Toshiba SD-1600 DVD Player

• Dolby Digital and DTS digital output
• S-video and ColorStream component-video outputs
• 10-bit, 27 MHz video digital-to-audio converter with high-resolution filter
• Video black-level expansion
• DVD/CD Text compatible

I made the mistake of purchasing a Samsung player, which basically died within 2 months. While doing research on Amazon for a replacement, I noticed that lots of people had wonderful things to say about the Toshiba brands. So I decided to purchase one and hope for the best. Well I've got nothing but good things to say.

This little player is really light, but don't let that fool you. It has played all my DVDs with perfection, and hasn't failed me yet. The picture is wonderful, and the sound is pretty good as well. A couple of my discs that would freeze or skip on the Samsung player, work just fine on the Toshiba. That was when I realized that I made a good choice. I love the on-screen setup menus, which allow you to see the picture on the movie that you're watching while adjusting the settings. It's a nice little drop down menu from the top of the screen, with very nice icons that are easy to understand. Other players just blank out the picture while the setup menu takes up the entire screen. You can imagine how frustrating it can be when going back and forth repeatedly from the picture and setup screen, while fine tuning the settings.

The Toshiba SD-1600 is a great player to buy if you're new to DVD, or are looking to add a low-cost, reliable system to another room in your home. Toshiba is known for great picture and sound, so you can't go wrong with them. As an added bonus, they've got a good warranty for it. It's good to know that I can get my player repaired for free at a local Toshiba certified service center if anything happens.

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This is a very good entry level machine, essentially an upgraded SD1200. Its not too complicated, just insert the disc and work your way through the dvd's menu. You are not paying for the extras like multiple disc play.

Overall, this machine is quiet and reliable. It get s lots of use in my house, and the only complaint is that the remote could be a lot better. However, from a practical standpoint we don't need to do all that much with the remote other than navigate through the dvd menus.

This unit will not be the one to select for a high end system, but if you are looking for a basic entry level unit then look no further

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba SD-1600 DVD Player Here

The Toshiba SD 1600 is a great entry-level DVD player. In terms of picture and sound quality this very affordable unit really delivers. In fact, from the moment I pulled my Toshiba DVD player out of its box, I've experienced 100% satisfaction.

Set up is a cinch. The owner's manual is easy to follow and I had my unit up and running in a matter of minutes. Initially, I hooked up the player using cheap video cables (included in box) and the picture was washed out. I immediately switched to a pair of Monster cables and was blown away by the clarity and definition of the picture (Widescreen movies look especially great when played through this unit). It's certainly worthwhile to fork over a few extra bucks for a pair of quality cables.

Perhaps the most exciting feature of the SD 1600 is the Virtual Surround Sound capability. With a simple click of the remote, an ordinary pair of stereo speakers will produce a lively (and loud) 3-dimensional sound. This feature is a blessing for those (such as myself) who don't yet have the budget, or the time, to shop for an elaborate home theatre sound system.

The remote control is laid-out fairly well and takes only a short time to grow accustomed to. My only complaint is that the remote is not illuminated and is difficult to navigate in the dark. The Fast Forward and Reverse modes are lighting quick --moving along at up to 30 times the speed of the original picture! Those who like to read tiny film credits will love the Zoom feature which greatly enlarges the screen image.

I've been a Toshiba owner for over a year (also have the similar SD 2109)and have never encountered a single problem with the player or any DVD disc. The picture quality and the Virtual Surround Sound are first rate. Overall, I think this is an excellent unit. I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking a quality DVD player at an affordable price.

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The Toshiba SD-1600 is an excellent entry level DVD player. For the price, it can't be beat, and it bests other models out there costing twice as much.

The SD-1200 was an acclaimed success for Toshiba, and the SD-1600 has a few refinements over that one.

The picture and sound quality are excellent. Though lacking an optical audio out, there is PCM/bitstream and analog outs, as well as a composite video out, an S-Video out, and component video outs. I'm using the analog audio and component video hookups (all with Monster Cables) to my 27" Sony Wega TV and it's brilliant.

Many people have complained about the remote, but I like it. It's not too awkward to get around, and the player responds to it well (as long as you're within a reasonable range). The menu system is good, if not spectacular, and all the options you'd expect from a standard player are there. The SD-1600 also features a Spatializer 3-2-2 3D sound option which provides an excellent surround effect with only two speakers.

Right now I have the player thinking it's connected to a 16:9 television (I'm using the 16:9 anamorphic squeeze option most Wegas have), and the picture quality is nothing short of amazing. I haven't found a disc yet that gives the player any problems, and it's also very quiet when playing.

It's a light machine, weighing only about ten pounds, but don't think it's underpowered because of it. Outside of a progressive scan DVD player (which really is of no benefit until HDTV is popular), this is one of the finest units widely available. Grab it up today.

I'm not really the one that is looking for all these bells and wisthles that many DVD players have today. It might be O.K. for film buffs, but it's not for me. Simply put, this player is worth it! Put in the disc and you have a movie. Unlike those bargain brands, it won't play discs messed up. So far, it has handled every one of my DVD's perfectly. Yes, it can play "The Matrix" "Men In Black and "Toy Story 2" with no problems. Although, it plays DVD's great, make sure that your TV has at LEAST RCA outputs (The yellow, red and white holes. You can't hook it up via coxial cable unless you have one of those RF converters, which is really a poor connection.

VideoSecu 4 Pack 150 Feet Video Power CCTV Security Camera Cables with BNC to RCA Adapter Connector

These cables are excellent. Just as described. The service from the company was exceptional. We received one short and they send the other one speedily, so we could have continued our installation without hicups.

The purchase of these cables went off without a hitch. The shipping was quick and it was packaged appropriately. I just wish the cables themselves were a little thicker gauge. But, all in all thanks and I'll be back.

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I got them because the ones that came with the OEM were too short. It worked great and I have couple of spares for replacement if needed.

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3 cables worked fine.

1 cable did not and the company tried to say it was my fault and that I did not notify them within 30 days. However, my project started 2 months after receiving the cables.

The seller would not agree to refund any amount. After much disagreement the seller only agreed to have me ship back the cables at my cost and would charge a 15% restocking fee. This would basically make the effort impractical as the cost of shipping plus restocking fee would make a near break-even situation. The issue was not caused by me, but the seller does not stand by his/her quality and then agree to replace at their cost. I suffered many hours just debugging whether it was my camera, or DVR connection, or something else that was malfunctioning. I finally had to go out and buy another cable to narrow the problem down to the malfunctioning cable. Seller has no concern over my wasted effort.

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This is a great addition to the Swann DVR 8...it allows me to cover the extra areas of my property no problem.

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Teac W-890R-B Double Auto-reverse Cassette Deck (Black)

• Variable Pitch Control
• Bi-directional Double-deck Continuous Record/playback
• Parallel Recording decks 1 & 2 simultaneously
• Mic/Line Mixing Recording desks 1 & 2
• Dobly B Noise Reduction HX Pro

This Teac double cassette deck is a replacement for a Denon unit that finally gave up the ghost after more than 10 years of service. Even though the price is similar to its predecessor, this unit is more sturdily built and has superior playback quality. I have a large collection of opera recordings, domestic and imported, which will be the job of this deck; for me it was an easier decision to upgrade the tape deck than to convert weeks worth of music to CDs, especially since so many are copy-protected and would have required a professional workaround.

Everything arrived in good shape, the Teac carton inside the larger, padded Amazon box. The multi-language manual is clear and easy to follow, and setup took just minutes, not hours. I have played back recordings in Normal, Chrome and Metal tape modes, and all three project solid bass; the latter two have a lot more bloom and extension on the high end. The Dolby noise reduction works just fine, so much so that I have to strain to discern any tape hiss at all. The adjustable reverse function works as advertised: you can play one cassette in both directions or set up a continuous loop so that each side plays in both directions--very helpful for three-hour operas. If one side is shorter than the other and there is prolonged quiet, you can always fast-forward to the end or just get up and take a snack or bathroom break while waiting for the next side to start up. Although recording will not be a big deal for me, everything is laid out logically and the keys are very responsive, as is the battery-powered remote control. The sound level meters and tape counters are easy to read, and there is a handy feature if you want to return to a particular song or passage. Just mark the spot by the count, click, and you get an encore. The manual suggests cleaning the heads and capstans every 10 hours of use with a bit of Isopropyl alcohol and a Q-Tip, so you want to be sure this deck is placed in an accessible location with good sightlines, so you can see what you're doing without a flashlight or standing on your head.

Certainly no complaints in terms of meeting my expectations, and better built than most I've seen, I'm looking to many more years of reliable service from this deck as I revisit my collection.

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After going through both of my old cassette decks, buying a used one from ebay and returning it.

I thought I would try the ion usb cassette deck, the tape dragged and the frequency response sucked. Sent it back too!

Now I have a great tape deck! This brings back the quality of deck that I was used to.

Smooth eject tape door, noise reduction, play and record from both sides, quality buttons all around.

BUY this deck, it is TOTALLY worth every penny.

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Like most Teac products it is 1st class quality. I use two of these for analog recording of live music and then transfer the final product to CD ( on another Teac product). The push button controls are smooth and accurate. It stops and starts instantly and I have used it to edit ( splice ) on occasion. The hi speed dubbing is outstanding. For analog recording this is the way to go.

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I AM ON A MISSION TO COPY MY LP'S AND CASSETTE TAPES OVER TO A DIGITAL FORMAT. MY OLD CASSETTE PLAYER DIED AWHILE BACK ON ME SO I SEARCHED AMAZON FOR CASSETTE DECKS STILL AVAILABLE. I OPTED FOR THE TEAC 890 AND I'M OFF AND RUNNING WITH MY CONVERSIONS. I ORDERED THE TEAC OVER AMAZON AND RECEIVED IT TWO DAYS BEFORE EXPECTING IT. VERY HAPPY WITH AMAZON AND VERY HAPPY WITH THE TAPE DECK.

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I found this recorder a great buy for the price. The price is worth the cassette/recorder/player. I never thought I could still buy a cassette recorder/player which sound great as a Cd. I would recommend this unit to my friends,without hesitation. Amazon can't be beat for the price and good customer service".....................

SVAT CV301-8CH-X Web Ready 8 Channel H.264 500GB HDD DVR Security System with Smart Phone Access an

Home burglary convinced the rest of the household to purchase surveillance set. Easy to set up and configure. My unit isn't connected directly to a monitor, but remote network access is simple and easy. 500GB with 8 cameras records about 1 week. The motion grid for recording is easy to set up on each camera and can trigger any camera u select to start recording if you don't want it recording on a schedule or constantly. Great product.

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Pantech C300 Phone (AT&T)

I got this phone when I renewed my Cingular service about three months ago. All I've ever wanted is a simple-to-use, reliable, SMALL phone that I could easily carry around. I have no use for internet features, IM/texting or a camera in a phone... which is probably a good thing as far as this review goes.

Cons:

1.) The camera is grainy and extremely limited in function. If you snap alot of pics with your phone, this isn't the one for you.

2.) My first battery wouldn't hold a charge for even one day. The second one lasts much longer, but still not as long as advertised on the box.

3.) My phone came pre-loaded with only melody and sound effect ringtones, no "regular" tones that sounded like a phone ringing.

4.) I gave up waiting on the internet to log on, so I can't even comment on it's functionality.

Pros:

1.) It's freaking tiny. As a guy who likes to carry his phone in a pocket rather than in a belt holster, this phone is the perfect size. I hardly even know it's there.

2.) Signal strength is great. I have no problem hearing calls, nor does anyone have a problem hearing me.

3.) The interface is really really easy to navigate though you'll have some problems if you got big fingers.

So all in all, I'm satisfied with the Pantech C300 because it does the very basic things I need from a cellphone very well, in a very small package. All the other features are a bit lacking in my opinion and that is why I'm only giving it 3 stars.

I originally returned this phone because I thought it didn't meet my criteria for contact info (more than one phone number, e-mail addresses, notes), but I was wrong. In fact it can store 800 contacts with 3 phone numbers, 2 e-mail addresses, notes and other stuff (the SIM card holds an add'l 250 contacts). So I returned my Nokia 6102i (which was too slow in performance for me) and went back to this phone.

Cool features:

I love the flash with the camera which you can also use as a flashlight (press the down arrow on the outer left side while the phone is closed). The up arrow pressed down firmly for a few seconds triggers the camera. One button gets you to your contacts, another button directly to the calendar. The navigation performance is FAST! With the Nokia 6102i, there was a delay in navigating. The vibrate mode (which I use) is powerful. The multimedia messaging performance is pretty good. Sending an image to my email took just a couple seconds. Other cool features are a unit converter and world time.

This is the perfect phone to carry around your waist even while jogging. I found a lot of the other flip phones out there were too heavy, bulky, long, or wide.

The only drawback for me is how long it takes to turn off and on. It takes 10-12 sec to power on and 20-30 sec to power off. Other than this, I love this phone.

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If you want a phone that does a lot, don't get this one. When I was shopping for a new phone I wanted one that was small, loud, and vibrated strongly. I had a hard time hearing my old phone (a Samsung x427m) ring or feeling it vibrate in my purse. I wasn't looking for a phone that did a lot or had bluetooth. If you have the same requirements for a cell phone as I do, then this phone is a great option. It's small, it's loud, and it vibrates off the table.

Pros:

~very small, light, thin

~loud

~strong vibration

~camera (I wasn't looking for a cameraphone, but I like it now that I have it...just don't expect to use it as you would a real camera)

~outside screen

~you can use the flash as a flashlight...and it's bright

Cons:

~sometimes people tell me they have a hard time hearing me...I find myself having to talk louder than I used to have to on a cell phone

~the buttons are small...i often hit 2 at once or the wrong one when texting (not a problem i've had before with other phones)

Read Best Reviews of Pantech C300 Phone (AT&T) Here

I have only had the phone for a few months but it seems durable enough to last a long time.

I am disappointed that you can't put the phone on speaker phone while you are calling someone and it is ringing. You have press two buttons to put the phone on speaker phone and if you have dialed any numbers during the call you have to clear them out and then press two buttons to put it on speaker phone. If you don't clear out the numbers it flashes over and tries to dial the numbers on the other line.

My other big grip with this phone is that it doesn't delete old text messages when new ones come in. Instead it says your inbox(or outbox) is full and you have to delete the oldest messages one by one or you can delete all messages. There is no setting to have it automatically delete old messages and that is a pain.

I like to color screen on the outside on the phone so you can see who is calling and that you can set personal ringtones for each caller. You can also assign a picture to a caller. The only problem is that it can't be a picture that someone sent you from there phone, it has to be one that you took on the camera. This is very strange since they are both jpg's and both taken on camera phones. Pictures that are sent to you are stored in a different place than pictures that you take with the camera phone. They should be stored in the same place. Conversely you can set the wallpaper background picture to either type of picture.

Ringtones and Games The ringtones that come on the phone suck. I know this is because they want you to buy rinetones but they should at least have one ringtone that sounds like something ringing. The phone only came with one game, again because they want you to buy them.

I have used the wireless web to read news and sports scores and it works fine. You have to scroll allot because of the size of the screen but that's ok if you want a small phone.

No bluetooth but I'm not a fan of looking like a cyborg any way.

The small size of the phone is one of it's best selling points but it should be pointed out that the small keys make it a little more difficult when sending text messages. If you send more than 2 text messages a day you should consider getting a different phone. The keys need to be more like the old Motorola Vader.

Even with all the things I would change about this phone I still recommend it over the competition. I hope the designers work out the kinks in the next model and I will buy it again.

Here's a Tip/Trick about the phone: Hold down on the external down button to turn on the camera flash and use the phone as a flashlight.

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Perfect if you just need to carry a small basic phone. Not recommended for folks looking for lots of bells & whistles.

Call volume and range is good, especially given the small size.

Camera image quality is ok for web photos (VGA 640x480), but this wouldn't be the phone for you if you need to make prints from your photos. It also doesn't take video (surprised). No memory expansion slot (mini SD or otherwise).

The biggest con was the lack of blue tooth support. If you need to use a headphone you'll need one with wires (argh!). If your state has a law on requiring you to drive hands free then this might not be the right phone for you.

We bought this as a pre-pay Cingular phone plan but were able to get Cingular to unlock it to allow us to use our old ATT SIM in it.

Dell 2709W 27-Inch LCD Widescreen Monitor

I had a good HP monitor "or so I thought" but could never get good prints on my professional large format photo printer. What does one have to do with the other? EVERYTHING thats what! Even though my old monitor was calibrated monthly my prints were always dark and skin tones looked really bad considering what I saw on screen and the fact that the images came out of my Canon DSLR's and "L" glass and I always shoot in RAW mode. Then I learned that most consumer monitors are of the TL variety and don't accurately display enough gamut to do professional work. I always wondered why the pros used $2,500.00 Eizo monitors when you could get the same size one at Best buy that looked just as good to the naked eye for $300.00. This is not an Eizo but it's as close as you can get for $750.00 and is light years ahead of the consumer ones at Best Buy. And as soon as I plugged this bad boy in and calibrated it with a Huey ALL my printing problems disappeared. I can now print with professional results that look extremely close to what it shows on the monitor for the first time ever. I have been fighting that one for years now, tried different printers, calibrating equipment, Photoshop CS3 & CS4, Lightroom and it still looked terrible. New high end monitor and problem solved!!! SOOOO, if your a photographer spend the extra money to get an SPVA or similar type and stay away from the cheap TN monitors that places like Best Buy sell. If all you want is a gaming monitor or something for general use then get a cheap TN type. For more information on monitor types look here http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/lcd-panel-types.php There are reasons some things are so much more expensive than others that look the same.

As a graphic designer, the quality of my monitor is critical. I previously had a LaCie 22" CRT and loved it. But it was time to upgrade and get the 50lb beast off my desk.

LaCie offers a larger LCD monitor but it was out of my price range at the time so I opted for a Dell. Another designer had recommended it and I trusted their judgment.

Overall, I am satisfied with the quality and reliability. The screen is huge 27" offers a ton of desktop space and allows for multiple screens and toolbars to be open while still viewing your work.

It was easily calibrated using my Colorvison Spyder. I didn't have any more trouble adjusting the controls for calibration than any other monitor.

It is bright but that can be controlled. It is easily viewed in bright light and a dark room. My office has four large windows so during the day it is well lit but still easily viewable.

I love the convenience of the extra USB and card reader ports on the side. All have worked well.

It is lightweight and adjusts height and angle very easily.

I have had no problems with any pixels yet.

There are two drawbacks to this monitor which may be true of every LCD. The clarity is not as good as the old CRTs. I lost some detail in grayscale and Photoshop work (but after almost one year of use, I am used to it now).

I wish it had a higher resolution setting than 1920 x 1200. I stepped up in screen size from my old LaCie but went down in available resolution. So in the end, I didn't really get a proportional increase in screen size. From my research, this seems to be the maximum resolution for LCD monitors this size.

I would recommend this but if money weren't an issue, I would probably go back to a LaCie.

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Very good monitor if, like me, you like your pixels to have a nice big size :) This is a bit easier to read than the 24'' monitors (has same 1920*1200 resolution, but with 3 extra inches).

The monitor is very well built, feels extremely sturdy and solid. Height is easily adjustable, it swivels and turns nicely. No portrait mode though (like the Dell 24''). The integrated USB hub is extremely useful. Image is nice and crisp, from almost any angle. It even did quite OK with games, didn't see any "ghosting" effects whatsoever.

Cons: The color calibration however is obviously quite a bit off. I didn't find any controls to tweak the color settings, except presets... For me the "Adobe RGB" preset was seemingly the most accurate, but there is no way to calibrate the color components directly. Browsing through the monitor's menu is not practical, the menu keys are very beautiful and fancy but not very ergonomic.

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[Edit, after 4 months usage]

After using this monitor for a few months, I'd like to remove one star from my rating because of the controls: they are the worst I've ever dealt with!

I love the picture and size of the monitor, and thankfully I don't have to switch sources or tweak the settings all that much. But man are those controls awful!

You have to approach your finger in a certain way, you can't be too fast or too slow when pressing them., and you have to press for a precise amount of time, under the right angle for it to work!

Whoever came up with that design: please stop! Do not, under any circumstance use that design on another monitor again! It is completely unnerving and gets me mad every time I have to deal with them. Worst design ever.

Read Best Reviews of Dell 2709W 27-Inch LCD Widescreen Monitor Here

Pros: Big 27 inches. Multi card reader-great for photographers or anyone that carries data in SD or CF cards. Super easy to set up-less than 20 minutes. Very cool touch sensitive controls. Right sized pixels makes it very easy to read text.

Cons: Out of the box a bit too bright on the brightness side. Easy fix with a monitor calibrator like the Huey Pro easy peasy!

Summary: An awesome piece of "real-state" I can bring multiple windows at the same type without sacrificing space and having to scroll lef-right, right-left, or up-down, down-up. Great to work with applications like Adobe Lightroom you can bring all the tools and plates that you want without getting into your work area. I've owned several LCD monitors and in my humble opinion, this one is the best out there. I was considering the 30 inch Apple Cinema, but then again in this economy one is going to look for the biggest bang for your buck, and believe you me this is it.

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Great monitor, just as the reviews said. I'm not crazy about the controls, but I hardly needed to use them. I tried the equivalent 27" Asus (from another on-line store) and sent it back (in spite of the $50 re-stock fee and shipping), because the Asus just couldn't cut the mustard, compared to the 24" Samsung 244T I run next to it, which is another great monitor I tried to buy the equivalent 27" Samsung, but they seemed to be unavailable.

I use both monitors for a wide variety of home apps, photo, video, web, etc. and gaming.

Sharp BDAMS20U 1080p 3D Blu-Ray Disc Player

• Number of Discs-1;Video-Video Formats-BD Video, DVD Video, DivX, DivX HD, MPEG-2, H.264;Audio-Audio Formats-CD-DA, MP3, AC3;Network & Communication-Wi-Fi-Yes;Controls/Indicators-Remote Control-Yes;Physical Characteristics-Height-1.9
• Media Formats-CD-RW, DVD-RW, BD-RE, DVD+RW;Video-Scan Format-1080p;Image-Image Formats-JPEG;Interfaces/Ports-HDMI-Yes;Power Description-Operating Power Consumption-16 W;Physical Characteristics-Width-16.9
• Features-Internet Streaming, Parental Control, BD-live, Bonus View;Video-Scanning Modes-Progressive Scan;Network & Communication-Ethernet-Yes;Interfaces/Ports-USB-Yes;Power Description-Standby Power Consumption-200 mW;Physical Characteristics-Depth-7.1
• bdams20u

This player has been much better than my more expensive LG. Faster to start the movie with great picture quality. I did have wifi problems as it seems to be weak or defective, but I hardwire anyways, so didn't spend too much time on this. The latest updated did speed up the internet apps for me, but with so many devices now that are connected that have Netfix, etc. I don't use them. Ex. Wii, PS3, Xbox, Mediacenter, Roku. If you are looking for internet apps then look away from any TV or Blu-ray player, and go with Roku or other similar device. It will be faster and have more choices.

If you are looking for a DVD player with a good feature set including MHL then this is a great player. Again very fast to start movies and the video and sound quality have also been very good.

Giving a Blu-ray player bad reviews due to speed of internet apps is not all that fair, as it is a BLURAY player 1st and foremost. And this player does that very very well.

Almost forgot. The menu is great. It is not as fancy as the LG, and can look a little bland, but it is blazing fast and easy to navigate. So many manufacturers have tried to make things look pretty that I forgot how fast things can be when you forgo all that. My LG was very sluggish when in the menus. Very well laid out, too. I highly recommend this Blu-ray player for playing...well...blu-rays. If you are looking for an internet app player then go with Roku.

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The boot time on this DVD player is a bit slow however it generates a fantastic picture in either DVD/BlueRay or BlueRay 3D with my Sharp Aquos TV. I purchased this because Sharp recommended it as a compliment to the TV and it works great. It is also nice using the TV remote to control this DVD player so I don't always have to go searching for 2 remotes.

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I have had this player for about 2 months. The player side of it works great the only downfall is it does not resume play you will have to fast forward but that's ok. It plays my dvd r-rw perfect which most these day do not. The smart side of it is good the only downfall I see is I do have to re enter my wireless information more than id like. The menu is plain and that's ok it does have Pandora under the apps menu and all apps work well as well as Netflix and Vudu. Overall great player for the money !!

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This is one of the greatest 3d Blu Ray player. It can play all of my DVD with RW, DVD and 3d blu ray. I have enjoyed it so far.

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Slip a disc in, sit back, and relax. No really, take off your shoes, massage your feet a little, clip your fingernails, make a sandwich, and then MAYYYYYYBE this player will be at the main menu for you to start watching your film!

All of the extraneous features like Pandora, YouTube, etc. are useless to me because EVERY SINGLE MEDIA DEVICE/TV NOW HAS THOSE NOW!!!

Sharp makes excellent TVs, and maybe they offer other models of Bluray players that are responsive, but this one is not one of them!

2- Pack DENON HD8/100 High Bias Metal Particle Audio Cassette Tapes

I'm a 'retro' stereo guy and have built several high-end stereos from the late '70's. Finding quality cassette tapes is getting harder and harder to find. However, these tapes were in OEM condition, well packaged, and worked beautifully with my 1980's cassette tape recorder. A good product at a great price.

RCA HD DTV In-Car Digital Recorder Receiver / Tuner

Of course the only obvious problem is that you can't really watch an ATSC broadcast while the car is moving more than like...10 miles per hour.. That's what the ATSC M-h is designed for The mobile version, and only if you are lucky to have such service in your area.. I live in NYC so pretty much all the local stations here (CBS, NBC, FOX,....) do have Mobile broadcast. Anyway good product overall.. I'd wish the antenna wa a big longer though.. So far so good, regardless .

Showcenter 200 with Wireless G Play Digital Media From Pc On Tv

First I wanted to explain why I give it a 3, the idea is great in fact the concept deserves a 5 but the lack of detail in usability and design by Pinnacle, plus the technical difficulty in setup I must knock off two full stars.

I have to open this story and state that I've been in IT for about 12 years so I'm very comfortable with hardware and software setups. But this little product proved to be quite a challenge. Here is a play by play of last night's events.

Started off by trying to install MediaManager w/o having to upgrade to XP SP2, however I finally gave in, despite a year of SP2 resistance and upgraded. Note that the ShowCenter documentation clearly states that it will work with SP1. So I'm now about an hour into the process and I have a slightly slower PC due in part to SP2. Next, I reinstall the previous failed attempt of MediaManager and this time it works. Based on reading other people's comments here on the board I changed my Linky to channel 4 and disabled WPA then killed the PC firewall. Great at this point I have the software set now it's just a matter of setting up the hardware, should be simple...right???

Ok its hardware time, I plug in the audio and video cables and fire up the SC 200 first screen comes up and I realize that Pinnacle spent very little money on usability as a UX/BA I shake my head and proceed to change the wireless configuration settings. Then the system performs not one but two firmware updates. I can now see my Linky and I'm thinking I'm almost home but not so fast, after a few more configuration changes I finally see my PC. Next I select the PC and see the media menu, from here I'm thinking YES it's over so I pick a title from the Music menu and it starts to play but then hangs and nothing happens, no sound, no video, nothing. I reboot the SC and try it again, nada, zip, zilch, sorry try again. At this point I can only figure that it has something to do with the bandwidth since I can see the PC and the music/video/photos I just can't play any of them. At this point I have too much time invested to give in and go the cheap/easy wired way out so I create a homemade directional antenna booster and increase my gain by about 12dbs. I reboot the SC for the last time and eureka I'm streaming music, most importantly music from my Rhapsody playlist from my PC through my LifeStyle system. At this point I hit the sack since its 2:15 in the morning and save the rest for when I wake.

I wake up and reconfigure my firewall and WEP since it doesn't want to work with WPA, fortunately I don't have many script kiddies in the hood trying to sack my WAP, so downgrading to WEP isn't much of an issue. So after about 4 hours of hell I finally see the pearly gates and head off to work. I know this has been a longwinded review but I wanted to let you know that just like anything in life persistence wins over all odds and technological challenges. Below are cliff notes in the event you decide to travel this road yourself.

* Upgrade to XP SP2 before installing (backup important data prior, just in case)

* Set your router to channel 6 or below (mine worked well on 4)

* Disable your PC firewall (you can turn this on after you make your connection, it just helps to reduce the variables)

* Disable WPA or WEP (same note as above)

* Ensure that your wireless signal is pulling at least -45dbs or better

* Make sure the Windows Media Connect is running to handle DRM like Rhapsody

* Make sure that you are logged into Rhapsody

* Make sure that MediaManager is running

* Switch from Ad-Hoc to Infrastructure

The ShowCenter was a bit tricky to set-up at first -more an issue with my ReadyNas X6 in the end. The ShowCenter can comfortably stream 1.5Mbps XVid MP4's over a wireless G, and except for some very close inspection, it is very hard to discern the difference from the original.

The included software is fairly lame, my suggestion is if you plan on this investment, get a good media serving box. Like I mentioned earlier, it works very well with the ReadyNAS X6 for video. (Photos and music are another issue, but no fault of ShowCenter).

The only really wishes for a box like this are:

1. Support for H.264 MP4s

2. Direct connection for streaming of music right now it must go through your PC.

Buy Showcenter 200 with Wireless G Play Digital Media From Pc On Tv Now

After having read some customer reviews about this product, I figured I'd be in for a bit of a battle with the setup. And indeed, it was a bit painful. Entering a 128 bit WEP key on a phone keyboard is not fun at all, and I had to do it several times before the Showcenter would recognize it for some reason. And even worse, you have to PAY to call their support center $25/call (after the 1st call)! What?! That is wrong, wrong, wrong. In my opinion, if a product is defective, or if the instructions for setup are incomplete, the customer should not have to pay to get their questions answered.

Once it's set up, there are only a couple of minor gripes. One of them is that it takes a good 3-5 minutes for the machine to warm up and recognize the wireless connection each time you turn it on. So if you're looking to just turn it on and go, this will be a major disappointment. The other minor gripe is that it takes awhile to toggle through the menu.

Also, I'm not sure if this is a problem with my audio receiver or with the Showcenter , but my receiver will not recognize the Showcenter as a video source, so I had to plug the video directly into my tv, but the audio was able to go into my receiver just fine. It's a minor inconvenience though.

But all that said, hey, it's WAY cheaper than getting a Sonos, and the sound is great. You can put together playlists and group your files however you want for easier access. And it has access to internet radio stations, which are fabulous, and it's HD ready. You can also view photos and video files as well. All work great! I was also able to synchronize the Showcenter with my Logitech Harmony 890 remote, which I love. I can't recommend that thing enough.

I was torn between 3 stars and 4 because of the setup, but now that it's set up, I only have the gripe of it being a bit slow to get going. So, 4 stars it is.

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Wireless video streaming works nicely, with amazing performance. As a test, I played a 700MB AVI-format movie. The install took me 10-15 minutes. BTW, I have a 11g wireless network running in the house, and I use a Compaq NC6000 laptop to run the media center software. The laptop is about 3 years old and running XP/SP2.

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Pinnacle Studio 500 USB Version 10.0

• Comprehensive and easy-to-use home video editing software; includes 500-USB adapter
• Quickly adds spectacular effects, transitions, titles and music to videos
• Image stabilization feature and color correction tool helps you enhance video quality
• Create DVDs with menus and custom navigation on the fly without copying your files to your PC
• Imports videos from non-encrypted DVDs for added enhancement and re-mastering

Be prepared for a 30+ minute install on this application. I hate the fact that it loads so many 3rd party applications. It also installs the .NET 1.1 framework. Not only do you have to enter the product key to install, you have to wait for an email and enter other keys just to get other components working.

I run this softrware on a RAID 0 3.4 GHZ 1 GB Ram computer and it still runs slow. It takes almost 30 seconds just to load the program and I have the best hardware money can buy right now. Program has crashed and hung several times but that can be expected since it's not a solid product written by a single company.

I've had better luck with Sonic Studio. I only purchased this for the hardware that allows composite and S-Video inputs to USB 2.0 port. That seems to be okay, it's just the software I don't like.

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Tried to load this software on two different computers that are top of the line as far and speed and memory. Both computers expereiced major problems but had completey different issues. You have to get a special key on everything they try to advertise as free. None of the support tricks they offered worked. Its buggy to say the least. I'm going to try to get my money back. Nothing worked, and very frustrated.

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I did an upgrade from Version 9 to Version 10. I loaded the software three times and could not get the "features" unlocked. The software runs very slow on a computer that ran the older software well. The online support suggestions don't work and noone answers the support line.

I am asking for a refund.

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While this product has been advertised as "simple" and "easy-to-use", it is actually slow, buggy, and completely useless. I purchased this so that I could burn DVD's from the video I record with my Canon ZR200 digital video camera. I've encountered nothing but problems and frustration with it. First of all, the USB connection from the product will simply disappear while I am capturing video (and this is after the 10.5.2 version is installed). Then, if I get lucky and am able to capture any video, the DVD creation fails every time. Of course there is no error message or troubleshooting information to explain why the DVD creation fails. This isn't to mention the extreme slowness of the application. Do yourself a favor and do not buy this piece of junk.

The software won't install. It keeps freezing up and crashing. But the hardware devise was recognized by my computer and is working with Windows Movie Maker.

SVAT PI300-SD Covert Fully Functional Alarm Clock Security DVR with Built-in Color Pinhole Surveill

This is a total piece of junk. The field of view is very tiny and it requires bright daylight to record anything. During the evening with normal household lighting it records nothing but shadows. No audio, just video.

It looks and behaves like a normal clock. Programming only offers a 24 hour clock, not a daily setting. For example, I wanted to video M-T from 6am-6pm and shorter times on W-F so it would have to be reprogrammed or you risk running out of memory faster. I tried a larger memory chip, but the card gets extremely hot. You can't designate certain times for each day. This combined with the small memory forces me to empty the card each evening I found this to be inconvenient. It does work, but the image quality isn't great. Had to keep it on the lowest grade so it wouldn't consume the memory. Overall it performs good for the price.

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Bought it from Amazon. Item came earlier than expected super prompt delivery. This item was easy to set up for use as per instructions provided. Used a 16gb SD card instead of the 2gb provided and it work just fine. One comment though, picture quality under dim lights can be improved.

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The directions are not written well so I needed some questions answered. I emailed, no response. I called, they didn't call back. I plan on sending the unit back.

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Nice product didnt realize I had to take the back off to remove the sd card. Slight inconvenience for the situation I am using the product.

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Olympus LS-14 Linear PCM Digital Voice Recorder

I purchased LS-14 from Amazon, and I must say I am disappointed by Olympus and will be sending this back. Let me explain...

The recordings the LS-14 will make, will probably be "good" to "great" for most people. Keep in mind though, this will most likely be the same people who couldn't tell the difference between what they hear in a 128kb mp3 file and a 48bit 96khz WAV file. I'm not an audiophile type of person, but I do pay attention and notice the small details of sounds around me when I am recording.

I also own an Olympus LS-11 and a Sony PCM M10. I was looking for a new recorder with the same quality in it's recordings, but that can capture the full range of 20khz to 20hz (the frequencies sound range which the human ear is able to hear). The LS-11 is only able to record 20khz to 60hz (and the LS-10 can only do 20khz to 120hz), and many people have referred to the LS-11\LS-10 as having the "bass roll-off" in recordings. Still the LS-11 has been considered as one of the few handheld recorders for it's time that creates very realistic recordings for what it captures even surpassing the Sony PCM M10. The LS-11 has an aluminum body and is a solid built device in your hand. Besides the "bass roll-off" issue, when recording very low sounds with the mic sensitivity set to high, you do hear a high "hiss" sound. This is where the LS-14 was suppose to come in...

According to Olympus, here is what they have to say about the LS-14:

"Complimenting the new high-quality stereo microphones is a new amplifier circuitry. The audio and system circuitry are separated on the Olympus LS-12 and LS-14 to minimize sound degradation and keep the signal true."

and they also said the following:

"A hallmark of the Olympus LS series has always been superior sound quality, and the LS-12 and LS-14 take that reputation to a new level. The LS-12 features two new internal 90-degree directional stereo condenser microphones with a frequency response of 60Hz to 20 kHz, allowing the user to capture lower-bass frequencies. The LS-14 compliments those directional stereo condenser microphones with a third omnidirectional center "TRESMIC," increasing the frequency response range to 20Hz 20 kHz"

With that said I took the gamble and bought the LS-14 believing I would get the full range of 20hz to 20khz, and less "hiss" in my low sound recordings, but that isn't what happened.

When comparing recordings from my LS-11 and the LS-14 with the mic sensitivity set to high on both devices, I actually hear more "hiss" in my recordings on the LS-14. This IMO is a big step backwards for the recorder and not acceptable. The LS-14 will capture low frequencies, but the lower frequencies seem almost to loud and unreal. There is no way on the recorder to adjust the gain level of the center "tresmic" mic. This causes your recordings to almost have too much of an emphases on the lower frequencies. Of course you can turn off the center mic, or set a limiter, but than what's the point of the LS-14 over the LS-12 if that has to be done all the time or in my case, why upgrade from the LS-11 to begin with?

LS-14 also feels slightly better than a cheap toy in your hand. The entire thing is plastic. It's fatter and very "blocky" in design then the LS-11 and the LS-07 which the LS-14 was suppose to replace (which the LS-07 replaced the LS-11). The LS-14 doesn't come with any windscreens for the mics and makes it absolutely useless to use outside if there is any kind of breeze. Of course you can buy an accessory from Olympus for this but at least with the LS-11 when it was being sold, Olympus included the small spongy covers for the mics of that recorder. I would of rather Olympus did the same thing here than provide the cheap little carrying case they give you with this recorder.

Overall, I was not impressed with the LS-14. The very key features that drew me to buy the product were not as advertised and I found the LS-14 to be an inferior product to the now defunct LS-11 which Olympus no longer sells. It's apparent in my opinion that the LS-14 was not designed by the same engineering team that designed the LS-11 and that Olympus cut many corners to make a cheaper product with less bang then the LS-11 came originally out of the box. I've considered buying the LS-100 recorder, but don't know now and am wondering if all of their current recorders will reflect the same half-backed end result as the LS-14.

**Update 01/06/13**

I need to also point out a few things. I was very critical in my review of the LS-14, because of the amazing job Olympus did with prior recorders like the LS-11 and LS-10, (which are still being sought after today by audiophile types of people for a small handheld recorder to use to capture realistic sounds). The LS-14 is still a very good recorder. the "hiss" sound will most likely never appear in most recordings people make, and if it does, you really have to go looking for that high pitched sound with decent monitoring speakers or decent headphones and if you aren't looking to record VERY quite ambient sounds with the mic sensitivity set to high and mic gain all the way you will probably never hear the problem.

**Update 01/25/2013**

I created a video for Youtube comparing the sound quality between the LS-14 and the LS-11, which I've also included here on Amazon.

The Olympus LS-14 is an excellent recorder with quiet mic preamps, long battery life, good sounding microphones and an autogain setting which actually works. My only complaint is that the central omnidirectional microphone designed for capturing lower frequencies clips very easily and adds a ton of noise to your recordings.

The noise floor is drastically reduced when the central mic is disabled and the central mic makes the stereo image sound boxy.

One thing you should also know is that the LS-14 operates in AGC mode when used as a USB mic. So, while it's operating as a USB mic, there is no way to manually adjust recording levels.

I would have rated this recorder as a five star item, but I took off one star due to the lousy central mic and the fact that you can't manually set recording levels while it's being used as a USB mic.

Update 01/05/2013

Now that i've had more time to play with this recorder, i've learned some more about it. First, the central microphone truly, truly sucks. The noise-floor is insanely high and the bass frequencies are too overpowering. I just keep the central microphone turned off because of how much hiss it adds. I did not get a defective item, because a few of my friends purchased this recorder and the central microphone is just as bad. The central microphone is awful in every way that a mic can be awful, high noise-floor, poor dynamic range, etc. In my opinion, there's only one reason to buy an LS-14 over an LS-12, voice guidance. That's another thing the LS-14 has that the LS-12 doesn't.

If you want a recorder that can capture the full range of human hearing in high quality with its onboard microphones, then I highly recommend you buy a recorder made by a competent company, like Tascam, Roland or Sony. If you plan to use external microphones, then the LS series is a good value because the preamps are actually nice.

I've also learned through experience that the cardioid mics on the LS-12 and LS-14 are extremely sensitive to wind noise. I know all cardioid mics suffer from this problem, but the olympus mics take it to a whole new level. Even the Sony PCM-d50 isn't this sensitive. You definitely need to use a wind screen.

Update 02/06/2013

Okay, remember how I said this recorder has nice preamps? Well, I have to take that back now. I've tested this recorder with various external microphones including a stereo matched pair of DPA 4060 mics, Soundman OKM mics, and core-sound csb mics. The preamps are indeed quiet as I noted above, but there is very bad harmonic distortion below 60 Hz, giving bass frequencies a grainy, artificial sound to them. The grainyness sounds the same no matter which external mics I use, and I can even hear it when the central mic is enabled. It has a very recognizeable sound signature. I'm done with this recorder; I'm going to move onto something better sounding, like a Sony Pcm-M10.

For the record, I no longer think that the LS-14 is a great value for the money. The Roland R-05 costs the same but has far superior electronics. It just lacks a monitor speaker, which, admittedly, does kind of suck.

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I've had the recorder for a few months now and there's still a lot I'm still learning. Without prior experience with such a device, the maze of settings--sample rates, PCM or compressed, limiter settings, bass roll-off settings, middle microphone on or off, etc---is a bit confounding and each new recording effort begins with experimenting to find the best combination of those settings. The device came with a multilingual quick-start sheet and no other instruction manual... at least until later I discovered that the device itself does contain a manual in PDF form stored inside, which is accessible if you use the supplied USB cable, mount the device as a drive on your computer, and browse the folder it provides.

The extra musician related features--metronome, overdub, and tuning--are unused add-ons for me. I already have metronome and tuning covered when I took up an instrument. Overdubbing and the like I will likely do on the computer--especially given that I'm using the device to make digital recordings...

Do you see where I'm going with this? The truth lies somewhere between my own inexperience and questionable user design.

On the other hand, it does do everything I've needed it to do so far... especially once I followed recommendations from external reviews to turn off the noisy central microphone for most of my uses.

Read Best Reviews of Olympus LS-14 Linear PCM Digital Voice Recorder Here

The Positives:

Solid build

Rich in features

Ease in set up

User-friendly design very good ergonomics

Three built-in microphones

Long battery life

Excellent recording quality

The negative:

User manual has small print

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Asoka Pluglink 9650 85mbps Ethernet Adapter 2pc LOT Pair with Cables

Got it quick and it worked. It also included a pair of ethernet cables. Was simple to use and just in case you are unaware these come with a factory default password which you can change yourself by downloading accompanying program through Asoka company website. There is no Mac version for managing the adapters so make sure you have access to a windows OS.

This product is great worked in seconds of being plugged into outlet. I will be buying mre of these in the future.

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Gpx PD808BU 8 Inch Portable DVD Player, Blue

• 8 inch TFT LCD Portable DVD Player/Blue
• 16
• 9 Aspect Ratio
• Supports Multiple Langurages and Language SubTitles
• Plays DVD-R/RW/ DVD positive R/RW and JPEG Discs

Wow, what's with the screen? I just got mine, and tried out various media in it. The screen is pixelated like an old TI we had when I was a kid, and I am not exaggerating. You would not believe that this is for sale in 2008. I am in shock. This is definitely going back.

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Pros : Nice and compact with a very good picture. Inexpensive so very

good purchase for a child of 8 and up.

Cons: Sound is ok need to buy better ear buds. The ones they supple

are hard and they hurt my ears.

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To tell the truth I haven't opened this product. I'm holding it to use with my grandsons on our next trip. I put I love it because I have yet to get anything from you that I haven't loved.

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I purchased a GPX PD951BU 9 Inch Portable DVD Player and it is a FANTASTIC player. I do not know how it would compare to the 808BU here but the GPX brand is great. Any other review saying GPX is not good is wrong. I have purchased and returned so many. I tried RCA, Panasonic, Sony... all of them failed my expectations. They (RCA, Panasonic, Sony, Phillips) all had some kind of problem. Either it was no remote control, or the sound was bad or it would not restart a video where you left off. I tried DVD players that ranged from $70 to $250. This one. A brand I never heard of (GPX)is perfect. It has a great picture, great sound, a remote, it swivels (none of the others did that), it starts the movie where you left off, and it is 9 inches. I am beyond pleased. I highly recommend the GPX pd951bu 9 inch portable dvd player (mine is blue). I love this machine. It is easy for my son who is 5 years old. It plays dvd's that I made myself as well as those I purchased. I could not be any happier. And I bought mine used which means it survived the folks before me and my son too.

On about the 4th video, this thing quite working and started smoking! You know where there is smoke there tends to be fire! Not fun to deal with on the interstate. I called the company about it to report the concern and they kept telling me to call them back in a couple of days. When something starts to spontaneoulsy combust in my van, next to my children, you had better tell me something better than call back in a couple of days!

My last statement is... Buyer beware. Do you love your family? Don't buy this product!

TWIN Pack - PTC 6 ft High Speed HDMI 1.3 Category 2 Certified Cable w/Ferrite Cores (Gold Plated Co

I don't understand why some people still insist on spending huge amounts of money on cables, especially HDMI cables. These are all you need for perfect reception and audio with your TV or Computer. I am using one cable with my Flat Screen LCD TV and the other with my HD Dell LCD with my computer. Don't spend the extra money buy these!

Got the cables in and they cleared up my static in my TV pretty well.. Had an issue in receiving the product initially but the support from the company was top notch and resolved the problem incredibly fast.. followed it up with phone calls to make sure I knew they were on it and it was being handled.

You just got a customer for life.. Service these days is hard to find and these people understand what it means by the saying the Customer comes first...

thanks again for helping me out.

Sincerely,

JD. Richmond Virginia

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These work, but have some sort of interference. There are red static dots all over the place for some reason.

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(20) Black 24-Disc Capacity CD DVD 2-Ring Album Wallet Book Storage CDBR4324BK (UniKeep Style)

With these they are perfect for my video business when I need a lot of DVD's in a little area.

I was pleased with the quality of these at such a low price. The sleeves are easy to work with and the case is pretty sturdy. The fracture easily when frozen, though, so don't drop one in cold weather!

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Toshiba SD2705 5-Disc DVD Player

• DVD/CD-R player with 5-disc carousel
• 10-bit video digital-to-analog conversion with 500 lines of horizontal resolution
• HDCD precision filtering and decoding
• Dolby Digital and DTS audio output
• 4x picture zoom with 4 forward and reverse scan speeds

I bought this one because it seemed like the best value for the money. But in the end I was pretty disappointed with it. I would have thought that Toshiba was a dependable quality product but I was wrong. I ended up returning this player because it kept freezing up. It wouldn't respond to anything, even the off button, and I kept having to unplug the darn thing and plug it in to get it back to normal again. It would do this with both DVD's and CD's. This gets to be a pain in the butt when your entertainment centre weighs a couple hundred pounds and the plug is way back there behind it. I was also disappointed with the random feature. You could play 5 CD's at random but it had to be 2 songs from each CD before it would randomly pick the next. Why 2 songs? I wanted random, not pairs. Otherwise, it seemed to have great picture, but even the cheapest DVD players have great picture. I'm not sure which brand I'll move onto but I think I'll pay a bit more this time.

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I have a daughter (3) whom uses (w/o assistance) the DVD player more than I use the stove. I am very unhappy with the frequent "pausing" and the problems I have ran into with several videos (the Toshiba doesn't recognize it until a power cycle...sometimes not at all). I can honestly recommend that a user looks at a different unit instead of purchasing a Toshiba. A friend has an AIWA and another a JVC, each without problems.

Good overall quality (plenty of capabilities), but the freezing conditions (1 sec to 1 min) cancel every other nice feature out.

This DVD player has changed my complete feelings regarding Toshiba, from DVD players, to laptops, to cameras...now out of the equation (still rank "slightly" above Packard Bell)

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I purchased this particular machine, after I had a hellish nightmare with the Hatachi c605u (That's A diffrent story with in itself). Now I have a owned the Toshiba sd1200 dvd player for about a year, and I was very pleased. But I wanted to upgrade my home Theater system to a changer, So I decided on this model, becuase I was so use to the name of Toshiba, (and had major problems with the hatachi c605u) The Quilty of the picture was very good especially with an S-video conection. The Sound was Just amazing, (but you must have a Dolby Digital Connection via Coaxial Or Optical). But If you don't the, simmulated surround works just fine with the 2-2spactializer (thats simm 3d sound). This Means that it will sound like you have a full surround sound system with just 2 speakers. The Video connections that are; available are S-video and Componet, but even if you have an older tv the video out will work just. fine. The remote is easy to use, a little small, but that's a miner problem for such a major machine. It also plays video cd, cd-r, cd-rw. it does it all. So if you are in the market for a 5 disk changer (Just In time for the Godfather Trilogy). Then the Toshiba sd2705 is the right one for you So sit back and enjoy the show.

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Other Toshiba products have performed reasonably well but this one's a dud. It's a good value featurewise but the control actions are agonizingly slow and the panel input went out after 4 months (after the labor warranty ran out). AND there's a strange sound distortion when playing half of the CD-audio discs that I've tried. Avoid.

I bought this thing approx 1 1/2 years ago for $75 here at this site . . . little did i know what a piece of junk it is.

I buy on average, 1-2 DVDs a week would bring them home, play them and 1/2 the time they wouldn't play at all (even the menu unaccessible) OR I'd watch 3/4 of the movie just fine & then the whole ending would skip through to the very end. Like an idiot not thinking, I thought I had just hit a bad pile of DVDs kept bringing them back to the store complaining . . . sometimes even 3-4x for the same exact one wondering why kind of goods these stores were receiving.

Little did I realize that the whole time, it was THIS player Toshiba is junk. My realization? The paperwork that I had just received in the mail for the CLASS ACTION SUIT that's being filed against Toshiba for just this reason . . . supposedly Toshiba KNOWINGLY made defective players that were not up to code/ standards and sold them anyhow all the people in the class action suit have all had the same playback problems, etc.

Thank God I only ate $75 compared to what some of them paid . . .

Be very wary of TOSHIBA products!

Toshiba SD-V593 Progressive Scan DVD/VCR Combo with HDMI

• Progressive scan DVD/VCR combo; measures 17" x 3.5" x 9.8 inches (WxHxD)
• DVD player compatible with DVD movie, CD audio, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, VCD, and SVCD discs; MP3, WMA, JPEG
• 9-in-2 memory card reader; VCR with 8-event/1-year programming
• 1 HDMI, 2 composite in, 1 composite out, 1 S-Video out, 1 component out, 1 digital optical audio out, 1 RF in, 1 RF out
• Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound modes

Note: Past Toshiba DVD players have had documented problems reading disc (see all product reviews prior to 59.. series). This is not the better, newer 59.. DVD model. They are using the older (bad) drive in the combo VCR/DVD to save money.

I purchased this model expecting the newer 59.. model DVD drive. This drive has eliminated many of the previous problems associated with Toshiba DVD system. Unfortunately, I gave Toshiba too much credit.

The system showed all the signs of being the older drive. Skipping, random pixilated image, loss of sound, and problems initializing the disc. Come to find out they are using the older drives to save money on these combo units. Toshiba has deceptively named this model after their newer, redesigned system in an attempt to sell their remaining stock of older drives.

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Well, I didn't need to read far into the first customer review to discover that my issue wasn't singular. The issue? The DVD player, after working just fine, just stopped reading disks. Boom, just like that, over, out and that's all she wrote! One night it was working great, the next night a "NO DISK" message. Naturally, I tried a number of disks, even the optical lens cleaner one, but no go, it's dead.

The player was got in late August of '05. I'm the only user and I'm a Type-A careful guy, so I didn't do whatever killed it.

For image and sound, high marks while it worked. For longevity, minus marks; why should it only function for 13 months? I've got another DVD player, Toshiba, or there would be no need to mention it, that's been working wonderfully for over 6 years. Why this glaring discrepancy in the products sold under the same name?

If you are comfortable spending a fair amount of money for short-time usage, it gives high quality pictures and sound while it's alive. Otherwise, research DVD players and buy something reliable, which this particular one isn't, alas.

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After reading some of the reviews a few months I reluctantly purchased this machine because it had the features I wanted. I was reluctant to buy because of the difficulty many reviewers on here expressed about set-up and getting a picture.

I had no problem setting it up and it used to work fine. However we've had it a few months now and the machine does not recognize DVD disks. I've read other online reviews today of Toshiba's other DVD products and it seems that their products give up after a few months.

I've always been a Sony guy and have bought MANY things over the years from them without any problems (as with any company I'm sure Sony does have some occaisonal defective products, but I personally have never come across any). At any rate I can not recommend buying any Toshiba DVD products based on my limited experience and what I've read.

I went to Toshiba's web site to see if they offered trouble shooting. It seems logical to devote some space on the web site that lists the various error messages with suggested actions. The web site does not have this. I did look at the owner's manual, which does offer some trouble shooting, but it does not cover this particular error message. Toshiba's customer support is open M-F, 10 am to 7 pm Eastern. I'll call them when they're open. Obviously customer support is another weak point of Toshiba. I'm in California so I'd have to call between 7 am to 4 pm California time, and I'm either on my way to the office or already there. So their hours of operation for most people in the Western US is inconvenient.

To be fair I do not know Sony's customer support hours (or if they are better) but that's only because I've never had a problem with Sony or had a reason to call them.

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I've had this combo VCR/DVD for two weeks now and so far I am very pleased. I didn't have any issues with connectivity to my Pioneer Elite Plasma. I have the DVD portion of the player connected via the supplied HDMI cable to Input 3 of the plasma and the VCR portion connected via the supplied composite cables to Input 2 of the plasma.

The picture quality of the upconverting (I'm using 720p at the moment) DVD is very good especially at this price point. I considered other DVD players from Denon and Panasonic but decided on this Toshiba. I decided I would save a little money for similar PQ and a VCR as well for the tapes I haven't replaced yet. Since HD-DVD or Blu-Ray is right around the corner I didn't want to spend too much on the upconverting feature, which is merely a stopgap technology anyway.

As for the VCR picture quality, it is fine. It's more a function of displaying on a 43" Plasma than the player anyway. I don't know of any player that will display a great VHS picture on a large screen panel.

Overall, I'm very happy with this unit. The price/performance can't be beat as far as I'm concerned. I obviously haven't had the player long enough to comment on its durability, build quality etc, but I'll be keeping an eye on it and add to my review in a few months.

This machine only lasted a few months and know the DVD player constantly freezes. I tried cleaning it, but it still constantly freezes to the point that watching the movie is impossible.

SONY VRD-VC10 DVDirect External DVD Recorder

I didn't purchase this product at Amazon, but commonly rely on others' recommendations at this site, so here's my take. THIS PRODUCT IS A GREAT INVESTMENT. The primary reason that I didn't give it a 5 star rating, is because the packaging doesn't clearly state which brands of blank DVD's are compatible. I bought a 100 pack of memorex DVD+R & the disks wouldn't finalize. I contacted sony support & learned that there's a list of approved brands.

DVD+R DL (Double Layer)

Verbatim/Mitsubishi 2.4x speed

DVD+R

Sony 4x & 8x

Ricoh 8x

Verbatim/Mitsubishi 4x & 8x

Taiyo Yuden Co. 4x & 8x

Hitachi Maxell 8x

DVD+RW

Sony 4x

Ricoh 4x

(The support person also said TDK works but it wasn't on the list)"The list" goes on for other types of Media (ie. DVD-R etc.) Visit sony.storagesupport.com for more info.

I have used only Sony disks without difficulty.

Note: the Double Layer disks are priced about 10 times the single layer disks, so you'd better have a good reason to use that feature.

Also, if you have an older DVD player, be aware that some will not read/play burned DVDs. I've lived this problem. It's frustrating, but I found a new, very inexpensive DVD player that works well.

One drawback... using the stand-alone option with a Digital Video Camera requires the signal to be converted to analog, then back to digital & there's certain to be loss of picture resolution whether it's noticable may be a matter of opinion. Fortunately, you can hook up your Digital Video Camera to your computer via firewire and utilize the Video Capture software by Nero, that I found to be very straightforward. I recommend using the DVD+VR software feature that allows you to insert your latest video footage into a previously burned DVD+RW disk that works in most all newer DVD players.

I didn't commit to converting my old VHS to digital until I found an older VHS tape whose image quality had detiorated so much as to be useless. What a loss! I had been intimidated by peers who'd told me to plan on spending upwards of 10 hours to edit a single hour of finished tape. The standalone operation & the quality Nero software bundled with the software make this Sony product a less-intimidating, worthwhile investment.

I have to admit, at first I was a little intimidated about entering the world of DVD writing and authoring. With all those formats out there I felt confused. And if you are like me, you have a lot of old VCR tapes around of your favorite shows that are taking up valuable shelf space in your living room. They weigh a lot too if you need to move them. But the Sony DVDirect VRD-VC10 made it easy and fun to reduce my video tape clutter. As a stand-alone recorder, all selections and options are available from the well-designed front panel and display. Connect your video player or camera to the back of the unit, push "Record" and start your VCR player. That's it. When the recording is done, you push a few buttons to finalize your disc and eject it. I especially like the "Auto-Play" feature which lets your DVD start automatically when inserted in a DVD player. The Sony unit also automatically formats your blank DVDs, a nice touch.

Contrary to other reviewer's experience on this page, I was able to use Memorex DVD+R discs, however, these discs will not display menu screen chapters created by the "Auto-Chapter" function. Your DVD player will still be able to locate these chapters manually, you just won't see them in the DVD start menu. As a stand-alone recorder the unit is limited to the "+R" (or "+RW") format. If you need "-R" for your DVD players, you might want to consider the newer VRD-VC20 which has compatibility with both formats. Curiously, the DVD+R discs I recorded would not play on my older Sony VAIO desktop, but worked perfectly in my Toshiba laptop and Samsung DVD player. Many recent DVD players read the "+R" format so you need to find out what format your equipment requires.

The DVD copied from a video tape in the Standard Play mode (for 2 hours of recording time) showed only a slight loss of color from the original tape. Copy quality is very good, overall, in my view. The Sony also records in a one-hour High Quality mode and 6 hour Long Play mode. The High Quality mode makes a slightly better looking recording but also creates some pixelation and skipping because of the large amount of data being recorded onto the disc. The Sony tech support person recommended using the SP mode exclusively because of these occasional HQ mode errors.

As a stand-along unit, the VC-10 only records with analog inputs. If you want to go directly from your mini-DV camcorder to the Sony, get the newer VC-20 model. Connected to your computer, the unit works with Nero 6 burning software offering many possible ways to use the DVD burner, including CD copying and video disc formats.

On the negative side, I received the "Recording Prohibited" message mentioned by other reviewers when attempting to copy tape from my Sony miniDV camcorder. I called Sony tech support and was told that the VC10 has problems with some digital camcorders (including Sony's models!), even when using the composite analog inputs on the Sony DVD burner. The support rep suggested that I exchange the VC10 for the newer VC20 which supports the DV format. Apparently this glitch is not being mentioned in any of the ad copy you see for the VC10, but it could prevent you from using the unit with your camcorder.

Overall, I like this unit a lot for its simplicity and ease of use. Sony has a good idea with the DVDirect and the price is not that much more than other external drives. The Quick Start Guide that comes with the unit is straightforward and very understandable. I was able to start copying my old video tapes within a few minutes of taking the Sony unit out of its box. If you want a DVD burner that can connect to your computer and also be used to make copies of VCR and camcorder tapes, you should seriously consider this model. However, if you have a digital camcorder, go for the VC20 instead.

(Dr. Simeon Hein is the author of Opening Minds: A Journey of Extraordinary Encounters, Crop Circles, and Resonance and the forthcoming Planetary Intelligence: 101 Easy Steps to Energy, Well-Being, and Natural Insight.)

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Unfortunately, I was expecting a bit morethis coming from Sony, but feel let down by mainly one major issue. Keep in mind that this may not matter much to you; but to me it is bothersome. Other issues are a nuisance but clearly less grave than the main one.

I waited for Amazon to carry this burner but needed this product before it showed up on their pages. So, I mail ordered it from Dell.

First the good stuffgreat packaging. Looks cool out of the box and next to your computer or video equipment. The buttons are easy to use and moderately intuitive. Still, I needed to refer to the Quick Start cheat sheet. Yes, this is not an Apple :).

OK, here goes....I really wanted to get the computer out of the way and this product caught my eye. Its nice to be able to hook up a DVD burner directly to your camcorder. I was foolish enough to think that my MiniDVs, which are digitally recorded on tape, would be copied over using a high quality conversion to a DVD. Not! The camcorder must output analog for the DVD to burn. The current scheme is good when you have analog camcorders. The fact that I cannot preserve decent quality (say, NTSC DVDs for my MiniDV tapes) has been a big disappointment for me. The only tool I have for measuring the quality is my naked eyeand as a computer graphics programmer I can tell the difference is huge. For example, my 8mm tapes play really well on the TV directly but show significant color saturation loss when I record a DVD on the VRD-VC10. Also, I see some artifacts such as color bands (discussed later in this review).

Now for some lesser but still painful problems. I stuck in a Memorex DVD+R and copied over a tape from my MiniDV camcorderno issues. Things just work as they should. I hooked over the USB cable to the Sony burner and backed up some files from the computer over CD-R. That went smooth but for one coaster (it complained of verification failure at the end of the copy). About 8 other CDs went though smoothly with the same procedure.

Copying over 4.3 GB of data onto a Memorex DVD+R failed in a different fashion. It said that the operation completed successfully, but neither the burner nor my local DVD drive on my laptop can read back what was written. I used the backup/restore feature of Nero for the above operation.

I don't like the UI of the Nero software. To copy photographs (4 GB on my laptop's hard drive), I sat painfully going through 30 folders and selecting every photograph to be copied over. There was no "Select All" for a given folder. What a shame! Once this repository was created, the copy onto DVD started and eventually failed due to reasons I cannot remember. It would've been nice if I could've pointed to a directory hierarchy and saidCopy the damn files (there was nothing in there but jpegs). But the software does not believe that you have anything better to do than baby-sit this thing. Once again, Nero is very non-intuitive, extremely poorly written software, and impossible to work with if you are used to pleasing user experiences like Apple & Co. offer. To add to the pain, my Nero CD stopped working. I called Sony to ask for a replacement (to install the software on my new laptop) and they wanted 20 bucks. It didn't make sense to put another 20 into the sink, and I am stuck with working with this product from my old laptop.

Until, there's something better on the market this may still be your best option. I think I am going to keep this product for exactly that single reason. 3 stars because this is not a lemon, but a step forward in helping consumers not get bogged down by the confusing space of DVD standards that Sony sems to have simplified by hiding the details from you. I really don't want to know if I am adding R's or subtracting R's from DVD's or CD, or make that R/W/RW/DL, etc.

Copyrighted media cannot be copied, and rightly so. But once I have a my own (home video)DVD created (by hooking a camcorder to the Sony burner directly), I expect to be successful in making a copy of that DVD using my computer as the playback. I placed the newly burned home video DVD in my computer and used the Nero software to play it back; that worked (keep in mind that the Nero MPEG4 player is quirkyit can hang and you'll have to kill it from time to time using the taskbar; it can show the first frame and not play, the play buttons on the DVD console on your screen may not always work, but sometimes double clicking on the movie screen seems to start the process.) But I have not had any luck in making a copy of my newly burned DVD by playing it on the computer and using the DVD copy feature of Nero software. Given that there are no copyright issues this should be a breeze for a home video, but I guess not. It is possible I am missing something and I'll update this review as I discover the workarounds, if any. I plan to call Sony (that itself should cost a Sony a few brownie points because I have read the manual, not just the cheat sheets, and most of the features in Nero software do not even bear a mention)to find out what the hell is supported. I could not use a two step imaging process either where you copy the DVD from the computer's DVD ROM to hard disk and then burn the image. BTW, I am using an 8 month old Dell laptop running XP; that is, a fairly up-to-date computer with tons of memory (2GB) and hard disk space (~100GB available). I do not wish to speculate what other problems people with standard configurations may face (like being out of memory or not having enough disk for temporary files).

I checked on the Sony product pagethere is no mention of the specific media vendors they support. The previous reviewer has been kind to share his findings; but picking up the phone to find out what kind of bread my toaster can toast seems like a headache, at a minumum.

I have updated this review ((1/3/2006)) since I originally wrote it up. Now the VRD-VC20 is out and I see some horror stories therenot being able to use Firewire to Firewire between a Sony Camcorder and the VRD-VC10, etc. I have called up Sony support and not been able to get clear answers to many of my questions. For example, when I transfer my 8mm tapes to a DVD using this box I get color bands. Sony support said that was the expected behavior as camcorders like the Sony DCR-TRV480, that I just bought for the explicit purpose of archiving my 8mm tapes, are really digital players that give you backward support for 8mm analog video. My original 8mm player broke down and I do not have any easy way to get another one. I guess I have to live with the color bands. Sony suggested that there exists commercial software that can help me get rid of these bands. The whole thing gives me a headache. The list of issues starts to stack up as you try and go deeper to solve any particular one. I am almost at a point of losing sight of the original problem I sought to solve. With a greater degree of exposure to tinkering with the VRD-VC10 I now feel comfortable in rating it to just 2 stars (I do not believe amazon will let me downgrade my own star rating). So you know this is 2 star if you get this far!

Read Best Reviews of SONY VRD-VC10 DVDirect External DVD Recorder Here

Sony has apparently tried making a great hybrid product, but missed the mark. This product is NOT ready for primetime.

First the good stuff it looks nice; is solidly built; and if you simply want to record TV programs, old VHS or 8mm tapes, or download a program from TiVO, it will do the job. In the "stand-alone" mode it is easy to use.

Now the problems:

1. In the "stand-alone" mode there is no way to monitor what you're recording not as far as this drive is concerned. You would have to run another output from the source device (VCR, Tivo, etc.) to the TV. This may be easy for you, or it may not. It cost me a $50 gadget to do it.

2. Unlike the true entertainment center DVD Recorders, there is no remote control for this drive. A real annoyance if you try to start and stop while converting home movie tapes to DVD as I was.

3. There is no way for you to name the titles that you record in the "stand-alone" mode. The drive just names them TITLE1, TITLE2, and so on. And the DVD navigation menu is pretty poor too.

4. In the "computer" mode, problems get worse. My Windows XP computer does not recognize this device as a DVD drive. It is seen as a CD drive that is "inaccessible"! The Nero software that is supplied with the Sony drive DOES recognize the device and will record to it. But this means that you're stuck with using the Nero. Sorry, but Nero is not nearly as good as Adobe Premiere Elements that I'm using. And Adobe Premiere Elements (only the top selling DVD production software) does not recognize this drive. So you cannot simply play a DVD from this device on your computer, nor record one unless you use the Nero software.

5. Sony user guide has next to nothing about the Nero software. They expect you to read the Nero documents. And the Nero documents are not very well written. You get this? There is no way to playback or record to this device in the compuer mode without using Nero, but Sony wants you to go deal with Nero to figure out this software!!

6. Since the device has just been released, Sony website and their technical support people are not much use.

Conclusion Not Ready For Primetime. I'll be returning mine and will buy two separate drives one for the entertainment center and one for the computer. Yes, it will cost about $100 $150 more, but at least they will work today. This drive will be a good product when Sony fixes the above-mentioned problems.

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I was pleased with the ease of connecting the unit and its small footprint. I was not as pleased when I tried recording with Phillips media I happened to have. It is a little upsetting that there are only four manufacturer's media that work in this unit. C'mon Sony!