "process" or "render". While I wasn't crazy about this extra step, I can live with it.

Now that my widescreen footage opens as widescreen in Vegas, I can say the image quality of the resulting DVD is outstanding! Footage shot outside was colorful and remarkably clear, and nothing looked cheap or pixelated. Footage shot inside (normal lighting condition) produced images on TV that look better than reality.

The Laser Touch feature works OK for me, and is a gimicky way to navigate though the settings. It also keeps the weight of the camera down. Battery life is good (no moving parts), but I'll be buying a 2nd battery and a changer.

I like that this camera has a built-in lens protector that snaps open and closed. The 35X optical zoom is a huge step over my last camera (also a JVC) which had a 16X optical zoom. The only complaint I have about this camera is that the door to the SD card compartment is more like a plastic flap that gets shoved closed. It feels like you may break the thing every time you go to open it. Also, like many camcorders made today, this camera has no optical viewfinder -only the LCD screen. That may be something to consider.

Overall -a very small camera that produces stunning video at the highest quality setting. And isn't that why you use a camcorder?

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My wife and I are expecting so I started reasearching what cameras to buy. I was very confused at first with all the different models and options but eventually wanted something easy to use or else it might just gather dust. I settled on getting a camera that used memory cards because of fewer moving parts and the ability to easily transfer data to a computer. I visited stores in the area and I really liked the JVC Everio but the downside was there were only models with a hard drive. About a month later I found out there was a new JVC Everio model using SD cards and I quickly bought it. This camera is so easy to use it's great. I simply flip the viewer open and can start recording in a second. Great zoom, lightweight, and the lasertouch control panel makes it so easy to adjust settings. I just taped a two hour lecture the other day and it was easy. When I got home I transferred 4GB of data to my computer in minutes. My wife who has two left thumbs even finds it easy to use. Battery lasts about 2 hours so I will probably buy a bigger battery. I bought three 4GB Class 6 SD cards which each hold an hour of footage at the best resolution. I made the right chose and I am happy I didn't make a mistake on this as I have on other things in the past.

Read Best Reviews of JVC Everio S GZ-MS100 Flash Memory Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom Here

I ordered the GZ-MS100 to upgrade from an older VHS-C Panasonic cam-corder. Obviously, the JVC is head and shoulders above the older Panasonic. I did not need HD at this time, so I focused on hard drive vs. SDHC cameras. I opted for the SDHC due to no moving parts, quieter operation, and ease of file transfer and transportability. Also, the cost of SDHC cards are very low. The camera works as advertised. The unique menu interface (the slider bar to the left of the screen) was easy to master. I like the user interface since it is clean and avoids the many buttons, switches, and selectors that would have been the alternative. I also like the way I can switch between Auto and Manual mode with the push of one button, and the camers saves the last Manual set up mode I programmed into it. I use the MS100 for general video tasks, and for some dark and low light video using IR lights a Sima SL-20IR and a Sony HVL-IRM. The camera records in total darkness using either or both of these lights very well the Sima providing a "flood" type of coverage, while the Sony provides a "spot" type of lighting. The MS100 has a night mode setting that slows the shutter speed down and works with IR lighting, but I have found the shutter speed is a bit too slow for my liking it produces jumpy video using IR light sources. Instead of the pre-programmed night mode, I use the camera's Manual mode and set the camera to black & white with a shutter speed of no longer than 1/15 sec. The exposure with IR lighting is still very good, and video is much smoother. When going from darkness to a lighted area, I simply go into Auto mode by pushing one button, and the camera is back to color with good exposure control; if I move back into a dark area I return to Manual mode the camera remembers my last settings.

Overall, a very nice camera small, light weight, silent, four video quality settings (so you can opt for varying qualities and associated recording times), and long battery life due to no spinning hard disk or moving parts. I also purchased a second higher capacity battery and charger so I can record for exended times.

I have seen comments about the mod files this and other cameras produce. I have found that I can save the mod file to my computer by pulling the SDHC card out of the camera and inserting it into my media card reader, then dragging the file onto a folder on my hard drive. Video and sound come across in the one file. I can open and play the mod file using Windows Media Player, but files recorded in widescreen format display in the 4:3 format, so the video is "scrunched". I did download the SDCopy utility, and it easily converts the mod file to a jpg file that WMP can read and display in widescreen correctly. As a side note, I also use Nero 7 Essentials, and its bundled player Nero ShowTime Essentials can display native mod files correctly, whether recorded in widescreen or 4:3 mode. Apparently, it correctly reads the critical aspect bit in the mod file, and WMP does not.

To close, a great little camera at a good price/performance point.

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One caveat of note for the JVC Everio GZ-MS100 (and this may very well apply to other JVC models) the video files the camera produces are .mod files. These files are not read by XP Windows Movie Maker (JVC says VISTA has no problem with them, not confirmed by me) Also the software included is not for video editing and probably useless to anyone half way computer savvy. End result: without buying more software (maybe $70) you can't string together video clips, edit, etc. using what comes with the camera and XP. I'm using trial version of Cyberlink Director Pro but that will cost at least $70 if I want to purchase.

Sanyo VPC-TH1 HD Compact Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Silver)

I also bought this camera without doing much research. I was looking for a camcorder that was HD "quality", uses SDHC memory card and for a price around $300. The Sanyo met all the criteria so I purchased it from Amazon.

I also picked up a 16 gb Transcend memory card.

Let's go over the PROS first --

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++ It is really easy to use. Just point and shoot. Just like using a digital camera, except it's a digital video camera.

++ Having the memory card is so much better than using mini-DV tapes. There is no longer a need to plug the camcorder into your computer fireport or USB port. After I am done shooting, I just pop out the memory card, put it in my memory card reader and copy it onto the hard driver. Doesn't get much better than that!

++ Transferring files are a lot faster than mini-DV tapes. Before, you had to play/record in real time. Due to fact that everything is digital, the transfer is quite fast!

++ Battery life is very good. You can get around 200 minutes of video time. I also like the fact that the battery indicator tells you the approximate MINUTES left. I hate it when they just show a battery symbol and start deducting "spaces/icons" from the battery. I need to know the numerical time value, which this camera provides

++ YouTube uploads are amazingly easy. Just click on the file you want to use, and upload. Make sure you watch in HQ quality on YouTUbe

++ Size is perfect. It's a lot smaller than my mini-DV camcorder, but not too small where it feels like a toy.

++ Build/Construction. I bought the blue version and the blue looks very good. It feels solid in your hands and appear that it could take some abuse. It's not too light and not too heavy. It just feels good in your hands.

++ Quality overall, quality of the video is good for a $300 video camera. You cannot expect true HD quality from this. However, I do have a problem with the focus (see the CONS below)

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OK here's the CONS

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Focus ---the although the camera has face recogition, there is no way to "lock" onto one person. In other words, if there are 3 or 4 people in the same shot, the camera tends to jump around with the focus between the different faces and it gets annoying during playback. It seems like the camera keeps searching for the right focus. If there is a way to "lock" onto a face, please let me know so I can use that feature.

Indoor quality not good. There seems to be more noise than usual while shooting indoors. Of course, I should have turned on more lights indoors but I am still working on improving my indoor shots.

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Would I buy this camera knowing what I know? Absolutely!! The price is right. If they could fix the focus issue, this camera would have met all my expectations

The specs for this camcorder are exciting; the images, sadly, are not really much better than standard definition images. If you want something to capture video for the web, and that allows you to do more tweaking than you can with simpler camcorders like the Flip Mino, then this would not be a bad choice. Just don't expect it to give you truly high quality images. Also, the onboard memory holds next to nothing, so when buying this camcorder you should factor in the price of at least an 8GB SDHC card to store the video you shoot. Overall, I think this would be a very good camcorder for beginners, since it is easier to work with flash memory than to mess around with tapes, and since practicing with the functions here will prepare one for using a more advanced camcorder when the time comes (and the budget allows). It does look good, and is fairly well designed. For many purposes this would be just the thing.

I shot some footage with this in its "SD" 30fps mode and its "HD" 30fps mode (which uses a lot more memory per minute of video), and played it all back on my 42" SANYO LCD HD television using an HDMI cable. What surprised me was that I could distinguish very little overall difference in quality. There was more contrast in the HD picture, which is important, but otherwise I couldn't tell a difference at least, I couldn't say for sure which video images I preferred. In a situation where my aim was just to capture what's going on, I'd be as happy with a Flip as with this (of course with the Flip there is next to no zooming, so it wouldn't work in every situation). But if the idea was to create a certain "look" or adapt to the needs of a unique situation (e.g. bright lights against darkness, very bright sun or snow, etc.) then it would be nice to have the flexibility of the controls on this one.

Some people think that what really matters in a camcorder is the resolution. 720 pixels or even 1080 pixels sounds a lot better than 480p this one can be set to shoot at 720p, which is, technically, "HD" but, as it turns out, that's just one factor in a much more complex equation. The quality and size of the lens, the quality of the processor, the size of the sensor, are all factors that contribute to the overall character of the picture you can get from a camcorder. What that means is that just because a camcorder is "HD" doesn't mean it will give you the best in quality.

I shot this video comparison you see here at a local nature park, using both the HD and the SD mode of the Sanyo TH1 and also shooting for comparison roughly the same images with my Flip Mino. It's hard to really see all the differences here on the small screen (especially given that I had to compress the video for playback on the web), but I find that even when I play it at best quality on my big screen TV it is hard to say which images I prefer. They all have a fair amount of grain to them, and none even come close to the quality of the images I can get on my Canon VIXIA HF10, but they all look okay and for some uses just fine. The critical point for me is that between the three, even though there were some detectable differences, I couldn't decide which I liked best. (You will note in this video the obvious difference in aspect ratios, since the HD footage is widescreen and is here letterboxed so it will fit in the same size screen as the SD footage; another feature is that in bright sunlight the Flip images are pretty washed out, but they are about equivalent in normal light conditions and even relatively low light conditions).

For the purposes of this test I had all the settings on automatic, and only changed the video capture setting from HD to SD between shots, but it's worth noting that unlike simpler camcorders the TH1 does give you some flexibility with the images, allowing for all the standard adjustments (white balance, exposure, etc.) and the usual settings (sports, snow, fireworks, etc.) and effects (transitions, sepia, b/w, etc.). It has an impressive 30x optical zoom though it's not wise to zoom that far unless you've got it on a tripod because at that focal distance the image stabilization can do nothing for the shakes.

This is advertised as a dual purpose camcorder, meaning it shoots both video and photos, but it is worth noting that the photos are very poor quality not even as good as you get with most cellphones these days (technically, they are shot on a 1.1 MP sensor and blown up to 2.0 MP photos, and while the number of pixels is not the most important thing it is not unimportant and that is pretty low). One other secondary purpose is served by the fact that you can set the camcorder to record only audio, which uses much less memory than shooting video and audio at the same time. So this could also serve as a "dictaphone" or recorder. For that purpose it does well enough and the onboard mike seems to be comparable to other camcorders in its price range. But apart from a possible use as a dictaphone, for all intents and purposes this is a camcorder that ostensibly shoots in HD but is probably best suited for video intended only to be screened on the web or personal computer or where the overall quality of the images is not of utmost importance.

Buy Sanyo VPC-TH1 HD Compact Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Silver) Now

I bought this camcorder for a "cheap" way to enter the HD world of video capturing. I will wait to get a much better camcorder once I figure out how to get around editing AVCHD (and when I buy a new computer that can handle HD video editing with ease). My main use for this camcorder is capturing orchestral performances, editing it, and uploading the video to YouTube in HD quality. I also like taking video that requires no editing. In summary, this camcorder isn't the best in the world, but isn't the worst in the world.

Things you should be aware of before buying this camcorder:

1) The zoom button seems flimsy. It feels like it'll break any moment.

2) The image stabilizer is not that useful (especially from 15x-30x zoom if shooting with hands). However, the image stability is greatly improved with a tripod (the video is still shaky nonetheless).

3) Not that great in low lighting conditions.

4) In a complete silence environment, you can hear noise when you zoom in or out. Not only that, you can hear other noises made from the camcorder in the audio recording in general. There's no mic input to work around this flaw. But if the environment is NOT in complete silence (like an orchestra playing), you probably won't hear the extraneous noises coming from the camcorder.

Other Observations/Thoughts:

1) I use a Transcend 16GB SDHC that comes with a card reader, and it seems to work out.

2) All videos captured are saved as file type mp4.

3) It uses SDHC, which means it uses the FAT32 filing system, which means the biggest file you can create is 4GB. At the highest video setting, that would be about 1 hour of non-stop recording. I decided to test what would happen if I try to go over 4GB. So I left the camcorder on for about one hour and one minute. Then in the LCD screen, there's a countdown timer in red font indicating that it is running out of time to record. When it reached zero seconds, it auto-saves the recording, and then it starts a new recording. The file (in the SDHC) indicates that it is 3.99GB. However when I try to copy and paste this file to my computer, it won't let me. The file is now useless. So the moral of the story is, if you are using the highest video setting, don't go over 55 minutes of non-stop recording, and you'll be fine.

4) I don't really care about taking pictures on this, so I didn't test that.

5) Regarding the battery: [UPDATE: 4/14/2009] Out of the box the battery says it has 72 minutes left on it. So I started to recharge it. According to the manual, the LED will turn red if it's recharging and turn off if it's finished. Three hours pass and the LED is still red. I was wondering how can this thing charge for so long. So I unplugged it and checked the battery life. It says 207 minutes. I plugged it back in to recharge it again. The LED is off. In summary, it seems that the recharging indicator isn't reliable.

Video Editing/AVCHD section ------------------------------------------

Of course editing video in AVCHD is a different beast altogether. So my review rating is not affected by this.

My Computer Specs:

OS: Windows XP

CPU: AMD Athlon XP +1800

Memory: 2 x 512MB

Video Card: ATI Radeon 8500 LE 128MB

First, here is what I WANT done in the video editing process:

1) If the video doesn't need to be edited, I should be able to upload to YouTube in HD quality

2) If a video DOES need to be edited, there should be a way to "uncompress it" with a lossless technique (like huffYUV), or a way to edit the mp4 file directly with advanced editing techniques, compress it, and output to YouTube, DVD, or Blu-Ray.

Now I will tell you if steps 1) and 2) can be done based on my experience.

Step 1) can be done. Just upload the mp4 file to YouTube (it's in HD quality), and that's it.

Step 2) is rather interesting. Here's what I've done so far.

a) install lame mp3 and ffdshow codecs

b) install and load "pazera free mp4 to avi converter"

c) uncompress the mp4 file to HuffYUV lossless (this will be the intermediate file for editing). This may cause the frame rate to lag (but I'm using a slow computer). Also take note that HuffYUV will produce a big file (about 31 MB/s for me). We do step c) because VirtualDub can't load mp4 files.

d) install and load VirtualDub (or whatever video editor you use that can let you edit HuffYUV), and do your video editing.

e) compress video to ffdshow mpeg4 (fourcc = MP4V) 4000kbit/s: audio to lame mp3 128kbit/s

f) Done (the compressed file doesn't lag for me anymore).

I am still searching for software that can do advanced video editing for AVCHD (or an uncompressed format) since VirtualDub can only do simple editing.

Read Best Reviews of Sanyo VPC-TH1 HD Compact Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Silver) Here

So I have reviewed quite a few cameras..everything from a Flip, a Vado, a Canon Vixia, and now this Sanyo. My review is more about setting your expectations to a level that will allow this camera a sweet spot in your home. I am probably one of the few that is rating this camera high and that is simply because I know what it is meant for and what it can/cannot do. So here we go:

Box Includes:

Camera

Lens Cap

Hand Strap

AC Adapter

USB Cable (Micro USB)

Composite Analog Video Cable

Documentation

Software for both PC/MAC (LESS SW for MAC then PC).

When you read this review and or evaluate the item description, it is very important to keep in mind that this camera is in the $250-275 range. It is not meant to be a high end High Definition camera.

The camera is about the size of a small paper back book and is very light and comfortable to hold. The battery slides inside of a hidden compartment at the bottom and can be charged by plugging the adapter into the rear end of the camera. Once charged I found that the battery lasted for about 2-3 hours of heavy torture testing. The camera starts up for the first time and a little voice tells you to set the date and time...I dont know about you but I love voice feedback. After initial setup the camera, when powered on, says "Starting, Internal Memory". This makes any gadget a bit more fun.

I love the fact that Sanyo has a 30x optical zoom on this little camcorder, but I am not a fan of the time it takes for the camera to focus in on a subject. It is SLOW at best. That being said, 30x optical is awesome and with the image stabilization features built in the SHAKE is reduced quite a bit, not entirely..but enough. The camera also takes 2mp still shots and has a little flash built in under the lens. It is a nice feature...but lets be honest here..2mp is lower then what newer cell phones provide these days and, to me, completely worthless. Video is captured on the built in 32gb of storage in 720p mode using the h264 codec. Still images are captured at 1600x1200 at 2mp. The images and video can be captured to the inbuilt storage and or you can add a SDHC card to the camera (size is up to you 8-32gb is accepted). The rear of the camera has a very simplistic layout. Two buttons towards the top to select still or video, a rec/play button in the center, a menu button to the right, and a joystick to the left that lets you navigate throughout the various options. The joystick is excellent and works well. On top of the camera you have a rocker panel for wide/telephoto...it is very sensitive and works well..it feels good to the finger.

I seldom use software that is provided by manufacturers as most computers today, pc or mac, have enough built in abilities to manipulate images and video. The OS X platform especially with iPhoto and iMovie works wonders.

I generally like to test camera gear on MAC's since most manufacturers tend to provide more software for Windows based pc's. The MAC is a very graphics oriented platform and thus I like to see if it will recognize and utilize a camera such as this one. Once you connect the micro usb cable to the computer and to the camera, it comes up with a menu of options. Screen Capture, PC Camera, Card Reader etc... With the Sanyo software on your computer you have many more options then without. When you do not use the software you are limited to the Card Reader mode which does allow for iPhoto and Windows based PC's to see this as an actual Camera that you can process images/video from. Works flawlessly.

Image Quality: As I mentioned above, I have used FLIP's HD, Creative' Vado HD, and now this camera. Why am I not mentioning my higher end Vixia...because that camera need not be compared to this particular model. The Flip and Vado are pretty much neck in neck when it comes to video quality and compact size; they work well and the image quality is as good as can be for their lens sizes. The Sanyo one ups them and gives you a better lens with 30x optical zoom which makes this the winner in the compact category. Low light quality is so so...it does need a bit of ambient light around during the dark...even with a little light there is some noise and grain can be seen..its not great but neither are the other two compacts mentioned above. Outdoor video's and indoor daytime videos are comparable if not better then the other two above. The optical zoom does allow for a great variation of shooting and is HIGHLY recommended...(30x optical at this price is truly amazing).

As my title suggests, if your expectations are correct then this camera will work for you. This is not intended to become your household camcorder...at least for me. It is intended, in my opinion, to be the camera that you carry around in place of a Flip or Vado so you have more storage and better optics. Since the camera is shaped like a traditional camcorder it is easier to shoot with and believe me, it still fits in your pocket and or pocket book..but does not have the weight of a brick. That being said, this camera's image quality is comparable to older dvi tape camcorders and it may be what you need for your memories.

I can provide a lot more detail about this camera, but feel it is un-necessary since the above should suffice. I am giving this a 4/5 only because of two negatives:

1. The 2mp still photo feature is worthless.

2. Again, another manufacturer that fails to give us a cheap mini hdmi to hdmi cable.

Other then that this camera will more then likely be a hit for its price category and is something I would recommend you take a look at if it is within your budget.

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I needed a replacement for my seven-year old MiniDV camcorder and this one seemed a good deal. At the store it looked very impressive and the specs were decent. I've had the camcorder for about 10 days and have tried every possible setting and feature available. I believe I can review the camcorder properly now.

The pros:

+ Nice overall design, fits comfortably in the hand, the controls are well placed and easy to access. Every control can be accessed with one hand only.

+ The LCD display is bright and clear and the size is good.

+ The battery life is impressive.

+ The menu is well organized and easy to navigate.

The cons: Unfortunately, the camcorder performance is very weak where it really matters.

+ The auto-focus is probably the biggest problem. It takes a few seconds to focus on the subject and it just doesn't seem to be able to keep focused on anything for more than ten seconds or so. Even still objects would get out of focus quickly if you zoom in/out or shake the camera slightly. It would then take another few seconds to refocus again. I've tried every possible focus setting available, i.e., spot focus, 9-point focus and AF-lock. To add insult to the injury, the manual focus only seems to work prior to pressing the REC button. That means you have to focus on the subject prior to start shooting the video. You can't make adjustments once you start recording. The best solution I found is to let the auto-focus on and then press AF-lock once the camcorder finds the focus. Then you have to do it all over again if the subject moves or if you zoom in/out. Quite honestly, that's way too much work if all you want is to take some quick video shots.

+ Lots of noise even with adequate indoor light. You can somewhat control that by adjusting the ISO settings but it is still far inferior to my old MiniDV camcorder. Forget about relatively low light conditions, the videos are just awfully grainy.

+ I'm no expert but the color saturation doesn't seem right. For example, the reds and greens stand out too much in relation to the other colors. I tried the different setting provided for that but quite frankly I could not notice any difference between these settings.

+ The video motion is not smooth. It looks like a video shot on a cell phone at times. The specs claim 30fps, but it does not look like it at all. Even SD videos @60fps perform poorly as far the video motion is concerned.

I really wanted to like this camcorder and I assure you I've tried really hard to make its performance at least acceptable to me. But the final video quality is just plain bad. You might not notice how bad the videos are until you download them to your computer or watch them on a good size TV (42" or bigger). Every video lacks detail, focus, and it is grainy and full of noise. Just for comparison, I've also tried a Panasonic SDR-S26 and, despite being an SD camcorder, it performed well above the Sanyo VPC-TH1. Mind you, the SDR-S26 is not really regarded as a top performer in the SD world.

Needless to say that I returned the product to the store. Interestingly, the store offered a 50-dollar discount if I was willing to keep the camcorder. I can only guess that many of the other buyers are returning their purchases too. Personally, even a 100-dollar discount would not convince me to keep the camcorder as its poor performance makes it useless to me.

Alesis VideoTrack Handheld Recorder

• Create web-ready video that's perfect for sharing
• Upload to social sites such as YouTube and Facebook
• High-quality stereo condenser microphone set
• Quality video lens and advanced DSP image processing and zoom
• Runs on internal, replaceable, rechargeable battery, or plugged in

First, let me say I like Alesis. They have created some great and innovative products for great prices. I own many.

Now... I bought my VideoTrack in Dec 2010 from another retailer, but what I have to say here is about Alesis, not the retailer.

Overall impressions, the video quality is pretty bad, but I was ok with that. The device design is ok, and the stereo audio is pretty decent. All those things were fine for the price point... and if the device worked, I probably would not be writing this.

I noticed immediately that the recorder would stop recording randomly. Could be 5 min, could be 30 min. I tried with the supplied 2GB card and also a high quality 16GB card for video that might go longer than 45 min (like a whole band set). There were problems on both memory cards.

I actually lost valuable gig recordings more than once because of this (I know, I know ... crazy that I actually used it as intended...).

I went to Alesis' website and located the firmware update. I am a computer support person, so I am capable... and despite my exact performance of their steps. The device told me "incorrect FW" every time and refused to update. I can only guess that I already have the latest firmware, but there is no (known) way of knowing

since they don't tell you how to find it on the device screens and I couldn't find it myself either.

I sent at least two detailed emails to Alesis support and never even got an acknowledgement. After several months, giving up and frustrated with the VideoTrack.. I decided to call Alesis directly. I spoke to a rep that acted like he never heard of this problem before (yet I see it all over the web on even in these Amazon reviews). After instructing me that they would RMA the device (RETURN SHIP AT MY EXPENSE!) I agreed. I spent over $10 to ship this piece of garbage back. I waited over a month... no communication. I emailed the tech support contact and he replied "shipping soon".

Well the device arrived about another week later. I immediately inspected the "new" device and was already disappointed to see that it had a serial number LOWER than the one I sent back (I kept a copy of my original serial number)... I know this was not proof of anything, but did not instill confidence. Seems like they must have a stockpile of old ones.. not surprising to me given my experience.

Anyway, to wrap this up... I unpacked, charged the unit overnight, setup and set on a tripod to record (pointed it at a movie playing on my computer screen for some non-still recording). Recorder stopped after 5 min. Test 2 seems like it made it until the battery ran out, but not sure because apparently if the battery runs out it does not save any file. Argh. Recharged. Test 3 stopped after abour 40min with battery bars clearly visible.

I tried the whole firmware update process AGAIN...same results as original recorder.. "incorrect FW". Same problems...I am done wasting my time!

I think Alesis has made a lemon and they are just hoping to sell these units to people who will eventually just give up trying to get them to work reliably. I am way past the point of getting a refund from the retailer, and RMA's just cost me MORE money in return shipping. I am done throwing good money after bad.

Thanks a lot Alesis... I will remember this next time I have to to between you and a competitor. I guess I can still use this for 5 minute movies of things that don't have to record reliably (????).

Don't get burned... I did twice on this thing... avoid the VideoTrack at all costs... there are others way more deserving of your money even if you have to spend a bit more it will be worth it.

UPDATE AUGUST 2012:

Well, my unreliable VideoTrack was in the box for months since I had given up on it. I happened across a post where some people had found a firmware update 1.46 that actually worked for them. I located it on one of the Alesis support boards, and was pleasantly surprised that it actually loaded (where previous firmware updates had all failed with "incorrect FW" messages). I verified the FW was indeed updated to 1.46 and also saw the new AUDIO ONLY mode. I then tested several hours of recording both with battery and while connected to USB power. The "intermittent recording stop" seems to be cured. I seem to be able to record about 4 hours on battery power before it shuts down, but I also successfully recorded over 6 hours on USB power without a glitch. I think the battery indicator may be a bit misleading because it seems after 3-4 hours of recording it still shows 2 bars right up until low power shutdown. I thought maybe the recording problem was back... because it still showed 2 battery bars at shutdown and when I powered it back up, But then I realized it quickly goes to "no bars" and shuts down. OK.. I can deal with a misleading battery indicator. Anyway, I thought I would share my experience to maybe get some usable life out of my VideoTrack and maybe you can too with firmware 1.46. I only upped my star rating to TWO stars however, because my overall experience was terrible and Alesis support remains inexcusable... More evidence? The official Alesis support webpage still has the old firmware (1.24?) posted and customers have to fend for themselves to find this fix. C'mon Alesis.. you actually have a fix and you can't even update your support page?

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When the recorder stayed on it worked as expected. However, the first time I used it, it stopped recording a 45 minute performance after 2 minutes. (I had it on a mic stand up in the air). I thought maybe I should upgrade firmware. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! (They make a big deal about following the instructions exactly and when you do it doesn't work).

Around 8 times over three weeks, I tried recording a one hour live performance and it stopped every time during the recording. I had to get someone to stand on a chair and start the recording every time it stopped, which varied from 2 minutes to 22 minutes, sometimes during a loud section with activity.

Don't waste your time!!!!! Way too frustrating!

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The VT is a simple to operate camcorder with "above average" sound quality. I noticed that the VT gets many mixed reviews online and I honestly think that a lot of it is because the user guide is so minimal-not to mention how small it is to read. I have downloaded the user guide from the internet which came in PDF format, that allowed me to see it without going blind. Now for the details: You need to connect the headphones after you turn on the VT, and not after you record cause you will not hear the recorded audio in both sides. Many costumers thought that that is because one of the mics is a defect, so the VT records only in mono. I wish Alesis would also tell us that you have to transfer files to iMovie using only the original size, or the program will crash..even Apple could not figure this out, but that should be Alesis job to print on the VT user guide.I cannot complain on VT overall quality, keeping in mind that it is a very simple interface to manage. I also thought that the VT's construction is rather sturdy, but the ultralight weight of this camcorder could raises some questions regarding it's overall street price, which should be lower. All in all I got what I need: easy drag and drop so I can post my playing on Youtube with no rippers or converters, while the sound is better than my older camcorder. Alesis really sacrificed their name and reputation because of this product and that's a shame.

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If you read the negative reviews, most are nearly a year old. New firmware fixes the random shut off problem and adds an audio only option. My videotrack came with firmware version 1.24. To find out your firmware version, hold plus and power when the unit is off. It will power up to a self test mode, and show the firmware version at the bottom of the screen. I didn't have any issues with the few recordings I made, but I went ahead and upgraded to firmware version 1.46 which adds an audio only mode. You'll need to search the alesis community forum for the latest firmware. You'll find a link to dropbox with the new firmware. The download includes the instructions on how to install it.

I had a zoom Q3, and while the Alesis is much lighter weight and probably less well built, the results are very comparable. Video quality on both the videotrack and Q3 is substandard, which is why I sold my Q3. The audio on both is good, but not as great as a dedicated audio recorder. For the current price of the videotrack, I'm willing to accept the results. For the price of the Zoom Q3, the results just weren't worth it. The videotrack is OK, not great, but it's cheap enough for what it is.

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For the $40. 00 I paid it's worth it. My problem is there is no way to edit video. If I record say for an hour and I would like to use 2 minutes, no way to do it. Sound quality is terrible. I am a bass player and it just does not pick up the lower frequencies.

Polaroid CAA-03040 Digital Video Camera

I just picked up one of these and since there wasn't a real review yet, here are my initial thoughts. Considering the price, I bought this with low demands and expectations. It's very easy to use. I had no problem connecting it to my computer. Recording quality is good enough if I'm outside or in a well lit room but otherwise it's useless. This isn't for rooms lit with a lamp or two. That shouldn't be too shocking though. Still pictures are coming out blurry. This won't be replacing my digital camera anytime soon. The usb cover is held on by a very flimsy piece of rubber. That'll break off in no time. I like the screen. It flips around so you can see yourself as you record, if you're into that kinda thing. Sound quality was better than I expected. It picks up a lot of noise but it works. It only comes with 16mb of memory so unless you want about ten seconds of video you will need a memory card. When I got home I picked up a 1gb sandisk card here on amazon for about $15. great deal. Overall, I think I got my $79 worth. I think this would be a great starter camera for a kid, or for someone on a budget like me who just wants to share some nonsense online with friends. I hope to have fun with it on my trip out west.

What a disappointment! 20 seconds of video on the internal memory. The Flip video gets an hour! We bought a 1g memory card for 20 minutes of video. But the darn camera turns off if the memory card is inside!! Totally useless and I can't return it because I bought it in Sept for a Christmas present and the return time is over. Polaroid should be ashamed.

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I own the Flip Video and thought I would try the Polaroid because it allows for expansion via SD cards. The images were awful. It took a long time to figure out how to use it while the Flip had excellent quality in all light conditions and I was up and running within 5 minutes. The flip comes with excellent software and I can't even tell what the Polaroid software does because every time I opened it all it said was it could not connect to my device. Also, the Polaroid went through my batteries in less than 30 minutes and I had to change them twice. I was able to use the same batteries in my Flip video camcorder. For me, one is excellent and the other is garbage. Either I could not figure out how to use this or it is an absolute piece of junk. Assuming I did everything correctly then then I would say this product should not have been made. Maybe I messed up but I do not see where. I say get the Flip. It is fantastic.

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Whoever says this camera has good video/photo quality really has to have their eyes checked.

This is by far the worst camera I've ever laid hands on. Shame on Polaroid for putting their name on a piece of junk like this.

Not even my 8 year old wants it, that's how bad it is.

Do not believe anyone on here who says this is a pretty good or pretty decent camera, it's just not true.

My Panasonic DMC-TZ1 camera takes better videos then this with more detailed quality.

If you don't believe me go ahead and try this Polaroid joke. I bet you will regret buying it.

As for me, I'm getting rid of mine as soon as possible.

Hope this review helps anyone who really wants a "TRUE" review.

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This is a good basic video camera. Some problems I found are the resolution is no better than a digital camera and it can't use SD cards larger than 2Gb. This limits you to 15-20 minutes of video with an SD card. Internal memory is good for only 20 seconds of video.

I bought this with a 4Gb SD card. The camera tries to start but then just shuts down with no indication of what the problem is. I put the 4GB SD card into my Kodak EasyShare camera and it works fine. I used the 2Gb from my Kodak camera in the Polaroid and everything works. The video from the Kodak EasyShare is just as good, works better in low light and it supports larger SD cards for longer videos.

Last problem, the tripod mount is very shallow. You'll need several washers between the tripod and the camera.

Olympus VN3100 Digital Voice Recorder

When I went out shopping for a voice recorder I didn't want one that had fancy lights, did backflips, had a taser built in (though that would be cool ;) I just wanted a voice recorder so I wouldn't forget my thoughts during the day. I have a very bad memory and I knew that if I could speak my thoughts rather than writing them I could remember much more of what I wanted to remember.

So I started here at Amazon. The reason I started at Amazon was because they have the widest selection of anything anywhere. (in my own personal opinion) After looking at a few different ones I decided an Olympus would be my best bet. I have always had a great time with Olympus and have never ever had a problem with it. I was not disappointed!

The device itself weighs in just about 65 grams and is 4x1.5x11/16 (LengthxWidthxDepth in inches) It is literally palm sized and fits comfortably in my hand (though I have a bigger hand than most people) It has an internal mic and speaker both of which are adequate for any atomsphere. Most audio-philes would not be happy with the sound quality but be not discouraged, it records clearly anything that is spoken. In the Menu it also gives a choice of recording in high or low mic, as well as sound quality of XHQ, HQ, SP, and LP. It also sports a mic and headphone port for you to use external equipment with it.

The interface is very easy to use and fairly intuitive. There is a hold switch on the left side for locking it and turning it off, a battery charge level in the upper right hand corner, and an easy to read lcd screen. It has four folders (A,B,C,D) for easy organization and each recording records the date and time when it was recorded.When in hold the only thing that it'll show if you press any button is the date and time. (it can show 24 clock as well)

This unit does not sport a usb port for connection to your computer (hence the pc absent from the model number) and actually comes in a silver finish not the blue one. One thing that irked me but is not much of a problem was that it has a strap hole but does not come with a strap. It is an accessory that can be bought from Olympus.

All in all this is a wonderful product and is actually fairly cheap for the features that it packs. For those with bad memory it is a life saver as well. I would recommend this product to anyone who wants to record anything from thoughts to speechs.

I tried to save a few bucks and bought the VN3100. It is doing a great job for me. I have no complaints on the quality of the unit, hence my rating of 4 stars.

I am using it simply for reminders throughout the day. Its much easier to record my thoughts than trying to remember them all. I am an architect and many ideas come and go during the day. The VN3100 is excellent for quick capture.

My regret was triggered by several recordings I made of my two boys (2 and 5 years old). We have been playing around and I have several recordings now that I would love to save. Without any way to download the files to my PC, they will need to remain on my recorder forever.

I recommend that anyone considering the VN3100 upgrade to a recorder with a download feature. You never know what you will record that you will want to keep forever.

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I've had this recorder for a number of months now, and I'm using it to recorder interviews that I am using for my thesis. While the recording quality itself is fairly good, I am extremely irritated that the buttons themselves aren't really set up very well. For example, I am transcribing the interviews, and so I am constantly replaying parts of the recording. If you don't press the button exactly in the right spot, you end up, instead of forwarding backward or ahead, going all the way to the beginning of the track and losing your spot. For obvious reasons, this can be extremely infuriating. I've had it do this a good 20 times at least, and then have to try to find where I was. It's caused a loss of efficiency that I think is unacceptable.

So, if you don't mind inefficiency and having to spend a lot of time forwarding and going back and subsequently losing your spot, then it's great.

Read Best Reviews of Olympus VN3100 Digital Voice Recorder Here

Chris provides a very useful review, which gave me the confidence to order a couple of these recorders for mental notetaking. i too need a digital short term memory

like Chris, the reviewer, i just want a vanilla digital voice recorder without all the undelivered promises of the higher end machines. i've bought and returned a couple of other higher end recorders and i'm ready to settle for a lot less.

most importantly, this recorder is so much easier to learn how to use than the others.

now, my major problem is to remember: 1. to have the recorder with me and 2. to use it before the target thought vaporizes into thin air.

recording fleeting thoughts is a lot like taking photographs of UFOs.

and you certainly cannot beat amazon's price on this unit !!!!!!!!

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i never owned a digital recorder, but was pleasantly surprised by this product's 1) price 2) ease of use 3) amt of recordable hrs 4) folder system 5) size (tiny!). i don't have a basis of comparison but i am very happy with the purchase, and use it a lot.

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PNY Performance Series 32 GB Class 6 15 MB/s Rated SDHC Flash Memory Card (P-SDHC32G6-GE)

Was looking for a card for my Raspberry Pi and this one fill the bill, wanted more than just the 4 gig recommended and wanted something I could depend on. Case Closed.

Rainman

Inexpensive 8 GB class 6 card that works as advertised. For me, the 'sweet spot' on size, speed & price.

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It's considerably cheaper than the Sandisk, at least when I bought it. I use it for my Samsung WB100 Camera, and I feel very content with it.

I have yet to find any flaws with transferring from my camera to the PC, and 16GB is definitely more than enough for my photos and the occasional videos I have.

Read Best Reviews of PNY Performance Series 32 GB Class 6 15 MB/s Rated SDHC Flash Memory Card (P-SDHC32G6-GE) Here

I bought this because it was for a good price & most local stores charge a lot more for this item. I have used it only for a short amount of time & seems to be good & liked getting it from this seller for the price.

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I've used so many different brands of flash cards over the years, but I purchased a PNY card about a year ago to use in a Wildlife camera. This card is still going strong and working great even after almost a year on a post in my back yard, out in all the horrendous weather we sometimes have here on the Oregon coast. This is a test far beyond anything you will ever give a flash card in a digital camera. I'm so impressed with this card that it was the only brand I wanted for use in my new Canon SX50 HD. My congratulations to the manufacturer you have a quality product.

Philips Portable Media Player, 30 gig, MP3/WMA and Video Movie Player

• Video or Music player, records video from PC or from direct video source
• 30 gig hard disc drive, stores up to 130 hours of video or up to 15,000 songs
• 3.5" color screen for easy comfortable video viewing
• Record your favorite TV programs direct from TV output or video source
• Timer function to schedule the downloads form your PC or direct video source

The screen is bright, clear, and big enough to watch for hours comfortably. Audio, through headphones, is good. Built-in speakers are nice, if you are in a quiet environment, as volume is small. Navigation is simple and intuitive. Battery life is very good. I can get through two full movies and still have a little left to listen to music. With my iPod Video, I am lucky to make it through a single movie. The PMC7230 also comes with a little kickstand to prop up the unit.

The reason why this unit does not get a 5, is because of the transfer of files to the unit. Transfer of MP3 files through Windows Media Player is slow, as they have to be "converted." Included video conversion software is very slow, but the good thing is that there are free alternatives available on the web.

Another bonus is the ability to record TV or other content.

After getting the content on the player, you undoubtedly will enjoy the experience, and notice many heads turn.

I love my iPod, but it's clear that iPod is for audio. The PMC7230 is for video.

Buy Philips Portable Media Player, 30 gig, MP3/WMA and Video Movie Player Now

Don't waste your money the device could be good but who will ever know. It is crippled with PlayForSure mandatory requirements for the playback of all video.

In other words if you want to watch any video you *HAVE* to convert it using the ArcSoft conversion program. For a simple movie this takes hours on a good PC with 4 Gb of memory! Who has the time or the patience to do that.

I have a load of mpg files I wanted to transfer and play but could not just copy them. They had to be "converted" (in this case read crippled with some copy protection. DRM is stopping fair use and innovation. The whole point of these small devices is to allow playback anytime anyplace anywhere I suspect this portable media center could do it but I will never know.

Hours later I am still waiting for the first file to be converted.

Read Best Reviews of Philips Portable Media Player, 30 gig, MP3/WMA and Video Movie Player Here

I just received this media player about 2 weeks ago. I read trough the reviews, but I purchased it because this is one of the few media players out there that lets you record directly though an external source. i.e.. TV or SAT service. I have loaded my MP3 library with ease. It does need to "convert" but I didn't find it to be a long process or problem. I have not used the software to "convert" movies. I have recorded about 10 movies (1.5h 2.0h) long. I've got about 150 songs and 100 pictures on the media player; and I have only used about 15Gigs. I have the movie setting set to "medium" quality, which is still good.

PROS:

*can record directly from external source, such as TV, SAT Service, DVD

player

*3.5 LCD color display

* bright screen

*Timer to schedule TV recording

*Easy synchronization with Windows XP PC

*good speaker w/o using headset

*ability to view movies recorded on the PMC7230 on the Television

CONS:

*Battery life is about 3hours for movie playback

*When you record directly from an external source into your "video"

folder; the movie cannot be named. This make is difficult to identify

which movie is which. They are categorized by date recorded.

*I have gotten a message that you cannot record due to "copywrite" law;

only on a few DVD's.

All in all I am absolutely pleased with this PMC7230. I gave it a 4 because you cannot name the movies to be able to identify them better. This is something I can live with, given the performance of the product. I would definatly recommend this product.

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This is a great player and it works with Windows Vista. Don't install all the software first. Connect the play to you PC, drag and drop the files and try. If you cannot play the file, install the converter software, but you don't really need to convert anything. After installing the converter software, everything is good for me.

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I had low expectations for this unit but it was surprisingly usable. It has a big enough screen, drag and drop files, feature rich records live TV amazingly simply. Using vista, you just plug the device in and it automatically detects everything no drivers necessary. Then you can drag and drop music and pictures. For videos, you need to run it through their software without using mediaplayer and it converts AVI/WMV pretty quickly on a decent computer. Slideshow for pictures. 4 stars for the price.

Car DVR

• Color Video,
• Color display
• Time and Date
• Format: AVI,
• Speed: 30fps

Saying it's not HD is an understatement. Selecting HD (1280x720) actually lowers the resolution to 640x360 which is lower resolution than the standard 640x480 mode. How so? In 640x480 mode, the dash cam records full frame 4:3 video. The resolution is 640x480. The video quality is OK, but well below mid grade analog or digital video recorders from a decade ago. When you select HD, the video is recorded as letterbox cutting off the top 60 and bottom 60 lines for a total horizontal resolution of 360. The video resolution in HD mode is actually 640x360. The pixels are quadrupled to 1280x720 (640*2 x 360*2). You can clearly see the line doubling in the video playback. Even worse, the HD selection which records in lower resolution takes more file space than the 640x480 mode. What this means is this is just a 640x480 standard def recorder with not such great video quality.

The difference between 640x480 and a true low resolution HD of 1280x720 is the difference between reading a license plate or not.

I'm giving this 1 star because this is blatant false advertising and the price is too high for a cheap standard def dash cam. This thing is going back today. It is not the product advertised.

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Definitely, this is not an HD. Quality of the recordings is poor. You will not be able to see license numbers of cars and/or faces of people who pass by your car; But, considering current limitations of the US market for this type of equipment, it may not be the worst alternative to expensive items of this kind. It does record clips and it is possible to understand what is happening. In other words, .... it is just a poor quality video.

Seller, please correct your description. This is not an HD cam; and we are not in a 99 cent Chineese store.

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This DVR is not intended to use as a "black box". The video quality is not real 1280x720 but interpolated from like 240x135. It is not possible to recognize the car licence plate numbers even if staying right behind the car.

The card slot has also poor quality. The flash card jumps out of the slot when passing the bump.

Could not recommend...

PS. The Polaroid SD card reader was not included in the parcel.

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The right size, the right idea. Unfortunately wrong gizmo.

This product is kind of quirky and can let you down when needed.

Product does not re record over SD card as advertised. Instead freezes up and depletes battery losing all settings including date and time.

Resetting device and manual deletion of SD files is required each time it freezes up. Guess thats why the give you the card reader.

For the asking price for this product, one would be better off paying a little more for a Flip type device with a windshield suction mount.

Overall unreliable product.

This device from its appearance in the photograph is a clone of a device I regrettably purchased from Dealextreme (it shipped out of Hong Kong and now I can't find a way to return it). Design-wise the description is not accurate as one of the other reviewers noted: it is not HD. In fact, if you try to switch it to the higher resolution mode, it will crash the device. I used mine in low-res for 6 weeks, after which it started bricking. After a few days of constantly pushing the reset button because of the bricking, it seized for good, and now won't power on at all.

Those are the bad points the device fails outright in just a few weeks. However, this device also has some GOOD points and if they could just fix the obvious firmware problems, it would probably be a really good purchase for the money. What's neat about it is that it comes on automatically when the car starts, and records convenient video segments. When you turn your car off, it writes the final segment to its SD card and shuts itself off automatically you don't have to mess with it. Video segments are easy to retrieve from the SD card. In these respects, it's very well designed as a plug-and-play-and-forget-about-it device for users of lower technical skill.

Except for the fatal firmware flaws, that is. Watch additional reviews of dash cams on Amazon to see if / when the firmware issues are resolved. And for goodness sake, don't buy one of these unless you're sure the problems have been addressed.

Clover 4 channel IP Addressable Standalone Digital Video Recorder.

I bought the no hard drive version of this recorder and added my own HDs. Replaced my analog time lapse VCRs which were a pain to maintain. The IP addressable feature is handy if you want to keep sight on your premises through the Internet. We recently traveled overseas and I was able to log in and see the views. Setting up the IP accessing from the Net is almost only for the geeks. Two options are mentioned in the manual for setting up the DDNS access, via dyndns.org and cloverdvr.com. The latter does not even exist (rechecked at the time of this writing) so I have to take a point off. Another thing to note is that while it takes video input from four cameras there is only one audio source input.

Update: My recorder lasted only 9 months. Poor electronics quality. Supposedly, has a 2-year warranty but I have to spend $30 to ship it to them and to include $30 for return and have no idea how long they will keep it. Instead, for $89 I can get another brand recorder of same type right here from Amazon.

(Wanted to change the stars to one, but was not able to do that.)

Sony ICD-P17 Digital Voice Recorder with USB Connectivity

Pros:

Large 278 minutes recording capacity at the highest (and only) recording quality mode

Good recording quality

Lightweight, but feels substantial

Small learning curve

Informative LCD display

Cons:

Does not include software for Mac OS X

Play/stop toggle button is not very tactile

Memory not expandable

No carrying case, batteries not included

After looking at digital voice recorders in similar price range and feature sets (USB connectivity, long recording time), I chose the Sony ICD-P17. While it's not among the smallest recorders out there (Olympus takes that honor), it has a *usable* recording capacity of 4 hours and 38 minutes (keep in mind that each recording takes up minimum of 9 seconds worth of space). The ICD-P17 has one and only one recording mode (mono 150 to 3,500 Hz), optimized for 16 MB flash memory capacity. Almost all other recorders specify the LP (long play) recording capacity, which in most cases sound poor. Their SP (short play) recording capacity is often less than half the LP capacity.

The ICD-P17 is not tiny (about as tall as an average-sized palm and about half-an-inch thick), but it fits comfortably in anyone's palm. Located at the top side are connectors for external microphone and earphone.

To the right side are record/stop and pause buttons, rewind/play/stop/forward toggle switch, hold slider (sliding up disables buttons and turns off LCD), volume knob, and USB connector.

Located on the front face are microphone, speaker, LCD display, folder button to toggle between 5 folders (each folder can have up to 99 recordings), divide button for dividing/combining recordings, display button to toggle between elapsed time/remaining time/date/time, menu button, microphone sensitivity button (high for quiet environment, low for noisy environment), and erase and stop buttons.

The ICD-P17 takes two 2 AAA batteries (not included), which are good for about 10 hours of recording and about 8 hours of playback. Included are USB cable and Digital Voice Editor 2 software that runs on Windows. Connect it to your PC's USB port and you can download recordings for archival purpose (or convert them to MP3 or WAV format). Since ICD-P17 is a USB 1.1 device, transferring 1-hour worth of recording will take 36 secoonds or so.

I've had the last two versions of this voice recorder (lost the first one) and have watched the features evolve...as well as my use of them. This is by far the best value for the money. At this point the higher end Sony VRs haven't created the incremental value to make it worth it. The cheaper VRs (Sony's and others) leave out features that you will probably regret if you're using this for any lecture records, interviews, notetaking, interviews, etc. Here's my take:

1. you will want to transfer the recordings

You WILL want to archive something, email it, or you just clear out some space in memory but haven't listened to/transcribed what you last recorded. If you buy a VR that has no means of getting the files off, I'm pretty confident you'll find yourself frustrated within the first few weeks. The only exception might be if you're just logging a bunch of little personal notes. I have a memory stick version, which simply means it's a less easy (more expensive) device to transfer the files than this USB model. USB is the right solution by far at this stage in the game and it allows you to get the data off from almost any computer...the alternative is dragging around a 6-in-1 card reader if you need to transfer something in a pinch.

2. this recording time is plenty

This is more that 4 hrs of recording time. Even in very intensive use (multiple, sequential interviews) I've never run out. Given that the transfer to computer is so easy and quick, you simply get in the habit of moving this file(s) after your recording. You're not losing anything by not having removable/upgradeable media.

3. good usability on the device

They've simplified things from the earlier models -buttons and function are B+ intuitive (it's no ipod, but close). Key functions are well thought out and not-so-obvious ones are also there. Comfortable, lightweight form factor means you can slip it into a sports coat, small purse, shirt pocket (it will slip out if you lean over, trust me). It's solid state and 'throw it in the briefcase tough'.

4. mic/device is best for proximate recording

Dictation, lectures (if you can put it on the podium or near a speaker), songwriting, etc. Other folks have noted that meetings can be a little muddled. Agreed. Sound quality is VERY GOOD for this kind of recording. Listening through the speaker is fine for general use, but you'll get a notably better sound of you use even a cheap earphone.

5. get rechargables

If you do any regular recording (say, more than 2x per month) you'll end up spending more that you realize if you don't. Sony makes a great set for their digital cameras that seemingly last forever.

6. ignore transcription/speech-to-print software

As much as I'd want this to work, it just doesn't seem to cut it. I've trained ViaVoice (more than 3 hrs) and played with Dragon, and even-learned-to-talk-so-the-computer-can-understand-me-more-clearly. Useless. No time savings correcting things, and you appropriately feel like a idiot for make a simple thing way to complex. I wish it was different, but I think most reviewers for these packages will agree.

OVERALL: You'll probably have some regrets if downgrade for this unit and you'll probably be frustrated with units that are more expensive -the more expensive ones are a bit overstuffed with some odd features. This is right about where the device should be. Good luck, enjoy, hope this is helpful.

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This is a nice-looking little recorder, and it is certainly cheaper than the $150 Sony ICDST10, but the audio, while generally OK for dictation, is, in my opinion, just not good enough for recording meetings or lectures. The ICDP17's audio quality is approximately the same as the Sony ICDST10 in "LP" mode. The difference between this unit and the Sony ICDST10 is that the ICDST10 will record around two hours of VERY good audio (in "SP" mode, using Sony's LPEC Codec), or a bit over five and a half hours in "LP" mode (compared to a little over four and a half hours for the ICDP17). The Sony ICDMS515 has even better sound quality (and with Memory Sticks available up to 256MB, can record hours and hours of audio), but at $250 (not counting the extra you'll spend to upgrade the woefully inadequate 8MB Memory Stick Sony includes), this is way out of the ICDP17's price range. In my opinion, $150 for the Sony ICDST10 is a much better deal than $99 for the ICDP17.

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I just list the major points to save your time:

1. Only one recording model, there is no LP/HP function.

2. Good shap, endurable, light weight.

3. No background or static noise like tape recorder or Olimpus ditigal recorders.

4. Price is fair, affordable for student.

5. Can't record good when distance is over 10 feet. Place it on the table which close to the speaker or preacher, the recording is almost perfect. I record my sermons when I preach, it works great.

6. Files transfer b/w PC and recorder is extremely fast.

7. Doesn't support any music format, and not a good recorder for music events.

Averagely, 85-90% satisfaction.

Hope this help.

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Sony ICD-P17 omes with USB cable and PC sofware to download and review the recording.

There is ONE recording mode. It provides over 4 hours (278 minutes) of recording capability at great quality! It has five folders for you to store your recording and a timer to remind you. You can also add recording to an exisiting recording can't think of the need for it to record lecture : )

Check it out. I am sure you will find it worths the money.

Yamaha Corp. Digital Audio Recorder 40 hrs

I auditioned this unit in comparison to the $100 less expensive Yamaha 2G which is very similar but with lower quality mics built in. Both function very similarly. I found the sound quality for spoken word to be great, and for acoustic jamming, also quite fine. For recording a live band in a practice space (my intended use) I found the cheaper 2G to be a tad compressed and "washed out" sounding with a not very extended high end. The CX sounded clearer but with a reedy high end and poor bass response. Both models sounded FAR better when using a plug-in external stereo mic like a ATM-822. Lastly, the 2G plugs directly into your USB port without a cord. Convenient, but the design makes the USB port support the device, and it feels like it is putting strain on the port floating out of the side of your laptop 6". The CX uses a micro-USB cable to plug-in.

At $400, I'm not sure this product is a great deal. I'd expect the mics to be better for the money, otherwise, you can just use the cheaper 2G model with a external mic and get better sound than the CX.

I have owned this for a month now and it keeps amazing me. I use it for Voice recording not musical recording.

The quality is superb and has a ton of features so it takes a few days to really get acquainted with it. The battery life, and recording times are off the chart good, plus the mic is super sensitive. It picks up everything. I would think for music use its equally as good.

Pros:

1. Long battery life and uses only 1 AA(comes with rechargeable Ni-Mh)

2. recharges directly through the unit

3. records to microSD and includes 2GB card and usb cable

4. Wav playback if needed.

5. Superb frequency response and mic sensitivity

6. lots of recording quality settings

7. Markable playback and sweet FF Rew options

8. PCM modes(uncompressed WAV) expandable to 12 hours with 8GB card

9 Amazing recording time on 2 GB card, has a low power processor

10. good editing software

11. actually a decent MP3 and WMA player for a VR

12. real 5-band Equalizer functionality

13. Can Edit and Divide files

the list goes on and on!

Cons:

NONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You really can't go wrong for the $300 price or even below, it's by far the best $ for $. Plus you will save money on batteries. non-proprietary battery and media. I mean WOW it's close to perfect.

Buy Yamaha Corp. Digital Audio Recorder 40 hrs Now

I just got the Pocketrax CX. The first thing that I noticed about it is how reasonable Yamaha is. Unlike a number of other portable audio devices, the CX has a standard AA removable NiMH battery, a standard MicroSD memory port, and looks like a memory device when plugged into a USB port. No proprietary memory, hidden built-in battery, or computer-slogging software needed to access it!

I really like this little guy, but it does have a few limitations.

The CX has very good audio quality using the internal microphones, and supports external mic's through a standard stereo 1/8" (3.5mm) jack that supplies electret mic bias voltage out. I have seen that larger digital recorders support XLR inputs with HV phantom power but you won't get that in this little palm-sized recorder.

I did find that, with the MIC SENS on high, and the gain setting cranked all the way up, that a bit of digital noise gets in. I popped a Sony mini-stereo mic into the input and the noise went away. It may be an artifact of the mic circuitry layout or internal mic power. Once again, this is with every part of the input stage maxed out definitely not what most folks would do.

Speaking of setting the mic gain, while recording, pressing the >> and

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Sling Media Slingbox PRO-HD SB300-100

Having been a prior user of the SlingBox Pro, I was already familiar with the SlingBox software and hardware setup. Receiving the ProHD it was quite easy to perform the setup and installation required to be "slinging" my TV all over the world (and around my home).

Despite having setup one of the the original devices before, I attempted to walk through the installation as a completely new user. The booklet gives clear, easy to understand directions for the multitude of ways in which this device can be setup. It isn't relegated to "just" HD; the SlingBox Pro HD can also sling your standard definition content over the world or over your own network as well. This does not mean, however, that a person couldn't be easily confused just due to the sheer amount of devices one could potentially control with the SlingBox Pro HD (or the original Pro for that matter).

Remember when setting up the hardware, the location of the IR sensors is crucial in your ability to control your devices over the Internet or the network.

Once you are finished setting up your SlingBox Pro HD, you are prompted to download and install the Sling Player software. Of the entire process, I have to say this is the most frustrating part. It would have been easy enough to deliver a CD with the software inside the box, however Sling Media chose to force you to download the software. The only time I can see this as being an issue is if you purchased the SlingBox Pro HD with the express intention of "slinging" your media around your house and not over the Internet (and even then really only if you have no Internet connection). Deduct a point for the 5-15 minutes you must spend downloading the software; as if the anticipation of getting the device working wasn't bad enough already!

Next up was actually installing the software and finding the device on the network. The software walks you through every step of the process. The most difficult part, and calling it difficult may be stretching the definition, is in figuring out what remote to use. Some devices you may have in your home have several hardware versions and also have remotes with different nuances which could potentially throw a monkey wrench in the works. You are presented with the layout and a picture of the remote, so as long as your remote is handy you should be able to compare it easily to what is on the install screen.

You must install the Sling Player software on every PC (laptop or desktop; or cell phone if you purchase the software for it) you wish to view your media from.

Now for the fun part, actually watching your media!

From home, you can sling HD media around your network with reckless abandon. Even with a "slow" network speed of 10 mbps, you can achieve the ability to sling content in HD. At lower speeds you may notice some minor artefacting and other compression issues, but this is really only due to the slower network speed. If you are using a 100 mbps or faster connection, this should shoot high quality HD content all over your house with no problems. The only down side in this is that if you are using wireless, you must remember THERE IS NO WIRELESS CAPABILITY built into the SlingBox Pro HD (or other SlingBoxes for that matter). I wish they had included the Sling Link Turbo, which allows you to connect the Sling Link Turbo to your network, another cable into your power line and network the SlingBox Pro HD via your electrical outlets, negating the need to run network cabling all over your house. Including wireless connectivity would also be a bonus, however there is no guarantee on wireless connection speeds, which is why it is not included as a feature. Given variances in wireless speeds and quality of connection, there would be no good way, yet, for the SlingBox to offer a consistent level of quality in the video it slings.

Now we delve into watching from anywhere around the world. The first HD caveat I mention in my title for this review, is one of HD media slinging. Unfortunately you must have a decent upload speed from your Internet connection to be able to receive a decent HD picture. The recommended upload speed for a consistently good HD picture while traveling and watching over the Internet is 1.5 mbps. My DSL connection is capped at 768 kbps, which means I cannot watch HD content while traveling as I am given choppy images and broken audio. You can, however, still watch the content, only you will need to set the SlingBox Pro HD to "down convert" the video you receive to standard definition quality. So if all you want is to be able to watch local sports or TV while traveling and don't mind it not being in standard definition, this is a great device. The other side of this caveat is that if you will only be watching while traveling and don't have a fast upload speed, you may be better served saving some money and going for the regular SlingBox Pro instead of the HD.

The other HD caveat is that the SlingBox Pro HD can only accept and output sources UP TO 1080i. This means that if you have a Blu Ray or other HD capable device that can output and is setup to output at 1080p, you will have to dial it down to 1080i output. 720p content is not affected.

Which brings us to connections. There is NO HDMI connection on this device. Not a single HDMI connection. Your options are:

Inputs:

composite (red, white, yellow)

svideo (still needs red and white for audio)

component (red, blue, green, uses either red and white for anlog audio or orange connection for digital audio)

coax (your cable connection)

Outputs:

composite (red, white, yellow)

svideo (still needs red and white for audio)

component (red, blue, green, uses either red and white or orange connection for audio)

coax

The SlingBox Pro HD also has a USB connection for viewing media off of a USB thumb drive (may even work for a USB hard drive; I haven't tried it as of this writing)

You can control all sorts of devices with the SlingBox Pro HD, and especially important is the inclusion of an ATSC tuner within the Pro HD. What this means is that this SlingBox is prepared for the digital conversion we all keep hearing about on TV. The regular SlingBox Pro has only a regular NTSC tuner so is not future proof on its own (if you have a digital converter box, like the ones the government offers coupons for, the regular SlingBox Pro may still be an option).

One other "problem" is not being able to control the PS3. As the PS3 is one of the best selling Blu Ray players, I would have liked to have seen a way to manipulate it using Bluetooth connectivity from the SlingBox Pro HD. They missed the mark on this one, but only by a little. Hopefully they will allow for Bluetooth remote control connections in the next version of the SlingBox?

In the end, this device is amazingly nice. Very rarely does a device impress me as much as this. If you desire to watch HD sources all over your house, this is a great device to purchase. If you want to do the same with SD content, this will still work for you. If you want to watch HD media while traveling, this is the device to purchase (assuming you have a fast enough upload speed to the Internet); you can also use it for watching standard definition content while traveling, though again, if this is what you desire you may be better served with the regular SlingBox Pro and save a few dollars.

As long as you can look past the inability to input/output at 1080p and the Internet upload requirements, this is a great buy!

I was a happy users for about 11 months. Oh it was a pain to setup some times. They tricked me into buying the HD version when they still don't support HD on the Mac OS/X. (They had an upgrade program and claimed my older Slingbox wouldn't be supported anymore which turned out not to be true.)

But today, about a week before the 1 year hardware warranty is set to expire the box just quit. No power light, no network lights the box doesn't do anything. Clearly a hardware issue or a bad power supply.

However when I follow the directions on the SlingMedia website to get an RMA to return the defective hardware, I was told I need to pay $29.99. I said it is still under warranty you cannot charge me. The person said it was $29.99 to talk to them. I asked if it turns out to be a hardware issue which it clearly is, would I get refunded? No was the reply. There is no escalation path.

Consumers should not have to pay to have warranties honored. SlingMedia is no longer a company I respect or can recommend. I highly recommend everyone avoid this company.

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I wanted to review this product's feature set and its ease of setup or its compatibility or some other attributes. However, I could not: mine failed after only 100 days of ownership. And I couldn't initially get it fixed by Sling because they told me they only support it for 90 days. I guess I'm old-fashioned in that I expect products to last more than three months before they fail. I also expect companies of those failed products to stand behind them.

UPDATE ONE MONTH LATER: Sling was now willing to honor the warranty on my Slingbox....but only if I paid them $50 more for an extended warranty. Yes, even though my product was well within the one year warranty. Only if I paid them more money would they answer my calls or e-mails asking them to replace my unit.

Anyone considering this product should add $50 to the purchase price when evaluating its worth to you. The product essentially comes with a mere 90 day warranty--you must pay extra after that. Sling should be upfront, adding that $50 to the list price and providing good support. But I guess that's not how they do business.

UPDATE ONE YEAR LATER: After stewing over the extra $50 for months, I opted to pay it so I could move forward and actually have a working SlingBox. I will give Sling credit: Once you pay them their extra $50, they do support you. They stayed on the phone with me at length, connected in remotely, and didn't hesitate to send a replacement unit for my failed one.

I did require support after receiving the new unit because no installation instructions were included and their software is not all that smart. It should have recognized there was a new SlingBox on my LAN and proffered "Do you want to configure the unconfigured SlingBox?" instead of making me hunt through the menus to force it to do so. There are still bugs in the latest configuration utility too, leaving me stuck in the procedure at one point with no "Continue" button and necessitating another chat with Sling support.

OVERALL: I cannot recommend a SlingBox for a non-technical user. With work, an average Joe can connect the cables to one but the software setup is for those who understand video hardware and computer software rather well. This is in no way whatsoever a "plug & play" product. Better software engineering (and hardware quality) could vastly widen the potential user audience. Maybe we will see this in future revisions, but until then it remains a hobbyist extravagance. Make sure you know what you're getting into before buying.

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Overall, I have been pretty happy with the functionality of this product over the last 9 months. Other reviews have covered the features well, so I'd like to focus on the customer support/warranty side of things, which is an important consideration.

In order to use access the video from your Slingbox remotely (when away from your home), Sling has created the concept of an online "sling account" which stores your Slingbox access information on the internet.

As far as I can tell, once you leave your home network, there is no way to access your slingbox signal, without logging into your sling account. This is basically a website, that you log into with email/password, and designate which slingbox you want to watch.

I recently ran into a problem where my email address changed (they require you to login into your slingaccount with your email address rather than a userid), and I needed to update it on my slingaccount. After MUCH searching, all I could find was a way to change my password, but no way to change my email address.

So, I found the "contact us" email link, and fired off a quick request to "please let me know how to change the email address on my sling account".

What I received back was really shocking. Honestly, I have been buying electronics, web services, etc for a long time, and have never received as outrageous of a reply as this.

The response was basically:

We checked your account, and you purchased your slingbox over 90 days ago, which makes it outside our warranty.

Therefore, in order for us to resolve you issue, you will need to pay us $29.99 per incident.

OR you can pay us $49.99 for 2 more years of support.

Are you kidding me! It took them LONGER to write that reply than it would have to copy/paste in the answer for how to change my email.

So just beware, that you will very likely need to pay an extra $50 (or $30 per incident) in order to have access to ongoing functionality of your SlingAccount.

Also, at least in the email I received, they indicated that the $49.99 2 year support coverage was only available PRIOR TO MONTH 12 of your ownership of Slingbox. So if you want to avoid the $30/pop charge, you need to pay the $50 before the 1 year mark.

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My first impression of the Slingbox was "hey, this thing is great." It was relatively easy to set up and worked reasonably well, though it did not really support HD on the Macintosh platform. After several months of relatively carefree use, I did a software/firmware update recommended by Sling. Since then, my Slingbox has been essentially useless. The streaming speeds are now so slow, that the video and sound quality are not watchable.

The biggest disappointment, however, comes in the form of lack of support. Despite the "firmware upgrade issue" being all over the internet billboards, Sling will not acknowledge the issue. Additionally, after the initial setup support from Sling, they charge you just to talk to a human in support. Those who have tried this have found that since Sling doesn't acknowledge the problem, they can not help the caller and suggest that the hardware is defective......and the suggestion from them is to BUY a new Slingbox. Unbelievable really.

Unfortunately for us, there is no equivalent hardware out there.

Buyer beware......do not expect any support from this company if you choose to buy their equipment.