Sabrent TV Tuner/Video Capture/DVR/DVD Maker PCI Card with Remote Control (Analog NTSC) TV-PCIRC

only a few channels worked and were fuzzy,

sound never worked,

remote worked once then never again

cheap product dont buy it

The principal benefit of this product is in the valuable lesson it teaches not to buy the lowest price item without first taking a good look at the product reviews. I was never able to get the card to do anything. I tried removing and reinstalling the drivers. I tried getting assistance through the web site. I tried contacting the manufacturer and they never returned my phone call. I've decided to cut my losses and buy a different card.

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I purchased this item and was very excited about getting it... I had a previous version of WinTv and I liked it but wanted something new... as I read the specs for this program and card it looked as if I had found what I was looking for. When I installed the card and program nothing happened, I re-installed and the card began to work but the picture was terrible none of the channels matched if something was on 21 it would show 22.... half of the channels wouldn't even come on... I had to do a system restore 3 times to get rid of the program but now there is a warning that comes on when I boot my computer about missing .dll files.... Buyer beware, this is a worthless item... I have tried to get in touch with the seller and I have recieved no reply...BUYER BEWARE !!!!

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It's cheap, but I couldn't get it to work. It seems to be a problem with the drivers. I wrote to the company for help multiple times but couldn't pin them down on any clear instructions (e.g., they'd tell me to download the drivers from the internet, but when I responded that I allready did so and it still didn't work they wouldn't tell me where to go from there they stopped responding to my e-mails). I'm pretty computer savvy so if I was unable to get the thing working after several hours I don't think anyone else will be able to either.

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I received and installed this card yesterday. It was not recognized by Windows 2000. Neither was the driver included on the CD. Sabrent's site didn't have any driver for the card, either, but did have a wonderful FAQ link about it... Well, I'm assuming that it was wonderful, since the URL was broke. I'm giving them a chance to respond before I send it back.

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Sylvania NB501SL9 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player

• Full 1080p Resolution Output With 24/60 Fps
• CEC Deep Color Control With Advanced User Interface
• Inputs: HDMI, Component; Digital/Analog Audio Output
• DTS, WMA, MP3, Dolby True HD, And Linear Pcm Audio Options

This is the Rodney Dangerfield of Blu-Ray players: it gets little or no respect. Most people don't even know that this player exists. They would prefer to spend the extra money and buy a Sony/Panasonic/Samsung Blu-Ray player. But this player does a comparable job.

Set up was simple. I just connected a high powered Mediabridge HDMI cable (which I bought through Amazon) from my Sony Bravia Z series 40" HDTV to the Sylvania 501SL9 and then connected the Sylvania adapter from the back of the player to a wall outlet.

Initially, I had a problem getting the remote to respond. But once I put in the included Panasonic batteries properly, the remote responded well. Load times are quick (10 to 15 seconds). I pressed the set up button on the remote to configure the player properly for audio and HDMI resolution (1080p24). It is important to go into the settings and make this change as the default HDMI display resolution is 720p. I also changed the audio to deep surround sound, which I like better.

The only thing I did not like about the Sylvania remote was that I had to use my Sony remote to change the sound volume. I could not find that feature on the Sylvania remote.

It should be noted that this player does not have an ethernet or USB port so if you need to upgrade the software, you will have to call customer service at Sylvania to send an upgrade disc unless you already possess some advanced CD burning software for a bin file.

I've only had the Sylvania Blu-Ray player for 4 days, but I've already watched 2 blu-ray movies and loved it; it was a tremendous experience with no problems whatsoever.

So, if you want to pay considerably less than the name brands and get a great Blu-Ray player, consider the Sylvania 501SL9.

Update 5/19/09:

I've watched about 15 Blu-Ray movies over the past 3 months and this player has performed flawlessly. Moreover, I finally was able to update the firmware (1.108) for this unit. The program that allowed me to do this was gBurner. I downloaded the bin file from the Funai web site and burned it to Disc (DVD+R) and couldn't believe it when it worked. I followed the instructions from Funai (on the web site) very carefully. Prior to gBurner, I tried so many different programs, but just got error messages. Very few programs support burning bin files and the ones that do are so complicated. At one point I had given up. But I finally did it, thanks to gBurner.

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This was my first (and only) Blu-Ray Player, which was purchased last December (2008). Overall, I was very pleased with the picture and sound quality. It was easy to use and other than the occasional "skip" on a dirty disc, it worked fine. The time to load a Blu-Ray disc was quite good for a low-end player (at least from what I can tell compared with the specs and reviews of other players).

The SD slot was a nice additional feature and since my DSLR uses an SD card, I was able to quickly show high-def slide shows.

Unfortunately, just after 6 months of use, it stopped reading discs. Initially it would say "no disc" after loading a CD, DVD, or Blu Ray disc. Eventually, the problem changed and after saying "Loading" for a long time it would display a disc error with a message the disc might be unplayable. Note that the parts warranty for this player is a full year, but for labor it is only 90 days.

Oh well. Perhaps I just received a lemon or had bad luck, but I'd be reluctant to buy this again and will stick with a more well-known brand next time.

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I have had this player now for 3 months, it works well. Excellent picture and Sound, very good up conversion. No problems, until I tried to upgrade the firmware. This unit is made by Funai. The Funai site asked me to check the upgrade version. No number, Funai said that I needed an upgrade. So I downloaded the file, unzipped it, burnt it to a cd, it did not work. I had also downloaded the upgrade instructions and followed them to the letter. So I called Funai, I was told that I had probably made an error. I tried again, same result. Called again, told that I had to burn it to a DVD, I explained that the site said I could use a CD. This was wrong, DVD only. Once again I tried, didn't work. To cut a long story short, I was told to change the CD burner, CD burning software, CD + R, CD -R, and so on. So after 5 CD's, 2 DVD's (+ and -0), it still will not up grade the player. If anyone else has had this problem please let me know. (nbailey005@cfl.rr.com) I'm still trying to make the file work

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Purchased the Sylvania Blu-Ray player Model NB-501sL9 today at Radio Shack for pus tax. I truly wanted to purchase here at Amazon.com or their affiliate Buy.com for the much lower sale price of with NO TAX and NO SHIPPING!! Why didn't I?? Well, for the past 3 weeks I have been getting UPS delivered packages to my door that belong to neighbors and I end up delivering them in person. They have the same 2 last numbers for a street address but the 1st 2 numbers are not even close. I guess it's the Holiday rush or these UPS guys can't read very well. The last straw was 2 days ago when they left a package at my door for a neighbor 2 houses down with our house numbers NOT similar at all! So I paid about more but at least I carried it out of the store!

Anyway, back to business Last month I purchased the Insignia NS-BRDVD, which is BEST BUYS house brand. It had received excellent reviews from Consumer reports (not quite as flattering from CNET) so I purchased it on sale for The unit is fanastic! It plays everything I feed it! Excellent Blu-ray Picture quality and VERY good upconversion on my old DVD's. I wanted to purchase another for our den but they were sold out at BEST BUY. So, after doing a lot of searching I discovered (also through Consumer Reports and some Video Forums online) that the Sylvania NB-501SL9 is a clone to the Insignia Model. Actually there are 3 alike-The Insignia-Sylvania and Magnavox (NB500MG9).

The load time are much faster than the 1st generation blu-ray players. It took about 30 seconds to get to the blu-ray screen and another 15 seconds to be able to click on play (provided you don't have to fast forward through a lot of previews). Start-up for regulas DVD's are like any other regular DVD player-fast. I do a lot of recording from DISH NETWORK-especially HDNET, TNT, and MGM Hi definition movies. They look fantastic on the Sylvania/Insignia. The only disappointment is the fact that on some (many actually) Blu-Ray discs you cannot RESUME when you hit STOP to take a break. It will start again and go through all the previews. This is NOT the fault of the Player. The resume function works on recorded DVD's and most standard DVD's.

I will provide updates as I view more Blu-ray DVD,s as I just received my first 3 Discs from NETFLIX. UH-OH,the DVD MAMA MIA was freezing/skipping during some parts of the movie as my wife just now informed me. I just restarted it and it played through with no more freezes/skips. Could be the way the rentals are handled (dirty/hard to see scratches etc.)

I am backafter viewing "Chronicles of Narnia/Price Caspian", and "HANCOCK". They both looked fantastic and played without a problem. (both NETFLIX rentals). I have aso viewed 5 other Blu-ray Discs that I purchased from Amazon (great discounts) that I was "lucky" to have correctly delivered to MY address. Although they were viewed on the Insignia, I would expect identical results from the Sylvania. To further identify them as clones-the Manuals are the same and the face of the units and remotes are identical. We are completely satisfied with our purchase of the Sylvania NB-501SL9. As of today 26 Dec 08 Amazon still has it on sale for . I wish I could have taken advantage of that deal!!

I got this Blu-Ray player in a bundle deal on a whim at my local Blockbuster for $199 about a year ago. They had it packaged with The Dark Knight and 4 free blu-ray rentals. As far as Blu-Ray performance goes, it's great. It loads a little slow, but so do just about all Blu-Ray players under $500. Picture quaility is brilliant in 1080p on a Toshiba Regza 42" LCD. It outputs Dolby TrueHD and DTSHD Master Audio just fine to my 7.1 Surround system, but if you have the settings off just the wrong little bit you can run into trouble with the audio not coming out as pure lossless. Make sure you have Downsampling turned off and the BD Audio out set to HD (not mixed) otherwise it'll just downsample everything to 5.1 Dolby Digital.

Now, the DVD playback sort of sucks. The upconversion is so-so but while the player has NO issue outputting Dolby and DTS via blu-ray it WILL NOT output DTS or Dolby Digital via DVD's. All it does is downsample everything to a 2.1 Mix, giving you a huge loss in audio quality when watching DVD's.

One final note, many people have said you cannot update the firmware on this player due to a lack of ethernet. This is not true. There are firmware updates available on Sylvania's website and it's easy to due by simply burning a CD.

If you are simply looking for a cheap way to watch blu-ray movies, look no further. I've had the player for nearly a year, and have had no issues at all. I'll admit I was heasitant at first due to the lack of a name brand (I could have gotten a Panasonic, Samsung or Sony player for $50 more) but I am very pleased. Great player for someone who knows what they are doing but wants something cheap. Would also work great as a second player to watch BD's in a bedroom or something as well.

RCA EZ5100R Small Wonder Palm Style HD 1080P Digital Camcorder (Black/Slver)

I been through a Ton of Video Cameras the past year now and my Uncle who is a Huge Video camera enthusiast had ran across this wonderful little RCA camcorder last week...First off I would like to mention...Its Point and Shoot so even a kid can use it..it does have a small menu to switch up some settings but not too much to be complicated or anything...and It feels fragile...and it has No Image Stabilization which for this specific camcorder does not matter...Keep it on a tripod or hold it steady and your good!

The Little LED light on the front only shines 2 feet in front of you..So grab a Flash light and use it instead in Pitch black..Im just being Honest here...

Also..the record Button is directly on the back of the camcorder so it wil be easily pushed IF your not carful but I have never pushed it yet accidentally...so its OK where it is...Easy to reach Zoom button...and The Camera only does 5MPs...the other resolutions are Interpolated to 12MPs...so you only get True 5MP Pictures from this camcorder!

But It has some of the BEST video quality all around..I recently bought the JVC Everio GZ-HD620 and it was NOT a good video camera for what its was worth. I ended up selling it 2 weeks after i used it and continued searching for another Video camera that was all away around better for all types of situations...This Camera is Great In Low Light..The color stays in the video and doesnt wash out like it does on all High Definiton Video camcorders (Except this one)...Out doors the video is PERFECT!..I cant express that enough...No jerkiness at all on your computer with videos taken indoors or outdoors....One Great thing is You can go upto a 32GB class 6 sdhc card with no problems and if you fill one up then just switch it out for another..Simple!...That gives you 10 hours of HD video (1440x1080) on a 32gb card ..Plenty of Time for anything you may want to take videos of...Plenty!

This camcorder does create you videos in .MOV files...Not a Problem at all... .MOV files work with anything on your PC, DVD player, Tivo and much more...and you can Burn your videos to a DVD and just simply play them in HD too and they work Perfect....Like I said ..This is one of the best HD digital camcorders out there right now...Battery Life is Fair (3 to 4 hours)...Pick up a spare battery if you wish...and The Top HD resolution is in 1440x1080 and the second best is 1280x720 so that is Perfect resolution for Videos for anything...and that means your PC will play them fine and your Tivo will play them fine and your DVD player will play them fine as well when burned to a DVD...

Buy this Camcorder..The color is Great and doesnt wash out and it has easy to use Video files like .MOV files and it uses upto 32GBs sdhc cards which you can swap out for another easily...plus much much more...and windows users can simply Install the software that comes IN the camcorder itsself and work with your videos that way....Also easy to upload to youtube and Facebook...and much more!

I am really sorry that you had to even look at this page on amazon. This camera DOES NOT WORK. RCA also has no customer service. (If you do not believe me check out the 275 that do in the comments section.)I would say the customer service at RCA was horrid but-IT DOES NOT EXIST. THE WEBSITE DOES NOT OFFER ANY COMMUNICATION WITH A PERSON. (whether it be phone # or online chat or SOMETHING.) It would not charge. And while it was plugged in, it had less than A MINUTE OF HD VIDEO. It honestly does not work. please do not get it. (However, I was able to return it with amazon with a full refund. Go, Amazon! Boo, RCA!) I beg you not to waste 100 bucks on this. It does not work, AT ALL.

(Please feel free to comment if you have any questions, I will answer!)

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This Camcorder is a great choice for those who are experienced or not experienced in cinematography. It has a sleek design and a great location for all of the buttons.

The features are great. There are quality settings of HD (1080p), Sports Mode (480p), and Web Quality (240pI think)...

The zoom is great, it zooms in 5x and then has an extra zoom that is a bit slower, but is great. It's focus is really good, but when you zoom in fast and far, it takes a while to focus, or hold the camera still (tripod).

Comes with a carry case with belt loop, which is great.(in case people were wondering if it came with a case or not. says "Small Wonder" across the top flap.)

Overall it is a great camcorder and is definitely worth the money (for me it was 141) and is awesome.

Cons: does not have a lens cap cover... which I'm fine with, but keep the lens covered (by keeping it in the case)

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You can record 5 hours, but the battery only lasts for one hour. I would think the battery life would be a lot better than that. It takes nice video, but you better have an outlet and charger handy!

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For the price you can't go wrong! Plus it gives great clear videos! I used it for a parade I was doing for Columbus day! I have no complaints! I purchased this unit from the seller and was given fast service and had the recorder in plenty of time for my parade and was pleased that I even had a clear video of my parade. I will order from the seller again and will recommend them to all my friends and business assoicaties. I can't thank them enough!

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Canon PIXMA iP5000 Photo Printer

Photos printed on photo paper would be hard to distinguish between those that came from a lab. Text quality is better than the older s and i series printers, but not quite laser quality on plain paper.

Works best with Canon's photo paper, but have had pretty good results with other glossy paper like, sepom (not as glossy but waterproof!) and red river paper.

With all of the specifications to compare (e.g. pages per minute, dots per inch, number of different color cartridges), it is easy to forget cost of ownership. A year from now, that same stack of vacation and holiday pictures could cost you hundreds of dollars more with one brand compared to another.

Drop for drop, printer ink is probably the most expensive liquid you'll ever buy, and all printer companies want to lock you into buying their ink cartridges. Canon is no different in this regard, but by keeping cost of ink reasonable, customers who print a lot of pictures won't find they need a second mortgage to afford the ip5000.

Because printer companies "buy" market share by selling the printer at or below cost (This is basically how razor companies and video game console makers operate), they only profit from the consumables (ink cartridges, but also paper). This doesn't make them greedy any more than taking a loss on the front end made them altruistic. It does, however, make it important that you understand this: while many specs are pretty comparable, cost-per-picture varies very, very widely by manufacturer. Forewarned is forearmed.

Aside form the confidence of knowing that I could be spending a lot more for cartridges, my experience with the ip5000 has been nothing but positive.

The included CD and quick-start guide walk you through setup step-by-step. Consumer electronics companies are not always, ahem, known for clarity of user manuals or supporting material.

Text quality on plain paper is very good, though not quite up to the standard of either of the much more expensive laser printers I compared it to. In fairness, this is a photo printer first, but it will do a fine job on envelopes, presentations, and letters.

Photo quality, naturally, is highly dependent on paper. The only bad experience was accidentally using laser paper and having the ink smear. Use the right paper and whenever possible, use glossy paper stock for pictures.

The design is excellent. Not too many years ago, almost all printers were boxy, angular and downright homely. This shows how far printers have come. Its polished black finish is reflective (like a good auto paint job), offsetting the matte titanium-look trim around the edges. It manages to look smaller than it actually is and will not visually dominate a desk.

Overall, a very well executed printer. Recommended.

Buy Canon PIXMA iP5000 Photo Printer Now

My Epson C82's print heads got clogged so I went on the hunt for a new printer. After a couple hours of investigation I decided to go with the HP Business Inkjet 1200d. I was very excited until I got home and hooked it up. I was very dissatisfied with the install, resolution quality, color tone, and software.

I took the printer back a got the ip5000 by Canon. Install was a snap, print quality is excellent, software is user friendly and packed with features. I am very pleased with the ip5000 and Highly recommend!!!

Read Best Reviews of Canon PIXMA iP5000 Photo Printer Here

I'm repeating a post I made under the iP4000, the printer I bought, because these 2 printers are very similar. there may be something here that could impact your decision about the iP5000 (or be useful in your use of it) too.

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I knew I was going with a Canon printer because of their reputation for having reasonably priced ink compared to all the other manufacturers (hp being the most expensive to use). I intended to buy one from their PIXMA series (said to be the fastest printers on the market; all offer Duplex/two-sided printing which I wanted). I really struggled between their high-end iP8500 and mid-range iP5000 & iP4000. I ultimately eliminated the 8500 and 5000 because neither had dual black ink cartridges (4000 has a 13 ml. for photos, and a bigger 27 ml. one for text). In the 8500 I didn't want to have to be replacing 8 individual ink cartridges (some say those extra tanks don't really make much difference, just cost more). While the 5000 had greater resolution than the 4000, my decision was also impacted by what I thought was a reputable review (PC magazine, I believe). The review said that the 5000 generated better text and graphics than the 4000, however at the expense of photos that weren't as good and that printed slower. Another factor in my decision was that I could purchase the 4000 for 1/3 the retail price, dirt cheap compared to any other potential printer purchase out there. (Best Buy price matched with Office Depot, I had Best Buy RewardsZone certificates, a Best Buy gift card, and there was manufacturer rebate.)

After a solid week of Internet research, I ultimately did purchase the 4000 and I am very pleased with it. Below I've summarized my observations from my first week of usage of my new printer. Maybe I can save somebody from some of the research effort that I put into this purchase.

DESIGN: It's beautiful, but it's black shiny parts are potentially a dust-magnet. There's no printer cable included. I had a spare on hand (it uses USB 2.0 cable with A/B connectors). Radio Shack was less than Best Buy, at $24.99 for a 6-foot. You could do better on the Internet via Amazon.com or eBay.com. Error messaging is cool; just count the amber blinks of the usually green power button, then check your manual for what it means. This thing is FAST! Text ink is pigment-based (longer lasting, less fading, rated 75-80 yrs., I think) and the colors are dye-based (rated 25-30 years, I think). Duplex capability is awesome.

POWER: Canon says they only recommend plugging the printer directly into a wall outlet. I have a Curtis Command Center power center, under my monitor. It conveniently locates power buttons for all of my computer components, as well as offering surge protection. I've used it for years with no difficulties. While I can turn my new printer off via the Curtis power buttons, I can't turn the printer back on with it. The actual button on the printer must be pressed to turn it back on. My printer is not located immediately next to the computer, so I now have to stand up to physically hit that actual printer button.

QUIET MODE: For me, this feature is worthless. Canon says that using it will slow the print speed of the printer. Upon installation, this mode is turned off by default. In regular mode, this printer is pretty noisy when it starts out (much more than the hp DeskJet 825c that I just passed on to Mom), but when it's printing sounds like most every other printer I've used. When it's first starting out, some of those noises are a little scary, like something might be broken ... but it's not.

AUTO-FEEDER (top): It doesn't hold the advertised 150 sheets for most of us. Canon bases that particular estimate on 17 lb. paper! (Who uses that?! Almost everybody uses 20 lb.!) My very first text prints were from the Auto Feeder (top). They all printed extremely crooked until I reduced the paper stack quite a bit.

Standing in front of the printer, with a stack of paper inserted, it appears that the right bottom corner is forced to bend outward slightly from the printer design. Despite a number of attempts to reload the paper (after turning the paper various ways), this outward bend remained. (It can be kind of pressed into place though.) When I reduced the paper in the Auto Feed tray by half (that I'd previously filled to the capacity line marker), I still had the outward bend, but the crooked print problem was resolved.

The manual offers this work-around for a continued problem: Use only 1 sheet of paper in the Auto Feeder, or place multiple pages there, but by one sheet at a time (vs. an entire stack all at once).

PRINT SPEED: My printer is blazingly fast. I'm not experiencing any of the 15-second first page print delay that so many reviewers complain about with this printer. There's maybe a 5-second delay at most! Perhaps that delay sometimes occurs on the first print after you've switched between the auto-feed or cassette trays, but I am pretty much not experiencing any problem with this.

INK DEPLETION OPTICAL SENSORS: They'll monitor the individual ink tanks. When a cartridge has less than 20% left, you'll be warned. Canon's printers will work with an empty cartridge, unlike the Epsons (they lock up until you replace).

INK USE: This printer doesn't suck it down. I've been using it heavily for a week now, generating all kinds of highest quality 8x10", 5x7" and 4x6" photo prints on Canon's best papers, and all my ink tanks still look full. I'm amazed and impressed! Opened ink is recommended to be used up within 6 mos.

BLACK INK: Canon's advised me that unless in Draft Quality mode (the only mode in which the black text ink cartridge is solely used), a small percentage of cyan and magenta ink will be used (for high-density/high-quality black text or photo-realistic quality images).

DRAFT QUALITY DUPLEX TEXT IS FAINT: I can print Draft quality non-Duplex text that is perfectly acceptable. Despite numerous attempts to improve this for Draft quality Duplex, including trying a higher quality paper, there was no improvement. In Draft quality Duplex mode, the prints are almost like those from an old dot-matrix printer! I've only been able to get anything close to satisfactory when selecting Standard quality for Duplex printing. This doesn't make sense to me ... why should there be a difference just from selecting Duplex and changing nothing else. There has to be something different about the way the printer handles a Duplex vs. non-Duplex page. I sent an inquiry to Canon, and they really didn't explain why this occurs in their reply. "As Draft quality indicates sacrificing some print quality in order to achieve faster print output, if faster print output and duplexing are required, there may be a noticeable decrease in quality."

PAPER MEDIA OPTIONS: Some of the Canon info materials are not current, but Canon confirmed for me that this printer will print any media listed in the driver's Properties selection, including Transparencies and T-Shirt transfers. (The driver does not list Credit Card or Stickers media.) Because Canon's bundled software is distributed with a number of their printer models, media choices that will not work with your particular printer model could appear in them. The 4000, cannot print to Credit Card media (the 5000 may be able to, but I've already mentioned why I didn't select that model). I don't believe it can print Stickers either. I inquired with Canon about why they state not to print to postcard media, but they didn't answer my question. Note that while Canon recommends you not use non-Canon media above 28 lbs. with this printer, you'll find numerous online reviews that state this is incorrect. Perhaps Canon just wants to drive sales of its own media.

CANON PHOTO PRO & PLUS MEDIA: I printed 4x6 glossy media samples of both, the two highest levels in their line. While the Pro paper had a bit heavier weight to it, it didn't have much print quality difference from the Plus paper. I don't feel the Pro paper is worth its exorbitant price; there's just not enough of a difference. The Plus paper is a bit lighter weight, but it's nice too; and it prices out to match my local Wal-marts digital photo prints. I even used an 8x photo loupe to really examine them closely. A loupe's an inexpensive and really worthwhile purchase from your local camera shop (Natl. Camera Exchange, etc.) if you really want to look at a photo (or anything else) really up close. Amazing just how much texture you'll see when looking at a plain piece of copy paper!

BLACK & WHITE PRINTS: Some complain about the quality of these photos on the Canon printers. I read a recommendation to use Canon Matte Photo Paper for the best results. I also read that matte prints will last 4x as long as a glossy print, and when stored behind glass or plastic could potentially last forever (from fading, deterioration).

CD/DVD LABELS: I talked with an Epson rep in an Office Depot store a few weeks ago. He said that Epson holds the U.S. patent for direct-printing on CD/DVDs and that this is why Canon can't offer the feature yet (he said that patent would be expiring soon). You'll see that the Canon printers are almost set up for it (cover blocks area and parts are missing, except in the UK version which does offer the feature). Canon says that they just "choose" to not offer this feature in the U.S. market, although they know that "Epson and at least 5 other printer manufacturers in the USA are releasing direct CD/DVD print features." As an alternative, I asked Canon for a recommendation of a standard adhesive label media that would work acceptably, but they didn't answer my question. This isn't a feature I figured that I'd be likely to use a lot, so it's not very important to me. My research showed there are lots of disadvantages to using it anyway (takes forever to dry, not waterproof, doesn't look as good as adhesive labels). For info on this, check out nealslade.com. He's got an entire section just on this topic.

CASSETTE TRAY IS CONFUSING: It took me a bit to figure out how to operate this and I don't like how the sliders don't move easily. Pretty cheaply made. Hope it will be redesigned better in a future model, but this isn't a big issue for me.

WHICH TRAY TO USE: Many reviewers say they keep photo paper in the cassette to keep it protected from dust etc. Reputable sources say it is not a good idea to keep photo paper in the cassette for any length of time because the paper will begin to age (yellow). They recommend inserting photo paper into the auto feeder instead (top vertical tray), only on an as-needed basis. This also keeps photo paper from having to go through a tighter turning print path. The cassette's U-path can lead to jams and cracked paper coatings. The J-path of the auto feeder is a more gentle turning print path. I keep plain paper in my cassette and use the auto feeder intermittently for photo paper and other needs.

BUNDLED SOFTWARE: This stuff is usually junk, but I do like all 3 programs Canon includes: Easy PhotoPrint (no-brainer photo printing), Photo Record (scrapbook generator) and Easy-Web Print (no more Internet prints with a cutoff right margin!). Easy-WebPrint doesn't seem to have a way that you can designate a print page range though, which is it's only negative (especially when you're Duplex printing and there's a 3rd page with just a single line of text; the printer has to print that single line as well as pulling it back in for Duplex to print a blank page!). It does offer printing just a selection from a web page though (so I forgive it a little for that!).

MAINTENANCE: I haven't had any issues with nozzles clogging (Epson sounds like its notorious for this), but my ownership is early yet. NeilSlade.com recommends running a color print once a day to help prevent this. He also recommends not running the CLEAN NOZZLES function very often, because it moves some ink into the printers waste tank. If the waste tank gets filled, you'll need to pay to have the printer serviced to empty it. He says it's better to do some photo prints instead to limit the possibility of this occurring.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Canon's replies to my e-mails have been unusually fast, which has impressed me. I made numerous inquiries and their replies usually came the very same day, often within a few short hours. They seem personalized too ... not the canned replies from so many others (that often don't really answer the questions asked). Terrific job on that, even though they ignored a couple of things that I asked. They even have a dedicated toll-free number than you can use as much as you'd like for the first 30-days you have the printer.

EXCELLENT RESOURCES: During my research, I found these websites to be particularly useful: steves-digicams.com, tomshardware.com and neilslade.com. Neil's got some excellent info on alternate sources of paper and ink, where you can clearly save some money. It's clear to me that buying from your local store is NOT your best option! Use the Internet. If you don't have much time for investigating, as usual Amazon.com can beat any local store on prices and product availability. eBay can have some great deals too. Of course Internet purchases require a little planning.

SUMMARY: There are good and bad points to all printers available, but I am very satisfied with this purchase. I tried to just detail the info that I wish I had found all in one place. Hopefully it helps you!

Want Canon PIXMA iP5000 Photo Printer Discount?

I read all the reviews I could, the big reviews complained about speed and claimed the photo's didnt look as good as the existing printers from Cannon. I have to disagree, I can spit out a borderless 4x6 in about 40 seconds and use half the ink of other printers, and if it ever gets clogged, you can change out the print heads too, as long as they dont cost too much. Ink on a "major online auction site" can be found for 12.95 for all 5 tanks with free shipping. Cant beat that.

I will never again pay Lexmark for an overpriced quick to dry out ink refill. The color quality is spot on, and when held up to the prints from Wal-Marts digital developing look the same.

Prints from my Sony DSC 1.3MP camera dont look so great though, but from my Minolta Dimage 3.2MP they look awesome. Just dont plan on photo quality unless you have a good camera to start with.

I do wish they had enabled the CD/DVD print tray on the US, models, it looks like something that we could possibly make work by getting a driver and removing the blocking plate though. hmmm.

I love the duplex option, kind of rare in a home bound ink jet printer. The dual paper inputs is nice also, I keep regular paper in the bottom tray and feed all the photo, label and card stuff in the top tray. Its very quiet, you cant hear it in the next room. It doesnt shake at all like one reviewer said it did. All in all I love it.

Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe - 4-channel Internal Cable TV Tuner Card for CableCARD

I was an early adopter of HTPC technology. Windows Media Center and I go all the way back to the original version in Windows XP. Since then, Windows Media Center has matured nicely in Windows 7 and is finally ready for Prime Time. Even if you're not a techy, I strongly suggest looking at this technology, especially if you're fed up with the substandard DVRs the CableCo's charge too much buck for too little bang.

DVR v1.0 used an ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner. Since there are multiple people in my house, and the ATI tuner can handle only one channel at a time, the Ceton card was a welcome upgrade for DVR v2.0. The installation and configuration is straightforward and will take about 1 hour depending on your level of expertise. Here's a rough outline of the steps you'll need to follow.

1. Pickup a CableCard from your CableCo. (They may tell you a home visit is mandatory, violating an FCC directive. Read on below.)

2. Open up the PC and insert the Ceton InfiniTV card in an empty PCIx slot.

3. Insert the CableCard into the Ceton InfiniTV slot.

4. Visit the Ceton website to install the latest drivers and firmware.

5. Connect your coax cable and reboot.

6. Start Windows Media Center and follow the setup wizards. The first wizard certifies your PC as Cable Ready. The second establishes your channel lineup. Typical configuration time is about 30 minutes.

During your journey to build the perfect HTPC, there are three possible hurdles you may encounter, which are surmountable given some time, patience, and tenacity.

1. Faulty card

2. Poor signal strength

3. Reluctance from CableCo to support CableCard technology

I experienced two of these hurdles, which I'll share with you in the hopes it will bring you to a speedier resolution.

The first card I received from Ceton had a faulty OOB (Out of Band) tuner, which has been documented on several websites devoted to Windows HTPC enthusiasts. To make matters worse, when I initially explained the issue to their tech support department, they ignored my detailed analysis of the issue and sent a canned reply requesting that I jump though a bunch of time-consuming hoops that they would have realized were unnecessary had they actually read my email. After I became more assertive regarding the situation, they apologized, and overnighted a replacement card, which has been running without issue for a month. Since Ceton is a new company, I expect missteps such as these. In the end, they did the right thing and made me a happy customer. I can now record up to 4 programs simultaneously and stream those programs to any XBOX 360 in the house or any Windows 7 PC in the world. (Try doing that with the CableCo DVR!) The recorded programs look and sound great and so does live TV. The diagnostic software is useful and well organized.

As people here and elsewhere have pointed out, the CableCo's are very reluctant to support this technology, even though the FCC has directed them to. Since they will lose substantial income from your DVR rental cancellation, the sales staff will do everything in their power to talk you out of using a CableCard. Then the technician who visits your home will most likely not understand CableCard technology and know even less about Windows Media Center. In other words... they are going to make the whole process as frustrating as humanly possible and you're pretty much on your own. For example, Comcast/xFinity insisted that they had to send out a technician (even though the FCC rules say that they must allow customer self-installs). Once the technician arrived, he had no idea how to set anything up. And to add insult to injury, they wanted to charge me for the visit!

Bottom line is: Why am I paying for an untrained technician to make a home visit that according to the FCC shouldn't be necessary in the first place?

So if your CableCo tries to bully you into submission, ask to speak with a supervisor and refer the supervisor to the rules listed below:

* CableCARD fees have to be the same for everyone, no matter which package you have.

* If your cable company allows any self installs, they must allow CableCARD self-installs.

* Cable companies must support SDV for CableCARD users -this was implied before, now it is black and white.

* By default, all new deployments must be M-Cards (unless you actually request a S-Card).

* Cable companies can include an IP interface in set-top-boxes lieu of a 1394 port.

* One way HD boxes without CableCARDs are no longer forbidden and they don't require IP interfaces.

The irony of course is that DVRs will be obsolete in 5-10 years thanks to advances in on-demand services (Internet TV in Windows Media Center, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, etc) combined with faster broadband and cellular data speeds. But for now, despite the hurdles I described, this is truly the best DVR option out there. Yes, it's a little pricey, but the money you save in DVR rental fees will pay for the card. If you can get past possible equipment failure and your CableCo's frustrating reluctance to support technology the FCC directed them to, it's all worth it in the end.

My HTPC Specs: goo.gl/dHBKr

I give the InfiniTV 4/5 since the first card was faulty and because the repair process wasn't as smooth as it could have been.

The Ceton 4 tuner cablecard tuner is a marvelous piece of hardware that can solve a long standing problem of how to have High Defintion Cable TV throughout your home without paying $17 a month for each cable box for each screen in each room.

First a warning, your cable provider can really turn an install into a pain if they are imcompetent, not an unusual occurence.

I had no problem installing and getting my Ceton up and running within an hour of it being delivered. I had gone to my local Comcast store earlier in the day and picked up a cablecard. My Ceton was delivered around 2 PM. I had the tuner and cablecard paired up and activated by 3 PM, the big 82" in the living room was looking good.. Wasn't long before it was working in the bedroom on the plasma, then in my den on my work PC and finally the Notebook as well.

Comcast ufortunately managed to completely farkle my account setup details when I returned the original cablecard I had been using in my Tivo a few days later... The Tivo HD is a great device which the Ceton has sent to the showers by the way.

After returning my old cablecard to the Comcast store, the rep there had through total incompetence ended up disabling my cablecard in the Ceton at the house. Drove all the way home only to find that cable TV had stopped working properly. I had to to make another tirp back to the Comcast office again to straighten out the serial number issue. I had no idea what was going on but the phone techs at Comcast support were able to see her mistake but were not allowed/empowered to fix. So back I go to the Comcast store to argue with them for awhile before they would even consider they screwed up. Even after the billing mistake was correctd (wrong cablecard serial number, a typo by the rep supposedly, makes you wonder what is the point of using the bar code scanner to check them in and out). I drove back home thinking she had corrected the information but when I got home and reinstalled the cablecard it still would not work correctly.

This whole sequence of events was so suprising as everything had been fine just 30 mintues before I left the house yesterday to return the Tivo's old cablecard. Heck the Ceton had been running several days already. The tech I now spoke to assured me getting the serial numbers fixed on the account was all I needed to get my Ceton up and running again. I hate to beat a dead horse but the customer service rep that scanned the cards with a bar code scanner so it still eludes me how she could make a mistake on the serial numbers. The only thing I can figure is that it is Comcast I was dealing with after all.

Back home again and back on the phone again, the local Comcast tech support group could not fix the next issue, a duplicate Host ID problem, one that resulted from the mistake made on cablecard serial numbers in the Comcast store, a mistake supposedly fixed. I was about to lose it. My issue had to be escalated, the local office tried but they either did not know what they were doing or lacked the empowerment to make the necessary changes, they tried by gosh, they tried. Thank goodness I have a speakerphone.

Another team took over my case and resolved the problem the next day. Pure imcompetence on the part of the employee at the Comcast store led to all that touble, arghh! Anyway, after many phone calls, a lot of driving back and forth and a lot of standing in line at the Comcast Store I was nearly at my wits end. It is probably a good thing I am not writing a review of Comcast Customer Service as it would be scathing. There are two points I am making here, cable companies just don't seem to be able to do things right and when it comes to cablecards they are sort of deer in headlights and what is so simple in theory, can be a nighmare in practice. The Ceton is great! Good luck with that cable company of yours!

Anyway, assuming your cable company doesn't make your life completely miserable, the Ceton is a great solution, especially if you have the infrastructure to fully support it. It takes a good bit of equipment besides the PC it will reside in before the Ceton's 4 tuners are going to be taken full advantage of. Whole house video is what the Ceton really offers that is new. First you need a very good cable signal going to the Ceton otherwise the picture is going to pixelate and it will ramdomaly drop channels. Ceton provides tools for you to view your signal strenght and quality. I bought one of the Motorola Broadband Distribution Amps offered here on Amazon to bring my cable signal up to snuff. You can't run splitters willy nilly, and if you are doing it right the Ceton does the job of several boxes and you shouldn't need all those splitters reducing the signal to zero.

For reference, the same signal that made my Tivo happy was not sufficient for the Ceton with the latest firmware. Give the Ceton a top flight signal and it will lock to your cable provider's programming very well. Perhaps future firmware will allow the Ceton to work with weaker less clean signals, it really needs a good line, seriously! Tivo has had years to refine their firmware so it is not surpsing that what was good enough to make the Tivo happy is not good enough for the Ceton.

So now that you have gotten a cablecard paired up in the Ceton and solved your signal strength issues...

Okay, what do I mean by infrastructure?

Well 4 tuners is a lot, and unless you are recording every program on the dial you will probably want to share some of those tuners with either other Windows 7 PCs or with some Windows Media Extenders or maybe even a healthy mix of both. You will need to be going through HDMI to your displays big or small.

I used the Ceton Network Tuner Utility to reserve two tuners for my main HTPC, one for my main desktop pc and one for my main notebook. I also have an older HP Windows Media Extender plugged in for good measure. All of them are nicely playing any and all of the channels available though my Comcast service tier. I already had cat 5 ethernet running through my house . I also have a 1gb D-link router and plenty of 1gb switches. Gigabit (1000 mbps) is the only way to go if you are steaming lots of content around your network at the same time. That stuff is really cheap these days.

What does all this give me? I pretty much have HD cable TV in every room that matters with just a single cablecard running in the Ceton. No cable boxes, no eqipment rentals, in case you don't know the first cablecard is free. I hate paying the cable company to rent anything, I even own my cable mode, bought a Motorola right here on Amazon .. and who could ever justify putting HD Cable DVRs in every room?

With the Ceton it is not only possible to have HD Cable in every room,it is practical and if you have the infrastucture you can recoup the Ceton price in 2 years easily. I confess I had all the gear needed to make this work up and running for sometime as I had the local broadcast HD channels running into every room for a couple of years now. If it was not for Comcast, the Ceton install would have been a drop in, no muss, no fuss, cakewalk of an install for me.

Since we mentioned HD Cable boxes, let me also confess I can't stand them and that is why I have been using a Tivo HD for HD cable in my living room since 2007. The Windows Media Center Interface for DVR is much better than what is in any cable company box, better in a number of ways than even the Tivo and you can add more storage for recording whenever the fancy strikes you.

I have a very new Dell Notebook with the latest wireless technology from Intel in it. It is 802.11n but with triple streams, that means it delivers speeds up to 450mbs.. what that gives you is a notebook that handles HD Cable pretty darn well over wireless. I can be out on the patio watching HD cable TV without a network cord, if I ever get a router with the features to match the Intel Nic in the Dell,I could probably stream HD cable to more wireless devices, maybe even watch HD Cable TV streamed to my neighbor's house.

Your individual results using wireless are hard to predict, every house is different and wireless routers vary in quality immensely as do wireless nics. The newest latest Netgear top of the line router, has the hardware to fully support the speed you can get with triple steams, that new technology provides for uninterrupted rock solid HD streaming in most normal environments. But, in your house and with your existing equipment, succes in streaming HD can be stated this way, in some homes with the existing wireless gear, streaming HD works just fine, in others using even fairly new gear will only drive you crazy.

So again your mileage will vary and no promises when it comes to HD TV over wireless.

Wireless HD did not work in my house before the new Dell it worked but it needs to be close to perfect or it is really annoying. I have other notebooks with older nics, I won't even bother with them for HD wireless streaming. The Intel nic in my new Dell notebook is the latest and probably the best PC notebook wireless nic in existence today. It is only now that wirless routers are starting to catch up and support the full wireless speed and bandwith of this amazing Intel Nic. So wireless HD cable can definitely be done if you have the enviroment and your gear is good enough.

The Ceton is not cheap, but nothing else will allow me to watch HD cable in a Media Center Window in one corner of the PC's monitor I am using it to type this review on. This is happening while at the very same time my wfie is watching HD Cable in the master bedroom on the plasma. Not enough HD Cable, the HTPC is also playing a basketball game on the big set in the living room. Someone else could be watching another channel on the patio with the Dell notebook and if I had another Media Center extender (I will shortly) someone else could be sinulataneouwly watching TV in yet another bedroom all from a single Ceton InfiniTV 4 installed in my HTPC.

The Ceton is also coexisting nicely with my HD Homerun dual ATSC tuner grabbing free HDTV from the rooftop antenna. Actually the two tuners (Ceton and HD Homerun) complement each other and the integration is seamless in the Media Center Guide. If the same program is available via OTA I will always watch it from the rooftop antenna, the picture is frankly better. Now that is not due to some limitation of the Ceton. It is just because the cable companies compress the signal to run more channels over the wire, they sacrifice piture quality to do this. Theorectically, there could be six different HDTV shows in action at my houese at the same time using the Ceton and HD Homerun dual ATSC tuners I have on tap. I actually have another HD Homerun sitting on the table over here. I just don't need that many tuners going at the same time.

So if you have the PCs, have the network wiring in place, verified the cable signal strength and maybe even have some Media Center Extender(s) then you can do with the Ceton what has been a practical impossiblity until now, which is HD cable TV viewed throughout your house with just a free cablecard and no cableboxes, sure you still have a cable bill but no rentals and no sluggish hot piles of iron sitting on top of your TV to curse at. Bigger houses with more rooms and more TVs, just add more Cetons and more Win 7 PCs and or Win Media Center Extenders, one Windows Media Center PC supports a bunch of Media Cetner Extenders, I think the number is like 10 extenders for each Win 7 PC. Most people are using Xbox 360s as their Media Center Extenders, the new slim ones are nice and word is the price is going to drop shortly.

If you don't want to use the Ceton at full capacity, you could choose to use the Ceton to watch and record shows for only one TV/display. But to me that is like somebody commuting all by himself to work in a big yellow school bus.

Buy Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe - 4-channel Internal Cable TV Tuner Card for CableCARD Now

I've had this tuner about 3 months now (wasn't on Amazon at that time), and I can say, it just works and it works well It's really what Cablecards should have done 7 years ago. Had some minor concerns about the Comcast cablecard installer, but the Ceton Diag tools even made the installation fairly painless. Running Win7 on an i3, homebuilt HTPC, and things are FINALLY the way MCE should have been years ago the card doesn't seem particularly problematic with incoming signals (I have mine sitting on a 7 way splitter but that includes an internal AMP) and my signal and SNR both look good Card is quick to tuner to other stations, and it even goes to sleep and resumes correctly (YEA!) There is a slight 30 sec pause on system resume while it seems to "sort of CC encryption stuff", but MCE displays the "spinning wheel" for a few seconds, and then your getting all the HD you want. I have this internal turner next to an analog PCI turner (Hauppage) as well as an HDHomeRun on the network Everything seems to co-exist nicely (although setting the guide up the 1st time took some effort). Finally, I was also waiting for the SD HDPrime, as I thought 4 tuners was overkill and pricy but in the end, I'm glad I have the 4th tuner and the extra $100 was worth it We now watch basically all the TV in the house on extenders, and between recording shows, we've had all 4 tuners busy several times Support has been good from Ceton (read the GB forums), and all it all, while pricey, this card is WELL WORTH IT, if you want HD in your W7MC box It's almost enough to make one forget about the pain of the OEM boxes with ATI tuners... Long awaited, and an excellent product!!

Read Best Reviews of Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe - 4-channel Internal Cable TV Tuner Card for CableCARD Here

I couldn't rate customer support because quite frankly I've never needed any customer support with this, and I've had it about 8 months. But everything else is definitely 5 stars. If you are in the market for a CableCARD tuner, this should be one of the products you consider. It might be expensive, but it's worth every penny....plus you get your money back anyway since you avoid renting a cable box or paying DVR fees. The monthly savings add up, and before you know it, this card is actually free.

Cost aside, I really enjoy not having to use the cable box the cable company has. With the InfiniTV4, I can record 4 HD cable channels at once...something my old cable box couldn't do. I can also add as much storage space as I want, so I don't have to worry about running out of space. And believe me, with 4 tuners, I am recording much more than I used to. I hardly ever watch live TV anymore. I just record everything and watch it when I want to.

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I built an HTPC four years ago. At the time, the only option to get HDTV in Windows Media Center was use an HDHomerun tuner. Yes, CableCard was available for HTPCs in 2007, but you had to purchase a system from an OEM manufacturer and it cost way too much money.

Fast forward to 2010. I was one of the first people to receive one of these cards. I must say, the only thing that hurt my experience was Comcast. Without question, this card is unbelievable! It is SIMPLE to install the card. Further, assuming you have a cable technician who has any experience, it is easy to set up in Windows Media Center.

Simply put, this card works. No, I do not get On Demand or Pay Per View (maybe if I call the cable co., but not via my remote). However, what I do get is a tuner that records 4 shows at one time without any problems.

Ceton's customer service is unparalleled. When I told them the trouble Comcast was causing, they contacted a Comcast engineer in New Jersey who fixed everything. All of this was done without question and without fail. They also have fast response times.

Yes, the card is not cheap. However, look at it as an investment. It's an investment in sanity as there are no more battles over what gets recorded. It's an investment in technology because my system can do things that a standard cable box could never accomplish.

I NEVER submit product reviews. Period. This product, however, is awesome.

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Western Digital WD TV HD 1080P Media Player

• Play Full HD 1080p video, music and photos on your HD TV
• Play a wide variety of file formats
• Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS audio support
• DVD-like menu

I purchased the WDTV Media Player (version 2) through Amazon two weeks ago. I have an extensive collection of movies and tv shows that I have ripped from my blurays and dvds over the past few years, plus downloads etc (over 2.8 gigs worth and counting). I built a HTPC 1.5 years ago and always hoped there would be a simple, inexpensive solution that would allow me to easily transfer my media to the TV without constantly playing with settings to the point where my wife is getting up from the couch out of boredom.

Along came the WDTV Media Player, the best solution for someone like me. I have tried as hard as I can to dig up a format (H.264, X.264, .mkv, .flac, .omg etc.) or problem to throw at this device to muck it up and I have yet to succeed. It has even been able to playback halfway decompressed files. I have it hooked up by HDMI through a Pioneer 819 AVR and set to bitstream audio codecs. I have had none of the audio syncing issues that were prevalent in the first generation machines. The user interface is attractive and intuitive. If you are use to using a HD set top box from your cable company and a PVR/DVR, this is basically the same functionality. Set up takes minutes and playback is beautiful. Unlike an previous reviewer, I have found that playback on standard definition content to be excellent. It upscales as well as any high quality dvd/bluray player. For HD playback, playback is just as good as bluray--without and time lag between pressing play and start time.

As with any device, it has its flaws-although they are minor in the scheme of things. First, it will not play menus from ripped DVD's and blurays (only the largest file in the rip, i.e. the movie). The WDTV does have its own menu that allows you to change audio tracks and subtitles on the fly. Unless the chapters are ripped and formatted correctly, you cannot skip to the next chapter. This sounds like a bigger problem than it is. This can be rectified by ripping with better quality software. If you downloaded your movie with bit torrent, you get what you pay for with your "free"/stolen content. Even using content without the ability to skip chapters, fast forward and reverse work quicker than on my panny bluray player and I am able to fast forward up 16x speed and the devise allows you to skip ahead in 30 second intervals (just enough to allow you to jump ahead of commercials from video capture off your cable box).

Other minor gripes: They are not able to bitstream lossless sound codecs (TrueHD and DTS-HD MA). Frankly, this is minor and most people will be happy with Dolby Digital and DTS (which the WDTV v2 and Live can send by bitstream over the HDMI capable--a feature lacking in the first gen WDTV). I have been told by people familiar with the Sigma 3365 processor that firmware may allow it to bitstream TrueHD, although probably not DTS-HDMA). We'll have to wait an see.

I have seen the Asus, Seagate and Popcorn C-110 and, they all have their pro's and con's. Dollar for dollar, the WDTV (v2) or WDTV Live (for an extra $20) are the best media players on the market. I give this three thumbs up and my strongest recommendation.

Update: 12/29/09 I picked up an WD HD Live at one of the big chain electric stores over the weekend to see if it was worth the extra few dollars. Pandora internet radio is a nice feature and I think the Live has a lot of "potential". There are some problems though. To test the machine, I tried to set up with a wireless dongle (g--i don't have a wireless n dogggle although I am not sure it would make much differenec). I also used a direct ethernet connection (obviously the best way to set it up).

First, HD streaming from a network harddrive was disappointing. Although 720P playback was usually not bad through ethernet. It did stutter and lose audio sync from time to time. If I paused playback to allow the WDTV LIve to rebuffer (or HDD drive--I am not entirely sure which devise had the issue), it seemed to fix the problem for a while. Using the dongle, playback about the same as with the ethernet. To be clear, some files played back without a hitch and others were far more problematic. The same files played perfectly on both the WD TV Live and WD TV (v2) when connected directly to a USB HDD.

With respect to 1080P playback, there were some significant hiccups. Using the network, playback stuttered badly on more than half of the files played. It appeared that the machine was dropping frames and lost audio sync. This was more prevalent when playing back large files (17 gig archived BD movies for example). Smaller 1080P files (8-12G) played about as well as 720P--some played perfectly and others with only minor issues. all files, however, played without issue using a direct usb harddrive. In my bedroom I am using an LG BD player that already has netflix, YouTube and pandora. The WD does not handle netflix, and the other services are redundant (Pandora is nice, but, frankly, YouTube is a pain to use with all of these systems).

In conclusion, the WDTV Live and WDTV (v2)have the same capabilities when used as stand alone devices connected to USB harddrives. Although I didn't mention this earlier, streaming SD content from a network was no problem with the Live. HD streaming capabilities were suspect, particularly with large files. As a caveat, other more sophisticated videophiles may have the time and computing power to convert larger HD files into smaller formats that will stream better. The thought of using handbrake to downsize my entire collection is not something I have any intention of doing. The WD TV LIve is a great first start. With some more firmware updates, it may be a better network streamer, but I think network streaming for 1080P is still a generation or two away from prime time.

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This review is about WD TV Live and WD TV generation 2 (featured on this page), which share the same hardware minus the network capabilities.

I bought this unit recently, after having bought WD TV generation 1 a few weeks ago. There was a significant improvement in user interface, plus the capability to copy/move files between media and to play DTS audio over a stereo or HDMI output (on WD TV gen1 DTS won't decode, it only outputs it in digital mode through the optical output).

Besides occasional problems with audio sync, the unit operates beautifully for high definition video. However, for standard definition video, which needs to be upscaled by the device to play on most LCD or plasma TVs, the picture quality is quite worse than that of the WD TV generation 1. The picture is grainier, with very noticeable artefacts. This is super annoying for me and a great disappointment for a device that otherwise would be ideal.

WD has not addressed the matter and has not replied to queries about it. I hope this is solved in future firmware upgrades, because the device is otherwise excellent.

I've seen this issue addressed in many user forums, there's no clear explanation for the phenomenon, hopefully WD will address it.

Meanwhile, I'm returning my unit.

Read Best Reviews of Western Digital WD TV HD 1080P Media Player Here

I've now owned the Gen1 and Gen2 of this product. Gen2 is quite a bit faster for loading and navigating menus which makes it nice. They've released one firmware update but I don't think it fixed any of the many bugs and may have even introduced some.

With the Gen1, I don't remember having audio/video sync problems like I experience now. This makes many of the movies I have completely unwatchable. I'm not talking millisecond differences, I'm talking 3 to 5 seconds for some movies. Sometimes more.

There are workarounds for many, but not all, problems you'll experience if you own or plan on purchasing one of these. Many of the workarounds can be found on WD's community forum. If it wasn't riddled with so many bugs for so long, I would give it 2 or even 3 more stars but WD seems to have lost interest with device.

Why didn't I give it more stars??

Does not meet USB and HDMI mechanical specifications. Since this is the case, who knows about well the meet the electrical specs. (workaround Some people trim 1 to 2 mm off the ends of the cable to resolve issues)

Problems with audio/video sync (workaround I wish there was one. Sometimes stopping the movie and resuming playback works, but mostly it doesn't.)

Certain sized USB devices work when updating to new firmware, others do not. This is not documented so your guess as to what sizes work are as good as mine. (workaround For updating, only use FAT32 formatted drives of less than 256MB and you should be fine)

While the power is on, if I plug in a USB drive, the first time I go to that drive, the WD hangs for about 1 or 2 whole minutes without any sign of doing anything. (workaround Turn off the WDTV, plug in the drive, turn on the WDTV. This takes less time.)

The file manager (used to move files and whatnot) hides files with certain extensions. Unfortunately, it hides files with the .srt extension which contains subtitles for a given movie. (workaround take the drive(s) to the PC and move the file)

Sometimes when I select a movie to play, it'll start playing the audio but not the video. This requires the box to be powered off and then on sometimes unplug and plug back in even because it stops responding to the remote. (workaround After power cycle, try again.)

This is only a smattering of the fun you'll have if you decide to buy one. In a nutshell, many bugs, slightly fewer workarounds, and even less support from WD.

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This media player is not capable of playing ripped DVDs in their normal format. It is not just that it can't read DVD menus but the real problem is that it has partial recognition of DVD structured files. The only video objects (.vob files) that routinely play are the ones that correspond to the first chapter of the DVD. Try to select another vob video file and it will only play the unselected first one. This makes it impossible to play DVDs in their native structure off a USB drive. You have to re-encode the DVD files into another format if you want to watch them through this device. It would be much better if there were no recognition of DVD structure at all. Then you would be able to simply navigate by selecting the individual vob files. Not as good as menu recognition but a workable solution.

I also found a bug that gave a black screen on my HD TV whenever I changed drives. I figured out that by unplugging the HMDI cable and then plugging it back in, the display screen came back.

Do to poor design and continued bugs in this product, I returned mine. It is hard to believe that they created a USB video player that does not correctly read the most common video standard DVD files.

I really wanted this to work!! I bought this as a christmas gift for my dad 2 days ago and it arrived today. When I opened the package it looked so cool I wanted one for myself so I opened it up to try it out and I am so glad I did! First off you have to upgrade the firmware. Well I went on WD site to get it. What this ad on amazon doesn't tell you is that this is the 1st gen wd tv hd media player, western digital only has firmware on there site for 2nd gen. I called the most incompetent tech support guy who was practically worthless, had no solution for me whatsoever. Than after 10min he figured out where on the wd site I go to update the firmware, the only problem is that wd was "updating" their site so basically when you click on the firmware to download it leads you to a page that says "page not found" I told the tech support guy he makes up some lame excuse about the site being down. Then I ask him why other firmwares work for other products. He didnt have an answer and told me to call back tomorrow. After a quick google search I found the firmware update someone posted on the wd conversation forum, so I finally updated and was on my way. I played an Avi and Mkv movies, they worked flawlessly and everything seemed perfect after that.. That is until 2 hours later. I turned of the system then went to go back to finish watching the mkv I film had been watching earlier and what do you know I got a blank black screen. This little piece of plastic junk will not play anything. I tried resetting (the hardware and software), I went back to the wd conversation forum and basically what I found was that this model has a habit of doing this and that WD is phasing them out so there isnt much support on the 1st gen models. So now I am out $130 and no gift for dad yet.. Please dont make the same mistake I did and listen to all these great reviews.. THIS IS JUNK!!! Beware it does not work, do a quick google research and type in "wd tv 1st gen not working" and you will see I am not the only one with this problem and there are more complaints than good reviews out there ( just not on amazon). I wish I would of done that in the first place.

Sony DCR-HC90 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

I did quite a bit of homework before purchasing the HC-90. I wanted High quality DV in a 16:9 format. I own a 42" Sony LCD HDTV and I wanted sharp, high quality performance.

Other factors for me: Solid build (exterior), and good quality parts (interior). Firewire, size, ease of use, MiniDv, and price.

Things that I got but didn't expect:

sizeWhen the package arrived, I was surprised at the size of the box it came in. It is small. When I opened the box, I was even more surprised at the size of the camera. I was expecting something compact but this little camera is small. I own a JVC MiniDV camera and it is about twice the size and 4 times as heavy. I wanted a small camera but thought that I would have to sacrifice some functionality for size. Well, I didn't. I don't think that I would want a smaller camera or it would start becoming difficult to push the correct buttons without looking around the camera first.

Still shotsI have read some comments that this camera doesn't take quality still pictures. I didn't buy it for that but this camera takes really nice photographs and in 16:9 format so it is just like having a wide angle lens. If you email your images or make DVD slide shows, this camera can take some quality shots. I have email some of the pictures to family and I had to resize them all to make them a lot smaller in dimension and subsequently, the images became sharper and details stood out. The flash works just as well as any other still digital camera I have owned. More than adequate for emailing or sharing on the web. I will be leaving my Olympus still camera behind on family outings because the HC-90 can take its place.

Motor functionI was simply amazed at the motor and function of the motorized parts in this camera. This thing is fast. Really fast. My JVC is a 3 year old piece of clunky crap compared to the HC-90. When you are playing back a movie and want to scan forward quickly, there is no waiting around for it to change gears, it does it instantly. The push button LCD is very responsive and the camera will take commands without clunking and whining. It rewinds very quickly. It sounds solid and it performs. I am most pleased with this surprise.

Things I expected (the good)

The video qualitySo far it has been awesome. As I said earlier, I own a 42" Sony Widescreen and to see the entire screen filled with video is a delight for me. The colors are rich and the details are fine enough to satisfy me. The camera seems to handle 16:9 perfectly. My wife was astonished at the quality when she first saw it. I used the camera in low light mainly. Dimly lit rooms with lamps. The steady shot works great, giving a flowing look to video when you are walking around. The colors remained bright in low lit areas and in the sun, colors are rich. I messed around with some of the features and they all look good. My wife is a point and shoot person and I taught her to push the easy mode button and she was off. No teaching her how to use it. Common sense is all you need.

Dumping DV to my MAC G4 PowerBookI plugged it in via firewire, IMovie picked up the camera instantly and I began dumping DV as well as editing. That was all there was to it. I haven't even looked at the software that Sony sent. IMovie also recognized the 16:9 ratio and set up my project accordingly. Quick Time and the Sorenson 3 codec had to be fed the aspect ratio manually. I have to figure out pixel sizes with a calculator. I plugged in the USB cable to the camera and my MAC and the MAC mounted the volume and imported my images flawlessly. I also did the same with my WINXP PC. Just plugged in the USB cable and Voila. It showed up as a new drive in My Computer.

I also used the HC90 for ICHAT on my MAC laptop. The guy on the other end said he got great video from me. The chat session was between Hawaii and Ireland.

Build Quality Awesome. There is NO creaking (like my JVC). The camera is ergonomically great for my hands and my wife also agrees. All of the buttons are in the right place. The touch panel LCD is wonderful for me. It is solid and I don't worry about it ripping off when opening it and when you close it, it makes a satisfying thud like it was meant to be slammed shut in a hurry. The top loading of the tapes is great. No need to lay the camera on its side or anything like that. I can change the tape while the camera is plugged in to fire wire and the power simultaneously. The camera is very light but built very, very well. I am totally pleased with the build quality. It feels like a Sony. The zoom button is light or easy to manipulate but it can either zoom slowly or very quickly. It is quite sensitive and took a little getting used to. My old JVC felt like it was going to crumble in my hand and the mechanisms seemed so fragile but this camera feels like it can be handled with less apprehension.

Things that could be an issue but not as of yet.

The pry open plastic doors for cable plug in access To charge the battery, you have to pry open one of the plastic covers to access the inputs. I can understand that these covers protect the jacks from dirt, etc. Some have said that they may easily become detached in the future. I beg to differ. My JVC has the same type of protective covers and I have not broken them off in 3 years. I was always prying on them because I am always plugging firewire, etc in to the ports. They never broke and most likely never will. I think the hinge is that annoying plasic that never breaks no matter how much you flex it. The more you use the covers, the more plyable they becaome and easier to access. The sony covers are good quality and I doubt these will ever be an issue. It is somewhat inconvienient to charge the camera because you have to open the cover first. The stand alone chargers are not that expensive and I purchased a spare battery so it might be worth getting the charger.

Memory Stick Pro I spent a bunch of money for a Memory stick original for my Sony Still camera and it will not work in this DV Camcorder. The little one that they sent in not adequate. Looks like I will have to buy another one soon. I wish I did not.

Lens cover This camera has a shutter that opens when you turn the power on so that you don't have to fiddle with lens covers. I absolutely love this feature but, dirt, sand, crap can collect in that area even though the lens will be protected. There are threads there for lenses and filters. There should have been a plain glass lens there to occupy and protect that area from the elements. I will most likely get a cheap filter to screw in there and protect the fine threads.

All in all, I love this little camera and I am sure that my family will enjoy it for years to come. Between this, my 12" MAC PowerBook, my 42" Sony HDTV, and living in Hawaii, I think I have what I need for ample amounts of fun.

I picked this little gem up at the Sony store less than a month ago. They had all their camcorder models lined up on the shelf and the HC90 stood out like a Beauty Queen on a Catwalk. The overall design is an aesthetic masterpiece and fits ever-so perfectly in the palm of one's hand. It is super light weight and you can carry it around effortlessly for hours (it is compact enough to fit in your trouser pocket). All the basic controls are easily accessible to thumb and fingers, and it couldn't be easier to operate.

This is my first camcorder so I was under the impression that I would have some intensive study of the included manual ahead of me. I was mistaken. All I had to do was skim the first few pages and I was off and running (albeit in Easy Mode).

I have read some critical reviews of Sony camcorders bemoaning their compatibility with third party components, such as PC's. Nothing further could be from the truth! I own a Mac Powerbook. I took a few snaps in Picture Mode and the USB cable loaded them seamlessly into iPhoto. I picked up a cheap 4 to 6 pin Firewire cable at RadioShack, connected the device to my Powerbook and iMovie instantly downloaded the widescreen video footage without any prompting. And it was the same ease of operation in connecting it to my TV, my VCR and my DVD player. I can honestly say that I have never encountered a piece of high technology that operated with such ease and joyful simplicity. I have already shot hours of video without further consulting of the manual and the included software disc remains in its sealed envelope. This little gem seems almost organic in its construction and operation.

At 3.3 MP, the still photos are quite excellent and the panoramic option is a real cool feature. The video is superb. I live out in the forest and I can only describe the image quality as true to life. The built in microphone is excellent. When I reviewed some footage shot out in the swamp it was as though the bull frogs were singing right in my living room! The only drawback is that it amplifies anything stronger than a light breeze, but I found that this can be minimized by closing the LCD display and taking advantage of the camcorders sleek exterior design.

The battery life can also prove irksome if you like extended shootings.But for a modest investment you can purchase a battery with twice the life.

Do I like my new DCR-HC90 Camcorder? No! I absolutely LOVE it!!! It is so portable and easy to use that you can just take it everywhere without even thinking about it, and it attracts looks of admiration and envy wherever it goes.

The one I bought was the last one in stock. The salesman whom attended to me said the model was selling like hot cakes, and even though it was the priciest item on display, they were literaly flying off the shelves into the eager hands of happy customers. It is easy to see why.I have a Canon G6, a fine device in its own right. Since I acquired my HC90, it is more or less collecting cobwebs in a forgotten corner of my cabin.

Buy Sony DCR-HC90 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Now

This is one of the best camcorders in the market today and I would definitely recommend it to anyone planning to buy a Mini-DV camcorder

Positive factors:

Very small and easy to hold with one hand. Can be easily attached even to a mini-tripod with ease.

Excellent widescreen video and hi-fi audio. Your videos finally get that "Hollywood" feel when you shoot movies in 16:9 ratio (widescreen format). Even if you don't have a widescreen TV currently, you will very soon have one as more and more people are buying them. So its better to buy this camcorder and shoot in 16:9 format to enjoy your movies later in widescreen format.

Includes widescreen rotatable LCD so what you see is what you get when you shoot in 16:9 ratio (widescreen format)

Good battery life. One extra battery is enough. You can easily manage a day's worth of shooting with two batteries before recharging them again

Includes docking station making it easier to connect to computer or TV. If you have a good computer with a firewire port, please buy a firewire cable to connect the camcorder to your computer. You can download your movie in excellent clarity in .avi format and edit it as required

Make sure to change the audio setting to 16 bit (instead of the default 12 bit) for very good hi-fi audio

Touchscreen menu system is great. You don't have to search for any buttons as they are all available in the touchscreen menu itself.

10X optical zoom is more than sufficient for ordinary home videos. Anything more produces more "shaking" and would necessiate the use of a tripod. When you shoot without a tripod, 10X is the best zoom you can achieve without worrying about shaky videos

Widescreen still photo. The photo clarity is OK not too good. So please don't expect great shots. Since the photo is in 16:9 format, you can take panoramic photos and cover more people in group shots

Nightshot: Cool feature that records using infrared light. Useful for shooting at night as you can record a video even in 100% darkness

Color widescreen viewfinder Very useful when you are running down on batteries and need to use the viewfinder. The color widescreen viewfinder gives an excellent picture and is as good as the LCD in clarity

Negative factors:

Outdoor videos especially in bright sunlight are overexposed. So please adjust the white balance when shooting outdoors. Add the white-balance menu to your shortcuts so that you can easily access it and return to default once you start shooting indoors

Sensitive microphone may pick up button clicks (best to turn off the button click "beep" sound).

Notes:

Use a fresh cassette after recording 2 or 3 times on the same cassette. The head tends to get dirty if you re-record on the same cassette more than 3 times

You can edit movies in Windowx XP using Windows Movie Maker, but beware it does not support 16:9 ratio video. Hence your videos look ugly as you shot them in 16:9 but Movie Maker converted it to 4:3. Invest in Pinnacle Software version 9 or 10 for better movie editing capabilities. Pinnacle is the only software, I am aware of, that preserves teh 16:9 ratio. Even Roxio could not allow 16:9 format.

You can also invest in wide-angle lens as it gives excellent coverage

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCR-HC90 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom Here

This is the fourth camcorder I've owned, and it's definitely the best. I couldn't believe how small and light it was when I first took it out of the box. Other features I like:

> Wide screen recording looks great on wide screen and regular size TVs

>Touch-screen controls are much easier to use than buttons while recording

>Long battery life

>Great still pictures -I don't need to carry a separate digital camera

>Video is sharp, bright, and the colors are vivid

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I shopped around for a while before I bought this camera. I checked out many reviews and I have to say, I'm VERY happy with this camera. I wanted something that worked in low light. This was the most important feature I was looking for. I had a Canon video camera, and I now have very few videos of my daughter growing up because if there wasn't enough light it would make interference on the tape. This camera works very well with normal indoor lighting. You don't have to turn on extra lights. (It also has nightvision which works in very low light)

The only complaints I have are 1) the battery doesn't last more than an hour but I don't video that long anyway 2) the memory stick doesn't hold many pictures but I'm spoiled with my digital camera holding lots.

In general, I would highly recommend this camera. You can download the video to you PC really easily and burn it to DVD.

Oh, and in some reviews it mentions that the zoom is hard to use. I don't find that to be true at all. It is sensitive, but not hard to use.

Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Brushed Metal, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation)

Update: Since my review the Flip Mino has been greatly improved. It now works and plugs in perfectly to my Mac and has stereo sound. For it's small size, that's a good thing.

Now, on to the original review:

If I'm going to spend more than a hundred bucks on an item or somewhere around there, I do extensive research first to know I got the best bang-for-the-buck and, consequently, dodge any potential future buyer's remorse.

I've realized that the time I spend doing my product comparisons is often time that others don't have so I may as well share what I can.

I'll start by saying that you'll see my "Verified Amazon Purchase" on the Flip HD Ultra Camcorder review because, obviously, that's the one I wound up buying and I'll share with you why. But what I like in a camcorder may not suit your own needs so I'll break it down and let you decide what's best for you via what I found out:

Here are the pocket camcorders I compared:

*Flip UltraHD (will be referred to as "F")

*Flip Mino HD 2nd generation (Will be referred to as "M")

*Creative Labs Vado HD 8 GB 2nd generation (Will be referred to as "CL")

*Kodak Zi6 Pocket HD (Will be referred to as "K")

*There are notes on the RCA Small Wonder at the bottom. Because that's not an HD camera, I didn't include it.

Why HD cameras only? Brighter colors and better images, wider images

HD SHOOTING TIME:

F: 120 minutes.

M: 120 minutes

CL:120 minutes

K: 25 minutes with batteries they included, 120 minutes if you buy an SD card

HOW CNET's editors rated the cameras:

F Excellent

M Excellent

CL Very Good

K Very Good

MEMORY:

F: 8 GB

M:8 GB

CL: 8 GB

K: internally only 30 MB recording space but it has 32 GB expandable SD/SDHC card slot. Because it comes with such small recording space you really need to buy an SD or SDHC card to maximize its potential, but the potential is really good and this will increase your ability to shoot longer.

SW 8GB

RESOLUTION:

All are 720p which is excellent, just one step below the top 1080p format.

MICROPHONE:

F: Stereo

M: Mono*

CL: Mono

K: Mono

SOUND:

F:Premier AAC audio. Best sound quality but still not great in winds

M:Good sound quality, not good in winds

CL:Poor sound quality; had issues with sound and picture not being in sync.

K:Poor sound quality

ZOOM:

F: 2x

M:2x

CL:2x

K: poor quality zoom on the one I tried but I still think it's 2x. It has a great macro focus for very close-up objects if, for example, you see a bumble bee and want to shoot it on a leaf a few inches away! Kinda cool.

CAMERA SIZE AND WEIGHT:

F: 4.3x2.2x1.2 4 oz

M: 3.9x2x0.6 3. 3 oz

CL: 3.9x3x0.6 3.5 oz

K: 5.5x2.5.0.9 5.6 oz

SHIPPING SIZE AND WEIGHT:

F: 6.2 x 3.1 x 3.1 inches ; 11.2 ounces

M: 2 x 0.7 x 3.9 inches ; 1 pound

CL: 3.3 x 7.9 x 6.3 inches ; 11.2 ounces

K: 4x 5x 2.5" 2.4 lbs

TECHNICAL DETAILS:

F: USB cable pops out of the back so you don't need to keep up with a separate cable. Comes with Flip Video rechargeable AA battery pack (recharges when connected to USB); also supported by standard AA batteries. Note: Some sets come with the HDMi mini included and others come with the rechargeable battery pack on Amazon. Looks like one or the other but of course if you need both you can buy the other.

M: USB cable pops out of the back on this one as well. Has child safe button to prevent accidental deletion of videos. Internal lithium ion battery recharges through built-in USB arm

CL: USB in camcorder. Included in box are HDMI cable (nice), USB extension cable,(nice)silicon skin (cool) & rechargeable battery.

K: Included in box are HD and AV cables and wrist strap and rechargeable batteries and battery charger. Has built in USB arm.

SPEED:

F: 30 frames per second.

M: 30 frames per second

CL: 30 frames per second

K: choice of 30 frames per second or 60 frames per second.

VIEWING SCREEN: All 2" except the Kodak was the largest at 2.4"

IMPORTANT NOTES:

F: Best low-light performance for the mini cameras (though not perfect at all) and least amount of blurring and dropped frames in my opinion. Best color. Only one with stereo sound. You can get an underwater case for this one! Though that may sound crazy for a Texan, we use the camera non-stop on vacations and even when we aren't IN the water, we are around the water...on boats, in the sand with sea mist, etc. Then we can dive in and record the fish. Comes preloaded with flipshare software...just plug in to computer and it pops up.

M: Colors don't appear as good on the Mino as the other cameras. Thinnest camera. Make sure you get the one that only comes in the color aluminum or brushed metal. If it comes in any other colors it is the 1st generation MinoHD and they improved upon that one in the newer models. Great audio. Better shooting in low light than most mini cameras. Camera comes preloaded with FlipShare software. Can get still images through flipshare software.

CL: Decent filming in low light but not nearly as good as the Ultra or Mino; Software is preloaded in camcorder.

K: This is the only camera that I compared without the built in image stabilizatin which corrects for shaky images. What appears to be metal in picture is actually a chrome colored plastic. That said, this had the largest viewing screen of all of them. 2.4" Very poor in low light and seemed to have far more shaking and blurring. It also takes still pictures but they are really really poor quality...same as a lesser-quality cell phone pictures but good in a pinch if you want a still shot and have no cell or camera I s'pose. Heaviest for a pocket camera. Software is not preloaded in camcorder but a cd comes with it.

And, finally, the reviews of the Flip from experts swayed me quite a bit:

Fast Company: "Flip Ultra HD is Pure Digital's "Best Pocket Camcorder Yet." 6-09

USA Today: "New Flip Ultra Video Cameras Might Flip Your Switch" 4-09

Business Week: How do you Invigorate a Recession? Look to i-phone, Flip, Kindle, and Zip Car For Answers

There were lootttts more I came across when researching the Flip Ultra HD but those are some of my favorites.

CONCLUSION: Clearest picture and sound was important to me, expert reviews that pointed to the Flip UltraHD as well and I liked the built in software and the case I can get to shoot underwater. It is the number one selling camcorder as well. So that was my personal decision-making process. However, keep in mind that if you need reading glasses none of that will matter if the 2" screen is too small for your viewing the shots easily for playback in which case you may wish to get the Kodak if that's important to you..

Also: No matter which one you get, you will probably want a mini tripod if you ever want to be in the shot yourself do don't forget those.

Also note: It's confusing because when these manufacturers make changes in the camcorders, they do not change the names on the new versions, nor do they change the names if it's an HD version or a non-HD version so be sure you look for the "HD" after the brand name and look for "2nd generation" or "newer version" on the Mino and Vado if you like one of those better so you don't get the older models.

Hope my obsessive comparing and contrasting for my own purchasing assistance helped you as well even if what you wanted in a camera was different from me. :-)

Note on the:

*RCA Small Wonder: Because some have asked about the RCA Small Wonder, It never made the final cut...it should be noted that the EZ201 Small Wonder IS NOT HIGH DEF, which, like a tv means the colors aren't as bright or as sharp (yes, it is noticeable which is why people want the HD camcorders.) The zoom lens is optical rather than digital and, on the Small Wonder you'll notice that for whatever reason this means it goes out of focus when you zoom. Even the experts rating this camera suggested walking foreward and backwards when wanting to zoom rather than using the Small Wonder's zoom because of the out-of-focus experience it causes, unfortunately. It is the same quality as a phone video: very grainy & pixelated and only meant for small screen format. It also doesn't have a pop-out usb port unlike the other cameras so you'll need to keep up with a usb cord to use it. And it only has a 90 day warranty. It also only has a mono mic rather than stereo. It is FAR below these cameras in its graininess and pixilation (it's not even a close race) but I thought it should be noted. It's just not of the same class in any way. BUT it's a great price if you don't want HD or want it for fun rather than quality; would be great for a teen or for maybe someone who wants it for documentaion...so it's noted.

*Update: According to Mino, the 2010s now have stereo mics on the Minos. However, a retest of the color and clarity has not improved.

This Flip MinoHD camcorder is amazing-the ideal thing for any family hoping to videotape the kids, friends, events, etc. First of all, it's completely idiot proof: when you get the box, there is absolutely no assembly required. Your first guess about which buttons are the power switch, record button, and USB connector release will be correct; great intuitive design. The device looks and feels great (as other reviewers have mentioned) and easily fits in your hand comfortably for long periods of time (unlike my blackberry). It turns on and off instantly (unlike my home computer or cell phone) so you don't have to wait long to start recording that precious, fleeting moment.

The screen is a bit larger than the previous Flip Mino, but that's not a big deal. Image quality is better than ever, and not too shaky/bouncy. The USB connector is about the same-still very convenient, easy to connect, and you don't have to go running to find any special USB connector cable (like my old digital camera). The audio is surprisingly good, picking up faint background sounds that I hadn't even noticed at the time of recording and picking up simultaneous music and voices, near and far, with great quality. The 2-hour battery life is more than I ever use, so it's great, but I figure people who are videotaping entire concerts or watching grass grow might complain. Honestly I haven't made use of the HD resolution, but I'm sure that will be fantastic when I start making my own rainforest nature shows. In the meantime, the HD quality is better than anything I'll ever need. By the way, I know other reviewers have said they can make the camcorder freeze up by zooming in or out during recording, but mine works fine even when I do that. (I purposely tried to freeze it, but couldn't.)

I saved the best for last: the Flip Video software. That's what made it even more impressive! It is ridiculously easy to setup, automatically starts when I plug in the camcorder, and makes it completely obvious how to download the videos, play back, freeze frames to make photos, and share. And it's fast-not much waiting for videos to load up (like other video players). It's all in an easy-to-use, well-organized (by video date) layout very similar to the iPod control panel (a common comparison, it seems). I wish all software was this easy to use.

I highly recommend this device-it's a winner!

Buy Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Brushed Metal, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) Now

We bought this camera because we lost our first generation Flip MinoHD, which we loved. I'm sad to report that the USB issues mentioned by countless others are real, and I decided it was worth posting a video that clearly shows the extent of the issue so as to help convince others not to waste their money. This simply doesn't work with Macs, and as you can see from this video it also doesn't work with an Acer Aspire One netbook (~20% of all netbooks currently being shipped). This is a fundamental flaw with the product and is completely inexcusable.

UPDATE 4/19/2010

It seems likely that Cisco has attempted to resolve this issue in the lots now leaving their manufacturing facility. Indeed, there was for a few days a carefully worded "we know this is an issue, but don't want to get in too much trouble, so we'll only partially acknowledge the problem" notice at the top of this page informing consumers of USB connectivity problems "in a small percentage of cases." That Amazon.com has removed this notice is, I suppose, heartening and suggests that it may have been corrected. That being said, there still appears to be a number of recent reviews complaining of USB connectivity issues. These may be from older lots/the sale of existing inventory, or items that are acquired from sellers other than Amazon.com. It seems there is a good chance that you will NOT have USB connectivity issues if you are receiving a recently-manufactured device. However, if you get one that was made prior to the correction of this issue, know that you may have connectivity problem. You might also want to inquire as to whether or not you would be required to pay return shipping charges if it doesn't connect. I may even go out and buy another one of these devices to see if the issue has, in fact, been resolved. If I do this, I'll post an updated video.

Read Best Reviews of Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Brushed Metal, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) Here

I've enjoyed every Flip since the first Mino and this 2nd Gen MinoHD exceeds all my expectations. It's still easy-to-use and easy-to-share video; but, the package is slicker than ever. No fingerprints on the brushed metal front, the 2" screen is shows detail in any light, and the controls are much more responsive than previous Minos and MinoHDs. The audio is so good, my son's Reggae band won't give it back.

PROS:

*2" screen is big and clear

*Great HD video in normal to bright light

*Better sound than a personal voice recorder

*One thumb video shooting

*Easy uploads and edits no format worries and YouTube friendly

*HDMI output directly to HD panels

*Brushed metal shrugs off fingerprints and nose prints (don't ask)

*Storage pouch doubles as lens cleaner

*Lickable packaging

CONS:

*Low light shots are grainy (easily solved at price points $1,000 higher)

*USB plug is a little tight

*The wrist strap was hard to mount because of the brushed metal-solved with a toothpick

Want Flip MinoHD Video Camera - Brushed Metal, 8 GB, 2 Hours (2nd Generation) Discount?

In May, 2009, I wrote a review comparing the Flip Ultra HD with the 1st generation Mino HD, and although at the time I thought the Ultra HD was a step forward, I missed the more diminutive size of the Flip Mino HD. Since then, I've been waiting patiently for Cisco to release a pocket camcorder that combined the same new features found in the Flip Ultra HD in the smaller and more compact form factor of the Mino HD. Well, they've finally done it!

The Flip Mino HD (2nd generation) is now the 3rd Flip series camcorder I've owned, and in my opinion this is clearly the best one yet! Basically, the Flip Mino HD (2nd generation) has all of the same convenient features found in the Ultra HD such as a larger 2" display, HDMI out, Stereo mic, and 2 hour HD recording capacity, in a in a sleek and newly designed Mino HD form factor. I've read many complaints about the Flip's lack of integrated image stabilizer, and I'm sure they will add that functionality in future products. However, whatever the Flip Mino HD camcorder lacks in features, it more than makes up for it in a simple, user-friendly, and ultra sleek design. There are a lot of choices available in the pocket sized video camcorder space, so if you're looking for something with perhaps a little more functionality (e.g. 1080p, replaceable battery, larger zoom, etc.) than you will need to look elsewhere.

Although the Flip Ultra HD is arguably a better value, if you're looking for a top notch pocket sized camcorder that you can take with you anywhere, I highly recommend this product. When it comes to ease-of-use, and convenience, the Flip Mino HD is a clear leader.