Showing posts with label high definition digital video recorder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high definition digital video recorder. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Philips DVDR3475 Tunerless 1080p Upscaling DVD Recorder

Philips DVDR3475 Tunerless 1080p Upscaling DVD Recorder
  • 1080P HDMI Upconversion
  • Progressive Scan
  • Dual Media-Records on both DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW
  • iLink digital input for perfect digital camcorder copies
  • Plays DivX, MP3 and JPEG digital camera Photos

I bought this unit about 7 months ago and it works perfect! The picture when playing DVDs is great, and I had no problem recording dvds (and using them on other DVD players). I noticed that other reviews seemed to be negative because of issues that were the users fault to begin with.

1) If you finalize the DVD properly per the instructions, it works fine (and will play on other DVD players).

2) Yes of course it is region locked (as most players are). You can't fault the unit because YOU didn't read the description when you bought it.

It has come in handy many times when I wanted to keep a copy of a TV show but no longer wanted to take up room on my DVR. I highly recommend!

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I bought this thing back in the day (4-5 years ago) to record whatever was being displayed on my TV. Works great and is reliable/durable. I bought a different brand DVDRec and it broke in the first couple weeks under light use. Did my research, got this one and never had any problems. This DVDR actually looks great too, nice shiny/glossy (not cheap looking) finish on the front of the device. This is the perfect replacement for a VCR if you don't want to rent a DVR from your cable company. Has HDMI up-convert which is nice. I have never had trouble with viewing these DVDs on other DVD players. Maybe it's because I have it configured correctly...

Very happy with my purchase. I would buy this product again. It can only record in Standard Definition (480p) so getting older, but this way you don't have to worry about HDCP and other technologies that can cause problems with HD recordings.

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I cant believe the bad reviews some people have left. I love this recorder. I have used it for six years now and made hundreds of recordings. Simple to use and great results. I have used this so many times I am shocked its still going but I am very glad it still goes on greatly doing what it is supposed to do.

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If you do NOT fill the entire disk with your recording the the unit will create a title with the remaining disk space on the menu named "EMPTY TITLE". You are NOT able to delete this. However you may overwrite this title if you don't finalize. Deleting of tiles is very slow, but Finalizing of disks is very fast. I have no compatibility issues with disks recorded on this unit and played back on other brand DVD players. It does not record to Dual Layer or DVD-RAM Disks. But those disks are not worth the cost. Other than that it plays and records great.

It will even up convert to 1080p. This unit is sure worth the price if you get it for $70 or less.

I had no issues with this piece of equipment, in fact I LOVE IT!

After seeing the first review, I made sure to follow the instructions regarding the finalizing of the DVD. The disks recorded just fine and played on other players, perfect picture. It has come in SO handy for recording movies and shows. I checked the first couple of DVDs after recording them, and they were great. I also transferred holiday video from my camcorder.

I think the last review mentioning the problem with the region code is not the fault of the DVD recorder...most players/recorders have region codes (world wide), so if you want to take the unit to another country, you would need to check if it is compatible beforehand.

All in all, I would recommend this recorder to anyone interested in purchasing one.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

PIONEER DVR-A08XL Internal 4x Double-Layer DVD Writer - Black Bezel

PIONEER DVR-A08XL Internal 4x Double-Layer DVD Writer - Black BezelA fast 16x burner from Pioneer with a easy to use and versatile software suite included with it. I'm now a fan of Ulead's CD burning and DVD conversion/burning software. It requires little exploration to burn a DVD from nearly any video file. 16x media isn't out yet so a 4.7 GB burn takes about 7 min at 8x. The black bezel matches with my custom case too.

The speed of this drive and software was much better than the other DVD burner and Intervideo software I had. pcmag.com rated this drive very good which seems to be accurate. There was a sound problem I had when playing back some recorded piano music, I reported the problem on the ulead web site and they responded in a day with the existing fixes available on the web site; however, I am still having a sound problem on certain videos. I think it is because I changed the amount of sound bits in the middle of the recording and the software cannot handle it, but software should not fail when this happens. I have now purchased Adobe Premier Elements and Photoshop Elements together instead and it was able to detect the sound bit change. The ulead software is the current release which is good at least.

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I was unable to use this DVD drive and had to return it because the tray is too wide. Most DVD drives give you about a 1/2" clearence on the sides, but this tray gos compeletely to the edge. Once I put the case back on the computer, the tray could not eject. If they would redesign the tray to be more compatible with Dell PC's and others, then this would be a good drive.

Read Best Reviews of PIONEER DVR-A08XL Internal 4x Double-Layer DVD Writer - Black Bezel Here

I bought this recorder three weeks ago and it works well. A previous reviewer complained about the tray being too wide. I ran into that problem on my Dell. I had to make sure the recorder was pushed all the way to the front of my computer so I could move the flexible frame of the computer a little to allow the tray to open. It worked and opens and closes, however Pioneer should have seen this coming and designed better. The player recorder works just fine, but the software makes me mad. You will likely have to buy new software and I feel cheated by Pioneer and Ulead for including software that is only lacking in handling Dolby. If you have a recording with Dolby audio the software will not handle the audio. Why do they do that? If I buy new software it definitely won't be Ulead because I feel cheated by them. All my recordings on my TV settop DVD recorder are in Dolby so how am I supposed to edit, etc. DVD's recorded on my settop DVD recorder?

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Thursday, September 18, 2014

ZMODO 4CH CCTV Security DVR Recorder With 4 Outdoor Waterproof Day Night Camera - 500GB Hard Drive

ZMODO 4CH CCTV Security DVR Recorder With 4 Outdoor Waterproof Day Night Camera - 500GB Hard DrivePackage arrived a day early. No missing components, but wished it came with a VGA cord.

Not a problem, just uses my PC monitor for time being until buys VGA cord for TV hook up.

Easy install, everything works great!

DVR is small, compact-which is nice.

Cameras are built in a heavy-study aluminum frame. With proper lighting the night vision works great.

Came with a USB mouse and software.

VGA cord not included.

Very happy with the product and shipping time frame.

Will be purchasing more item from this seller in the future.

The DVR and cameras are easy to setup. Remote viewing was a little more of a challenge. The only bad thing about this system is the cameras at night. They are pretty much worthless for night viewing. If I want night viewing now I will have to purchase 4 better cameras. Not sure why they are not very good. Suppose to be up to 30' viewing. And also read all the description that says no monitor included. I did know this but thought I could hook it up to an old tv. I ended up purchasing a used flat panel monitor for $35.00 and it works great.

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Got all this set few days ago, all work perfect except 1 thing, I cant change cameras view at all, not manually and not remotely. any ideas about how to set camera view at least first time ?

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This is just what i needed but found one for a better price. I ended up buying this one because I thought it came with a screen which it didn't. The pictures of the item showed the screen so it was a bit misleading. It was partially my fault for shopping on mobile phone where information wasn't read easily,

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I have since upgraded to an 8 ch system, but it is from Zmodo also. Great system, easy to set up. Transferred files I needed to a usb and then to my pc to print out.

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Monday, September 15, 2014

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Worlds Smallest Hd Digital Video Camera Mini Dv DVR

Worlds Smallest Hd Digital Video Camera Mini Dv DVRAt first I was very excited, I wanted the product like many others for airborne operations. I specifically intended to put it on my son's kite and on a weather balloon (after I get a GPS receiver). The camera is very small on weighs next to nothing, 15 grams.

It comes in a very nice tin. It was packaged very well and I received it in a very timely fashion. However, when I opened the instructions included in the cd I actually laughed out loud. The instructions are so ridiculous that it frustrated me for several hours. I charged the little device overnight (it only needs a few hours but I was going to bed). Because the instructions suck I thought it was not functioning. The camera would turn on and appear to go through the different modes and even worked as a webcam. But I could not seem to get it to function as a video recorder as advertised. What I found out through trial and error was that my Micro SD card needed to be reformatted. For some reason it did not want to function. After formatting the Micro SD card it worked like a champ. If the instructions were better I might have found this out a lot sooner.

I will upload a video review of the camera soon, hopefully later today. I managed to get about 83 mins of record time before the battery needed to be recharged. I will include some modified instructions if anyone is interested. They still are not perfect but you will be much better off than before.

HD Mini Camera User Manual

Product brief introduction

This product is a U disk storage, high-definition digital camera, camera motion detection, charge while shooting video, memory support 32GB, connects to the computer, direct storing function Micro SD card memory, security cameras, photo shoot and high-definition screen, the product has the advantages of simple operation, small and exquisite, beautiful and practical, easy to carry, is home security, education, living in areas such as the necessary practical tools, by the user's favor.

I Characteristics of Product

 It has small contour design, It is very fashionable and wearable and matches most outfits.

 Support webcam PC camera and chatting function.

 Support AVI video format.

 It can carry out high definition image recording under low illumination.

 Support 30 fps for 720*480

 Support USB1.1 and USB2.0.

 Support 32GB Micro SD card.(maximum) (This is confusing; here it indicated a 32GB card is supported but elsewhere it indicated 16GB was the largest card supported. I have a 16GB and it works great)

II Operation Guide

1. Charge

Before you use it the first time, charge it completely. The method for charging as following:

1.) Connect to computer: use USB cable to connect the computer, then it can be charged.

2.) Use adaptor: connect charger plug with USB cable, then plug into electrical connector receptacle, it can be charged.

When you charge it, the blue light will illuminate and red light will flash slowly, when finished charging, the red light stops flashing.

Notice: when battery power is not enough, the device will enter into protection mode, so it cannot be turned on. Charge it for continued use. Micro SD card must be formatted prior to use.

2. On/Off

Please confirm the Micro SD card has already been inserted!

Power on: Press power button for 3seconds , Blue indicator light illuminates.

Power off:In the suspended state, press the power button for 3seconds, indicator light turns off.

3. Video

Power on and device enters video mode, the red indicator light illuminates. Press REC (ON/OFF) once, red light will flash, indicating that recording has started; press REC (ON/OFF), the red indicator light illuminates stead, indicating suspension mode and saves the recorded content, if you need to record again , press REC (ON/OFF) once , and recording begins again.

Image resolution : 720 * 480 frames, 29 ~ 30fps / S.

Notice:

a. Please make sure Micro SD card has been inserted, if not, it will power off automatically after about 5 seconds.

b. The maximum capacity of Micro SD card is 16GB.

c. Saving file needs certain time, so please don't press Operation button continuously in order to avoid saving unsmoothly and generating incomplete file.

d. When you make a video, please focus on the object and keep 50cm under sufficient illumination. Then the video will be right, natural color, clear and stable.

4. Take Photo

In the video mode, press mode button for short time, device enters camera mode, and blue indicator light illuminates. Press REC once and blue light flashes once, taking a photo. Repeat the process to take another photo

Image resolution :1280 * 1024

5.Recording (Audio Only)

In the camera mode , press mode button, device enters recording mode, red and blue light begins to illuminate. Press REC (ON/OFF) once, device begins recording as the red indicator light illuminates and the blue light flashes. Press REC (ON/OFF) once, red and blue light illuminates again, stop recording and save. Repeat the process to record more than one track.

6. Motion detection

In the normal mode, press mode button for 3-5 seconds, blue and red indicator light begins to bright, now it enters into motion detection mode. Camera within a moving object, the Blue indicator light flashes once then off, while began recording. Motion detection video, camera range without moving object, the machine stops automatically after 60 seconds, the blue and red indicator light backs light, to continue moving detection status.

In moving detection status, press REC, red indicator light begins to bright, stop and save .

7. Charging while video

Shutdown state, hold the video/camera button, connected to the power line, equipment startup, entry charging while video state.

8.Time set

The detail as following:

1. Insert Micro SD card, connect to computer, find a text called TIME.TXT under root directory of card.

2011-05-01 23:59:59,

2. open TIME.TXT,write correct date and time in the above format. Any other format will result in an error.

9. Auto-power off function

MINI DV-006H will save file and turn off automatically as following:

a. When you shoot video without enough power, file will be saved automatically, then auto-power off.

b. When disk space of MINI DV-006H is not enough, the indicator light will go out and the file will be saved automatically then the camera will power off.

c. Under standby mode, without any operation in 45 seconds, it will be auto-power off.

10.Connecting computer

It can connects computer under power off mode, standby mode or video mode, after that which can be used as U disk, who can copy, cut and paste, delete file.

When you connect it with USB port, a portable disk mark will be seen after several seconds. Red indicator light shines steady, yellow indicator light will be from flashed quickly to always brights.

Notice:

a. When you connect to computer, if the machine cannot identify, or not see the portable U disk mark in 30 seconds, please insert it again.

b. It is better to copy or cut video file into computer hardware then play. Video file which is saved in the camera and played directly and will not play smoothly, the reason is that large amount of data cannot be transmitted fast enough.

11.PC Camera

Connect the device to computer with USB, the computer will identify the U disk, press any key, at this moment and the camera will switch to web cam mode. Then double click the network camera icon of my computer can be used as PC camera.

I too bought this little camera to do kite aerial video. It's very small, rivaling those keyfob cameras, and incredibly light. At $20 or less, it's worth a try.

The downside for me is the video quality. There may be more than one version of electronics for this camera, since other reviews mention smooth video. This is not too uncommon. Search on 808 keychain cameras to get an idea. My video is very jumpy, with a lot of slow rolling shutter distortions. This is with a class 6, 16GB micro SDHC card. Color balance tends to shift all over the place too, even in bright sunlight. I suspect that like some others, this camera really has a lower resolution sensor and upconverts the video to 1280x960. Either the sensor itself is slow, or the cpu can't keep up with the upconversion. Do not try to watch the videos over USB. Transfer the file first and then view if possible. The USB interface cannot keep up with the video stream. It uses MJPEG (motion jpeg) storage so the HD video files are huge, about 60MB/min.

The viewfinder is nearly useless. Not surprising at this size. It's only in focus with the camera 6-8 inches in front of your face, which makes the image too tiny to see.

Overall, for the price it's a fun little gadget to hang on a kite or RC without having to worry about it. The first time out, mine fell into a puddle. It wasn't immersed but it did get wet. It completely lost the video it was recording at the time, and became unresponsive for a long while. After few hours to dry out and a recharge, it was working fine again.

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I bought this just to play with but this product is really a scam.

The video is 1280x960 but they just put regular ntsc video in a frame so you get video with black bars that fill out the rest of the 1280x960 !!

The pictures are not 5MP (2592 x 1944) even in pixel size. The actual size is Width: 2048 pixels Height: 1536 pixels

which is 3MP but the pictures are heavily compressed or expanded and look like crap if you look at them 1x.

The camera has a clock which time stamps the video and pictures but there is now way to set it as far as I can tell so they all say 2007 !

the images say the Exposure Time is 1/15 sec. which is of course a speed which is unusable for a "handheld"

The manual says it has a motion sensing mode which triggers video. NO, in that mode mine records audio files.

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My wife got me this camera as a gift so I did not get to try it out until after the 30 day return period had past. I wanted it to use to take video from places where I would not want to risk a more expensive camera. Ex. The front fork of my motorcycle. The image quality was not bad, that being the pro. Here are the cons. The manual on the CD has been so poorly translated that it's close to useless. The OS on two different computers (one W7 and the other XP) would not recognize the camera. The vendor contact, in his infinite wisdom, suggested I forgot to load the driver on the CD. There were only 2 files on the CD and both were documents. The first was the manual in English (or something close to it) and the second was the manual in Chinese.

Here is an example of the manual: "When you connect it with USB port, a portable disk mark will be seen after several seconds. Red indicator always brights, yellow indicator light will be from flashed quickly to always brights." There is no yellow indicator light. My favorite was the section on the non-existent RESET button. "Use a slim pole to press the RESET button and then finish one reset operation" With a camera the size of a large postage stamp, a "slim pole" is not exactly the tool I would use. Of course it made no difference as there was no reset button.

After much experimentation, I was able to record video, but could only view it by removing the card from the camera and opening the file with an external card reader connected to my computer. I was intrigued by the fact that they manufacturer put a viewfinder on this camera that is too small to be of any use even if the image one sees through it was in focus. Bottom line, if you are expecting an easy "Plug and Play" device, this is not what you want.

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seller establishes high expectations. true it is small and inexpensive but, it is impossible to figure out how to use it. There is a whole industry of you tubes trying to explain operations and they all fail as well.

after hours and hours of hit and miss figured out how to change the date

can not eliminate the date stamp, and this ruins all the videos so basically worthless to me.

can not see the miniscule signal light to tell if it is recording when starting so every single video has a shot of my face looking at the camera with a very puzzled very up close look up my nose.

finally the the view finder is way off. If it was a gun site you would shoot the fellow next to you.

Had a chance to shoot the very elusive key deer, got a lovely picture of the woods, no deer...worthless.

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Monday, August 11, 2014

ZVUE Spirit 1 GB MP3 Player--Preloaded with 15 Patriotic Songs (Red, White, and Blue)

ZVUE Spirit 1 GB MP3 Player--Preloaded with 15 Patriotic Songs
  • 1 GB, red, white, and blue MP3 player celebrates the U.S.A. with 15 pre-loaded songs
  • Supports MP3, WMA, and WAV audio formats, along with ID3 Tag and Lyrics file support
  • Comes in a custom aluminum box with original artwork; includes silicone protective case
  • Features built-in speaker, voice recorder with built-in microphone, and LED back-lit screen
  • Aluminum box is customed with original artwork and inscribed, "Dedicated to the land of the free and inspired by this great nation"

Let me start by saying i picked this thing for 10 bucks on a clearance sale, but i would gladly pay the 35 bucks here for it.

When i first started using it i was angry that the sound quality was so low, then i realized that the real problem was i hated the preloaded music. Once i stuck my own music on it, it sounded great, the headphones aren't bad either, certainly comparable to stock iPod 'phones.

By the way, the best feature of this entire device is that there is NO included software, the thing reads on your computer like a flash drive, you simply drag the music you want over to the player. you can even leave it in folders, which will show up on the player, if you want to keep it organized.

I'm not one to buy American flag anything, but to be sure, no one will mistake my MP3 player for theirs. I get alot of comments about it at the gym.

Also i should note, its not only small, its increadably light, it weighs less than my plastic lighter and is smaller than my iPod Nano.

The little speaker built in is mostly for kicks, you wont be listening to music on it, but its a cute feature.

In fact, thats what this whole device is, just a ton of cute features. Even the case it came in looks amazing.

long live the Zvue!

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Are these other reviews legitimate? I am not sure. I bought this for the voice recorder capability. The design and presentation of this is sleek. However the tin does not include a wall charging usb/ac adapter. The package manual says you need to register the product to receive the adapter in the mail. When I went to zvueproducts.com/register the website indicates that zvue is no longer is registering products. I believe you can charge this thing through the usb port and rechargeable is more ideal for me because I am tired of buying triple a batteries. My tin package did contain a white silicone case, earbuds, and usb cord.

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Have you seen the tracks on this player? They are amazing!

I'm actually saving money because I don't have to pay for

the songs and an mp3 player separately. I can have these

preloaded songs and then put more great songs onto the

player after. And all of this for only 35 bucks!

The player also had a lot of features I wasn't really

expecting, such as a voice recorder. I listen to my Spirit

while I'm commuting to work, and when I remember something

I need to do, I just tell my spirit and listen once I get

to the office. It's great!

The interface is pretty easy to use, and really easy to

see (which is important with my eyesight). I regard myself

as rather inept with electronics, but I was able to use

this one. I suggest this product to anyone that likes this

type of music.

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I bought this product at the suggestion of one of my friends I met on myspace. He seems very knowledgeable about music so I trusted his suggestion.

Based on the price, I didn't expect much. But boy! I was wrong. The player is surprisingly cool. I didn't expect it to come with half the stuff it does. I was kind of expecting to have to buy a seperate case, charger, and etc, but it came with everything.

My friend was right; the music on it is great. It's not crappy star spangled banner songs or anything, but good ol' american songs like James Brown's "I feel good" or Kiss's "Rock and Roll All Night."

If your looking for an inexpensive and highly portable mp3 player, I suggest this one.

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I actually bought my spirit from the companies website and not amazon but I wanted to give my opinion.

When I got this cool little player it I was amazed that it actually looks as nice as the pictures online.

This is only my second portable music player. The first was some no name brand that I paid twice as much for and it didnt come with anything extra. In fact, I had to buy an ac adaptor after I opened it up and i discovered nothing was included. What a rip!

The Spirit not only has a wall charger but has a thick case to protect the player from damage, comfortable headphones and a computer cord charger.

It also comes with a bunch of music already on it. Free Bird!!!!

I'm still learning the features (voice recorder, speaker, etc) on the player but so far everything things been pretty easy and the manual has covered the questions I have had.

I havent had to contact customer support yet (cross my fingers).

The Patriotic theme is what sold me on the Spirit though. As I said earlier, it really looks as nice as the pictures. I am proud to be an American and the Spirit doesnt leave any room for questions on what side I'm on!

Of course, the price tag helped me when I decided to buy a new music player as well. I cant afford a 400.00 music player and even if I could, I would never pay that much! Its cool that ZUVE made this affordable for everyone and didnt cut costs on quality.

Thanks for reading,

Bill Bailey

Sunday, August 3, 2014

ULTRA PRODUCTS 512MB 14-in-1 MP3 Player (White)

ULTRA PRODUCTS 512MB 14-in-1 MP3 Player
  • Listen to all your WMA files direct from Windows Media Player -- no need to convert your existing WMA files to MP3
  • Record your favorite FM broadcasts at a touch of a button
  • Player doubles as an incredibly compact memo recorder - create your own reminders for future use
  • Store important files or create new ones - Ultra MP3 player also serves as a power-packed USB Flash Drive
  • SD/MMC Card reader for convenient data transfer and storage anywhere you go

Awesome product. My brother has the older model (8-in-1 Ultra player), hence the reason I even know about this item. I've been shopping for an MP3 player for about half a year now but haven't been sold on any until I saw my brother using his.

He let me use it & I found that it was extremely durable (the new one is even more-so) which is my main concern and also that it has the cool feature of having a memory drive.

This device itself is 512 MB but is expandable to 1.5GB.

You can save 512MB to the machine then another 1GB worth of stuff on a memory card. This means that you can have as many 1 GB cards to keep your stuff without having to delete it in place of newer stuff (you can keep all of your song downloads w/o having to constantly delete them when you're sick of them, very cool!! You can have a card for each music genre if you want!!).

I'm just in it for the music but this player can do pretty much anything (14 uses).

Five stars all the way (oh, and up to 15+ hours of battery life compared to the older model's 8 hours).

****HUGE WARNING: YOU CAN'T USE REGULAR AAA BATTERIES TO DOWNLOAD MUSIC, YOU CAN ONLY USE THEM TO LISTEN TO STUFF. DOWNLOADING REQUIRES RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES DUE TO THE FACT THAT RECHARGING OCCURS WHEN THE DEVICE IS HOOKED UP WITH YOUR CPU.****

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Over All Rating: C

Earbud Sound: C

Overall Features: A

Documentation: D

Tech Support: F

Quality: B

I recently bought this MP3 Player because it had a great rebate deal that brought the cost way down. For the price I paid, I am happy with it. If I had paid the standard price, I would have been very disappointed. The good news is that it has some great features. I love the 1.5 Gig expandability and the FM Radio tuner, but I don't think it stands up to the quality you find from companies like Apple.

Customer beware when it comes to Firmware upgrades. I downloaded the latest firmware from the Company's site after getting the product. The "latest" firmware on the site was older than what came with the player and when I tried to load it on the MP3 player, it turned out to be incompatible too. The player went dead and it took me a good 3 days to figure out how to get it to reload the original firmware again.

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This unit does not have a resume feature, which is a must if you use this for spoken-word audio. Other MP3 players from Ultra Products are having their firmware upgraded, and will correct this shortcoming, but Ultra Products has not committed to upgrading the firmware for this unit.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Lexar Media 256MB Memory Stick Duo Pro MSDP256-331

Lexar Media 256MB Memory Stick Duo Pro MSDP256-331i used this one for the psp, and it works fine, however, if you don't know about media, you get less storage than it is labeled as, you actually get 227mb of storage instead of 256. anyway, the adapter works fine, and will works with my vaio PC, however, some say the new memory stick pro does not work with the slot on the vaio, just simply download a driver off the sony site to read the MS pro. great product except it is black not white (i think the white is more stylish).

How many pictures will it store? It is the most commonly asked question from digital camera enthusiast but usually the question that is the most difficult to get a straight answer about. Well, considering I worked in the memory industry for over 7 years I can help clarify this perplexing question and do so unbiased as I have since changed industries.

The Lexar Media 256MB Memory Stick Duo Pro MSDP256-331, like most 256MB cards, will store on average 284 pictures when used with a 2 megapixel camera, 213 images when used with a 3 megapixel camera, 128 pictures when used with a 4 megapixel camera, 102 images when used with a 5 megapixel camera, and 80 pictures when used with a 6 megapixel camera. These numbers are based off the assumption that you are going to shoot your images at the highest quality JPEG setting available for the camera and understand that they are estimates and may be off by as much as 10 percent due to numerous factors including the complexity of the scene being shot and the compression algorithm used by your specific camera.

I truly hope this review was helpful to you in determining whether this card is the right capacity for your specific needs.

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Monday, July 14, 2014

Audio Jammer

Audio JammerIt's a gimmick. After testing several times it just doesn't work. In addition to not working its totally annoying !! It's a waste of money in my opinion !!

This tiny thing does the job..I live in apartments where you can hear the neighbor's put down their fork on their plate, sneeze or cough easily. I know my neighbor has had a listening device the past year because the couple no longer talk,watch t.v or play their music,,it's as if they have dedicated their life into mines due to the fact when I first moved in the first 3 years I had friends, gatherings and private conversations/intimate moments might have been overly exposed. They are now stalking me and know when I leave but I figured it out after so long. I am also a victim of Gang-stalking aka Community Stalking for many years, so this device is able to help me keep some of privacy private. The only thing it can get too loud and have to adjust the volume and your voice with it and it might bother your pets sensitive ears you have to use it sparingly not all day if you have pets.

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It IS loud, but it seems to be effective. My experience with eavesdropping is very similar to one of the other reviewers. I had a neighbor in a `building' in which you could hear a neighbor dropping a pin'. And I had a neighbor also (much like the other reviewer), who became obsessed with eavesdropping on me with electronic devices. Additionally, I also would receive `feedback' if the neighbor thought that I was somehow being too loud and discourteous...like if I did something obnoxious such as set a pencil down on a desk. But one day, when I couldn't stand his behavior anymore, I turned on this device to mid-volume, and that interrupted his ability to detect where I was in my place...and also stopped him from detecting any `sounds' that were coming from my place. I can't go into the details, but he ran around his place, in a frenzy, trying to locate the room that I was located-in so that he could `punish' me for making any `horrible' noise, such as highlighting (with a yellow highlighter), an item on a bank statement. As I said, the unit IS loud, but when YOU are in control, you can `stand' it much, much longer than the other guy whose microphones etc. are shut down by the white noise of this unit. I can't wait for the next time that I get his annoying `feedback' because of just some normal, everyday activity that I can `carrying-out' in my place...so that I can unleash this unit again...this time, for a long, long length of time!

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i bought this because i have a rfd chip in my body some where in my head. the us goverment still uses it to punish you and hurt you with it in many ways and they use it to practice to play with your fuctions of your body to assult yo sexually and phyisically with a machine that the us goverment would not allow as evidence in a court room. so now they use it t and commit felonys and get by with it because the shrinks use it this way on inmates while in prison and dont stop even if your free citizen again after twenty years they stilll use it . i am not sure this blocks them out but i tryed to ask my congress woman to see what can be done and all i got was laughed at at a 4th of july picknic.

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Wednesday, June 18, 2014

SM06 DVR Sunglasses with Free 2GB TFcard provided

SM06 DVR Sunglasses with Free 2GB TFcard providedMy first impression was these Sunglasses look great! After further looking at them, I started to think that man the plastics used on the frame was sub par but they only cost 32.20 shipped. They do pretty well in the sun light cutting the glare for me. My pc noticed them as a flash drive once I plugged them in & because I use many different flash devices there were no drivers needed to be downloaded & installed. I can't wait to see how the camera on them performs, I purchased them so I wouldn't have to depend on someone to record me flying my helis. I can have a first person view of what I'm doing & go over the video to see what caused any mishaps due to mechanical failure or pilot error. I can't wait to go flying, I'll post another review pertaining to the actual performance & video. I would recommend these at the present moment to anyone who needs a inexpensive means of recording with their hands free. If your not going to use these under sun light(in the house) just pop the lenses out, they look & feel like they'll come easily with a little persuation.

the recording was blur, colorr smear. sometimes it would record sometimes it did not. pictures that did come outhad a haze color

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This product stopped working after about 10 minutes worth of recording, and the video was TERRIBLE to begin with. If I'd payed any more than 20 bucks for it, I would have returned it. Do yourself a favor and do cheep-out on this one. Go for one of the 60-80 dollar models. I'm giving this 2 stars because I still use the micro SD card and adapter that it came with, as well as the glasses case and microfiber cloth.

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I followed all instructions for using the glasses but it does not work! The power button turns on the unit but it cannot turn the unit off, the unit does not take pictures or record at all. To turn off the unit I have to use the reset button.This glasses did not come with a CD, I went on youtube to get some help but to no avail. So far all i can do with this SN06 DVR is turn it on. What about this product tech support?

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Sunday, June 15, 2014

Harman Kardon CDR 26 CD Recorder

Harman Kardon CDR 26 CD Recorder
  • Dual-tray CD-R/RW recorder/player with 4x dubbing speed
  • Create custom CDs or copy an entire disc using inexpensive CD-R blanks
  • Synchronized recording from external sources (digital or analog)
  • Continuous two-disc or one-time/one-disc playback; headphone jack with level control
  • Full-featured ergonomic remote control

I highly recommend avoiding this product. The first unit I had would not play properly, and when I exchanged it for another unit, that unit would also not play properly! I had never purchased a Harmon Kardon product before, but I knew of their good reputation, and I actually did some research on CD recorders before buying this unit and thought it to be the best choice for the money. But I am extremely disappointed, both with this unit and with Harmon Kardon. I returned the second unit and got my money back. Read on...

From the moment I took the first unit out of the box, the lefthand CD player would not work correctly. When a track began playing, the player would skip ahead twenty seconds or so.

This happened on a regular basis, with a wide variety of CDs, from old to brand new. To further rule out that it wasn't the condition of any of my CDs--all of which played fine in my old Sony player--I played the CDs in the rightside player, and they always played fine.

I was especially troubled by the fact that it was the lefthand player, since this is the one that only plays and does not record, so there didn't seem to be much excuse for it not working.

But wait, it gets worse. I actually returned this unit and received another unit. I really liked the sound of the player, and for the most part I liked the functionality of the CD recorder and the quality of the recorded CDs.

So, I got the new unit, and...I immediately had problems with the lefthand player! This one malfunctioned even more than the last one, frequently skipping ahead a few seconds on different songs, and occassionally skipping back to the end of the previous track, while still displaying the current track!

I will say this: the sound was fantastic, and I had no problems recording. The fit and finish was not really first rate, but I would have readily overlooked this if the thing would just play correctly.

I'm not too pleased with the company's response, either. When I called, a rep told me that the store I dealt with had obviously gotten a bad batch of players. A bad batch? We're not talking tomatoes here! Some people might say three strikes you're out, but for me, two was plenty.

Two brand new units, and both would not work properly, right out of the box. Shame on you, Harmon Kardon. By the way, I asked to speak to a higher-up manager at the company, and someone did call me, a week later, and he left a message. I called him back and left a message, twice, but he has yet to get back to me.

Twice bitten, forever shy. No more Harmon Kardon for me!

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I bought the CDR26 mainly to back-up my DAT library from the last 15 years of work. I own a recording studio and my DAT recorder (Tascam DA-30 ) started to fail, so I needed the ability to interface digitally through coaxial input which the CDR-26 has two, one on the front and another on the rear besides the optical interfaces. I also needed the capacity to convert the sample rate on the fly because some DATs where recorded at 48 Khz instead of the CD 44.1 K standard.

I have been working with it for the last 3 months and it has done its job flawlessly. No problems at all.

It is handsome, easy to operate, the manual is well written and easy to follow. With its two trays you can make digital copies of your favorite CDs and with the ability to make dubs at 4X,, dubbing is a breeze.

And the sound quality ? well, it is outstanding and I dare to say that some burned CDs, sound better than the original DATs, with more warmth and less of a harsh sound.

The only drawback at least for my purpose is dealing with the SCMS copy protection, because some older DATs that were recorded on a non-pro DAT machine, were coded with the SCMS and therefore, making DIGITAL copies from those DATs was impossible, but the CDR-26 automatically turns on the ANALOG copying and so far, I have NOT been able to distiguish from the original.

The trays seem a little flimsy, so I prefer to close them with the front pannel buttom or the remote one instead of pushing them.

It lacks separate outs, one for each tray, so you can not listen to each one separately or make DJ's type work, but you can play continuosly the two discs and it has all the repeat and programability functions anyone expects from a machine like this.

There are no fancy functions like title writing, but I really dont use those, and besides there are fewer functions that can go wrong.

The display has all the needed information and it is legible despite having small characters and the remote is all you need to work, you wont miss anything from it.

When making ANALOG recordings, you have to be carefull with the Level Settings as it is quite easy to get digital distortion, so it is better to be somehow conservative and not run frequently on the overload mark !

The Phones jack is only good for location reference, because the sound quality is not acceptable.

I have recorded CD-Rs and CD-RW from diferent brands and lengths (74 & 80 Min.) and have never had any problems with any disc, besides you can erase and re-write a CD-RW for 99 times ( a limitation on the CD-RW format and NOT on the CDR-26 ) without any sound degradation.

All in all a terrific buy so far.

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Aprroximately 1 1/2 years ago I bought a new Harmon Kardon CDR 26 (CD recorder). It worked well for the first year, recently though it has been skipping during recording and playback. This skipping problem occurs frequently and is especially annoying during the recording process. In the middle of a recording the laser will skip, basically ruining the recording.

The malfunction only occurs on the right side (record side) of the player. The only reason I bought this unit was to record. It has been a huge disappointment and not worth the hassle or the money ($150-$200) to repair.

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Right side laser (record side) skips frequently during recording and playback. This problem occurred about 1 year after purchase ($400). Still skipped after cleaning laser. I am very disappointed with this unit and would not recommend it.

The CDR26 replaced a defective CDR20, which I rated very poorly. I saw the promise in the ease of operation and the Harman Kardon name and was willing to give the CDR26 a chance. I'm so glad that I did. I use the unit primarily to make compilation recordings and the difference between it and the CDR20 has been like night and day. I really do not see how I could find another CD recorder that sounded any better or was easier to operate for the money. The CDR20 was a mistake. The CDR26 is a winner!

Saturday, June 14, 2014

DS-5000 Professional Voice Recorder

DS-5000 Professional Voice RecorderLess than 1 star

While the recorder is functional, the dictation software is not very good. endless problems, requiring frequent long calls to service line. unhelpful service people. Overall not a useful product in our experience, cannot recommend

My first one is still working great, so the rest of the office is getting them! Easy to send dictation.

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Monday, June 9, 2014

Maxell Cassette VHS-C Adapter

Maxell Cassette VHS-C AdapterI don't normally write reviews, although I read a lot of them and find them useful. So I'm writing this just because i read the bad reviews for this product and almost bought the more expensive ones; but decided on this one to save some money. My worry was that to save a few bucks I was risking breaking a tape or a VCR per the other review's comments.

I am pretty sure the reason they had problems is they didn't use it properly. The instructions are pretty bad, and if you don't use it right it will break a tape and/or mess up your VCR. So here is the way to use it;

the instructions just say open the cover, put in the tape, and close the cover; but its a lot more than that.

1. open the cover, and you'll see two posts sticking up that are spring loaded. It is very important you don't do what I did, which was figure those go in front of the tape, so I pushed them open and dropped the tape so the posts were on the outside of the tape. After experimenting and seeing how they work, I realized those posts go inside the tape, so just put the tape in without moving the posts.

2. and when you put the tape in, be sure the front flap of your VHSC tape pops all the way open. The first time I put in the tape I didn't push it all the way down, and the flap didn't even open at all. Don't force it, but when the tape engages the gear, the flap pops open. The gears are plastic, so fiddle with it, don't force it.

3. Now here is where you can break the tape; the instructions say "close the cover" which is right, but they don't mention that by closing the cover you are actually doing something else; the cover has a gear built into it, as the cover closes those two posts that are inside the tape push forward and out, spreading the tape out and pushing it to the front of the Adapater Cassette. This is how the tape is pulled out of your VHSC and held out so when the tape goes in the VCR it touches the VCR Head. When you slide the cover forward do it slowly, sort of back and forth, with light pressure. If you force it, it will snap your tape!

if you do all this, I think you'll find this adapater is excellent, and will save you a bunch of money over the other ones that are double price, but probably have better instructions.

If you are going to order this adapter, BE SURE you DO NOT have an 8mm cassette because this does NOT work with them. I stupidly ordered it without checking and cannot use it for the purpose that I originally bought it, but I can use it with a few others that I have so it wasn't a complete waste of time! :) It was my fault for not checking but I guess I needed it anyway! I got the package in mint condition and it works well for the right cassettes :)

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I bought this adapter for my vhs-c tapes. When I check it I found that the adapter parts don't fit properly. I tried it just a few minuts I found that tape in adapter goes by diagonal. So in the play mode it damages one tape edge in the rewind mode it damages the other edge. I retuned it to store and bought the PV-P1 adapter from Panasonic. It worked fine.

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Played a tape about 3/4 through and then stopped. When I rewound and removed it I also found that both tape edges were damaged. It's junk.

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IT GETS STUCK IN MY VCR WHILE TRYING TO EJECT. I NEED TO USE A KNIFE ON EACH SIDE TO HELP IT OUT!

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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Promotion TaoTronics TT-CM001 USB Portable Tape Cassette To MP3 Converter Tape-to-MP3 Capture Adapt

Promotion TaoTronics TT-CM001 USB Portable Tape Cassette To MP3 Converter Tape-to-MP3 Capture Adapter Digital Audio Music Player With Headphones and Software Cd- FOR PC
  • Plug and play USB device convert your old mix tapes and cassette to MP3 to Playback on iPod / MP3 player or burn to CD.
  • Flexible battery or USB-powered operation.Comes with tape converter software to guide you through transfer.
  • Portable design fits in virtually any bag and enables you to play and transfer anywhere.Audio editing software included.
  • Audio output enables you to listen on your stereo, headphones, or other speaker system.
  • Features Auto Reverse.Rediscover your old cassette tapes on the go.

This item works as advertised. It's no frills but it gets the job done. It will play the tape and then auto-reverse so you don't have to turn the tape over.

Once you have the setup done, just pop in a tape, start audacity, hit RECORD on audacity, and then PLAY on the unit. The tape will play at the usual speed, this is not a high-speed dubbing unit. Note that audacity will save the file in its own format, but you can then go in and select sections and export them in MP3 format.

HOW TO DO IT

If you have a Windows 7 PC, go to Audacity's website and download the Win7 version, and install it BEFORE you plug in the Taotronics unit.

Now plug in the TaoTronics unit. Skip Windows looking for an update to the driver.

After a pause, you should be informed that the unit is installed and ready for use. Subsequent uses on my Win7 PC did not acknowledge that the unit had been plugged in but it still worked.

Run Audacity. These are the settings that worked for me on a Windows 7 PC:

For sound level, you can either work with the microphone input level, or you can use the Volume wheel on the unit.

The unit will do an "auto reverse" which means it will play the entire cassette, sides 1 and 2, and then stop. It also has a setting that looks like it is for "endless play".

The player will stop at the end of the tape, but if you rewind/fast forward it appears to just wait for you to hit "stop" so I wouldn't do either of these and leave the room or you might stretch your tape.

Readers Digest walkthrough:

1. Install audacity.

2. Plug in the Taotronics unit.

3. Put the tape in the unit. If you haven't played it for a while, you might want to fast forward and then rewind to make sure the tape isn't wound too lose or too tight.

4. Hit the record button on audacity.

5. Hit the play button on the Taotronics.

6. Make sure you have the unit set to just play two sides. The player will stop at the end of the tape, but Audacity will keep recording so you have to stop Audacity yourself.

7. If you want MP3s, you will need to:

a. save the file as an audacity project

b. select sections of the project in audacity and "export" them in MP3 format. To do this you will need to download the Lame encoder and let Audacity know where that file is. I suggest you put it in the Audacity folder.

c. keep doing b until the end of the audacity project file.

UPDATE: Audacity will automatically export tracks for you!

Using audacity to automatically split and save your album tracks

Go to the beginning of your project and delete all but about 3 seconds of silence. Do the same at the end of the project and in the middle of the project (between the album "sides"). Don't delete it all, as audacity will be using the silences in your project to split the tracks. You will have to make sure of enough silence before the first track or it won't be recognized.

Select Analyze / Silence Finder. Accept the defaults and click OK. Audacity will now find the spaces between songs using the silence areas.

Audacity does a pretty good job of finding the spaces between tracks but it's not perfect, so you should take a look and make sure there aren't extra tracks were the silence between songs was too long. You can delete a label by editing its name and just backspacing until it disappears. NOTE: you will almost always get a label at the end of the project.

Now put in the names for the tracks in the label markers. Do this with Tracks / Edit Labels.

Now set up the MP3 tags for the files. This is how an MP3 player can show you the title, album, etc. when you play an MP3:

Go to Edit / Preferences and untick Show Metadata Editor Prior to Export Step.

Go to File / Open Metadata Editor and enter the performer name and album name.

Go to File / Export Multiple.

Set the format for your exported files (Mp3 usually). Audacity should remember this after the first time you do it.

Set the export location (audacity can create a folder if it doesn't already exist.)

Select "split files based on labels"

Select "numbering before label/track name" (to insert the track number so the files sort properly)

Select Export

Wait

Hope this helps everyone. Please consider doing a "how to" like this in your own product reviews!

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Summary: If you want a device that just provides the audio source and gets out of your way, this device is perfect. If you need things a little more automatic (to do the recording and noise reduction for you), it may be a little *too* basic for your needs.

There's not a lot to this device, which makes it incredibly simple to use. When I plugged it into my Windows 8 PC, it identified it as a "USB Microphone". All that's required to use it is the sound recording program of your choice. (The enclosed CD contains an older version of the program Audacity -a newer version is available from and is completely free to use.)

Because it's so simple and doesn't try to do anything "fancy", there are a few manual steps you will have to do yourself to get a good recording. The more difficult part was balancing the volume levels on the unit itself and the recording level on my PC, to get the maximum volume without distortion. Then, once the whole tape is recorded, you have to use your software's noise reduction feature to eliminate the tape hiss.

While I prefer a device to just do its basic functions, so it doesn't get in my way, novice users may find it difficult to do all of these steps manually.

The whole unit, from the mechanical latch to the buttons, feel like one of the more cheaply-made portable tape players I had back in the 1980s, but the unit has so far made it through my entire collection of Harry Potter books on tape and is working on the Lord of the Rings, and it hasn't faltered once.

As an added bonus, it has a standard headphone jack and a battery compartment, so it can be used as a standalone portable cassette player. (Batteries are *not* required when connected to the computer; it is fully powered by USB.)

Some negatives:

I have run into issues with insufficient shielding, where I hear the telltale signs of cellphone interference (whether that's from the player, the cable, or internal to my PC, I'm not sure). I have to unplug my USB mouse (which was connected into the USB port right next to the tape player) and keep my cell phone at least a few feet away when recording.

When recording audio books, I like to take the entire book and save it as a single file. Audacity does not do well with 8-hour or longer sound files -it sucks down disk space in its "temp" directory, and it slows down and eventually crashes before I can save the file. I instead use the program GoldWave (but again, since it's just a generic audio source, any program will do). Audacity *does* work just fine for a typical 2-hour cassette, and its noise reduction feature works just fine.

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Overall, this is a great product to save my old tapes (those were never released in digital format).

I am surprised with the recorded sound quality; the mp3 file (320kbps and changed other settings to best quality) sounds as good as the tape. If your audio tape has a lot of hiss, the recorded file will be a mirror image. I got this only for a day, so I have not played with other audio effects such as amplifer, noise reduction, echo, etc. I am not sure if these effects will yield better quality than the original tape, but I can accept if it is at least sound 100% like the tape, no less.

The CD came with this converter is useless for those who has Windows 7 (me included). ..Just google "audacity", download and install the file for Windows 7 OS. With this file compatible with Windows 7 OS, it will link you to the website where you can download codec for converting your sound "project" into mp3 format (the mp3 decoding is not built in).

Also, expect to play around a little bit to get any recordings...I first followed the instructions which told me about changing the drop down bar to "USB audio device"...that never showed up on my list...i had to spend sometime to get it to work because of the settings.

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First of all the instructions do not tell you that if you have Windows 7 you must upload Audicity from the Audacity.com website for the latest version. We found that idea on the Taotronics website. So after we finally did that, then next problem was getting it to realize that the tape player was connected to the usb port. Once we finally did that (by unplugging and replugging into the usb port several times and opening and closing the audacity program several times) then we started a recording. Well, about 5 minutes into the recording, all of a sudden, the Audacity program did not recognize the tape player. So, we went back and repeated the plugging in and unplugging, etc and finally got it to recognize it again. Then about 15 mins into the recording, all of a sudden Audacity did not recognize it again after it had already recorded about 15 mins of the tape and we restarted again. Well,,, by now you know the story. This piece of junk is going back to Amazon tomorrow!!

This thing most definitely needs a driver!!! Don't buy...piece of Junk!!!

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product started out great, i completed about 20 cassette and then it simply stopped working. the cassette player still works, but when i hook it up to the computer it squeels... the cable of connection is bad... i really looked forward to this and was enjoying it until it broke...

Thursday, February 6, 2014

VideoSecu 4 Channel PCI DVR Card for CCTV Home Security Surveillance System C53

VideoSecu 4 Channel PCI DVR Card for CCTV Home Security Surveillance System C53I purchased this card because it offered what I was looking for: an inexpensive DVR solution for my home. The card installed fine. The problems begin after installing the software.

When I ran the Eyeonet software, it automatically changed the resolution to 1024x768. It's not documented here on Amazon or in the .pdf manual that there's no way to revert back to a higer resolution while the software is running.

My understanding of having a PC-based DVR system was that it could run in the background while I perform other tasks; apparently Ameta International (the software vendor) has other ideas; they either want you to just buy their DVR or a second PC to run as a stand-alone solution.

This one issue is the reason I've given this product such a low star rating; it basically requires me to buy a second PC, or be forced to start/stop using the DVR while I'm performing other tasks (or playing games) on my PC. There's no reason this software can't run in a window like a normal application; it actually uses very few resources and could easily be plugging away in the background on any reasonably up-to-date specced PC.

The card works as advertised.

You need to be running Windows XP or Linux, the screen resolution changes to 1024 x 768 when using the software.

In general, I would say the card was worth $30.

I contacted Videosecu by phone because I had some questions on the card, they tried hard to answer my questions regarding the extra connections on the card. The bottom line was the additional connections are not available for general use, it is for alarm connections that require a pigtail connector that is not available, neither is the pin out for me to make my own.

Again, this card and software is worth the $30 + shipping to play around with!

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Purchased this along with 2 cameras for a DVR project. Card works fine, just make sure you have the required Intel based PC and Windows XP. The software it comes with works fine. The manual it comes with isn't much help (stopped trying to understand it after a few pages). Some settings need a little technical knowledge (such as frame rate, video compression, and network settings). I am now able to login to the DVR from my smartphone and check up on the house in real time. Has a ton of settings for motion detection and alarms and alerts (can email you, though I haven't set this up yet). Overall, not a bad value for under $30.

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This total piece of junk repeatedly crashed making it completely useless. After four un-install and re-install attempts yielded the same result I figured it was either the card or the drivers. Went to VideoSecu's site for a software or, moreover a fresh driver download to no avail. In fact, you can't even find this DVR card in their product lineup, most likely discontinued because it's total scrap.

Enter the RIP OFF stage of this less than pleasant transaction.

I get an RMA from Amazon or warehouse seller, through Amazon I should say. So I send it back, at my own expense, couple of days later I get a refund notice from Amazon. The refund is minus the original shipping fee and minus 15% of the purchase price. It is later explained to me that they do not refund shipping, not even when they ship you a defective product, and they will charge you a 15% re-stocking fee, ya know.. to re-stock said defective product back into their inventory so they can sell it to another victim whose just trying to get things done while staying within their budget.

Then the icing on the cake. They try to blame my PC for not meeting system requirements, and or some kind of "installation problem"

I assured them my three year old, totally Intel based, custom built Mega Gamer would have no problem running this card or any other PCI based anything for that matter.

Bottom line, if you serous about video security spend the money on a GeoVision system from a reputable dealer, unlike these warehouse seller crooks, backed by Amazon.

It's not a lot of money but on principle alone, this is the last purchase I will be making on Amazon.com

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I have had this product for about a month now and am very pleased. It has some very nice options and I didn't find it too difficult to learn them. I am using a 32GB flash drive ($19.00) to store the recorded videos and it is more than enough with four cameras set on motion detection. You can also set specific areas (zones) for the motion detection to ignore and record on.It also has an RCA video out on the back of the card to hook up to a TV in another room. It also has some editing options when reviewing recorded video such as zoom, blur, and sharp corrections and screen shot. I am running windows XP with Intel system. My only problem is setting up the remote viewing network. It logs me in from the phone but logs me back out after about 20 seconds. If anyone has any advice to help me resolve this i would much appreciate it.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Finevu NEW CR-500HD 16gb Full Hd Record Car Vehicle Black Box Recorder Camera Racing 1920x1080p@30f

Finevu NEW CR-500HD 16gb Full Hd Record Car Vehicle Black Box Recorder Camera Racing 1920x1080p@30fps w/SONY CMOS Sensor
  • Ultra High Full HD 1080p Dash Cam Video Recording with SONY Exmor CMOS Sensor
  • 2MP FULL HD Quality Video Recording with Fast Lens
  • Customized Recording Modes 1080p Full HD / 720 HD
  • Recording Frame 30fps / 24fps / 15fps / 5 fps
  • Camera: 2,000,000 pixels

This is my first experience owning a dash cam DVR. Apparently, the only people who have dash cams in America are the police. The rest of the world has dash cams of all makes and models and has been selling them for years. Owning a dash cam gives me piece of mind in knowing that if I ever get into a wreck and another person tries to blame me for the wreck, I have video proof of who is at fault. This little insurance policy has the potential of protecting me from insurance fraud and lawsuits filed against me and my family. With that in mind, I would like to give my review.

The camera attaches to the window with a special kind of double sided tape specifically for glass. Once you attach to window, it is on. The tape can be removed, but it is hard. I placed mine just right of my rear view mirror and to the left of my sun shade. I rand the power cord around the window, down the pillar, under my dash, and into the center column. The camera can be used with an always on power supply, but I choose not to use this feature. I only use the camera while I am driving. It has a parking mode and motion detection, but I disabled those two options. The camera speaks commands every time it changes modes. The camera will start recording the second power is turned on. It will beep and say "recording on". When the power is turned off, the camera beeps and will complete the current video recording, save it to the memory card, and then shut down. There are buttons on the back that you can use. The camera can take still pictures, mute audio recording, and save current video as an emergency event. This can all be controlled by the buttons on the back of the camera. When the camera is connected to a Windows PC, the camera beeps and says "USB mode". The camera shows up as a mass storage device with folders for different events. It has three folders called Event, Normal, Photo. Normal video is stored in the normal folder, shock events and emergency events are saved in the Event Folder and still photo's are stored in the Photo folder. All you do is copy and paste videos and photos to your computer. It is that easy. The camera has three G sensors that detect excessive amount of G-forces. If it detects any excessive G-force it thinks you have been in a wreck and will save video 5 seconds before and 35 seconds after the event, in total 40seconds of video. The camera saves video in AVI format so you would need a player that plays that format. Finevu offers a media player for the camera, but you have to download it from their web site. The camera has the settings software on the memory card so you can change the settings. All you do is click on the .EXE and install onto your Windows PC. After installation, you can change all sorts of settings. The camera can even format a new micro SDHC card if you decide to use a different card that you purchased separately. I am impressed so far by the camera. It is still too early to really give it good thumbs up. Finevu did a good job making a fine DVR black box. If they ever come out with newer products, I would buy from them again. Just keep selling on Amazon, and I will keep giving you my money. I do have a suggestion. If and when Finevu makes a new DVR black box, can you please include WIFI along with an IOS app? It would be very cool to be able to use my iPhone to record, watch, play back, change settings, and add multiple cameras?? It would be really cool to be able to control and view from multiple cameras. I could install a second camera in the back to record drivers behind me. If you added this to your next DVR black box, I would be first in-line to spend my money.

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I bought this camera after encountering couple idots on the road who were looking to create an accident. Also, saw a bunch of clips on youtube about accidents in Russia. This device will help provide objective picture for some complicated situations on the road. Might even help another person who got into accident in front of me.

Video quality is amazing in daylight and quite good at night. The camera is small (good for inconspicuous mounting) and very light. I liked the long power cable which allowed me to install the camera in my Odyssey without any visible hanging wires -it looks very professional.

I've put 32Gb (max allowed size) in it and it should be able to hold 2-3 days worth of recordings. Afterwards the oldest clip gets overwritten with latest. The camera records .avi files with 3 minute recordings.

I recommend disabling shock sensor for driving mode or you'll end up with a lot of false "Event" recordings after hitting pretty much any bump. "Event" recordings stay on the card and don't get auto-erased and this will lead to eventually full SD card. With disabled shock sensor this won't be an issue.

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This is a great little dash cam that is very simple to use. It comes with a 16GB micro SD card that can hold a decent amount of 1080p footage before having to overwrite data. The memory card has separate folders for "normal" footage and "event" footage (e.g. an accident) to prevent video of accidents from being overwritten with the normal footage. However, even changed to it's lowest sensitivity level setting, this camera's shock sensor is WAY too sensitive. It will go off when rolling over speed bumps (even the smooth ones), sloping curbs, etc. It got so annoying, I simply turned off this feature altogether. The camera can also be switched to "parking mode" which will record video if motion or impact is detected. I even use this as a security camera at the small office I work at, since where I park the wide angle lens views the front parking lot, cul-de-sac, and neighboring business. The camera will not drain your vehicle's battery, as it will shut off before your vehicle battery drops below a certain voltage.

The video quality is superb--fine enough to easily read license plate numbers and street signs. So far I've used this in the rain, sun, and at night, all with excellent results. The camera comes with a micro SD to SD adapter for use with any standard SD card reader. Thankfully, the videos are in a standard .avi format for easy viewing. The files are in chunks of a couple minutes each and clearly named with the date and time. It couldn't be easier to get to the footage you need!

I was disappointed that the camera only came with a mount requiring double-sided tape to attach to your windshield. I wish they had included a high-suction mount like portable GPS units use. It would be nice to be able to move the mounting point with ease not possible with a more permanent tape mount. They do include 5 clips (also with double-sided tape) for cable management, which is really nice. I was able to route the wires well enough that this camera looks professionally installed with no slack wire visible. And they give you PLENTY of length on the 12V adapter cable used to power the unit.

Mac users beware. You will be unable to change the camera settings without access to a Windows computer, as they only provide a .exe configuration app (a USB cable is provided to attach the camera to your computer as a "disk"). However, the camera disk image mounts perfectly on a Mac and you can access all video files with ease (or by using the SD adapter).

Also please note that this camera does NOT have a built-in GPS unit, so you will not have a speed and location readout on the video files unless you purchase FineVu's separate GPS unit that attaches to the camera.

I can't recommend this camera enough. And it feels so much better driving with a witness that doesn't lie. It tells the truth in HD ;-)

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Crystal clear image, audio capture is very good, small enough to hide behind your rear view mirror so it's not obvious it's even installed to even myself or passengers. It automatically starts recording when car is turned on and no skips in video.

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In a nut shell this its the best dash camera in the market so far. Expensive for sure but the pic quality is so so good. Keep in mind the HD 1080p thing exists in some other cameras too but this is the only one that delivers it at 30fps. Meaning better pictures at day or night. I owned briefly the other model from the same company FineVu PRO Full-HD 1080p but it delivers 1080 at I believe 15 fps if I am not mistaken. Trust me there is a big difference.

My only negatives with it is:

1Doesn't work with Macs. You need to download a converter called iSkysoft Video Convertor http://www.iskysoft.com Free at the beginning then you have to buy it. Excellent program by the way.

2The light from the buttons on the back of the unit are at night a little bit of annoyance.

However these are minor negatives when the main purpose is top quality videos in case of an accident God forbids.

BTW I also suggest you use the cam with the Panavise 809 Camera Window Suction-Cup Mount sold on Amazon. Its much better to use suction cup than the fixed 3M that comes with it. This way you can move the camera from car to car. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000246ST6/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also you can buy a permanent wiring for it from Amazon too FineVu Dash Cam Uninterrupted Power Cable, Continuous Power Usage for Finevu Cr-500hd, Cr-300hd Car Black Box http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BWWRD46/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A4Z7UY2RWHCRJ

One more thing, Don't do like I did by purchasing a a larger capacity memory card 64GB which won't work with it. I guess its capped at 32GB.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Motorola V220 Unlocked Cell Phone--U.S. Version with Warranty (Silver)

Motorola V220 Unlocked Cell Phone--U.S. Version with WarrantyIt is a light weight handy phone. The camara works very well. There are several useful additional features in the phone. The only problem I encountered is, since it is a triband and is supposed to be carried to other countries where there are varient power supply, it should have a universal charger with it. The one that comes with the phone works only in 110V power outlet.

I bought this phone beause I didn't want to swtich my current service.

This is a great, easy to use phone. It is perfect for someone who's looking for something easy to work with, it has a simple and in detail user's guide, the battery has a long life span, and it has a good size screen.

I read many negative reviews on this phone on various webpages but I still decided to buy it. I have no regrets. A lot of people said this phone has a bad camera quaility. From the pictures I've taken I see no worse quality in this camera phone than any other. A lot of other flip phones have a longer display screen inside which tends to strech the picture. This phone is a perfect screen size that keeps the picture to the right dementions.

The caller ID is simple and shows on the outside of the phone when someone is calling. You can set your option to show a picture and where you have to open the phone to answer it.

The speaker phone is another good feature on this phone. It is very loud and clear and is perfect for when you are driving or need your hands free.

I've already dropped this phone and acidentally smashed it underneathe my chair. There are no sratches on it and its still in perfectly good working condition. A lot of people said this phone was like a toy as was fragile. I don't understand how it can be fragile if I can put a metal chair on top of it; unless the person that said that was throwing this at the wall repeatly or beating it with a baseball bat I see no problems with it.

Over all I give this phone a 5 star rating. I've had no problems with it and it is well worth the money you are paying for.

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I had this phone for over 2 years, the phone worked great until it died recently. However, I used a belt holster and although it did get dropped a few times, it wasn't very often. I thought the camera worked great, the address book had over 500 numbers in it when I last backed it up. I couldn't ask that it did much more. I presume the others that rated it poorly had more rugged use of the phone, but I used it every day for business. The talk time was very long compared to most of the newer phones. I would talk on average 2-3 hours per day on the phone, and I only charged it every other day or so. It is small and lightweight and fits nicely in the hand whether you are a man or a woman.

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I payed extra money for this phone when I got a new plan, and I've been regrettig it ever since.

First and foremost, the reception is lack-luster at best. I'm in the Los Angeles area and this phone drops calls left and right. I will be standing next to someone with the same service, and they'll have 2 more bars than I do.

Also, I take good enough care of my phones, the occassional drop, but I do treat them well. After a year, my camera stopped working for no apparent reason. No drop or major trauma induced this. Now, and 1.5 years, my screen is glitching or turning off and it is a constant annoyance. and I'm not the only one. of the handful of friends that also have this same phone, they *all* complain of the same problems.

I dislike giving harsh reviews, but I am just so dissatisfied with this phone that I hate thinking that other people would still buy it. There are better phones at better prices. Do not waste your money on this one.

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If you want a phone with camera because you actually plan to use the camera this phone is not it, it's rare to get a clear image w/it! It's compact and that's nice for purses and junk. You can find many accessories for it, and if you like musictones they sound great on this phone! I have never had any problems w/reception. I think that the best thing about it is that it is durable. I have dropped it too many times to count on cement and tile, and I didn't break any part of the phone or camera. Seriously though, had it not come free w/my plan I would have NEVER gotten it. It's really not worth paying for.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Panasonic DMP-B500 WiFi Enabled 10.1-Inch Screen Portable Blu-ray Disc Player

Panasonic DMP-B500 WiFi Enabled 10.1-Inch Screen Portable Blu-ray Disc Player
  • 10.1" WSVGA LCD Screen
  • VIERA Cast
  • Movie "Photo Frame" Function
  • SD Image Viewer
  • Watch your favorite High-Definition movies virtually anywhere with the DMP-B500 Portable Blu-ray Disc™ Player.

If you are someone who needs a fifty inch screen to watch movies on, this machine is not for you. If you are someone with a Blu-Ray collection who travels and wants a way to watch them on the move, keep going. The DMP-B500 has a 10.1 inch screen that operates on a 1024x600 screen resolution. The DMP-B500 does NOT have a native 1080P screen. It is, however, an excellent screen for it's size. Colors are vivid and accurate, though if you're like me, you will have to turn down the color saturation. The default settings run a hair deeper to the red then they should, but it is easily fixed. There is no ghosting in the screen, nor are there artifacts or dark 'bricking'. While the screen is in operation there is no glare in a dark room, while still being easily visible in sunlight and room light.

The built in speakers won't drown out a room, but are easily heard with surprising depth and quality. You wont' be rewinding constantly to hear what someone said. The DMP-B500 only has one headphone jack, however, so if you have to share it in a car or on a plane you will have to buy a headphone splitter. The DMP-B500 will start a dvd instantly, though most Blu-Ray discs require five to fifteen seconds to go from main menu to movie. Native firmware will run every movie on the market at the moment, however there have been two firmware updates since I purchased my DMP-B500. Avatar and Alice in Wonderland both play flawlessly as does the rest of my collection. Of the fifty odd Blu-Ray I own, none have had any issues being played on the DMP-B500.

On a full battery charge you will get three hours from the DMP-B500, with headphones plugged in and the screen's brightness turned down, you can get four hours.

The DMP-B500 can connect to any HD television with an HDMI cable. While connected to the television, the DMP-B500 transmits at full 1080/24P with excellent video and sound quality.

The DMP-B500 can play Div-x .AVI files. However these files can NOT be placed on an SD card. Div-X files must be burned to disk or played off a standard usb thumb-drive. I have not yet convinced my DMP-B500 to read Div-x files from an external hard drive. The DMP-B500 can play MPeG2 files from the SD card. Fair warning, to activate the DMP-B500's Div-X capabilities you MUST burn the activation file to a cd or dvd. The activation file will not play via usb thumb drive, nor SD card.

.JPG files are supported, though the support if 'iffy'. Pictures taken from your camera in .JPG will show on your DMP-B500, but the machine 'sorts' the photos for you. A pictures of your nieces birthday party will find its way from the rest of the party photos and straight into those of your vacation. As of you, I don't know how the DMP-B500 sorts photos, as they aren't sorted alphabetically by name, nor by capture date.

MP3's play from burned disk, SD card, and USB drive. I have had no problems with any of my MP3's, those purchased from I-tunes and Amazon both worked fine.

Internet video is an interesting feature. You can watch Youtube, Amazon movies on demand, and Netflix via the built in Wifi adapter or the built in ethernet jack. So far all I have tried have played, but Youtube videos are not played in full screen. Instead they get roughly half the screen on the right side of the display. Picasso photo albums, Pandora internet radio, Fox Sports, and a weather network are additional internet features with more being added all the time. Firmware is updated either via cd or the built in ethernet connection. Updating the firmware takes around ten minutes.

The only true negatives about the DMP-B500 I can offer are the design and the price. The screen does not clam-shell, therefore it can't be tossed into a backpack as the screen is ALWAYS exposed. You need a dedicated carrying case to move the DMP-B500 around. Also, you must lift the screen to change discs. Neither are show stoppers, but both are annoyances. There is also the price to consider. The DMP-B500 is not a machine that's worth eight hundred dollars. Watch Amazon's daily price and wait for a good deal. Six hundred dollars for a machine of the DMP-B500's capabilities is a very good price, but not eight hundred.

Pro's: Display, sound, portability, multiple features, battery life, Disc read time.

Con's: SD Card not supporting DivX files, Screen always exposed, price, no included travel charger.

This machine is worth a purchase if you want to watch your Blu-ray's on the move. The DMP-B500 is vastly superior to the US release of the DMP-B100 in every way but price.

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I purchased this player to watch movies when my business sticks me in low budget hotels with subpar cable TV. The player works well. I stream Netflix movies with no problem, even over my WPA2 encrypted wireless network at home. The wireless is though the included USB WLAN card that you must remember to plug in before using the network features.

The display is sharp and bright. You can navigate using the remote control or with the control knob on top of the unit. The remote is simple enough, though I wish it was smaller.

The fact that the screen is always exposed, even when the unit is off and closed does worry me. Especially when TSA demands I pull it out of the case I bought and put it in a bin for the XRay machine. I keep waiting for disaster as it gets bumped around on the conveyor belt. And it's way too expensive and fragile to leave in checked luggage.

The HDMI output is nice if the hotel room has a TV that supports HDMI and the hotel hasn't disabled it to try and force you to pay for their on demand movies.

You can buy cheaper non-BluRay players but this unit makes a nice portable unit and the wireless streaming makes it super, as even crappy hotels have free wireless these days.

But the price and exposed screen make you handle it with a very gentle touch.

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This is my first portable blue ray player and the visual clarity is outstanding. I would definately recommend this product to everyone.

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The B-500 looks like a very nice unit, but unfortunately mine is a lemon. I have returned it to Panasonic for repair once already, received it back and still does not work. After about 15 minutes of use the screen goes all milky white and you have no picture. Still have audio just no picture. Returning it again to Panasonic and they are presumably sending me another B-500 as a replacement. They will not send you a new replacement unit only a refurbished unit. I personally think this a crappy deal and will never buy another Panasonic product. I bought this unit in June, 2010 and think I should receive a new unit as a replacement. It has not worked from day one. When you call in to Panasonics repair center allow yourself at least 30 minutes for the process. You end up being transferred about six times and generally end up having to make the call twice to finally get to the right department. In other words Panasonics customer service center is a really frustrating experience. So good luck if you purchase this model because you've been warned.

May 2011 This is an update on my last review. I received my player back from the Panasonic repair center. It worked perfectly, for a total of about 40 hrs in a six week period. This player has been well cared for never having been used anywhwere but in the home. The only conclusion I can draw from this experience is this particular player (maybe even model) is a piece of crap and I'm out the purchase price. The only positive thing I can say about this particlar unit is it may look nice but looks isn't everything.

I almost bought Panasonic's previous model last year. Glad I didn't. This is just what I was looking for, and after spending a few hours with it, I'm happy to report that it does well what it's supposed to do. I couldn't be happier. I bought my first portable Panasonic DVD player in 1998, the first one on the market. It had a 5" screen, stereo speakers, and there were only 100 or so DVDs available to purchase. It set me back about $1,500 but served me well at home and on the road for many years and now belongs to a friend of mine named Bennie living in the Eastern Cuban town of Velasco. I'm a Mac guy and this is the only way to play my BluRays on the road. Hopefully Apple will see the light and start making BlueRays an option on their computers ... but until then, I'm happy with my new Panasonic DMP-B500. The only change I'd make is to have a dedicated Subtitle button on the remote for easy on and off. Thanks Panasonic. Good night and Godspeed.

Gregg