Olympus WS-560M Digital Voice Recorder with MP3 Playback

Good voice recorder, rechargeable Ni-MH AAA battery, USB jack slides out the bottom for upload to PC. Very capable device, good sound quality. Have used with Dragon Naturally Speaking, so far so good. GRIPE: To recharge, slide USB jack out, HOLD STOP BUTTON, and plug into USB port. Um, not great. Forget to push the button the right way, no charging happens, with no alert (silent FAIL).

I use this recorder to record messages preached at a local church. I hook a lapel microphone to it and drop the recorder into my pocket. It works wonderfully. The recorder comes with a rechargeable AAA battery; however, one can use a standard AAA as well. It recharges when plugged into the computer, but only when you place it in recharge mode.

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Mini Stick DVR Camera - Chewing Gum Shape Built in 4GB Memory

I need help figuring out how to use this thing. The instructions are obviously translated from a foreign language. There's a mini dvd that comes with it I don't know I have no idea what I'm doing.......If the company reads this please provide details starting from: 1. what are you supposed to do with the mini dvd? how do you get the driver onto your camera? what else are you supposed to do before use? 2. once you have data on the recorder, what's next to view on a computer?

TV Now Portable Video Recorder

I bought the video now about two years back for my three year old, I installed kids shows and paid something like $28.00 for it at walmart. She wasnt very interested because she said she couldnt see it. last month I desided to pull it out and give it a try and at five she likes it about as much as she likes her hand-held v-tech. A great tip make sure you upload kids shows with lots of songs and get them some headphones and you're all set. This item is a little pricy here I wouldnt pay more than I would pay for a handheld v-tech.

I, too, love this thing for portable tv viewing. I mostly use it on long trips when my husband is driving, of course. It's also great for long waits (like in a Dr.'s office.) It's not the best video quality, but I've yet to find one of those small sophisticated players with a video input, to record my soaps. My grandkids were very amused when my daughter selected this for my Christmas gift, but it was a great idea!

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Ok the only way to describe this thing is its pretty much an IPOD for video.

But here's the thing. Its not a HD screen. Its not a PSP. Its just a fun toy.

I got it for work. I drive around all day and need this thing. I got a 2GB memory card for it the other day and Put the entire first season of RENO 911 on it and still have 70% of free space on it!!!

Its a very decent kids toy that (If your not picky) can be very enjoyable for any age.

Anyway I was very happy and use it everyday.

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Boy, that must be some powerful crack the other two reviewers are smoking to give this worthless piece of garbage such a good review! Worst purchase ever!! Fair warning: Don't be taken!! Before you "invest" in this piece of junk, see the reviews listed for "VuGo by Hasbro." "TV Now" is just a rebranding (ie: name change), of this grossly inferior product. Do yourself a favor, do not waste your money. This item is not a good buy at any price. Please, read the VuGo reviews first. I wish I had.

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Flip UltraHD Video Camera - White, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation)

This review is very similar to the review that I gave for the Flip Slid HD when it first came out. (Please see that review also...)

I have been a Flip camera user since they released the first gen. Flip Mino HD (not the new metallic model). I loved the camera. For what I needed it for it was everything I wanted. I soon became addicted to the Flip cameras and needed to purchase the newest one every time they came out.

I currently own the Flip Mino HD (1st gen) Flip Ultra HD (2nd Gen) Flip Slide HD, and now the Flip Ultra HD (3rd Gen with Flip Port). I also own a Canon GL2 and Vixia 30 video cameras and a Canon Xi digital SLR.

I got home from school on Tuesday and found my brand new Flip Ultra HD waiting for me. I had about 20 minutes to open the package, look and set up the features (time, date, etc.) before I had to leave for marching band rehearsal. During rehearsal I did some test shooting and I was very impressed with the quality of this camera, but I was worried about a few features.

I was reluctant at first to purchase this camera because of the 60fps feature. I did own a Kodak Zi8 and the 720p 60fps setting didn't not import into Final Cut Pro. I had to take it into compressor or some other software and change the file extension in order for Final Cut Pro to import it. Of course this causes a decrease in quality.

I was also reluctant because of the image stabilization feature. When image stabilization is added to a camera (of this size) video quality usually suffers. I know flips can be very shaky if you do not have a well trained hand. After a few hours a playing you will figure out the right movements that the camera can incorporate so your video will not come out shaky.

I don't use my Flip Slide HD because of the omni directional microphone. I can not record loud situations because the microphone distorts. This is my biggest fault with the Slide HD. I was a little concerned with the new Flip Ultra HD that it would have the same problem even though it uses a different microphone, but what really sold me on this new Flip was the accessories and the FLIP PORT.

Right off the bat I noticed all of the new accessories that they are pushing for the Flips, the aquapacks, the igo chargers, and my favorite is the magnetic Bower Wide Angel Lens. Flip and Cisco have finally started listening to its customers, but what put it over the top for me was Blue Microphones. Blue Microphones makes vintage and out of this world recording, studio, usb microphones. I own one of their USB Microphones called the Snow Ball and the quality of that microphone is amazing. When I found out that Blue Microphones was making a microphone (mikey) for the new Flip to be used with the new Flip Port, I purchased mine right away.

So the Review...

The Ultra HD has always been my favorite because of its size. I think the bigger it is the better control you will have and the less shaky video you will produce. The new Ultra HD is smaller, but not that much. It feels good in your hands. The controls and the screen are in the same place. It is a nice fit in your hand.

I was very shocked at how well the image stabilization worked. If you have used a flip before this one you know that the slightest movement will create shaky video. You can tell that this one has image stabilization. It still can produce shaky video but it might take a big jolt to do it.

The 60 fps was great. It was much clearer video and with the image stabilization it made everything much smoother and clearer in the view finder, even in low light situations. I did check when I got home and the 60fps does import right into Final Cut Pro for editing without any compression. (Probably cause the videos are in MP4 format)

Overall I think this is the best Flip Camera out on the market. I like this one better than the Mino because of the touch screen controls. Sometimes pressing the touch screen controls on the Mino will cause the camera to shake.

I hope this review was helpful. Please feel free to leave comments or questions.

See my comparison of my Flip Cameras below.

Flip Mino HD Good Microphone (2nd out of all of them), doesn't have as wide as a shooting angle as the Ultra's. Very small in the hand, at times hard to control.

Flip Ultra HD (2nd Gen) Good Microphone (3rd out of all of them) Wide Angle for shooting, Feels good in the hand, sturdy, wont break if dropped. Double A batteries only last a few hours, rechargeable battery pack has short life span. Unit can get hot when charging may even shut down.

Flip Slide HD Poor Microphone (in loud situations) its omni directional so it picks up all around the Flip not just in the front like the others. (4th out of all of them) Touch controls are better than the Flip Mino, however this has no hard buttons. The Slide does have the largest storage capacity and is second in video quality only to the new Flip Ultra HD.

Flip Ultra HD (3rd Gen Flip Port) Widest Angle for shooting, feels the best in the hand, has the Best Microphone and currently I believe has the best video quality. This also is the only unit that has the new Flip Port.

Thanks

Nick

This is a powerful, easy-to-use, fairly cheap video camera; it records @ 1280 x 720, 60 FPS, and can hold about two full hours of video at that capacity. It fits neatly in a shirt pocket and is pretty much ideal for recording anything that doesn't need to be professionally produced film, from home movies to recording interviews. It comes packaged with a basic editing program that's designed to make it as easy as possible to produce basic home movies and post them to the web.

So far as that goes, it's a great camera, especially at the price. The only real problem with it is that the overall interface is fairly dumbed down -for the sake of ease of use, they've traded away a *lot* of functionality. For example, it's easy to view the clips you've just recorded in the viewfinder, but you can't "fast forward" or "rewind" to a specific frame when you're not actively playing back videos, because there's only one set of "forward" and "reverse" buttons, and they also fill the "skip to next/previous clip" functions.

Similarly, the editing software is clean and easy to use, but lacks a lot of options. It's fairly easy to take a chunk of video, yank out a selection of favorite clips, and string them together into a movie, and maybe even put a title on the front and credits at the end, but anything more complicated than that ain't happening without third-party editing software. Perhaps most critical is the lack of a "resize" feature -because this camera records at such a high resolution, even fairly short videos taken with it can quickly reach prohibitively high file sizes (two minutes of video from this camera took me approximately two hours to upload to YouTube, over a DSL connection).

All that's an issue because it seems, to me at least, that the only reason to purchase a dedicated video camera, in an era when everyone and their brother's cellphone already has video recording capability, is if you're at minimum a dedicated hobbyist. And if you're such a dedicated hobbyist, I would suspect that you'd want more bells and whistles (like focus and exposure controls, or better bundled editing software) than this thing has. What it does, it does great, I'm just having a hard time figuring out who the expected market is for this -it records in higher resolution and better FPS than anyone who wants a casual camera for posting web videos really needs, and it lacks the advanced features that would make it appealing to dedicated hobbyists. The two-hour recording time and easy portability might make it very useful for people who want to record interviews or meetings, but archiving those recordings would be prohibitively difficult without, again, 3rd-party editing tools, due to the massive file size of the recordings this thing generates. The camera's best feature is probably the image stabilization, which works very well -indeed, so well that I forgot about it, and just waved the camera around without even worrying about image shake at all. Because of that, this camera might be ideal for hobbyists who already have a full suite of editing software and are looking to shoot in uncontrolled conditions without a tripod.

The video to the left is an example of the sort of thing it's fairly easy to turn out with this camera -you can see how it deals fairly well with indoor lighting conditions, has good color, etc., and you can see the "image stabilization" at work. I should note, however, that I did make two changes to this video using third-party software -I reduced its resolution from 1280 x 720 to 640 x 360 and converted it to a .wmv file so that it would fit within Amazon's file size & format requirements for video reviews.

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EDIT: It's unfortunate that CISCO is terminating the Flip line, as I just finally discovered what this camera *is* perfect for: taking on vacations in foreign countries. I just returned from a trip to New Zealand, and this camera's high FPS recording rate made it ideal for capturing footage of wilderness, animals and birds that move quickly and are otherwise hard to photograph, and the like; it was easy to just take a half-second or so of video whenever I wanted a still photograph, and pull those frames out later with the Flip's software; it was easy and convenient to carry wherever I went, even along full-day hiking trails; and the camera's two-hour recording time was sufficient to hold all the video I took over the two weeks of the vacation. The lack of focus & exposure controls was still a minor issue -sometimes it had trouble with varied lighting in panorama shots and so forth -but the camera's automated adjustments were pretty good if not perfect, and I was able to grab a great deal of quality footage of my trip.

There was one minor issue with charging the camera's battery -the battery life, at about a half hour to 45 minutes, is significantly less than the recording time, and it can be annoying to travel with rechargeable cameras because of the need for socket adapters and the risk of short-circuiting your camera due to varying international voltage standards. Because the flip charges via USB, however, all I had to do was find a USB charger with the appropriate socket and charging became easy.

So, all in all, I'm upgrading this camera to a full five stars. I'd still consider it a niche product -traveling tourist videocamera -but it's pretty much an ideal camera for that niche.

Buy Flip UltraHD Video Camera - White, 8 GB, 2 Hours (3rd Generation) Now

I wavered between giving this three or four stars, but settled on four because it delivers what it promises in spades: EASY to use, high quality video recording in a small package. If I could, I would give a 3.5. There's a BIG "but" though:

The caveat here is that this is now a single-purpose, niche product, whose single purpose can be found on a number of different devices, from DSLR's, to point and shoot cameras, to smartphones (and probably non smart phones). You would be hard pressed to find even the lowliest point and shoot digital camera that doesn't record 720p video these days.

The one differentiator here is that this Flip shoots video at 60 frames per second, which is great if you are mostly going to be shooting outdoors, in bright light (because you SHOULD get smoother looking action, although most people can't see the difference). But it can actually be a disadvantage (vs the more standard 24 or 30fps) when shooting in lower light situations. I found this to be true as I compared several gadgets of mine (iPhone 4, Canon S95 digital camera, Canon HV30 HD camcorder), shooting the same indoors scene.

Just hard to recommend that anyone buy this today, knowing that almost every digicam on the market does 720p video now (and several of the new gen point and shoots do 1080p!) I shot the same scene (outdoors, but in very cloudy conditions) with my iPhone 4 and the Flip. The iPhone's video was slightly less contrasty, and a little more shaky looking due to no optical image stabilization like the Flip has. BUT at least I could focus on certain areas with the iPhone. With the Flip, I have no way to focus on a particular object, which is tough. I would bet MOST people would not be able to tell much of a difference in the picture quality between the two (unless you were watching them side by side, and even then, was difficult to determine a clear winner)

When these Flips first came out, they were a standout product because video in digicams was horrible at that time, and either nonexistent or poor on cel phones, but times have changed. For $200,today, you can buy an iPhone 4, or a point and shoot Sony digicam with a CMOS, low light sensor, that will shoot better video, plus you get the primary functions of those devices to boot. The video is just gravy.

PROS:

Svelte, easy to carry and handle, outside black soft touch material very nice

Good to very good video quality

SO easy to use and hook up to another device for viewing the results.

optical image stabilization works surprisingly well considering form factor, weight and small size of the Flip

60 fps great for outdoors/good light shooting

CONS:

Hard to justify price when you can get at least as good video in other devices that do more than just video

No ability to focus

I wish the lens had more protection, or even a built in lens cap/cover. Note it does include a soft case, but I mean something like you see on most camcorders these days.

Not great in low light due to 60fps recording (at least give the option to switch to something slower for low light situations?)

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(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)

This video shows the features of the Flip UltraHD, and it compares it to the original white Flip to show how far Flips have come. I demonstrate the features, size, video quality, and microphone sensitivity. Highly recommended -but it cannot be compared to full-featured digital camcorders. Note: I deducted a half-star for the inability to turn off image stabilization; sometimes the IS makes the video look jerky, like a series of stills.

-Debbie Lee Wesselmann

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This is now my 3rd Flip camera (they are all still in operation, I just can't help upgrading when a higher quality product hits the market). I always fall in love with my new Flip video camera and this one is no exception I prefer the design of the Ultra HD over the Mino because of the larger screen, and the new 3rd generation is noticeably thinner than last year's model which makes it lighter and easier to hold. HUGE HUGE HUGE improvement in video quality on the 3rd generation model image stabilization and now 60 frames per seconds (FPS) compared to 30 FPS in the previous HD model. This 60 FPS results in noticeably higher quality video and the ability to zoom more effectively. This model comes with a rechargeable battery pack so you can charge via your usb port on your computer, or if you are traveling and don't have access to USB the Flip Ultra also allows you to put 3 AA batteries for videographers who are "on the go."

Another A++ product from the folks up in San Francisco who design this product. Go out and get one it's time for an Upgrade to the 3rd generation of Flip!!!!

Sezmi DMR-1000 All-in-One Personal TV Service, Black

• Watch your favorite TV shows without longterm contracts, many available in HD
• On-Demand: Thousands of TV shows and movies - from new releases to classics
• Web Videos: What you love on the Internet right to your TV. YouTube(TM) videos and more!
• Smart DVR: Automatically records your favorite and suggested shows. Up to two recordings simultaneously
• 1TB of storage, records up to 1400 hours of SD (standard definition) and 340 hours of HD (high definition) programming

We took part in the Sezmi Beta testing program earlier this year, trying out the service and box for about 4 months before signing up for it officially. Initially the box performed rather poorly, with the operating system and DVR software obviously still going through revisions and testing, but that was to be expected we were Beta Testers after all. This improved with software updates, and the latest version performs much better, but not without some bugs still.

Tuning took some experimentation and adjustment of the antenna with repeat scans to get a decent signal. Initially we were on the first floor of our apartment building and reception was a little iffy for some stations, but after we moved up to the second floor where there were fewer obstructions the reception improved considerably. I actually found I was able to get further signal improvement by connecting an old passive single pole antenna that came with an Elgato TV unit into the coax socket at the back of the Sezmi antenna converter box. Sezmi do offer a second antenna that uses their proprietary connectors, but the coax connector allows you to use pretty much any third party antenna as well. Most local stations come in at a decent signal level.

We have been long-time Tivo subscribers we bought one of the first generation Tivo units and have pretty much evangelized Tivo ever since. However, Tivo's contractual disputes with DirecTV meant that we could no longer get the combo unit and we were forced to use DirecTV's own HD DVR, which was slow, not to mention the gross expense of the service. We had been keeping an old Tivo unit running just for loyalty, but didn't want to pay the cost of Cable TV to use it, so when we heard about Sezmi it seemed the perfect alternative.

There are obvious similarities between Tivo and Sezmi, but where Sezmi primarily differs is in allowing viewers/users to create their own customized 'zones' which learns their own viewing habits and records their own shows independent of other users. A user's own interface is customizable by setting a color scheme to differentiate it from other users, and each is accessed via a color-coded button on the remote, which all works quite well, albeit the switch between users can be rather slow (more on speed issues further on). This is a nice feature as it allows separation of content for families or multi-viewer homes, where peoples viewing tastes may differ (husband: science and sci-fi, wife: reality and home/garden, kids: cartoons and music) etc.

The choice of channels for the price is impressive. For the basic $4.99 a month you get all the local networks in HD, but for $19.99 a month you can add a good selection of "cable" networks which would normally only be available through a local Cable or Satellite provider. We found the choices available to be a good cross section of the main channels we used to watch on Satellite, such as Discovery, TLC, Science Channel, SyFy, Planet Green (one of my wife's favorites), VH1, amongst others. All of these additional channels are received via the antenna alongside the regular local networks. They're obviously encrypted so that you can't view them if you only have the basic package. The local networks are all received in HD and are picked up from the regular over the air transmissions that you would get if you just hooked up an antenna direct to your TV what you're paying the $5 a month for is the DVR, Guide, and on-demand services at that point. The higher priced package allows you to receive the other channels which are decrypted by the DVR. The downside to all the additional channels is that they're not in HD, only SD, and the quality is, at times, barely SD. Getting decent reception for these extra channels is fairly hit or miss and depends a lot on where you live and your proximity to transmitters. We are in the middle of Los Angeles and we had continual problems with picture and sound breaking up and delays in the channel changing while it found and decrypted the transmission.

One thing to note about Sezmi is that it really isn't geared towards being a "Live TV" system something that becomes obvious when you realize that there is actually no "STOP" button on the remote. In order to watch "Live TV" one must go to the Guide and select the channel and show one wants to switch to. Live is not the default state. It is really designed to be a system that is used to pre-record pretty much everything to be watched later. This is one of the reasons behind having the massive storage capability it allows the system to record a LOT of content!

The DVR software, although competent, and providing for a LOT of storage capacity, has a lot of difficulty dealing with poor/broken signals. A lot of the time, if there is any kind of signal degradation during a recording, then that show becomes unwatchable on playback. The image breaks up, the sound stutters, and probably about 75% of the time the DVR functions become unusable because the scrubber cannot determine time codes and gets completely confused as to where it is supposed to jump to. Fast forward and Rewind functions lock up, skipping ahead sometimes works, and sometimes the show will just restart right back at the beginning, but when you reach the troubled area again it just goes haywire. This is something that really needs to be fixed some kind of check in the playback functions that looks for loss of integrity in the signal and unmatched time codes and attempts to jump over the problem area rather than try and play it. The system has some other anomalies that should be dealt with sooner rather than later it has a tendency to be somewhat overzealous when deleting shows by itself. On several occasions I went to watch one of about two dozen saved episodes of a show only to find that about half of them had been deleted by the system, but they did not then appear in the Deleted Items folder for me to recover. Shows that are manually deleted by the user go there, but shows deleted by the system (I assume to free up space or because it felt they had expired) do not.

There have been a few other niggles with the system that should be noted, and while not deal-breakers, they do cause some usability issues that can make the system less than ideal. When using the Guide, it is dreadfully slow taking between 5 and 20 seconds to refresh the current channel listing EVERY time you move the channel selector up and down, which can be painfully tedious how on earth this couldn't be cached is beyond me. This is an often repeated function and the user should not have to wait repeatedly every time for the guide to refresh. It becomes incredibly annoying and makes the system cumbersome to use. Even DirecTV's dreadful on-screen Guide works faster than this. Additionally, popup message windows, show info, confirmations etc take rather too long to disappear. Another annoyance is a bug that causes paused shows to automatically start playing again when you switch back and forth between users, meaning you have to remember to hit Pause again as soon as the switch is complete. Speed of the system overall is definitely a major issue the response of the device to button presses on the remote is probably only at about 85%, seemingly a result of the system being busy doing something else to react immediately to the remote, so responses are cached, however the lack of feedback means that one tends to try pressing the same or other buttons several times and when all those cached responses are then suddenly executed you end up with undesirable results. Speed of the system appears to be related to the number of saved recordings the more shows you have saved, the slower the system gets. When you compare the speed of Sezmi to a TiVo, it's like comparing night and day. If you have used TiVo and you know how fast the on-screen guide responds to navigation and how quick it is to set up Season Passes and delete content, you will be extremely frustrated by the sluggishness of Sezmi.

Sezmi is certainly new, and it is certainly innovative it has a LOT of potential, but it also still needs a LOT of work to make it truly usable on a day to day basis without being frustrating. The DVR software, Guide and Navigation overall need to be optimized to speed them up and make the user experience less cumbersome. If you're willing to put up with some bugs and work around some of the issues, then Sezmi is a great alternative to the much higher priced cable and satellite services. It's not a full-on replacement for those... yet, but it could be. If the additional non-local "cable" channels delivered were in HD and there was a wider selection, then even an extra tier at, say, $30/month, would be cheaper than basic cable or satellite. Combine that with a better UI and DVR software that works more effectively, and Sezmi will certainly give the big names a run for their money.

Buy Sezmi DMR-1000 All-in-One Personal TV Service, Black Now

I've had Sezmi since they rolled out in Southern California in 2009. I had Verizon FIOs for few years and was so tired of paying $100 per month for TV service. Once I got Sezmi and started paying $20.00 per month for HDTV and SD cable channels, I was hooked. The customization features are great and the cable channels are all you need. The equipment was a snap to set up and the Sezmi customer service people are the best I've seen. The DVR is awesome and you can program shows months in advance. Everyone in the house can have their own set-up and record all of their favorite shows using their own home screen. The pay-per-view movies are exactly what Verizon and Amazon offer with the convenience of not having to switch boxes.

The only negative is the mostly slow response of the remote control. Also, sometimes the PPV movies take a long time before you can play the movie you order. 5 stars when those issues are fixed. Not a big deal to me, but it would be nice if the cable channels were in HD as well. Overall, I am extremely pleased with the service and price. I won't ever go back to overpriced cable again.

______________________________________________________________

UPDATE: March 27, 2011

Unfortunately, we ended up cancelling our Sezmi service for the following reasons:

1. The company did away with the SD cable channels. Although SD looks bad on an HDTV, it was nice to be able to watch shows we would not have otherwise been able to view. They lowered the price from $20.00 per month to $5.00, but we were left with channels that we could grab over the air with our rooftop antenna.

2. So, we now had a DVR and PPV services with the Sezmi box for $5 per month. Here's what lead us to finally cancel: The Sezmi DVR is painstakingly slow. The response from the remote took many, many pushes on the buttons and sometimes the DVR responded and sometimes not. We waited and waited for Sezmi to correct the problems and after many, many months...nothing. They knew their DVR's were an issue but did not fix the problem.

The recordings of the shows we wanted to watch were plagued by studders in the video and sound drops every few seconds. Sometimes the video would speed up for no reason and resume playing at normal speeds. It was terrible to have a favorite program have so many interruptions. The PPV movies took up to 15-20 minutes to download and play. I have Verizon FIOS internet so my connection is blazing fast.

We had high hopes for Sezmi and ended up being very disappointed. I can't recommend the service. I ended up buying a Tivo DVR and using my Roku box for Hulu Plus, Amazon On Demand, and Netflix streaming. My Bluray player has Vudu for instant watching of movies. So sad because Sezmi weaned me off of cable and their game plan was awesome. Their engineering and product just fell way short of the mark.

Read Best Reviews of Sezmi DMR-1000 All-in-One Personal TV Service, Black Here

UPDATE: 9/23/11 Sezmi emails customers at 6pm Friday saying the service will not be available come Monday. Poor customer service that didn't allow their loyal customers any time to find a tv alternative. What a cluster.

Sezmi is fantastic, HD + DVR of over-the-air network channels for $4.99/month. I opted in for the cable channels ($20/month) and most of them show up in HD-like quality. However I am considering dropping to the $4.99 plan due to my TV habits.

Pros:

-HD-DVR for over-the-air channels for $4.99/month! You pay DirecTv $7/month for the DVR, $10/month for HD plus the programming package. Cable companies, you pay $17/month for HD DVR capabilities, plus the programming rates.

-DVR acts as a media player so you get YouTube, etc. on your TV.

-Weeds was an on-demand programming option. Wasn't expecting to see a Showtime show available. Note: it is the only cable-type show available. Sezmi if you are reading this, would love to see more Showtime shows.

-HD quality is better than satellite and cable

-"Cable" channels are better quality than expected. Some come in HD-like quality, others are standard.

-Very simple on-screen menu

-Fast-forwarding of recorded shows works so much better than DTV or the cable company DVRs.

-Customer service has been fantastic when I have called and they are located in the US. No struggle to understand the technicians.

Cons:

-Remote is a little tricky at first, but as with any remote you get used to it.

-A lot of Sezmi branding on the on-screen menus.

-There is a slight delay when changing channels. Not terribly annoying.

-Setup takes about 45 minutes, so don't expect to plug it in and watch immediately as they download the latest updates the minute you plug into the Internet.

I am in love with the value of Sezmi. I was so frustrated paying DTV or the cable companies $50+/month for the lowest programming package when all I really wanted was the DVR for the network channels. Now I have it for $4.99/month. When I look at how much I was paying the other companies, it paid for itself in 3 months.

Sezmi Rocks!

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I'm surprised to still see this listed, given that it no longer functions.

Directly from their website:

Important News

We regret to inform you that Sezmi is discontinuing its consumer service. As of Monday, September 26, 2011, you will no longer be able to view or record broadcast TV programming through your Sezmi System. However, you will still be able to view movies and shows you have already saved to your Sezmi media recorder. To help ease the transition, you may also rent movies and shows if available at no charge from Sezmi's On Demand catalog through November 1, 2011.

I was with the service from the time of the pilot. When it started it offered a selection of cable channels over the air through the Sezmi Plus service, and even promised that they'd have a service that even offered more cable channels. Instead, they eliminated all cable channels earlier this year, and now announced with just three days notice that they're eliminating their service completely, making the already purchased equipment worthless.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-S1 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 2.7-Inch L

I am an end user and not a photographer and have purchased half a dozen "point and shoot" digital cameras over the years.

Pros

Small and light, very portable

Excellent in IA (intelligent automatic) mode ISO and shutter speed displayed

Easy to use without reading the manual (but read it anyway eventually)

Nice, clear LCD display

HD video is OUTSTANDING (audio, not so much)

Very good macro (close up) camera with flash off (my preference)

Cons

Flash is only good to about 2 meters

Delay between pictures is "acceptable" but not excellent

Camera audio speaker close to worthless

"Burst" feature (constant shooting while holding shutter button) is poor

First thing I do with something like this is take it out of the box and start playing with it without reading the manual not something I recommend, but working with a product starting in total ignorance tells you something about the overall device that gets spoiled once you learn how it is supposed to work. After playing with it in ignorance, I then read the enclosed printed manual from cover to cover. NOTE: The included CD-ROM includes a much more extensive, forty-two pages, manual that goes into greater technical detail about this camera.

It was trivial to charge the included battery and it took a little less than the two hours advertised to do so. The Panasonic DMC-S1 is a very small, palm sized "point and shoot" that nestled easily in my front shirt pocket which was full of other junk as well. The actual camera is very light.

I popped in the charged battery and a 4 GB Class 4 SD card (easy to do without reading the manual since both can only fit in the correct manner), pressed the power on, and started shooting everything in sight using the default IA (intelligent auto) mode. You will have to get an SD card since the on-board memory is only good for about 4 pictures at the highest (4000 x 3000 pixels) setting.

The first twenty pictures I took were pretty solid with one or two slightly washed out with the automatic flash. The delay between pictures was acceptable (2-3 seconds) but not exceptional by any means. In IA mode, holding down the shutter button half way displays the ISO and shutter speed on the LCD display, which with my limited photographic experience was still a nice feature.

Part of what I attempt to do is intentionally "stupid" things to see what happens (no, I do not immerse it in water). So, I turned the house lights out and started shooting people across the room. I didn't expect these low light photos to come out well, and they didn't the camera detected the low light and that it needed the flash, but the range of the flash didn't do much to illuminate beyond the specified 2 meters or so, hence, the picture was blurry. Otherwise, walking around the house, outside the house, up to people real close, etc., I'd say 90 percent of the 150 or so pictures I took were very good to excellent (and a little post processing won't hurt a thing). The anti-jitter features seemed to be in top form with almost no blurriness in any but in the worst lighting conditions.

I took this on my train ride to work and shot inside and outside, and got some very nice pictures with the raindrops on the window in sharp focus, and the background scenery quite clear. The IA mode is a pretty good universal choice. I did have some issues shooting some macro shots (a couple of inches away) and experimented with turning the flash totally off. Macro shots seem to work best with no flash. All in all, this is the best "point and shoot" I've ever had for shooting macro type close-ups (e.g., I like to take close-up pictures of butterflies). Off the train and at work I was able to get some very nice shots of tiny screws and wood grain on the desk.

My next tests were with the video. The HD is EXCELLENT but it is, as expected, a memory pig. The camera indicated I could shoot a little less than 10 minutes of HD video for the maximum 2 GB file size, or about two separate 10 minute HD videos on the 4 GB chip. The lowest quality setting (320x240) gives over an hour per each 2 GB file. Playback of the video (and all pictures) was more than acceptable, and the quality of both looked the same on my PC's larger monitor. The speaker on the camera is practically worthless (not a deal breaker) but it does exist and if you put your ear real close you can hear the mono sound of your video. On my PC, the sound was loud and clear, but unexceptional. This would not be my first choice as a video camera, but can still be useful for creating short YouTube shoutouts.

There are lots of settings possible (having read the manual) but I get a "point and shoot" (like this camera) to avoid complex settings. I'm pretty much going to stick with the IA as my default, and will likely turn the flash completely off in most cases. BUT, if you want to control things, you do have some limited options (read the manual!).

I tried the "burst" feature (continual shooting while holding down the shutter button) which was pretty worthless. Since the delay between each shot seemed to be about 2-3 seconds, and there is little control, it's not like you're going be able to shoot supermodels or sporting events with any real clarity. Better to shoot HD video and extract individual frames.

Battery life appears to be good, I'm trying to run it down on purpose but it's a new battery so it's holding the initial charge nicely (and with the flash off I'm putting less stress on it). I'm only really comfortable after using a rechargeable battery for a year or so to see how it deteriorates, so I can't comment on this feature with any confidence. Anyway, after about 5 minutes of HD video and about 400 pictures (most without flash) I'm showing half a charge.

I didn't try out the included software, but would direct you, in any case, to look for separate reviews on that. I just wanted a "point and shoot" that gives little grief and good pictures (and maybe video) and this suits the bill perfectly.

NOTE ADDED (2 HOURS LATER) RE MACRO MODE: I had to wrestle with the whole concept of "macro mode" with this camera. The brief manual that comes with the camera definitely shows a macro mode icon, but that is in IA mode. I just verified that when I put it in IA mode, and place the lens a couple of inches from, say, a leaf, a little "macro mode" icon shows on the LCD display when I press a little down on the shutter button the autofocus appears to trigger the macro mode in the IA setting. It's just you don't have that as a manual option for macro mode in all the different Scene Mode options that confused me.

UPDATE 22 MAY 2012 (a year after acquisition): Durability is excellent. For the last year I've been constantly letting this rattle around in my pocket. Works just as good as when it was new over a year ago. It has some wear marks (what you'd expect) but has physically held up perfectly.

The Lumix DMC-S1 is the second Lumix model I own, my first one being a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH20 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 8x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Violet).

The DMC-S1 is a good basic camera, suitable for beginners or people who do not want to have to read manuals to be able to shoot decent pictures.

The Pros:

Size: Very small and thin, perfect for stashing it in a shirt or pant pocket. The lens is flush with the camera body when retracted so nothing protrudes uncomfortably when carrying it.

Price: At under $90 (at the time of this review), this is a very good deal. It makes it the perfect camera for the occasional snapshot or as a second camera for keeping in the car, etc.

MP: The 12.1 Megapixel are more than sufficient for taking decent pictures, especially since megapixels alone are not the deciding factor anyway when it comes to image quality. The S1 takes very nice pictures and at least I cannot see a difference when comparing the images to those of the FH20 which has 14.1 megapixels.

Zoom: The 4x optical zoom is sufficient. I personally like more zoom (the FH20 has an 8x zoom) but I also readily admit that using the full 8x zoom on the FH20 adds a LOT of image noise, so in reality the 4x is probably a better choice, especially if one wants to make (moderate) enlargements and doesn't want to see all the pixelation caused by the 8x zoom.

Macro Mode: While there is no dedicated macro mode, the macro mode is actually built in when in iA. The minimum focus distance in iA is a mere 5 cm (i.e. right about 2 inches), which corresponds to the dedicated macro mode distance of the FH20. One less button to press this works well for me, especially since I like taking macro pictures and enjoy the convenience of not having to switch to macro mode...

iA mode: One of my favorite features of the Lumix cameras. It is the equivalent to Auto mode on other cameras but Panasonic calls it iA, Intelligent Auto, and I am inclined to agree the results are usually very nice and keeping the camera in iA should cover most photographic situations a casual photographer encounters.

Image Stabilizer: I remember a time when image stabilizers where something only available in high-end cameras or lenses. Nowadays this is standard in pretty much every camera. But I still think it is a pro worth mentioning in a camera available at such a budget price.

Speed: The S1 is nice and fast, even when the flash was fired.

HD Video: I was pleasantly surprised with the video capability of this little camera. Again: For the price it performed very well. I took a test video in my dark office, blinds closed, no lamps on and the detail captured in it was quite impressive. Also no detectable camera shake cool. The sound was less impressive and a bit muffled but considering that this is a still camera first and a budget model at that very well done, Panasonic! Note: Zoom is not available during video recording.

Scene Modes: There are 16 to choose from, amongst them 2 portrait modes, Sports, Landscape, Party, Sunset, Beach, High Sensitivity and Baby. Personally I don't find many of these too, too useful on a day-today basis as these address very specific shooting situations. Then again, since there is no manual mode, these might occasionally come in handy. That largely depends on the individual photographer and his/her preferences...

Additional Functionality: The S1 has the option to display grid lines on the LCD display (useful for shooting architecture or the horizon to make sure the camera is held straight). It has a self-timer option for 2 or 10 seconds delay, the option to turn off the automatic flash, and the ability to adjust exposure. On top of that white balance can be adjusted and the color mode can be selected (options are: Standard, Natural, Vivid, B/W, Sepia, Cool, Warm). The available options vary depending on what mode the camera is set to (iA, Normal Mode, Video, etc).

Nice Touch: Where options can be changed, such as AF mode, Color mode etc., there are simple explanations displayed in a banner at the bottom. Great for becoming familiar with the camera and very handy because one does not need to consult the print manual to find out what a specific mode is for or what a change does.

The Cons (if you want to call it that):

Camera Body: While the camera is very suitable for carrying it in a shirt pocket, the plastic surface is extremely slick, and I have almost dropped it on more than one occasion. Due to the streamlined shape, there is nothing the hand can really hold on to. Especially if hands are very dry one must be quite careful not to accidentally let go of it. I strongly advise to always, always put your hand through the supplied strap first in order to prevent damage.

The AF: I had trouble getting the camera to auto-focus on objects with lower contrast, even in broad daylight. This was frustrating and prevented me from taking a number of shots because the S1 simply did not focus on the object I wanted to shoot but on the background or the sides instead, regardless of me trying to adjust camera angle, position, zoom, etc. Note: AF mode can be adjusted in Normal Mode there are 3 different settings: Single Area, Multiple Area and Face Detection, but this did not have any bearing on the camera's ability to focus in my particular situations.

Exposure: The camera tends to overexpose a bit when outdoors. At first I thought this was due to the sharp contrasts present in bright sunlight but even in light to moderate shade the pictures come out consistently a bit too bright. I saw this in iA and Landscape modes, haven't had the opportunity to test other modes yet. It isn't horribly overexposed, just noticeable, with somewhat washed-out colors in the brighter image areas.

Summary:

For the price, this model is hard to beat and offers a lot for the dollar. That it has areas where it isn't outstanding well, every camera has these, those in the higher price ranges are no exception. And when looking at the cost vs. the features I really cannot argue the disadvantages too much at all. The only thing that I consistently dislike every time I pick up this camera is the slickness of the body. To me, it just doesn't feel too good to hold and I wish Panasonic had made the surface a bit "grippier". Since this can lead to easily dropping the camera and damaging it, this is my main point for only giving it 3 stars. If it were available, I would probably give 3.5, based on everything else.

I will use the S1 as a backup camera to keep in my purse the small size makes it ideal for that. All in all I prefer the FH20 and would recommend that one over the S1, provided you can find it at a good price. If, however, price is your main consideration, I am sure the S1 will make you happy, too.

Buy Panasonic Lumix DMC-S1 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 2.7-Inch L Now

Having used this camera in various conditions for over a week now, its strengths and weaknesses have become pretty apparent...and there are a few of both that depending on your needs, that may sway your purchase one way or another. Note that I also frequently use a Fujifilm FinePix Z90 and, most often (for best quality), a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100. While I may make comparisons between the two, I'm not going to fault a $100 camera for not taking as crisp of a picture as a $300+ camera.

First, for those of you that know exactly what you want (and don't want) in a camera, here are a few things that his does quite well:

1. Very vivid colors of outdoor scenes and natural-light scenes. The colors are sharp with well defined boundaries and contrast...basically, it takes very nice pictures.

2. Ease of use: only a couple buttons, no manual needed. The options that you can select say exactly what they are within the camera menu, so selecting the correct option is easy.

3. Excellent battery life. Comes with a slim rechargeable battery and charger. (It's a proprietary battery, but contrary to some belief, this is a benefit. The battery lasts a LOT longer that AA batteries. Need extra battery life? Buy a spare battery and keep it charged.)

4. Slim enough to slip into a pocket.

5. Great optical zoom for a camera of its size. And with the stabilization it has, I never had a blurry picture when zoomed.

6. The video quality, with good lighting, is quite good. For me, it's good enough that if I didn't have other cameras that already did the same task, I wouldn't hesitate to use it for important video moments like my martial art belt testing for my son, birthdays, etc. Videos are in .MOV format.

7. It has a lens cover that opens and closes by itself! This is something that I wish my Panasonic FZ100 had. Just some simple protection from dust/mist/whatever to keep the lens spot-free.

8. The "intelligent auto" mode that automatically selects the best settings works great. You can override it (say, tell it you're taking a picture in bright sun/snow or low light, closeup, etc), but in various testing, the auto mode always picked the correct mode for me anyway. (As does my other Panasonic...)

But, of course, the camera does have some drawbacks, but they may not matter:

1. Difficult one-hand operation if you want to use the zoom.

2. You cannot zoom when recording video.

3. No one-touch video recording. (You need to pick whether you want to record a picture or a video before pressing the shutter button. Other more expensive cameras usually have a "video" button so you don't have to click through menus.

4. Time to focus + take a picture is a little long.

And now the most important drawbacks:

1. Low light pictures are bad. Really bad. Combine a low-light, indoor picture with using the zoom, and even though the flash fires, the picture ends up grainy and almost looks like it's black and white, even if the objects are less than 6 feet away.

2. There's a limit on how long you can record video. And it doesn't depend on anything you can change. Using a class 10 32GB SDHC card (class 10), the timer says the video can go 8 minutes, 24 seconds.

Overall, this is a good camera for its class that I'd only NOT recommend if you plan on taking many low-light, indoor pictures or if you want more options for recording video. (And if your main intent is to take video, be sure to consider the Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black). It takes horrible stills and it's only 5MP, but it's built for video and has more options for it.) This Panasonic is a much better multi-purpose than the Kodak, and chances are, if you're looking at this, you want a still-photo camera.

One last note: I don't install any extra software, unless it's absolutely required to make things work. The camera came with a CD that I never put into my machine, and have had no problems transferring pictures and videos. Used on both XP and Win7.

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What my parents have always said is true with this product: you get what you pay for. For under $100 you are getting a small point and shoot camera. It will fit easily in your pocket or purse and will reliably take decent shots. If that is all you are looking for, you will be satisfied with this camera. It is a good value for under $100!

If you are looking for a camera that takes great low-light, super detailed, actions/sports, or close-up pictures this is not the camera that will fill all your needs. In addition, I think this camera feels a little cheap and flimsy, especially compared to nicer Lumix camera in the same line. On the plus side, it's super light and portable.

I recommend this camera for young adults or casual picture takers. I use this camera to take pictures to post to my blog. It works perfectly well and easy to bring along with me.

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A great camera for an average user.

Super easy to use in the Intelligent Auto mode just point-n-shoot and the camera will do the rest.

It automatically selects the most appropriate setting under the conditions, including the macro mode.

The plastic body is light and slim, with nicely finished details.

The control buttons are logically placed.

The menu is easy to navigate, with just the basic settings present. Which is a plus for an average user who just leaves the camera in the auto mode anyways and never bothers with the myriad of the advanced settings of the more expensive cameras.

The video quality is very nice for such a bargain-priced model.

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Sprint Katana SCP-6600 (Pink)

I really like this phone.. its cute, its little, its perfect for a young woman. I had a pocket pc prior to this and it was so complicated just making a call. I wanted something simple, that wasn't an mp3 player (i have an ipod), that wasn't a professional camera (i have a nice digital cam), or a pda (i have a palm tx)... its just simple and cute.

its bluetooth compatible... although doesnt work that great with my bluetooth, but i'm not sure if its the headset or the phone..

**the ringer on it is SUPER quiet... almost to the point you can barely hear it in your purse. i'm grown accustomed to "listening" for the vibrate feature instead.

i like how you can put a person's picture next to their name in your contact list.

i can wear it in the back pocket of my jeans and its comfortable.

sound quality is good, on both ends

i dig it. im sure you will too.

I've been a sprint customer for over three years and have owned three sanyo phones; Sanyo 8100, Sanyo 8300, and the Kantana. If you're coming from a mulitimedia phone like the Sanyo 8300, the SCP-6600 Katana may be a bit of a disappointment to you. The Katana just doesn't have all of the bells and whistles as a multimedia phone. The Katana has no built in flash which is needed for taking half decent pictures with a camera phone. It also has no camcorder or media player. But then again its not suppose to. It's basically an attempt by sprint and Sanyo to satisfy the consumer cravings for the popular RAZR phones that are available through wireless carriers like Cingular, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Cricket and a few others. It's obvious by looking at the Katana that it was inspire by the Razr, which does not have MM functions either. On a feature note I would have to give the Katana a one besides doing the simple things like making phone calls and downloading ringers and screen savers there's just not much more you can do on it. Aesthetically the Katana is not that much of a beaut. However, it is for the time being a bit different looking so for (except when compared to the RAZR) that I'd give it a four. For the lack of a decent camera and camcorder I have to deduct two more points which brings rating down to three stars. Oh for those of you who are interested in bluetooth the phone is bluetooth capable.

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I WANTED A PHONE IN PINK TO REPLACE MY OLD CLUNKY OUT OF DATE PHONE. THIS PHONE IS A LOVELY CHERRY BLOSSOM PINK AND JUST SO FEMININE TO CARRY. A MUST HAVE FOR EVERY FASHIONISTA WHO LOVES PINK

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I absolutely love my Katana! Let me tell you, this phone has been dropped, been in ice cold water, the toilet(unused), extreme hot and cold climate and everytime I turn it on...it makes me smile. I never had to change the battery, charger...anything. I really don't want to part with, but it's 2012 and time for an upgrade. I'm sad that I can't seem to find anything but used one as it was discontinued :( So, I'm forced to look for an entirely new phone. But, I still have my OG faithful until then. It's simply the best cellphone ever made(IMO).

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If you are looking for a PHONE, not a camera or an ipod then this is it! I had an older flip phone from Sprint for years and loved it, then it finally broke! We ended up getting the fancy Samsung M620 Upstage Black Phone. Really neat fancy phone. It has all the bells and whistles and very pretty, but NOT user friendly!! I have an ipod already and just wanted a simple to use phone. This is VERY user friendly. The camera doesn't take high quality pix but it shouldn't because it is a phone.... I have a good camera and an ipod so this is perfect for me. It has voice recognition & I can answer the phone or make phone calls without opening up the phone. You can control the type of rings or how loud you want them for different callers. VERY USER FRIENDLY and sounds great!

LG Electronics BP530 3D Smart Blu-ray Disc Player with Wi-Fi

• Easy access to thousands of movies, customizable apps and videos.
• Wirelessly send the audio from your TV to your smartphone so you can hear the TV without disturbing those around you.
• Perfect for playing all your 3D or 2D Blu-Ray and DVD movies.

I bought the LG 3D Blu Ray player because of quality and price. Also it has wireless updating which eliminates having to hook a network cable to it to update the software. One surprising thing I found is that it will play regular Blu Ray discs that are made for Region 2/B which is Europe, the Middle East, Africa and so on where as Region 1/A is the USA and Canada. I accidentally bought a disk for Region 2/B and it wouldn't play on my regular Blu Ray Player so I upgraded the player and it still wouldn't play it. I put it in the LG 3D Blu Ray player and it played great. I suspected it was for the wrong region since it didn't play after upgrading my Sony Blu Ray. I looked on my orders from Amazon and sure enough my disc was for Region 2/B. I am pleased that I didn't have to return the program. I usually look at the region but usually Amazon sells Region 1/A but this time I didn't check and sure enough got a program for the wrong region. Enough on that. The 3D picture produced by the LG Blu Ray player is second to none for a passive 3D machine (you don't need wired 3D glasses. It uses the same 3D glasses as theaters use for 3D features). I have it connected via a HDMI cable to my 3D Toshiba LED 240hz tv which puts out the best tv picture I have ever seen. I found out you have to be careful about 3D LED tvs because a lot of them are 120hz which is a slower refresh rate and produce a lesser quality 3D picture. All in all I am even more pleased with the Blu Ray player since it will apparently play any region disc.

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I noticed one reviewer pointed out that this player, doesn't support Amazon's streaming service. I wanted make people aware, that when you go into their premium services option, that there is a Amazon logo reporting that sometime in the future they plan on making that an option. I choose this player as LG has always been very good with supporting many codecs, and is a real solid player if you use DLNA, basically the ability to play compressed video and audio files on your computer's hard drive to your TV via you wireless network. I have a lot of family home video's video's and video I've downloaded from YouTube that I like having access to watch on my big screen TV. Another feature and I haven't tested this out, is in the past I found in previous LG players I've owned, you could often play DVD's that where in recorded in PAL, I have a few DVD+R with video encoded in PAL, which is basically the standard that most European countries particularly the UK use. So if you have friends living across the pond this feature can come in handy. I haven't tried playing any of my PAL dvds with this player, so it's something you might want to check out if that is your reasoning for choosing this player.

As far as speed this players is very responsive compared to a Samsung player I bought a few years ago, and it's faster loading the Netflix app that than my VIZO TV, and my former Samsung Blu-Ray. It does have the latest Netflix interface which is nice, so this is a very solid player. If I had a complaint regarding this player, it has a very limited number of apps, and services that you can choose from compared to other players. So if your looking for a fast solid not to expensive Blu-Ray player and plan on using DLNA, you could do worse. Sony I've heard is good at DNLA, Samsung is OK although the DNLA software that comes with it is very annoying as it goes in and relabels all your xvids and other compressed video files with an additional file extension that is very annoying if you choose to change to a different brand for your DLNA uses, because you have to go in a relabel them to make them play properly.

Read Best Reviews of LG Electronics BP530 3D Smart Blu-ray Disc Player with Wi-Fi Here

A few years ago we stopped paying for cable, so video players became our main source of television watching. Our family always seemed to be watching shows on Netflix and we bought lots of DVD/Blu-Ray disk sets of television series, so we decided to cut the cord with out overpriced cable company. Turns out our TVs still pick up many of the local channels, but we still hardly ever watched them. So for the last few years, pretty much everything we've watched has been on Netflix, DVD or Blu-Ray.

So when I received this LG player, I was eager to set up the wi-fi in it to see how well the Netflix steaming played. Keep in mind this player does not come with a HDMI cable, so you'll need to buy one or use one you already have. After plugging everything in, I turned it on and it prompted me to go through the simple wi-fi set up process. It detected my routers signal and I just entered the password to connect it.

I then navigated to the video streaming section of this player's home page and opened up the Netflix application. After logging into my Netflix account, everything from my watch lists came up. It streams video well and I had no issues with buffering or lagging. After the movies load up, it plays from beginning to end without any freezing.

We play both DVDs and Blu-Ray disks on this player all the time, and they've been working perfectly. The only problem I've had is with the remote, when using it at different angles. If the player is set up higher than where you're sitting at using the remote, the player doesn't always receive the signal from the controller right away. The sensors need a good line-of-sight to one another, and if you're using the remote pointing upward at the player, you'll find you need to raise your hand (that's holding the remote) up to get the player's sensors to receive the signal of the remote. The two need to be close to level with one another for everything to work best. However this is a very small gripe I have with it, and I still enjoy how well this player streams videos and plays disks. The positives I've found using it outweigh the angle issues I've had with the remote control. I've had a lot of luck with LG products, and this one has done a nice job of living up to my other experiences with the brand.

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The first unit I received (from Amazon) worked for about 20 minutes. I hooked everything up and when connected (via WiFi) to the Internet, it showed an icon to upgrade the software (firmware?). I click on this and the download proceeded normally. When I went to power off, the unit tried to update the software (a second time?) and locked up about 80% through the update (status bar is the only indicator). I waited 2 hours and the status bar did not move. I could not power off. I ended up pulling the plug. That killed the unit. It would never again power up.

I contacted Amazon and they sent a replacement unit right away (Prime customer) and I sent the defective unit back.

The replacement unit works fine, but I am leery of updating the software again. For now I will just leave the update process alone.

The unit plays DVD's flawlessly. Nice output. I have yet to purchase a BluRay disk as this is my first player.

The TV control buttons worked without additional programming of the remote (TV is a Olivia 37" from 2006). The HDMI worked with my old TV just fine. The unit is compact and easily squeezes on top of my TiVo.

I gave the rating of only 4 stars because of the software update seemed to be the reason the first unit died.

Hint: how to test an infrared remote. Use a digital camera. Hold the remote in front of the lens and press any button on the remote. You should see the light emitting from the remote displayed on the camera's viewer.

I think I got a defective unit.

I was thrilled to get this blu-ray player, because my old one, a Samsung, is noisy when it loads up a disc. This unit is smaller and quieter but it doesn't always work. When I first got it and plugged it all in, I tried turning it on with the remote. Nothing. I fussed with all the cables, and pressed the buttons on the front of the unit. Twice I got some static on my screen. Bizarre that there's no power button on the front of this thing (at least none that I could see!). I took out the battery that came with the remote and put in a new one I happened to have (AAA) and finally managed to turn on the blu ray player. There was some lag using the remote. Sometimes when I chose an item, it would respond quickly. Other times, it would sit there. Or pause. Annoying.

It loaded up a Blu Ray just fine and the quality was good.

I also chose the menu item which allowed you to play other media, and it did a software update. Then on the main menu I noticed at the bottom of the screen it had the blue button displayed with "Software update" next to IT so I did that too.

I have a hard drive that plugs into the wall for power, and I tried to use this blu ray player with it but it wouldn't read it. As soon as I plugged the hard drive into the USB port on the front of this unit, the blu ray player would power off. It did this again and again.

One feature I do love is the ability to listen to the audio via your iPhone. That's very cool. I downloaded the app(s?) it's not clear what apps to download I ended up downloading two from the itunes store but once that was done I managed to get it to work. You can control the blu ray player from your phone, but not control everything. I couldn't see where you would fast forward or pause a movie. But the audio portion is cool. As long as your phone is on the wireless network that the blu ray player is on, you can listen to the audio on your phone (I use good headphones I have). That's pretty awesome.

One thing I could not figure out for the life of me is the part of the remote that claims to be for the TV. The bottom part of the remote has 4 buttons dedicated for the TV power, input, volume up, volume down. They don't work and for the life of me I cannot locate ANYWHERE online where to find out how to program this remote so it will work with my TV.

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To summarize, I would not recommend this player because:

1) Remote doesn't always work for me

2) Unit is unresponsive at times and either pauses when you make a selection or simply doesn't turn on.

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Although I think the audio-via-iphone feature is great, if I can't quickly turn on the unit, I'm not going to use it. Also if I can't get that TV portion of the remote to work, then I have to keep the old TV remote around, which I didn't have to do with my old blu ray player.

****

UPDATE

So after looking at the manual online I do now see where you can progam the bottom section of the remote. YAY. They don't include a manual with the blu ray player: they include a DISC but you need a computer to use it. Anyone here use a computer anymore? Don't we all use iphones and ipads? No CD drives on them!!! Anyhow it was incredibly frustrating to not be able to program this part of the remote when I first got the unit. I did stick the CD it came with into the blu ray player hoping they would have included a version of the manual that you could view via the blu ray player but no dice. Still, the unit responds sporadically if at all, so I can't recommend this unit.

*****

UPDATE 2

I was watching a movie on Netflix via this device and halfway through the film, it started stuttering and freezing and stopping and starting. It was incredibly annoying and didn't resolve itself. I switched to my Roku box, which also has Netflix on it, and resumed the movie almost immediately with no more issues.

This device is really far too buggy for me to recommend that you purchase it.

Zenith DVD2201 DVD Player

• Digital disc player: Single tray. Dolby Digital/DTS output. Last condition memory. Repeat play. 4X-16X moveable zoom.
• Supports DVD, CD, CD-R/RW, and MP3 decoding.
• Connections: Component video out (YUB) (1). S-video out (1). Composite video out (1). Coaxial digital audio out (1). Variable audio out (2).
• Zenith SC201 DVD remote control.

If you just wanna play DVDs, this is a REALLY good player! It comes with the standard features plus a few nifty ones including a bookmarking feature. You can mark up to five points on a disc with one button and then when you want to go back, press another button and you'll be taken to a menu with screenshots of the scene you stopped at.

The user menu is also very nice-looking and would be a great player for a family with children because the menus are very kid-friendly.

This is the perfect player for someone wanting their first DVD players. It has enough to satisfy advanced users and not too many things to confuse a newbie.

The only downside is that you have to hold the chapter skip button to fast forward or rewind. The remote takes some getting used to but it's really nice-looking.

Buy Zenith DVD2201 DVD Player Now

I've just bought this about 2 weeks ago and I tell you it was the best investment.The quality of picture,and sound is remarkable,the S cable hook up makes viewing crisp and clear!

Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder

• Play, pause, fast-forward, or rewind "live" television broadcasts as you're watching them
• 30 hours' recording time; uses the TiVo hard-disk recorder platform
• Designed to work with standard-definition terrestrial broadcasts as well as with digital satellite systems and cable programming services
• TiVo service offers: recommendations for shows that match your interests, exclusive editorial programming that includes
• Monthly subscription to the TiVo service is available for $12.95;
• Lifetime subscription to the TiVo service can be purchased with a single payment of $299 [contact TiVo at (877) 367-8486 for more information]

There's no other way to put it I LOVE my Tivo! (Sony SVR-2000)

It has completely changed the way I watch TV and it means I can watch what I want to watch WHEN I want to watch it (and skip commercials)!

While not recommended for everyone, I hacked my Tivo to be a total of 160 hours (two 80GB drives). I now have tens of shows available for watching whenever I feel like it. There's always something on!

My non-technophile wife even said that she was getting addicted to Tivo (a tremendous two-thumbs up from her!).

All in all, this ranks up there on my list of all-time coolest products ever.

Strengths:

Features of the service time shifting of programs, pause/rewind/fast-forwarding of recorded and live programs

Hard drive access is instant no waiting for tapes to rewind

Ability to create a video-on-demand system

Strong support of user community search for "Tivo Community" on the web for more information

Hackable!

Weaknesses:

Can be slow to load some screens

Best if you can split your TV signal to watch something else while Tivo is recording

Basic recording level is coarse I recommend Medium (about 20hrs of time on the SVR-2000)

Buy Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder Now

My wife and I became addicted to TiVo within 1 month after installing it. We have gone from watching 90% live TV/10% recorded (VCR) to 90% Tivo/10% live TV! We hardly watch anything anymore at its regular time. We simply pull up the "Now Playing" menu, which lists all the shows I have previously recorded, and watch whatever we're in the mood for drama (Law and Order or Once and Again), comedy (Friends, South Park), reality TV (Survivor, Fear Factor), or sports (Illinois basketball, cliff diving).

There are so many cool things about TiVo, but these are my THREE FAVORITE things:

1) Season Pass, which once you set it up, allows you to record a particular show EVERY time it's on or all shows with a particular actor or subject,

2) Easy to record (simply choose the show, not the time and channel) and easy to find and play (scroll through "Now Playing" list of prerecorded shows and choose "Select" to play),

3) Record two shows at once (like Survivor and Friends, which both start at 8:00 on Thursday) with a DirecTV/TiVo combination receiver, which we have.

We started with the monthly subscription and moved to the lifetime after just a month (it's good for the life of the box, not you). We have a Sony model, and I've found Sony to always be reliable (two TVs, one VCR). I bought a 4-year warranty as a safety precaution (new technology and insurance against the lifetime subscription). DirecTV customer service is decent, but not great (they handle the TiVo side as well). The BEST resource for TiVo is the TiVo AVS forum, which you can link to from the Buzz section of the TiVo Web site. It's a "must read" prior to buying this unit. But I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the coolest, most liberating invention to come out since the World Wide Web. No joke! You will fall in love with your TiVo too.

Read Best Reviews of Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder Here

I bought a SONY SVR-2000 as a Father's Day present for my husband in June 2001 and set up yearly Tivo service. At first, we were very disappointed. We experienced recurring modem problems that rendered our recorder useless after two weeks (because the recorder was unable to update the program data) and had to have the recorder serviced twice within the first two months. In addition, we had paid for a year of service, and we did not think that Tivo would give us credit for any of our 'down time,' since it was due to SONY's recorder.

But SONY and Tivo came through for us. In August, SONY offered to replace our SVR2000, and we accepted. We have had absolutely no problems with the new unit. Also, Tivo refunded the money we paid for the amount of time our recorder was out of commission. (I did not have to fight either company; both were great about setting things right.) So, after a rough start, we are very happy SONY/Tivo customers.

I bought Tivo thinking that I was purchasing an electronic 'toy' that my husband would love and that I would have no interest in. Once I experienced Tivo, however, I loved it too. Just as I would never go to back to changing the channel manually (remember having to get up and turn those knobs?), I would never go back to pre-Tivo TV.

Want Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder Discount?

I instantly fell in love with my machine. I heard about it alot but it is helpful to actually see it work in order to get the full impact. It is essentially like a VCR on steroids and then some. Contrary to another reviewer, you CAN watch one thing while tivo records another you just have to split the signal. That is easy and the parts at radio shack will cost you (...) and the Tivo help line will guide you if needed. I called them 10 times in the first week and they were great. The ability to pause live shows and rewind has become a great feature for me where as at first it seemed a bit if a gimmick. I cant go into all the features there are many. Suffice it to say, it it breaks tomorrow, I would get another one. It is a bargain at twice the price. My only gripe is that the tivo remote does not have a TV/VIDEO button on it which you need to watch one show and tape another. This means I cant toss my tv remote away. Big deal I guess. Installation can be a bit tricky if you have a bunch of components like me, DVD/VCR/TV, but the customer service will be there for you. ENJOY. Hope this helped you.

I have owned this unit for over 2 years. I am addicted to Tivo. The problem is Sony. You must understand that these units rely heavely on a working modem. If you modem dies, you can no longer use the unit and you cannot just open the unit and put in a new modem. You MUST send it back to the manufacturer. After one year of ownership, my Sony modem failed. I had to send the unit back to Sony for [$$$] repair. Now, last week, my modem failed again. Sony is no help whatsoever. I am guessing that this is the reason that Tivo has started to manufacture the hardware themselves. As luck would have it. I just decided that I would never do without my Tivo so before the subscription rates went up a few months ago, I switched to the lifetime service for [$$$]. (now about [$$$]). Now I am faced with paying [$$$] again to repair the modem or buy a new unit. Sony has offered no explanation as to the cause of the modem problems and has basically said tough luck. Tivo has agreed to transfer my new membership to the new recorder if purchased from them but that is another [$$$]. I have already layed out [$$$] for the past two years of Tivo, I don't know that I am smart to sink anymore money into this investment.

Look really hard at the manufacturer and warranties before buying a recorder. Maybe one procuct worth the extended warranties. I liked Tivo so much that I bought one for my parents 2 Christmas's ago. I bought them the lesser Phillips, due to cost, and they have never had a problem.

I would buy the Tivo product if starting now. At least you have leverage with getting them to fix the unit so you can continue with their service.

Bottom line: Tivo is Great! But pass on the Sony recorders...

TASCAM CDA550 Recording Studio Equipment

• RCA unbalanced inputs/outputs for Tape and CD
• Common outputs which can be selected sources as Tape or Auto or Mix
• CD-Tape continuous play
• 3U rack mountable
• RTZ and Dolby B cassette

Initial quality on this device was absolutlely superior....then after about two months of frequent usage, it began "eating cassettes" and one of the pinch rollers broke off. I would expect a product with the Tascam badge to be more rugged and reliable. That said, after shipping it back to the factory, it was fixed and returned within three weeks, so high marks for customer service. It remains to be seen how it will do going forward. I have already converted 300 cassettes to CDs with it, and I have another 400 to be done. I am hopeful it will hold up and be able to complete these conversions.

Buy TASCAM CDA550 Recording Studio Equipment Now

This unit replaced a similar unit for our church services. It's standard size for rack mounting meant that installation was a breeze. Instruction manual was complete and it was installed and in use in less than 10 minutes. Controls are intuitive and all persons that use it are well pleased.

Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 Handheld

Well, let's start by the basics. This machine is HUGE by any means if you compare it to any other PDA. It's like, well, the Darth Vader of all the Palm Powered devices. It's black, it's menacing, it's all-powerful. You can stun an attacker with it if you whirl it over your head and hit him (it includes a convenient hand strap for that purpose).

Jokes aside, it is well built (i used to have a Clie NR70V and it was very fragile), the hinges and swivels are tight, it won't open inside your backpack and get all scratched inside.

It is also a nice PDA, with all the useful stuff that any common handheld has. (Memo, Agenda, Address, To Do, Whatever). But it excels on the add-ons. That's the best part.

The digital camera is awesome (autofocus/manual focus, flash, 2.0 MP) and it can store hundreds of pictures. There are many options and settings to play with.

It also has audio recorder software. The sound is crisp, clear, and you can record many, many, many hours of speech, enviromental audio or anything.

As any other Clie, it has its own mp3 player. There's no need to buy the special SONY smartmedia card to use it: a Lexmark alternative will do the trick.

Of course, if you combine audio + pictures, you'll get a video camera. It works as one. Not great quality, it might be compared with having a webcam with you all the time.

What else ? Integrated keyboard, speaker, remote control, a couple of headphones, infrared port.

I can even speak about Bluetooth. I don't have any bluetooth gear in my house, but i'm leaving the wake-up option enabled and see if i find any BT devices in my office. Besides the blinking blue led looks cool :).

It has many improvementes since the last Clie versions. The memory stick has changed its place, so it doesn't flip out every time you put it in your pocket. The craddle is now foldable and you can take it everywhere to charge and/or connect your clie. You can even attach it to the PDA and carry it around.

Even when it is bulky, it is very well built and with a nice eequilibrium... you can hold it in your hand and it won't fall easily. That happened with the NR70V: the screen was heavier than the body, so it fell backwards always.

The keyboard is a lot better and easier to use by now. Also the back button has been moved a little and it's easier to use than before.

The camera doesn't rotate anymore... but i didn't miss the feature, since you can still use it in the open or closed form, to take pictures of yourself or others.

I would complain only about few things:

The pen is thin ! It looks thinner compared to the huge agenda. And it has a very weird way to attach to the PDA.

The picture browsing is waaaay slow. I'll better find a better program to handle the pictures.

I can't recall anything else, but i'm sure that there were some things that bothered me. Ah ! The memory !!! Yes. That's upsetting: you see, there are 16 Mb of RAM but you can access only 11 of them. Why ? I don't know. However the better use of the memory stick features compensates the lack of actual memory. I would have expected at least 64 Mb RAM for a beast like this. Well, let's say it's 4 and a half stars. Oh, the price !!! Wait a little until it drops. But even now it's worth every cent. For a journalist is the perfect tool. And for a physician (who i am) too.

And, it might seem crazy, but i find this size more comfortable for me than before. I don't think of it as a PDA, instead i think of it as a pocket sized notebook.

I finally made the plunge and bought the NZ90. After being a die-hard Palm user (starting from the Palm Professional,III,Vx,M505), I switched to the Sony Clie.

I truly enjoy playing with the NZ90. It has more functionality than the Palm M505. The camera and video features are amazing. The 2mb still camera produces decent quality pictures. One use I make with the camera is to take shots of documents from work. Now I can reveiw my work on my Clie without having to take home hard copies. The video function gives me the opportunity to film short clips on the fly of my baby boy. (I chose to defer purchase of a digital video camera and opted to use the video on the Clie.) The video quality is poor, but serves its purpose until my son begins to walk when I then plan on purchasing a digital camcorder. Also, I purchased the wireless card for the Clie. GREAT. I love this. You can check pop3 email and browse the internet without having to boot-up your laptop or computer. The easy power on/off of the pda makes it quick for me to check email as well as read the daily news.

2 negatives that needle me:

1) Batter life is poor, especially when using the still camera with flash. The flash drains the battery after 10 shots.

2) The size is a hurdle. Unlike the sleek m505 design, I have to carry the bulky NZ90.

I enjoy playing with my NZ90, emphasis on the "playing". As for practicality, I miss the m505 design as I daily use the address book, calendar, memo.

Buy Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 Handheld Now

I just got this recently and I am very happy I made the decision to spend the cash. Yes the price tag is hefty but you get what you pay for. I read some reviews from handheld sites that said the weight and size were annoying. Now that it is in my hand, I can say that NEITHER are annoying. It weighs more than the typical palm and certainly is bigger, but as an engineer who is used to holding TI scientific calcs., it is nothing that disturbs me. It is roughly the same weight as my TI-86 and is about 25% shorter.

Pros:

The screen resolution is very crisp. As a matter of fact, the screen looks so good, you can decrease the brightness to 1/3 to improve battery life and it still looks fine. The sound that comes out of this little thing is quite clear as well. I love the fact that it can play music as well as play Flash and other movie files. You can also make voice recordings and they are pretty good. Also, the construction is superb...very solid and sturdy feel to it.

The camera is a huge benefit since I will never be anywhere without one. For a handheld camera, it serves its purpose and then some. No, it will never get better pictures than my Minolta Dimage 7i but then again, I would never carry the 7i around everywhere. The camera lens is protected by a flip cover. Very thoughtful so the lense doesn't get scratched.

The cradle design is extremely ingenious...no more bulky cradles. It is a foldup easel style cradle which is very transportable. Hot syncing is very easy between my PC and this unit.

I also love the fact there is a jog dial on the side that you can use to scroll between applications and select w/o having to use the stylus. This is useful for mass transportation users like myself.

Cons:

There are some design issues with this unit but nothing to go nuts about. The main thing is that there is a battery yo-yo effect when the flash is enabled in the camera. This is well documented in handheld website reviews and I assure you, this is a real issue as I am seeing it for myself. It seems that as soon as your flash is turned on, the battery remaining indicator takes a dip. Not a big deal when the battery is near full charge, but an issue when you get around say 50%. If the battery indicator dips too low, you cannot use the flash.

I can live with this b/c I am not planning on snapping countless shots on this unit BUT not everyone may be in that boat. I also fully expect SONY to address this issue (looks like it is a power management issue with the software) but if they don't, I will be very disappointed as it seems like it is a design flaw.

Another small con I have is the stylus location. I don't like the way it attaches to the side. I think that if I were clumsy, it would easily drop if I weren't careful when I tried to snap it back into the unit.

I want to amend my original review...I have stumbled upon one thing which is a little annoying but once again, something I can live with. You CANNOT play the recorded movie files to the TV. Yes, this is for real...I must say that SONY really didn't put much thought here as most digicams that can record movie clips allow you to show both still images and movie clips on TV.

All in all, I love this machine...very sleek and beautiful...very useful and at the same time fun as heck. I hope SONY addresses the battery yo-yo effect and maybe somehow upgrade a driver so I can show movie clips on the TV.

Read Best Reviews of Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 Handheld Here

Pros: Fast processor; built-in keyboard, Bluetooth, and 2-megapixel camera with flash; large, sharp display; removable battery; precise battery meter.

Cons: Bulky; camera is slow to start up and shut down; no built-in Wi-Fi.

Summary: Sony's NZ90 is significant not because it's going to be the world's greatest handheld (though it might be) but because it raises the bar. A built-in 2 megapixel camera with flash, Bluetooth, mpeg movie record and playback, MP3 playback, voice recorder--these obviously are way beyond the basic to-do list/address book/calendar. If you buy an MP3 player, a 2MP camera, a voice recorder, and a color PDA, you may very well spend [a lot of money]. Having it all in one is nice. Sony's not perfect; they need to kick the memory stick habit and support CF/SD cards, which are much cheaper and more versatile. As others point out, the onboard RAM seems a bit stingy, though PalmOS doesn't require as much as PPC. Anyway, I'm excited to see this happening and I hope a bunch of other companies copy Sony. Competition is good for everyone!

Want Sony Clie PEG-NZ90 Handheld Discount?

Well, let's start by the basics. This machine is HUGE by any means if you compare it to any other PDA. It's like, well, the Darth Vader of all the Palm Powered devices. It's black, it's menacing, it's all-powerful. You can stun an attacker with it if you whirl it over your head and hit him (it includes a convenient hand strap for that purpose).

Jokes aside, it is well built (i used to have a Clie NR70V and it was very fragile), the hinges and swivels are tight, it won't open inside your backpack and get all scratched inside.

It is also a nice PDA, with all the useful stuff that any common handheld has. (Memo, Agenda, Address, To Do, Whatever). But it excels on the add-ons. That's the best part.

The digital camera is awesome (autofocus/manual focus, flash, 2.0 MP) and it can store hundreds of pictures. There are many options and settings to play with.

It also has audio recorder software. The sound is crisp, clear, and you can record many, many, many hours of speech, enviromental audio or anything.

As any other Clie, it has its own mp3 player. There's no need to buy the special SONY smartmedia card to use it: a Lexmark alternative will do the trick.

Of course, if you combine audio + pictures, you'll get a video camera. It works as one. Not great quality, it might be compared with having a webcam with you all the time.

What else ? Integrated keyboard, speaker, remote control, a couple of headphones, infrared port.

I can even speak about Bluetooth. I don't have any bluetooth gear in my house, but i'm leaving the wake-up option enabled and see if i find any BT devices in my office. Besides the blinking blue led looks cool :).

It has many improvementes since the last Clie versions. The memory stick has changed its place, so it doesn't flip out every time you put it in your pocket. The craddle is now foldable and you can take it everywhere to charge and/or connect your clie. You can even attach it to the PDA and carry it around.

Even when it is bulky, it is very well built and with a nice eequilibrium... you can hold it in your hand and it won't fall easily. That happened with the NR70V: the screen was heavier than the body, so it fell backwards always.

The keyboard is a lot better and easier to use by now. Also the back button has been moved a little and it's easier to use than before.

The camera doesn't rotate anymore... but i didn't miss the feature, since you can still use it in the open or closed form, to take pictures of yourself or others.

I would complain only about few things:

The pen is thin ! It looks thinner compared to the huge agenda. And it has a very weird to attach to the PDA.

The picture browsing is waaaay slow. I'll better find a better program to handle the pictures.

I can't recall anything else, but i'm sure that there were some things that bothered me. Well, let's say it's 4 and a half stars. Oh, the price !Wait a little until it drops. But even now it's worth every cent. For a journalist is the perfect tool. And for a physician (who i am) too.

And, it might seem crazy, but i find this size more comfortable for me than before. I don't think of it as a PDA, instead i think of it as a pocket sized notebook.

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