Panasonic HDC-SD1 AVCHD 3CCD Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabiliz

This is my first Amazon review. In the past I've had two Sony Hi-8 camcorders, a, Sony Mini-DV (DCR-PC1) and two Panasonic 3-CCD Mini-DV camcorders (PV-DV953 and PV-GS120) and now this HDC-SD1 will be my 6th model. Having had the last 2 weeks now to familiarize myself with the ins-and-outs of the HDC-SD1, I'd like to pass on what I've learned of this little dynamo. There are some limitations I had to accept in order to feel confident about making a smart $1100 purchase. First and foremost, be warned that the MPEG-4 H.264 Codec is not currently supported by iMovie HD, Final Cut Studio, Vegas, or any other popular NLE, though revisions and plug-ins are expected probably around summer 2007. If you can live with that for now, then be prepared for the output from this machine to knock your socks off.

Personally I was willing to live with not being able to edit the footage for now because I wanted to capture the first months of our 7-week old infant in the best quality available, and this meant either going AVCHD using mini-DVD (Sony HDR-UX1), AVCHD using a hard drive (Sony HDR-SR1) or AVCHD using a chip (Panny HDC-SD1). HD camcorders recording to DVD were the first to be taken off the list because of its annoying disc formatting and finalizing times and the brevity of recording length. I took the tape-based HD camcorders out early on due to my own experience with the frustration of locating footage using a linear recording format. More on this later. I also did not consider HDV-based HD camcorders as ingesting HDV footage (MPEG-2) is onerously slow and no piece of cake for one's hard drive. To be fair, HDV is a mature (more dated?) technology while AVCHD is still relatively embryonic with a huge upside still to come. So after lurking through a few forums and thumbing thru @500 page views of info, I gave the nod to the Panasonic. Absolutely no regrets. Even with the just announced HDC-SD3 coming in a few months stateside, it didn't look much better spec-wise to the HDC-SD1 and my baby might already be walking by then so I'm glad I got this now. I'm also in the process of purchasing an 8th or 9th generation plasma to match the output (1080i/60) from this little wonder as my current set doesn't support 1080i.

Unique advantages compared to other models in its competitive set:

+It has a high design aesthetic and is the smallest 3-CCD HD consumer camcorder on earth. It's as long as a dollar bill and just as wide. (I measured)

+With the Quick Start mode activated, the camcorder fires up and starts recording in about 2 seconds after the screen is opened. Never miss your baby's first steps with this guy.

+Built-in option of having virtual guidelines superimposed on the display for better compositions and more level horizons. The camera gives you three choices, horizontal lines only (my favorite) a big grid, or a small grid (egg crate) for the truly anal.

+German designed Leica Dicomar lens contains three aspherical elements that keeps chromatic aberration in check, with almost all surfaces multicoated.

+Simplicity of button layout and U.I., even though most advanced functions still there and easily accessible, like iris and shutter controls, fades, etc.

+Optional color bar indicator for tonal checks on your TV for calibration, normally seen only on professional broadcast camcorders.

+An option called 'zoom-mike' that focuses the sound on the area that you've zoomed into up 12X, great for surveillance work I guess. Or stalkers.

+Built-in HDMI to connect right up to an HDTV with no signal degradation, with one cable handling both HD video and 5:1 Surround Sound if connected thru an HDMI receiver.

+Weighs about one pound with media and battery. The girth and weight of the HDC-SD1 is almost exactly the same as a 16-ounce can of Coke.

+Package includes a 4 Gb SDHC class 2 media card that can hold between 40 minutes and 90 minutes' worth of footage depending on compression, when most camcorders don't even come with a $5 tape.

Unique disadvantages compared to other models in its competitive set:

-The multifunction joystick is on the small side and can be confusing in use. For some people I can see how this might hamper recording effectiveness. On the other hand, it's no better or worse than the joystick on the Panny PV-GS400/500.

-USB 2.0 is nice but the the lack of a firewire/iLink connection is a bit of a bummer.

-Camcorder battery will not recharge in-camera, nor will it recharge if AC adapter is utilized (plugged-in) at the same time.

-Included software that handles rudimentary editing functions works only on PCs.

-Resolution of still images taken is below par when compared to other models in its competitive set (like the Sony HRD-SR1 or Canon HV10/20)

-No tactile focusing ring if you like to verify the focus, a distinct advantage with the Sony camcorders in general and even its brother the Panny PV-GS500.

A quick vent. What bugs me with tapes, whether Hi-8, Mini-DV, etc is the time needed to peruse through vast amounts of media to get to a specific footage. It is entirely possible to spend up to 5 or 10 minutes jogging back and forth on an 60-minute tape to find the 30-second clip of something you're actually looking for. Recording to either HDD or an SDHC card, not only can clips be played at a glance in any order, erasing a clip is just as easy. For example, you have two 15 minute clips of primo footage with a 15 minute clip of some pointless recording in between. With a tape, it is much safer to keep all 45 minutes of footage to retain the good 15 minutes' worth on the end. With an SD card, the middle 15 minutes can be deleted like a photo in your digicam, and you're left with another 15-minute chunk of space for better footage. The analogy I can make between the HDC-SD1 and its HDV rivals would be akin to comparing an HD camcorder spawned from the iPod (flash memory) and an HD camcorder fathered by a Walkman (tape-based) and I personally would never go back to using my Sony Walkman when I can slip a Nano in my pocket. I probably sound like an anti-tape nut by now but it's only because I have over 50 Mini-DV tapes in our collection that nobody has touched in the last couple of years. I mean, why not settle for true random access if it's available? Good luck to all in your purchasing.

This camera delivers great picture quality and is very easy to use.

If you are looking forward to editing and publishing your videos taken with this camera please note, at the time of North American release, software packages that can handle AVCHD digital format encoded using MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (m2ts) are only starting to show up.

The software included with this camera, Leadtools HD Writer Ver 1.0E for SD1, is capable of only basic operations such as scene preview, split, merge, and delete. Using this software you can backup your videos on a DVD-R disk, but you won't be able to play it back, unless you have one of the new Blu-ray disk players.

The software situation will improve with time, and there will be more high definition video options in the future.

To hookup this camera to a high definition display you can use provided component cables or the HDMI output (HDMI cable is not included). Standard audio, video output is also available for older TV sets (cable included).

The computer interface is USB (cable supplied); it works only when the camera is hooked up to the AC/DC adapter (included). By the way, the battery will not charge inside the camera; charge it on the adapter disconnected from the camera.

Videos and pictures are stored on an SDHC card (some SD cards can also be used, but SDHC class 2 or better are recommended). A 4 GB SDHC card (one included) is good for about 40 minutes of recording in the highest quality HF setting; this is also about as much as the stock VW-VBG130 battery can handle. For more power on the go an optional VW-VH04 battery pack holder can be used. You can use additional SDHC cards, or dump data to a laptop computer via USB cable, or use optional VW-PT2 or similar SDHC media storage device.

The battery is loaded from the bottom. When using the camera on a tripod, load the battery first.

In addition to videos, this camera can also take still pictures. The quality of still pictures is so-so with some digital artifacts showing up; but it is fine for occasional snapshots. On the positive side, the still picture trigger on this camcorder functions like on real picture cameras: you can pre-focus depressing the trigger half way.

Thanks to the powerful 3CCD sensor architecture and optical image stabilization the videos this camera takes are very good, even in sub-optimal light conditions. There is an automatic mode, and a manual mode for more advanced control. One of the features I especially like is the Grid that can be displayed for better shoot composition.

HDC-SD1 is one of the first consumer high-definition cameras from Panasonic, it's a great start and sure to please customers looking so save the moving pictures of unforgettable moments in life.

Buy Panasonic HDC-SD1 AVCHD 3CCD Flash Memory High Definition Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabiliz Now

This is an excellent piece of camcorder. I was blown away by the Video Quality of it. Here are some of the Pros and Cons

Pros

1. Excellent Video Quality and Auto White balance I can see the exact color in my video in good light. Low light performance is also not bad.

2. 3 CCD chip Excellent colors and saturation, I compared my old Sony HC40 and Panasonic SD1 side by side shooting the same scene at the same time in Auto mode mounted on Tripods and Panasonic has great colors & Sharpness

3. Leica Optics Optics are much better on this one

4. Manual Options Can set White balance, Iris, Shutter Speed to get more manual control, has separate option for backlit subjects.

5. High Definition I don't have a high definition TV, but video looks sharp on my computer and TV. I am completely satisfied with it.

6. Size Perfectly sleek and light

7. Comes with separate charger and remote control

Cons

1. No iLink inside the Camcorder

2. No View Finder

3. Video Outputs (except HDMI & USB) are not available outside without lifting/bringing the LCD Screen out. LCD screen can break if camera accedentaly falls and i want my LCD panel to be closed when I am watching the video

4. Comes with filter thread, but the filter hood should be purchased separately

5. HDMI cable is not presented

6. Only 40 Mins video at highest quality on 4GB SDHC Card.

7. I was not able to copy using media copiers to backup and download this card which i can use to backup my digital images while I am on the field.

8. Joystick on the camera can be better, You have to get used to it.

9. Less/Complex Editing options as this is AVCHD

Every camera has a drawback and is not 100% perfect. I consider Panasonic a very good buy for people looking for 3-CCD, and a little manual control.

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I have the HDC-SD3 model of this camcorder (which as of 6/30/07 is available only in Japan). The SD3 is physically and functionally identical to the SD1 except that the highest bitrate recording mode on the SD3 does full 1920x1080i (the SD1's three recording modes all top out at 1440x1080i).

As someone who works in computer graphics, I am particularly concerned about image quality and was a little wary that this camera's top bitrate of 13 Mbps would still be too low to achieve acceptable results using the AVCHD H.264 codec. I was pleasantly surprisedthe quality is surprisingly good! There are no obvious motion artifacts. The captured color is vibrant and accurate, especially in good lighting. (Low light performance is decent too.) I was very impressed at how nice the image looked connected to good 1080i and 1080p displays over component and HDMI. The image is a tiny bit more contrasty than I would have dialed in, but other than that, no complaints. The average tech-savvy family shooter buying this camera will be perfectly happy with the picture.

I'm particularly impressed with the excellent optical image stabilization, build quality and autofocus performance (which is important since there is no focus ring and only an awkward joystick-based means of focusing manually, should you ever need to do it). Like all consumer HD cameras, the flip-out LCD doesn't have enough resolution for fine manual focusing, and I plan to use the camera mostly for casual family use anyway. Although not specifically documented as such in most product listings, the zoom control on the SD1 is variable speed. It is very responsive. You can do subtle, slow zooms quite easily despite the lever's small size.

A few downsides: the running time is limited on the ONE size of battery this camera supports the camera can shoot for a little over an hour on a charge, less than the 83 minutes (at best quality) I can get on an 8GB SDHC card and well short of the shooting times at the lower bitrates. The SD1 also lacks a progressive shooting mode and a choice of framerates... 1080i is it (look into the HV20 if you must have a 24p mode). The audio quality is pretty good but not extraordinary (possibly due to the microphones being placed on TOP of the camera instead of in front... the 5 channel Dolby Digital it records is sort of cool (more of a gimmick, I think) but does make the footage more complicated to edit. I would have preferred a PCM 48 KHz/16-bit stereo mode. There is no accessory shoe on top. And finally, the editing solutions for the AVCHD clips this camera records are only now beginning to emerge (though with Nero, Ulead, Pinnacle and Final Cut Pro already supporting it, the situation is only bound to get better).

If you're looking at this camera, you may be debating between it and the Canon HV20. I'd urge you to go with the SD1. The image quality from both cameras is very similar, but with the SD1, you'll never lose a shot due to tape dropouts and you won't have to spend hours capturing footage in over Firewire (the SD1 appears to your computer as any other flash drive... just copy the files off, one per clip). The build quality and handling are slightly better than the HV20's, and the optical image stabilization is the same or perhaps slightly better too. I agree with those who believe MiniDV tape will be dead in a few years, as recording to flash memory offers numerous speed and reliability advantages, and we are hitting that crossover point where you no longer have to give up any quality to go with a flash-based product.

If you're debating between the SD1 and one of Sony's AVCHD cameras, be sure to compare picture quality and color accuracy before going with the Sony... Sony's cameras rated well behind Panasonic and Canon products in consumer HD camcorder shootouts.

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I bought this camcorder for a recent trip to Italy with the following reservation:

1) Price continues to drop.

2) No editing sw available yet.

3) Storing SDHD while traveling, and eventually archiving onto DVD.

4) Quality of still picture.

5) Its size, it's compact but not that compact.

I bought along 2 more 4GB SDHC and a 100 GB Woverine storage. After 2 weeks trip, here are my fbacks:

a) PQ relating to capacity: The "middle" shooting mode PQ is stunning when view on 50" HD plasma. The "lower or extended" mode show pixels occasionally. Due to the capacity constraint, I've learned to compartmentalize the content in shorter chunks. This is a change of mindset for me...

b) The pluses: size could fit into my pants' pocket so I dont stand out as tourist; I also use the SD1 for still pictures and ended up didnt use my digital SLR at all; The stills printed-out OK but not-HD quality when viewed; the built-in lens cap and the recess lens work great in dusty and or rain situations; operating firmware is intuitive; 2 lux is amazing for indoor and low light situations eg. inside the Panthenon without flash;

c) The minuses: Screen panel has to be in opened position when access component out/power outlets during playback; There is no MUTE while playback thus trying to review discretedly in quite areas is not possible eg. on a plane; There is no INSERT function to compartmentalize unwanted sections for deletion; There is delay in PAUSE thus the fadeout has few more seconds than needed/wanted;

Overall, this toy is probably one of the most-fun toys I've purchased. Eventhough there were reservation, I'm now satisfy, the PQ is so great that it overides all other insufficiencies. I re-live my experiences in Roma, Florenze, Milano, Venezia, Pisa, Zurich... and smile everytime I watch those moments in HD.

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Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD - Blu-Ray disc player - upscaling

• BD-Live Compliant With 1GB Internal Memory
• PQLS For Jitter-Free 2-Channel And Multi-Channel Playback
• BD-R/RE, DVD-R/RW, CD/CD-R Compatible
• Dimensions (WHD): 16 9/16 X 3 1/4 X 11 In.

Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BGXP1M/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

I decided on another Pioneer Elite DVD player because the DV-45A that I've enjoyed for several years has worked flawlessly (and still does). The Blu-Ray Elite Player is more than I require... (I will not likely use the Ethernet or USB ports). I have not found a flaw with the BDP-23FD (as I expected, from experience with the DV-45A, which I think is the best "quality/price" for a DVD-A + SACD player glad I have it !).

Picture quality, Audio quality are superb, regardless of media format (plays the home-made variety DVDs just as well as the store bought varieties).

Although it's nice to have 'controllability/customization' features found on this player, the default set-up "out-of-the-box" is perfect for me. It's just a really nice player!

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Unfortunately, this player is not offered at too many places and it seems to mark one of the last of the "true" original Pioneer Elite Blu-Ray models. Apparently Sharp has bought Pioneer and their newer models tend to represent the Sharp styling and internal workings moreso than Pioneer. This is one of the reasons I bought this player as I already own a Pioneer DVD 49-AV which is awesome for a standard upscaling dvd player in its own right. The DV-49 is possibly better at upscaling than the 23FD is, but that is not what I bought it for. I bought this player for its outstanding Blu-Ray picture and quality sound and that is exactly what I got. Let's get the negative out of the way immediately. It does take some time to load, and that is even with CD loading as well as standard dvd and blu-ray. Right out of the box I upgraded the firmware (as directed by Pioneer Elite was simple and painless), and part of that upgrade mentioned faster loading times. Since I didn't compare and upgraded immediately, I wasn't able to measure but I will say that if this upgrade fixed loading times then I can't imagine how long it took to load initially. That being said, the load time is well worth the wait.

I can compare this model for you to the following brands and models that I own or have onwed: Oppo DV983H standard, Panasonic DMP-BD60 blu-ray, Denon BDP-1610 blu-ray, and the Pioneer DV-49av standard dvd player. In the standard / upscaling mode, can this 23FD measure up against the Oppo and the Pioneer players ? Yes to both, although I'd have to give the best upscaling nod to the Pioneer Elite DV-49av player for best overall upscaling player I've ever seen, and I still use this player for upscaling standard dvd discs to this date. I thought the Oppo was the best ever until this player came along. Compared to the other Blu-Ray players, the Pansonic is probably among the best I've ever seen video wise, but in audio, this Pioneer 23FD cannot be beat. The Denon had great sound, but no match for Panasonic or this Pioneer Elite in video quality.

Since the player is no longer manufactured or hardly found anymore, I won't go into the spec comparisons. Suffice it to say that this player is among the best Blu-Ray player I've ever seen or heard, and it upscales wonderfully. The user choices to tweak it alone make this more than worth the price not to mention the gorgeous Blu-Ray picture it provides. I have thrown every movie that has been known to give players problems, and this machine played them with no problem at all. I have the unit hooked up via analog to play my CDs, and HDMI for Blu-Ray / standard DVD. The sound is warm, rich and full. The unit itself is fairly heavy, and lets you know that this is a quality machine outside as well as inside. Pioneer Elite has always been about classy looks as well as performance and this machine excels in both. It is a shame that Pioneer Elite allegedly doesn't make their own players anymore, and that this is one of the last of the "true" Elite players. If you can find one of these players, don't hesitate to grab one. I have not seen or heard a better Blu-Ray player and I can't imagine anyone not being happy with the audio / video quality of this player. If you are an avid fan of great quality, look no further. This Pioneer Elite machine offers it all.

Update: 11/7/12 My unit has developed an error message when you turn the power on that reads "SD Not Found". It flashes and you can't shut it off, you have to unplug the power cord to reset it and hope that it turns on again. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. This problem seems to be common but no one has answers to it. Pioneer never heard of it, and they want me to ship the unit to California at my expense. FIX: Use the remote to turn the power on; works every time. It must be the power button itself that has the problem. Unit still plays fine and gives outstanding picture, I didn't expect it to malfunction this soon.

Read Best Reviews of Pioneer Elite BDP-23FD - Blu-Ray disc player - upscaling Here

Stylish, beautifull design, tray opens in silence quietly, gently like a queen. Video and music reproduction is superb, but you must hook it up to a monster receiver like Pioneer Elite SC27 to fully enjoy its own potential. Over the years I learned that every piece of you equipment must be of equal quality, otherwise something will be missing.

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I just bought one of these players refurbed for 125.00 and they are still available brand new from J&R for 299.00 delivered.

This player easily beats my Samsung 1600 and PS3 for picture quality especially for blacks and contrast which makes the picture look sharper and more accurate.

It also beats the Samsung AND ps3 for audio quality using HDMI to the matching Pioneer Elite SC 35 I recently purchased both with and without PQLS turned on.

This player is quiet , and I have yet to have a playback issue before or after upgrading the firmware via online.

This player has a far better build than the Samsung , and is the best looking BD player I have owned out of 6 players including 1k players from Samsung , Sony , and Phillips first gen players.

If you can get one new or refurbed grab one while you can.

I am very happy with the picture quality on this set. It definitely has the best picture of any of the Blu-ray players I have seen recently. Audio is good as well, though not as good as a Cambridge blu-ray player I heard recently. Of course the Cambridge goes for twice as much.

Very happy with the unit.

I believe this unit was made by Pioneer before they started letting Sharp make them.

Pioneer BDP-120 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

• Virtually Eliminates Power-On Time,
• Giving You Much Quicker Access To All Of Your Spectacular
• Impressive Sound Transmitted Through Built-In High-Definition
• Offer The Full Benefits Of Downloading Additional Content Off The Internet
• Decide To Fully Interact With Your Entertainment

I purchased this player some days ago, while I was upgrading my TV to HD. I chose the BDP-120 for a specific reason: region codes. The consumer-hostile atrocity that some studios force on their customers hits people outside of the US (US = region 1) especially hard. My DVD collectio (almost exclusively region 1) is large, and I live in Switzerland (= region 2). The BDP-120 comes with a code-free DVD player, but *does* enforce regions on the BD. That way, I am able to retain my investment in DVD. NOTE: Make sure your version of the player has the same code-free capability, as I hear that in some countries they do not!

[Amendment, April 2012 after only 30 months (2.5 years) of normal use, the player died on me. This is well below my expected 4 years for such a device. Disappointing.]]

Unpacking

I received my player inside a box that also contained a hefty manual, a remote, 2 AA batteries for the remote, a 1GB USB stick (for firmware updates), an audio-, power-, and video cable. Neither Network (ethernet) not HDMI cable were included in the box (the omission of an HDMI cable is disappointing).

Exterior & Design

The player's outside is made from black plastic which does have a rather cheap feel to it. Unfortunately (it took me two minutes to find out), the shiny plastic parts scratche easily, so handle it with extra care when you slot the player into it's place. Buttons (power, play, etc.) are realized as small horizontal slats inside a horizontal recess, and feel flimsy (for comparison, my Yamaha amp that is roughly in the same price category has all buttons made from metal). The DVD tray is not dampened and gives off a rather cheap grinding sound when extending or retracting. When spinning, the disc is nearly inaudible, which is a great accomplishment, somewhat marred by the sound of what appears to be a fan that starts running inside the player when it gets warm.

Slightly annoying is the fact that the player's width is 42 cm (16.53 inch) instead of the standard 43.5 cm (17 inch). If all your components are from Pioneer that may not be an issue. Since mine are not, the mis-fit is slightly noticeable on top of the Yamaha amp. The silliest, most painfully obvious and plain stupid design flaw, however, is the USB port. Instead of providing an easy access for USB on the front (perhaps behind a panel), the designers chose to put the connector on the back. Yes, on the back, where you'll have next to no access. Well, perhaps an extension cord could help? Maybe -but the manual states clearly: "WARNING: DO NOT USE AN USB EXTENSION CORD". Now this is really, really bad design. Especially in light of the fact that any firmware update is facilitated by USB only (even if you have the player connected to the net). This design misstep is somewhat lessened by another seriously wrong design decision: even though the player provides a USB connector, you cannot play content from that port. Stone-age consumer appliance design. This forces you to burn any image (only JPEG supported) or video to disc, and then put the disc in the player (if you think network streaming via network port: well, not with this player).

The player is adorned with a tiny alphanumeric status LCD and a multitude of colorful LEDs. The LCD is backlit by a garish white light that is plain ugly. Pioneer could have done much better, as I have seen better-looking LCDs on *Thermometers*. Also, while some LED do carry a label (e.g. 'Power', others light up sometimes, even flash, and then, after a short while, turn off mysteriously. What exactly they are for will forever remain a mystery (although not one I'd be inclined to spend time on resolving). All in all I feel that very little thought has gone into this player's exterior design. In a nutshell, it's a black box with a number of randomly placed flashing LEDs. Not impressive at all.

The remote is rather large, deep black, and rests comfortable in the palm of even the largest of hands. The buttons feel a bit rubbery, and there is no audible or tactile feedback one a button engages. However, I would not have expected this from a remote for a device in this price range, and anyway, I'm using a universal remote (the Logitech Harmony 1000). Button labels are clear, but could have used a bit more contrast (on my remote they are colored in a yellowish off-white). Button lay-out is OK, centered around a mock-wheel (four directions and a central enter button). The remote also sports some buttons for controlling a TV, which I find somewhat silly, as they won't help you unless you have a pioneer TV, and if you do, that one comes with buttons for controlling your pioneer BD player). It uses standard AA batteries.

Handling

Not having used a BlueRay player before I was shocked by how long it takes a player to load a single BD. At first I though that the device was defective, but when I looked at other players I saw first hand that the BDP-120 is one of the quicker devices. Still, from turning on the unit over loading a BD and then gaining access to a menu this device averages at about 1.5 minutes (for comparison: my DVD player, a $19 no-label but admirably performing device takes all of 20 seconds from power-up to menu selection -and that includes loading a disc). I'm not sure what the 'Quickstart' feature means in this regard I'd hate to have a player that takes even longer to start up. Also somewhat disconcerting is the fact that the unit takes about 30 seconds to one minute to power down (and beware -simply pulling the plug will encur an additional startup minute the next time you switch it on).

The buttons on the player itself border on being unusable (they are too flimsy, and provide only the basic pause/play/skip/open functionality). With the remote the player, once started up, responds nicely, but still a far cry from instantaneously (as you are used from a DVD). The on-screen displays and messages from the player are rough, ugly, and look like something straight from the debugger the engineeres used, interspersed with some artwork that appears to be lifted from Apple and WinAmp. Still, they work, and that's what they are there for. Switching from and to different modes is easy enough, and the organization of most menus is logical and intuitive.

Although the player supports code free DVD (even though the (german) manual clearly states otherwise, which is disconcerting at best), it crashes regularly when you try to switch from a region 1 (US) DVD to a region 2 (Europe) BD, requiring me to pull the plug, and then wait through a prolonged power-up cycle. This adds insult to the injury of region codes. But at least the player supports my region 1 DVDs (but not region 1 BD).

Features / Image Quality

To me, this is the most important aspect, and the one that saves this player. For the price, the player provides excellent image quality from both BR and DVD over the HDMI port to your HD TV. It will up-scale DVD content, which was to me an unexpected boon. Upscaling a DVD produces great results on my TV (1028p). Up-scaled content is only delivered via the HDMI connector, not via the additional composite video and video sources available at the back of the player. The provided composite video signal is OK, perhaps slightly on the weak side. As mentioned before, the analog connectors (composite video) do not provide upscaled content, but do allow the BR to be played to non-HD devices. However, BR's are nearly indistinguishable from their lesser DVD brethren on analog source (I have the BD and DVD versions of 'Planet Earth), while on HD the difference is plain to see (even though the DVD version gets significantly boosted by the up-scaling).

The player also sports a network port (Ethernet, 100 Base-T). Unfortunately, this network port cannot be used to remote-control the player (as I had hoped). It is primarily there to stream content to the player from the internet (but not your PC). 100 MBit is somewhat on the weak side for this purpose, and accordingly, streaming a HD source to the player can cause stutters (not to mention that you better had invested in a switch or smart hub, or the whole subnet will drop from Gigabit to 100 MBit). Also (at least at my player's firmware level) the network port cannot be used to automatically download firmware updates. For this you use the (included, nice touch!) USB memory stick, onto which you must download the firmware from your PC. Furthermore, many obvious advantages that a network-enabled player could have are not implemented. As I mentioned above, you can't control the player via network, nor can you stream content from your PC to it. You can't query it's status (disk/track playing or status), nor does it automatically load a CD's album and track names from CDDB. Pioneer has a lot to learn in this regard. I currently regard the network feature as severely lacking.

BD-Live... well, I guess it's just me, but for some reason this feature holds little interest for me. It just feels wrong -like a "bolted-on afterthought". Perhaps I just havn't yet found the BD with real good BD-Live links. For now, all I found was wafer-thin content and a ton of advertising. Oh and you must have the memory stick inserted when you use that feature. Nope, there simply is no real added value for me in this.

The player does support the most common disk formats (CD, CDRW, Photo-CD, etc.) but supports a surprisingly limited amount of file formats: Images are limited to JPEG (with a stupid naming scheme to boot), and video files limited to the standard BD set (i.e. no Ogg, QuickTime etc). It does support AVCH, though (but that is no surprise as it is part of the newer BD standard).

If you have a KURO (a Pioneer brand) TV, the player offers a 'KURO-Link'. Supposedly, this feature will allow the player and TV to talk to each other and allow both to select the best (or preferred) setting for each source. I do have a KURO TV (a plasma), but so far have not found any significant advantages. This may be related to the fact that my Plasma has a myriad of different settings, which the BD player knows nothing about. I therefore find myself often re-configuring the TV manually for a specific source (in other words: this feature is badly executed in the player).

Summary

Although I am satisfied with the player's most important feature (image quality), there are many details that unnecessarily diminish this product: cheap exterior finish (Pioneer should have gone the extra mile and add more polish) with a front design bordering on ugly. It is slightly noisy when it gets warm. The omission of an HDMI and ethernet cable in the package is downright cheap. The non-standard width is annoying. Network integration is terrible, and too slow. Position of USB connector is downright stupid. No support for USB-provided media (Memory sticks or hard drives)

On the upside: Good image quality and up-scaling of DVD does add a terrific advantage if you have a HDTV. Performance is good compared to other, even more sluggish players. Supports all popular disk formats. Integration with other Pioneer devices (KURO line).

If you are looking for solid BD/DVD performance and do not care for most of the other niceties (USB playback, solid network integration), you should definitely look at this player.

Buy Pioneer BDP-120 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Now

Just got this from gold box for $169.

Therefore it's cheap compare to other unit of same level

I have the ps3 and this pioneer is not much slower on start up.

As for menu..just press menu and easily set to 720p or 1080p

and auto and HDMI or other output.

Almost all setup are yes/no question type. how hard can it be?

Picture and sound quality is on par with the ps3.

The unit is thin compare to first gen blue ray machine and remote looks clear.

The Disc tray is definately not loose.

It's normal like PC DVD-roms from samsungs or LG or sony etc..

you can't compare this to slot load ps3 stle when you have a tray.

you put a disc in and press a button to get it in...what do you do to

"manipulated" the tray? The default setup was to 480i because for those people that don't have a HDTV..

however, I hook it up to my sony receiver and sony HDTV and it comes right up through HDMI.

A menu is a menu... already has 4 languange and explain to you how to setup all kind of different audio , video setup plus menu settings.

what else do you want?

This is a budget model. it's low price.

if you want more function, pay extra 160 to get the one up model!

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My initial thoughts are this is a Sharp re-badge. Although it is an attractive player, build quality appears poor. The tray rattles when opened and the front panel buttons feel thin and plasticy and like they might break if used frequently. The tray is loose and can be manipulated. The front facade on the tray is very loose and actually feels like it might fall off. Once again, it is an attractive player, but the led chapter readout is pure sharp. it is a dark purple with white lettering. It says BYE when you turn off the player.

The Kuro Link does not work when activated it was outputting 480i to my 5010. It took me three times of playing with the settings to finally get it to output 1080p despite it was set to auto out of the box. You cannot switch output resolution on the fly. The video output resolution button on the remote does not work best I can tell. The remote is slightly different than the 51/320:

DSCN0897.jpg

The menu is set up with four basic selections. The GUI looks very budget and is not the refined GUI i love on the 51/320, though it is probably more straightforward. There are no tweaking menus for nr, brightness, etc. There is not deep color setting, but BD playback did appear as 36 bit on my kuro.

There is no setting to adjust output resolution to 24fps. The display during playback is even worse (no mb/s read-out, no resolution).

Performance:

The cons: BD playback is a bit dull. I prefer the image on the panasonic 55, 320, 51 and oppo. SD DVD upscaling is standard, probably a hair worse than my panasonic 55. Jaggies appear in any closely spaced line and are visible in credits even when stationary. Responsiveness is sluggish and the player sounds like a blender lots of grinding and gearing noises.

The pros: Quickstart works the disc tray opens immediately when you press eject. It has to be right at a second or two. It loads relatively quickly QOS loaded in a respectable 42 seconds. It struggled with POCI taking about 1 min 27 secs to get to the disney splash screen.

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I agree with Andrew. I purchased it on GoldBox at a great price and with my gift certificates, it was very cheap indeed. I am one of those who are too busy to read every single word in the manual so I went directly to the instructions on installing it. It was simple to read and easy to install. Took me longer to move my TV stand than hooking it up to the TV. The only drawback, it came with RCA cable but not the HDMI. When the HDMI cables are selling at $.37 cents at Amazon, why can't Pioneer put one of the cheap HDMI cables in the box. The remote was not complicated that installation process was fast and easy. If you want cheap, easy to install and have the average expectations on picture clarity and sound, this is the unit for you.

I have a pioneer Blu Ray player. It is now 1year 2 moths old and out of warranty. I updated the firmware to watch Avatar and now the machine will not work. I am told by Pioneer support that this is a common problem and can only be fixed by sending the machine back to have the firmware reinstalled by Pioneer. The cost is a minimum of $70 evaluation plus shipping. I cannot recommend this product that is at risk of being broken each time firm ware is updated.

Lorex DXR209161C9 Internet Remote DVR with 9 Weatherproof Color Night Vision Cameras

bought lorex model l23wd from costco. unit lasted 6 mo. then started restarting over and over. shipped to lorex repair facility. they recived 04/14 it is now 05/06 they cannot even give me an approximate date when i will get it or a replcement.

DO NOT BUY LOREX

I bought this Lorex setup in 2009 and then installed it at the end of 2012. I had tested

the unit with a included camera and found it working. On install, I found it didn't work

for internet access, although it worked in other respects.

Lorex customer service was very helpful, but ended up just telling me that the unit

was too old to repair (after only 3 years???), and that the only thing I could do was get

another one at a %10 discount. I suspect I could have got the same discount for telling

them I was a Shriner, but who knows. The point is it is not a lot of help.

Because the unit was (apparently) now trash, I opened it up. There are about 3 boards

inside connected by cables. After replugging the cables, it worked just fine.

The only other issue was one of the cameras had dead night vision. I will probably also

try to repair that, but if I only just end up replacing it, it is not much at $50 or so.

The unit works great now, and meets all expectations. The only thing I was not able to do

is view the cameras on my smart phone. Since smart phones were just getting started when

I got this unit, I don't blame them for this. However, I suspect newer units can do this.

It won't work on a smart phone because the remote display must be either a Windows

computer or run Explorer, both not real options on a smart phone or tablet.

The only other thing I would mention is don't expect this thing to be a motion detector

if you have cameras outside. They obviously tried real hard to make image motion

detection work well, and I spent many hours setting it up and eliminating areas from the

detection "maps". However, it was still generating way too many false detections. You

literally have to eliminate all plants and even shadows from the picture.

At the end I decided that the only way to make this reliable was to use Lorex's optional

external alarms to add PIR motion detectors to the system, which are far more reliable

than the optical detection the DVR provides. I notice that the picture in the manual

shows the external alarm being used exactly this way, with PIR detectors hooked to it.

If you have only cameras inside, this type of detection would probably work for you. I

would plan on closing all the windows and shades for this. Otherwise when the sun

shadows a plant outside, and it is waving in the wind, that will set it off.

To sum up, I would have rated this product 5 stars except for the quality control issues

and for dumping all service on the product in only 3 years. I think you should support

what you sell, and not tell your customers their only option is to buy another one.

They surely will -but perhaps some other companies' unit, not yours.

Scott Moore

San Jose

Buy Lorex DXR209161C9 Internet Remote DVR with 9 Weatherproof Color Night Vision Cameras Now

ZMODO DVR-DK61103-1TB 16 CH Security Surveillance DVR Outdoor Security Camera System 1TB

Works good for the money surprised by the quality of the picture! Easy to hook up directions suck have a hard time understanding the broken english!! Overall I would and have told my friends and family about the unit would buy again.

Everything worked straight out of the box. The video images are not great but are more than good enough for my application.

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My Violin

• Over 160 lessons featuring basic techniques, rhythm tunes and popular songs
• Over 70 large-format full-motion videos guide kids through playing techniques
• Animated Fingerboard shows correct fingerings as the music plays
• Finger Tracker listens to kids play and shows whether fingers are placed correctly
• Creative interactive games make learning fun and exciting

I just got my copie of "My Violin" today in the mail. After playing with the program for about 3-4 hours, I have to say I LOVE! it. I am 31 years old, and I'm just now begining to learn the violin. I have had no priore contact with reading music or ever playing it before , which is why I picked this program. It was ment to be use for children 6 and up, and my only thought was, "Hey if a 6 year old can learn to play violin off this, then maybe I can as well." The program is truly simple to follow, easy to understand, mixes video and visual componates at EVERY step, and passivly teaches you how to read music and learn rythm. The instructor obviously loves teaching and is very friendly and easy to understand. It is a bit childish in its content, how ever it was designed for children! as an adult beginner i realy recomend this program not only for kids, but anyone who may have a hard time learning. The use of games to help remember the lessons and the use of video help was ingeniouse. This program gets a full set of 5 stars from me. *****

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I bought the guitar version for my 6 year old son, and being the good mother that I am I got the violin version for myself to learn the violin that I received as a graduation gift for college. Cant have the boy doing "lessons" if Mom is ducking, right?

Well, I must say that I am impressed with this software. You do not need to have any background whatsoever in music, which I don't. My son is very enthusiastic, and I have practiced everyday since it arrived. My three year old daughter is now asking for a violin for her birthday.

The animated characters are not annoying at all, and the games are brief, but meaningful. The games are like pop quizes that give you a wake-up call to point out where your short-comings are so you can reveiw if neccessary.

Another feature about the software I like is that you don't need the disc to run it. My husband has gotten a guitar so that he can play with the boy, and we have the software installed on 3 different computers.

Honestly, if you don't play an instrument, but you have always wanted to, you will not be disappointed with this software.

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My daughter (5 1/2) is in love with this program. Though I sit with her for lessons, she's able to easily use the program and understands all of the functions with no confusion. The combination of videos, pictures, and sound clips make this very clear and the pace is good. We did over 2 hours our very first day! Every morning, she rushes out of her room wanting to do her violin lessons--we're now looking at purchasing the piano course as well---I just wish that they had more titles!

Save 23% Off

I decided to try my hand at teaching myself violin. I read a lot of internet posts that stated that the violin was very difficult and nearly impossible to teach to yourself. This software makes all those posts absolutely false. The lessons are really easy to follow, the ability to watch a video showing how to play the lesson, than you can see exactly what stings to use and what finger placement. I have moved through the lessons and really feel myself getting better. I would highly recommend this software to anyone wanting to learn the violin. Don't be fooled by the age posted on the box. I am 25 and find this program teaches me in progressive way. One thing I would recommend to go with this is the bow right devise. It helps keep my bow on course and in the right zone. Not having an instuctor to help me means I need all the help I can get keeping the right posture and control. Just my thoughts.

VideoSecu 2 Dummy Faked Imitation Security Cameras with Flashing Light LED Cost-effective Security

Dummy camera looks real enough but the description did not specify

if there was a blinking light. Kind of disappointed cause it would of made

it appear more real. Nevertheless for the price it does the job. I think there were

other options to buy that had blinking light capability.

I was a little worried about making my real cameras visible to vandals but wanted them to see that there was cameras on the property. Before we got these camera we could see snoopers walking round our home testing doors and windows and by placing these little babies out in plain site with the warning signs we have not seen a single snooper. They work. The signs fade in the sunlite but the one in the shade hasn't faded at all. I drilled a hole in the bases and ran the plastic tubes though them, tied a knot in them and mounted them to the house. They look real enough. I plan to wire them with real LEDs soon to make them appear even more real but I'm very happy with them the way they are.

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Equiso Streaming Smart Stick

I got the Equiso Smart Streaming Stick because I wanted to watch YouTube, Netflix, and other Android functions on my TV. However, this device does not always want to work, and even when it does, it doesn't perform that well.

1. Control issues. Using the remote to interact with the menus usually works, but sometimes there is a "sticky" effect to dragging items on the screen, that the menu continues to interact a full second after letting go of the center button. Gaming may also be difficult, as this remote wasn't really designed for it; it could likely do simple games, like angry birds, but not MineCraft, or many of the other advanced games.

Also, some of the buttons do nothing, which is not convenient when watching videos (no forward/back buttons, have to use on screen controls). Keyboard setup is makes it so that you don't always know whether you're going to get a capital/lowercase letter, symbol, or number. Even worse is that sometimes that the alpha-numeric keys don't work, which makes it even harder to type in passwords.

2. Display issues. Some times the stick does not display anything on the TV, and pressing the power button on the remote does nothing (same with holding the button down). A lot of times, you have to unplug the thing from the TV before you'll get anything. When it does work, it never goes into power saving mode, and never dims the screen.

Another issue was scaling the screen; it starts off displaying an image 40% larger than the screen, so you have to downscale it. While adjusting it for the first time, it skipped on to the next part of the tutorial. Thankfully, I was able to go back by going into settings, and HDMI. No setup up process should ever force you on to the next step, ever.

3. Video playback is not great. Even though the device supports 1080P, it will not play Netflix at any quality higher than 480P. YouTube playback is erratic, and the device honestly acts as though I'm accessing the internet via mobile internet access, rather than broadband. This means that high definition video playback will constantly stop to buffer.

Does the device do anything right? Well, it does play videos, and run Android applications, but this is when the device decides to work. It isn't worth the price, and I'll be returning mine soon.

I bought this to run XBMC for Android, downloaded and installed XBMC Frodo 12.2 with no problems. Running with Aeon Nox skin, and haven't had many issues. It does sometimes get hung up, necessitating a reboot of XBMC, but primarily with one of the streaming music add-ons available in XBMC, still haven't figured out why. If you are using this to stream local media, it works well up to 720p,higher than that and it stutters and generally refuses to play. I have been using XBMC for years, since the original xbox version, most recently I was running it on an small pc next to the tv, and while the playback isn't as smooth as it was with the pc, the size more than makes up for it. The remote takes some time to master, but isn't bad to work with, the keyboard function is decent, if inconsistentsome onscreen menus require you to point at and select your letters. Overall a decent purchase, as I said I use it entirely for XBMC, so have not evaluated it for any other purpose.

Buy Equiso Streaming Smart Stick Now

One word....TERRIBLE

Due to all the bad reviews on their other Amazon sales page it looks like the scam tactics of team Equiso have attempted to post a 2nd sales page for the lousy product.

If you are looking for a streamer go with ROKU

Read Best Reviews of Equiso Streaming Smart Stick Here

i bought one and its really awesome!!! I love it... we can really use Netflix, Pandora, Youtube and other programs and app very easy directly from the tv without computers and others systems.

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Visual Land V-Touch 16 GB Video MP3 Player with 2.8-Inch Touchscreen and 2-Megapixel Camera (Black)

• 16 GB capacity for about 4000 songs
• 6 hours of audio on a single charge
• 2.8-inch color LCD touch screen
• Supports MP3, WMA, and WAV audio formats; AVI, MP4 and 3GP video formats; and JPG, BMP and GIF image formats
• One-year limited warranty

Got this fairly cheap for about $75 but the quality is worth even less than the low cost. Biggest complaint is the sound quality. If you have average ears, there is a very noticeable static noise in the background. Sounds like the radio when it has a weak signal. Tried 4 different headsets to make sure but they all do the same background noise. This annoying sound is worse than cassette tapes after it's been dropped a hundred times on concrete floor.

On top of the background noise, when playing mp3s, there is a very slight distortion like the wrong pitch.

Another complaint is the volume setting. On middle setting it is way too loud. I had to set it at 1/10 volume which compares to 5/10 on other mp3 players.

Changing the volume is a big pain. You have to touch the sound icon, and you have less than 2 seconds to change the sound before it goes back to the previous screen. Since the touch response is slow, I use the +/buttons to change it.

Touch screen is fairly responsive, not fast, more like need to double click and wait a second or two before the selection happens.

They give you a stylus pen but there is no holder for it.

A cheap cotton bag comes with it but just holds the charger and ear sets.

Tried the camera, it's blurry, even worse than a cell phone camera. Make sure you have a very steady hand. Can't zoom, rotate, or do anything with the pictures.

Video movie files have to be converted to a lower quality to play on it.

This can support mini sd. That's old technology, but you can buy an adapter for micro sd to mini sd.

Only thing good about this player is it looks like the ipod touch as long as you don't touch the screen when you turn it on or try to listen to any music.

It also has external mono speaker, but my cheap free cell phone can still outperform this. Oh and turning it on is a laugh too. To turn it on you have to slide a switch to the right for 2 seconds. To turn it off, you slide the switch to the right for 2 seconds.

There are no games for this. Their website also said there are none.

There are many other problems with navigating and finding songs once copied into the player.

They have a calendar and clock, a text reader (only .txt files), video recorder, sound recorder, I haven't tried those but there are just too many problems to even get that far to try. Actually I don't even want to know about how they are gonna mess them up too.

I guess I'll go back and keep using my $10 2gb sandisk mp3 player since it is way better quality than this one until I find another one. Disappointed that I'm stuck with the product and don't know what to do with it.

Buy Visual Land V-Touch 16 GB Video MP3 Player with 2.8-Inch Touchscreen and 2-Megapixel Camera (Black) Now

DO NOT BUY, JUNK, WILL NOT WORK ON WINDOWS VISTA. CAN NOT CALL FOR HELP, EMAIL ONLY WAIT DAYS FOR REPLY. CHARGED BATTERY AND SCREEN SHOWS "PLEASE WAIT" BE WAITING FOR 24 HOURS. POOR USER MANUAL NO HELP, UNIT WILL NOT TURN OFF. WAITING TO SEND BACK WILL NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY AGAIN

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I contacted the saler of the product and he was more than happy to repair or exchange product for me and was very apologetic for my inconvenience.

Dotz DCS750AN Cord Straps - Multicolor

I purchased these colorful "Dotz DCS750AN Cord Straps Multicolor" to mark some thicker computer cables. They are doing the job perfectly!

The item is very colorful! The tags fit in well, and they are reusable like advertised. Be gentle with them though, I've had one break now because I pulled the stem a little tight while bunching up some cables.

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Hitachi DZ-GX20MA 2.1 MP DVD Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

I'd originally gotten a Sony DV Camcorder but found that it had to have ONLY Sony parts such as batteries, tapes and other accessories at a high price and would not connect directly to my computer. Examined all the other camcorders and settled on this Hitachi. It is terrific. It does everything I wanted very easily. Using the "low light" setting, I was able to get an excellent video with normal room light and the lit Christmas tree. It is necessary to be careful about the mini DVDs you use, but they are easily found and at a very reasonable price.

I wanted a DVD recorder as I was not happy with the results from my analogue tape camera. This Hitachi more than fills the bill. It is easy to use, has great accessories included in the box, even a first DVD disk. The manual covers everything with easy to understand pictures and text. I'm completely sold on the Hitachi.

I purchased this camcorder to replace an old Sony. After 1 DVD-R recording, I have decided to return it. The low-light performance was the killer. I used it to tape our child's first Christmas in normal, indoor lighting and it is very dark, almost unwatchable. The set-up was quite easy, but what good is easy set up if it takes poor videos? I am opting for the Sony 403 model.

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Lorex Wireless Add-On Accessory Camera LW2401AC2

AFTER ABOUT 9 MTHS TWO OF MY CAMERAS ARE BAD WITHIN A WEEK PERIOD. ONE DOES NOT GO BACK TO COLOR AND NEEDS TO BE RETURNED AND A SECOND CAMERA IS FUZZY WITH LINES AT NIGHT TIME ONLY, BUT IF YOU TURN A LIGHT ON IT LOOKS PERFECT.

SO I AM NOT HAPPY I HAVE TO UNINSTALL TWO CAMERAS AND MAIL THEM BACK AND THEN REINSTALL TWO CAMERAS AND WONDER HOW LONG THESE WILL LAST. MAYBE A LOT OF MONEY WASTED IF THESE CAMERAS DIE WITHIN A YEAR OR LESS SINCE I OWN SIX CAMERAS AND TWO MONITORS. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS SYSTEM ANYMORE.

IF YOU BUY THESE CAMERAS YOU WILL KEEP BUYING REPLACEMENTS BECAUSE THEY QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP OR DURABILITY IS POOR. THEY LAST MAYBE A YEAR THEN YOUR CAMERA GOES BAD!

Make sure to double check when buying these cameras that they are compatible with your system.

I know the LW2711AC1 camera even though they look identical to the LW2401AC2 don't pair with the LW292 monitoring system.

Pros:

Other then that this thing is awesome great picture for being wireless better then most cable connections.

love the built in intercom system!

switches to night vision very easily.

Cons:

The delay for motion recording is a little slow usually takes a couple seconds before picking up movement which is a little frustrating.

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Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 PDA

The Sharp Zaurus Linux-based PDA is both extremely powerful, and easy to use.

The Zaurus's fast CPU, high quality full-color LCD, and excellent headphone sound output makes for an impressive photo viewer, MP3 and MOD music player, and video-clip displayer.

The slide-out keyboard has completely weaned me from using the handwriting system, which is unfortunate, because a lot of work was obviously put into it. Not only does the handwriting system have a help mode where you can practice strokes, but you can actually train it new, or alternate strokes for each character. But when you can type so quickly, why bother writing?

The dual expansion slots are great, allowing me to use an SD card for software installation, and still have my CF slot free for a RAM card full of MP3s or a network adapter.

Honestly, I was impressed by the capabilities of the Java system. In my opinion, Java has always been too slow and cumbersome to use, and the thought of running it on a 206MHz PDA seemed ridiculous. But from what I've seen of Java applications (even games!) running on the Zaurus, I'm beginning to realize there's a lot of potential in Java.

As a desktop Linux user, I'm also tickled to have the power and stability of my favorite OS underneath the hood. For the extremely geeky, you can get Java, C and C++ compilers that run ON the Zaurus!

The "Qtopia" environment and applications are as intuitive as they are nice to look at. The PIM applications have all the functionality I'm used to from my Palm device, and then some.

Until I can afford a wireless modem to stick in one of my Zaurus' two expansion slots, I've been using a Compact Flash ethernet dongle to get online while watching TV.

After using offline browsers on the Palm, I was shocked to find a full-fledge, desktop-quality browser built right into my Zaurus: Opera.

Opera's zoom-out feature can't be lived without. Frustratingly, most websites assume you have a screen capable of at least 800x600. On a small PDA screen, this would mean constantly scrolling left and right as you try to read. Under Opera, you can zoom out to get a better overview of the page, and still be able to read all of the text!

I've only used the Sync software (Qtopiadesktop I used the Linux version) a few times, since my pattern for PDA usage is to use them as stand-alone devices. It was quite intuitive, though, as it looked and felt just like a larger version of the PIM software built-into the Zaurus.

Finally, while there's obviously very little 3rd party software for the Zaurus so far, since it just came out, there's been what seems to be exponential growth. I've already installed almost 20 new applications, including games, a streaming Internet radio player, and an embedded version of the popular Linux browser, "Konqueror."

Software installation is usually a snap, too. Just as with Palm, all that's usually needed is one file downloaded off a website. Run the graphical installer, wait a few seconds, and the new app. is there, ready to run!

All in all, it's a great system. Powerful and slick hardware, in a beautiful form-factor, running powerful and slick software.

First and foremost, if you are looking for purely Personal Information Management (PIM) functions and not generally inclined towards Linux, then do yourself a favor and buy yourself a Palm Pilot.

The Zaurus is basically a mini Linux workstation with a lot of functionality you would normally find only on a desktop. With the Zaurus, you can:

* Browse the web with a scalable and full featured browser

* Read and edit MS-Office documents (Word, Excel and Powepoint)

* Write and execute scripts and programs (including Java)

* Play music and video

* Control your desktop Windows PC (using VNC software)

It is so powerful that you can actually use it as a Web or file server (using Apache and Samba). I use my Zaurus to administrate my Linux server and Oracle database server when I am away from my desk.

Plus there are tons of applications, utilities, games, etc., that you can download. Zaurus has a very active user community forum (check the links from the Sharp Zaurus official web sites) where you can get a lot of useful tips from.

Having said all that, the PIM functions that came with the Zaurus were pretty poor compared with the Palm Pilot. This lead me to hang on to my Palm Vx for dear life. I even took the drastic step of downloading and installing a Palm Pilot emulator (called QPose) onto my Zaurus. The performance hit on the Zaurus was so bad that I had to delete QPose and instead carry both my Palm Vx and Zaurus with me.

However, now that Sharp has released a new ROM (v3.10, as of May 15, 2003, see below) the PIM functions have vastly improved. So much that I am now inclined to keep my Palm at home and take only the Zaurus along.

Upon getting your Zaurus, do yourself a favor and install the terminal and file manager applications that come in the CD. The terminal application enables you to do a lot of tweaking and is mandatory if you plan to use the Zaurus to its full capabilty. It actually comes with a basic Linux shell environment and comes with such neat utilities as vi editor, ftp and telnet clients, ping, and a large number of Linux/Unix tools.

Another application I found very useful is called "rotation". It enables you to rotate the application screens by 90 degrees, making such things as web browsing, file editing and using the terminal appication a lot more pleasing and functional. You can download the "qpe-rotation" and "qt-embedded-rotation" files (ipks) from the ZaurusSoft website.

Also, an important suggestion to existing SL-5500 users:

Sharp has just released the latest ROM (v3.10, May 15, 2003) which makes the SL-5500 look and behave like the newer SL-5600. I *strongly urge* SL-5500 users with the old ROM (v2.38) to download and install this new ROM. The user interface with the new ROM is a lot cleaner and neater and has more stable applications (including a vastly improved Opera browser and much better PIM applications).

Buy Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 PDA Now

I've been trying to use the Zaurus for the last week or so. The product has turned out to be a mixed blessing.

The Good:

1) This is without a doubt the ultimate programmer's PDA.

2) You can write code, compile, and execute on the Zaurus (hard to believe but it's true).

3) There is quite a bit of good free software, including neocalc, which is a great calculator.

4) Amazon.com had a stellar deal on it.

5) Contrary to some of the reviews I've seen, the screen is very nice looking.

The not so good:

1) The software to sync with a PC (Win2K in this case) stinks. It crashes, hangs, intermittently refuses to connect, and requires special knowledge not included in the manual to get it to work. I've tried both Intellisync and Qtopia Desktop. Intellisync appears to be a hopeless basket case, but I was able to get Qtopia Desktop to work as long as I didn't have too many files on my CF (too many files causes a nasty crash on the PC side). Too bad I need to sync with Outlook.

2) I've managed to fry a 128Meg SD Flash by leaving it in during a hard reset of the Zaurus. That shouldn't happen, but it did.

3) The Hancom Suite (MS compatible Word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation viewer) is weak but usable.

4) The battery life is short (especially with a Wireless LAN adapter).

5) The MP3 software wouldn't play any of my variable bit rate files. I don't believe there is anything terribly unusual about them (other than they have been encoded using LAME).

6) The MP1 video is very slow and choppy at Video CD bit rates (like ~1 frame/sec). I've found it difficult to get a bit rate the works well for me when trying to take full advantage of the screen resolution. Perhaps the DiVX decoder that is being developed will solve this problem.

Even with these serious problems, I'd still consider it a great tool for a programmer and will give it 4 stars. For non-programmer types, I'd give it 1 star.

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I just received mine two days ago and after 'playing' with it I can tell you that it's an extremely powerful PDA. Im not a Linux user nor do I know Java. I simply needed a quick way to input data because I'm in grad school. It took about 15 minutes to get used to the keyboard, but after that I was away.

It comes with a Word application that is compatible with MS Word. So while on the bus I was able to work on my research and simply sync it back to my main document on my PC.

Also I purchased a wireless network card because my dorm is wired and Im able to surf the Internet at blazing speeds. I even cut and pasted a Map into my Word application with no problems!

Truly this is a great little 'computer' and the price is good. I look forward to more applications in the future..

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This review is with reference to the Zaurus SL-5500 along with the Linksys wireless CF card

First the pros...

(1) Screen is very easy to see and the colors are just gorgeous.

(2) Sound via the headphones is outstanding.

(3) Auto scaling of images is impressive.

(4) The web browser scaling is very good and the text is readable even at it's smallest setting.

(5) Keyboard is quite comfortable and I find myself using it more than handwriting.

(6) Transfer from Palm is very easy just beam the entire category over and it takes care of the rest.

(7) Availability of software is quite good... have ssh, wap browser amd mysql running on it. Download the command tool and you get your hands on all the standard UNIX utilities, including tar, grep and vi.

Now the cons:

(1) More memory would certainly help. Given that this thing has a built in mp3 player and a mpeg player 64MB of usable memory would be good. Of the 64, only 32 is really available.

(2) I would have prefered a regular Type II PCMCIA slot over the CF slot, but then again this is a pet peeve of mine.

(3) The built in PIM applications do need some work.

Overall impression... It's a really nice piece of engineering. The fact that it has a built in keyboard without sacrificing screen estate in my view makes it stand out from the Handspring, CE and Palm devices. That coupled with Linux makes it a winning combination in my book.

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VideoSecu CCTV 16 Channel Video Audio H.264 Security Surveillance DVR Stand Alone Network Digital V

I purchased this item a couple months back and was quite please with how easy it was to get set up with my CCTV cameras. It worked great for a month, with the exception of the network features. The basics of recording video and performing playback were flawless. Unfortunately, I had problems with the included written documentation because it gave me the wrong default passcode for the admin and user1 account. So I thought I had locked myself out and wasn't sure how to get the device restored to factory defaults. It wasn't until I it up the electronic documentation on the included CD-Rom that I found that they had changed the default passcodes out of the box.

The other problem was that there is a tricky little key combo that you have to push and hold to get the USB mouse and front display keys to operate after a hard reboot. This was disclosed on a little piece of paper included with the packaging material. Well, to my detriment, I have lost that little piece of paper with the key combination and it isn't listed anywhere in the electronic documentation either. So I'm sitting here with a device that is recording, but I can't access either remotely or locally.

I've scoured the web looking for technical support, but there is little to no support from the manufacturer. I went to their website and performed Google search after Google search looking for information about support, but have been unsuccessful. I would say that I am an expert in the field of network and systems administration (my career field), but this one lacks the intuitive nature, logic, and online support that any user would look for in the event of system issues.

You might think twice about this product if you're doing anything more than basic features or you accidentally lose important documents :(

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KGuard BR801-8CW154M All-in-One Security System - 8-Channel -500GB DVR, 8 CMOS Day/Night Vision Cam

Had a problem with 2 cameras not working , left voicemails on there phone , 3 emails, someone from china answerd me back and told me to contact California ,i said that's what I've been tying to do, tried doing rma on there Web site just to exchange 2 cameras but after filling form out it says sorry were under maintance and it deletes everything you put in it , wired every thing up with there garbage wire it came with, no one responded back to me, not happy with this .night vision really stinks cant see anything ,will not do buisness with them again. Never

ZMODO DVR-DK41103-1TB CCTV 4 CH Home Security DVR Outdoor Security Camera System 1TB

We have this installed in our house, and it has worked flawlessly! With the 1TB hard drive you can record up to 667 hours of video, and it records in D1 resolution! (that's 480 lines of resolution which is more than the 240 of the comparably-priced products) We've already caught next door neighbor's car getting burglarized, and another neighbor down the street having his rims stolen! We haven't had any problems, and I bet it's because the thieves see the cameras, and decide to go somewhere else. The part they don't get is that a couple of the cameras catch activity down the street too. I did replace one of the cameras but that's because I wanted much more distance in the night vision in that one, and because the cameras use BNC connectors with standard power plugs, it was a breeze. Just great product overall!

I have been setting up the zomodo system and so far everything is just as advertised. I think it will work perfect for my needs.

The picture quality is great and the ease of plug and play as well as affordability is wonderful!

The programming of the DVR is not as easy as advertised, I am slowly getting it but it is not an easy task. A lot of it is trial and error, the manual is not all that helpful, seeming to skip huge parts of what to do to make the system functional.

The zomodo website, (zomodoknowedgebase.com), is better and more helpful then the manual. Like all software systems it takes awhile to know all the ins and outs of them. If you are patient and don't mind discovering things on your own with occassional clues from the zomodo co. this is the system for you. I fully expect my system to work to its full potential once I figure out the settings and software. It would be helpful if the company had customers sharing their struggles, in a FAQ kind of setup, (like most computer games), in leiu of adeqate instructions, getting help from others who have "gone before" is nice.

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Samsung YP-T7X 512 MB Digital Audio Player

• Supports MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, ASF, JPEG files
• Built-in flash memory holds 512 MB
• Real Time Equalizer Display
• 10 hour built-in Li-Polymer battery
• Accessories: Necklace, Direct USB Adapter, In-Line Encoding Cable, USB Cable, Earphones, Belt Clip, Carrying Case

I had experience with MP3s with my pocket computer but I decided to get an MP3 player stand alone. For the convience mostly since its size is a fraction of my pocket computer and for sound quality.

I did some research and I decided against IPODs. They are NOT good value for the money plus I did not want to be tied to Itunes. Also I personally enjoy the radio. I wanted an MP3 player with a radio. I went with this one after checking the Web for reviews.

I have had my player a few days now. Overall I am very pleased. The FM tuner is superb. The sound is very good. Especially with the WOW or SRS functions selected. The MP3 player is great. Unlike IPOD this player has the nifty ability of direct in-line recording. What that means is you hook up an included cable to the line-out of your music system and the line-in end on the Samsung and you get conversion to MP3 at the bit rate you desire up to 192.

So if you have books on CD or tape you could record them on a low bit-rate.

I also like the ease of uploading files. It uses a windows folder system. The device turns up as a removable drive and no driver is needed for systems over Windows 98. You then just drag files over. You can create new folders to hold the files.

This I think will help a lot when I start adding hundreds of songs. Yes 512MB is not that big, but you can simply cut and then copy back over entire folders without much problem.

A couple more things to say about this. One, 512MB still holds a lot of music. Actually it is 486MB after the system software takes some space. But really unless you were hiking in Peru for a month it is not that hard to swap folders out. For any given day or weekend the storage is more than enough unless you listen to MP3s from getting up to going to sleep.

Why 4 stars? The picture function simply is a gimick. I downloaded pictures at the suggested pixel size and they look pretty bad.

Bottomline is the goods outway the bad. Especially as you can use this as a normal removable drive to transfer files and also to display text files. Very, very pleased and the radio and direct in-line recording make it a lot more nifty and usable than the increasingly narrow and featureless seeming IPODs.

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This MP3 player ROCKS! And here's why: 1. It sounds great 2. It's the size of a book of matches and weighs like one ounce 3. It has a color screen 4. Has rechargeable battery 5. Is simple to use and navigate once you are familiar with it 6. No moving parts, it's a flash drive 7. No extra software required, just drag & drop in Windows, or Media Player. 8. It has a FM radio built in. The only downside to this player is the crappy headphones included. I bought some better headphones, and with the included belt clip, I'm all set for the gym. Ipod Shuffle eat your heart out.

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It's a good item. I haven't tried any other mp3 players so I have no basis to compair.

It caught my eye with the color screen, which is really nice to have some graphics on your hip. The user interface is real easy to use. I have yet to read the manual and I have no reason to. The audio quality is nice. The little bud earphones give sufficiant sound quality. I like the image viewer. It could use a couple more cool features to utilize the color screen. More graphics or such. It has a screen saver function and it'd be nice to use a custom image. Audio options are excellent. You can adjust just about anything.

It's small, light weight, very versitle and easy to use. It comes with a good ammount of accessories.

I have nothing really negative to say about this product. It's real good and I'm happy with it except i'd go for the 1 gig @ 200 instead of 512 @ 150.

Cheers! ;D

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This player is the first MP3 player that I actually like. It has a customizable equalizer to get the sound to sound just the way you want it. Very very few MP3 players let you do that and it is something I believe should be in all MP3 players. The player is small but has a bright color display. The player doesn't require any additonal software in Windows XP. You simply drag files between your computer and the player in "My Computer": it is that easy.

There are a few quirks. The little stick that you use to move around the interface is a little too loose. You can move it up and the player will think you mived it left or right. Similarly, manuvering around the interface with the little stick takes a few tries before you figure out how to find the options you want. But these are minor complaints for such a feature-rich and small mp3 player.

Battery life is OK at max 10 hours.

I highly recommend this player. I did alot of research on the web and this had everything I wanted. A radio, recording, color screen and easy drag and drop song loading. It works seamlessly with windows media player at home and at work I trasfer files onto it from a mac with no problems. I have not a single regret purchasing this product. It holds enough songs, the interface is so simple that I can switch songs and turn up the volume without pulling it out, and so far it is quite durable. I think if I bought an ipod I would have deeply regreted it. Everyone I know that has had an ipod has sent it in for expensive servicing several times and the price for an ipod is too much for no radio, no line in and being locked into using itunes suxxx. Get this player, you won't regret it!

Aiptek IS-DV 5 Megapixel Digital Camcorder and MP3 Player

I took this camera along on a week long trip to Florida. I never lost a charge and made over 1.5 Gbs of content with this camera. The video camera is not an SLR. Please do not expect professional quality images from this camera. However if you want to shot video, this is the camera for you. Buy a 1Gb memory card and start shooting your favorite family moments. I suggest using the 640x480 mode so that your video is DVD quality.

Zoom... the video zoom was great. I shot some offroad video of my Jeep and was able to easily zoom in over 100 ft away on the Jeep while shoting.

I never installed the camera software on my Windows XP based PC. Instead I used a secure digital memory card reader and pulled the files of the card.

For $145 this video camera has replaced my Mustek DV4500. I threw this camera around, ran it's battery down and let it sit in a black Jeep in the sun for two days. After I did all this the camera was still running. The controls on the camera are not complicated like other video cameras in this genre either. All this being said, one could make the case that a cheap camera like this could easily be used by the younger generation, easily.

Pros:

1) 640x480 video recording was seamless with excellent audio streaming.

2) Long battery life (held a charge for 1.5gbs worth of pictures and video recording)

3) Video stabilization really does make video smoother.

4) Can take 1gb memory cards

5) If you can wait 1/4 of a second, the 5mp photos come out well for a camera with no real lens.

6) Best image quality of any solid state video camera in this genre.

Cons:

1) Poor flash photography

2) Images: Shutter lag is over 1/4 of a second.

3) Battery charging requires removal of battery.

UPDATE 9/7/2006:

I am still using the camera. I keep it in my Jeep during the hot Louisiana days, no problems. I really like the quick boot time of the camera; 5 seconds or less. I can instantly shot video or take a picture with the press of a button.

I'd been meaning to get a camcorder for awhile now. I found about this little thing by chance. I bought it, since it was only a little over $100 from the purchasing store after tax. In still picture mode, the camera is very good. The resolution is high, and even in the darkest of rooms the flashing element brightens up the room while the picture is being snapped so that the picture does not look dark at all. However, in video mode, be warned that in low lighting conditions the camcorder is absolutely useless. No amount of tinkering with the settings creates viewable low-light video. Also, in the low-resolution video recording mode, the picture quality is near horrible. In high-resolution the picture quality is much better and acceptable, but of course it takes more storage. Natively, you can store about 45 seconds of acceptable video and 3 minutes of poor quality video. I have a 256 MB card on hand, which only gives me 15 minutes of decent video. SD cards are pricey; a 1 GB card (which only affords you an hour of video time!) can be anywhere from $75 to $100 (with the latter being more common). The battery is acceptable for such a cheap camera, but a serious user might need an extra one, as it does not last much longer than a half hour. A friend of mine bought this as a gift for his 12 year old. As a child's gift it's just fine. It'll probably get broken anyway. And for a tiny, take-anywhere still camera (in light or dark situations) it's good for adults, for you can store hundreds of still images on even the sparsest of SD cards. However, someone serious about capturing priceless moments on a digital camcorder might want something that offers better lighting conditions AND better storage options, such as DV. You won't get it in this price range, though, so for the price, this is actually a decent little piece of equipment. As a bonus, it shows up (via USB connection to a computer) in Windows as an extra drive, not as a peripheral, although that can be changed in the settings menu. Because it shows up as a storage medium, it is VERY easy to view stills and video clips and save them to the computer to be edited later. If you don't need to film in the dark, and you only want clips of video a few minutes long--not film a wedding or graduation or anything--and a camera to capture still images--by all means buy this. Or if you want something inexpensive for your child, buy this. It's acceptable, although not outstanding. I will be using it as a digital still camera only, and I'm looking to replace its camcorder features with something more realistic.

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I just started using my camera yesterday and my first impression is that this thing seems very fragile. Hope I don't drop it, as it might not survive the fall. It is extremely small, light and compact. Think of two packs of cigarettes or two packs of playing cards. It is that small. Great for travel due to the light weight and compactness. Got it for about $90 on sale; would hate to pay more than that for it. Very easy to operate, but if you have big hands, this will be too small for you. Be warned that it won't take more than a couple minutes of video without a memory card, so you'll have to put a little more money into it if you really want to do video or really much of anything. The first video I took came out pretty decent, but it was in good light. I tried some still shots inside at night and they came out very dark in spite of the flash. The flash doesn't seem adequate, so this is probably a camera best used outdoors or in the daytime. Great camera for a kid. This is a good camera for small hands and a great size for kids. If they break it or lose it, you aren't out a bundle. As another reviewer pointed out, it does only take video in the ASF format; not MPEG, as the advertising suggests. I think MPEG might be just music files. I didn't need to install the software to capture the pictures or movies on my computer (Windows XP). Another great thing is that this is a complete package. It has the camera, a carrying strap, a carrying case, USB cable, TV cables, headphones, battery, battery charger and software. It does not come with a lens cap and the cap is not available either. You can buy an optional tripod for it and with the small size, I think that could be useful in some situations to help hold and stabilize the camera. I am not sure how you store music on it; I probably won't use that feature, but it seems like it would be a nice compact music player; again you'll need a memory card to save much of anything on it. One problem I had so far. The memory card (which you have to buy separately--a standard SD card) slips in the bottom under a little rubber membrane. The first time I held the camera I accidentally popped out the card and lost the shots I was trying to take. This might be a problem and I am thinking I may have to put a piece of heavy tape over the bottom to hold the membrane and memory chip in place and prevent ejecting the memory again. Another downside that I see is the battery. You can't just pick up some spare batteries at the corner store and pop them in. You have to use the special rechargeable battery. If you don't have a spare one charged up, your camera will go dead and you'll have to wait until you can plug in the charger and recharge the battery. That's another $20 for a spare battery. My digital camera uses standard AA batteries, so I can use either rechargeables or regular batteries. If this camera used regular batteries, it would make it larger and heavier, so the small rechargeable does help on the weight and size. Don't buy this if you are a serious photographer. Buy it for occasional use, for easy portability and as a first camera to learn on. Controls are easy and straightforward. Nice camera for the money, but not for serious photographers. It does a lot for a tiny little thing; sure doesn't make me want to go back to the days of huge video cameras that you had to hold on your shoulder, due to the weight. Minaturization can go too far and this is about as small as I would ever want to go; might be easier to use if it was just a tiny bit bigger.

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This camcorder is amazing!!! It's so small and the quality is decent too! I would DEFINITELY recommend this to anyone! (just don't fall in the pool with it in your pocket, because then it starts acting weird and spazzing out...

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I purchased this item a week ago and really enjoy it. I wanted something small and compact to catch those special moments with my 18 mo. old son instead of carrying around a larger camcorder. The picture quality is great, the focus lacks a little in quality, and the video is a bit fuzzy based on lighting conditions but overall it is a great item for the price. I recommend this item to on the go families with kids who want to catch those little moments on video. Thanks!