Sony BDP-S590 3D Blu-ray Disc Player with Wi-Fi (Black)

• 3D Blu-ray Disc Player with Full HD 1080p playback
• Built-in Wi-Fi, Digital Audio Output(s): 1 Optical (Rear), 1 Coaxial (Rear)
• AVCHD, GIF, JPEG, MP3, MPEG-4, MPEG1, MPEG2, PNG; Media Remote app for iPhone/iPad & Android phones
• Region: Blu-ray: A, DVD: 1, 60Hz
• Power requirement: 120 VAC, 60 Hz

[added a "6 moths later update at the end]

This isn't a super in depth review, but will give you more info that most will in a fairly brief summary:

First off, I am a Sony TV guy who bought TWO Panasonic Blu-Ray players last year due to their seeming superiority(reviews, pro and online stores).

First step for any modern electronic device, update your firmware. My initial update took over 5 minutes. I also recommend registering at internet.sony.tv as in the past some Sony products won't connect to certain services until you do. I connected to AmazonVideo on Demand and Netflix, BEFORE I registered it, so they may have responded to complaints and dropped the requirement, but incase there is a service that require it get it out of the way, it only takes a minute if you have a Sony account already

Netflix app(they upgraded! Sony fans rejoice!):

One glaring fault with (past/pre-2012?) Sony visual products is their Netflix app, as for years Sony decided to have a proprietary interface, and if you have researched it, a LOT of people had Netflix streaming issues. I guess Sony finally took note, as the new interface is like a across between the Wii interface and the Panasonic interface, as in it looks like you avgerage Netflix app now. I watched the Norwegian film TrollHunters, and it took about 15-20 seconds to load the movie, 10 seconds for the Netflix stream to stabilize to the bandwidth( this is mostly on Netflix's end I believe), with the unit 10 feet from my router. For the entire movie, it never reloaded or refreshed, or froze, and was in 1080 with 5.1 sound. I also paused the movie and rewound several times with no reload or delay. Truly the smoothest Netflix experience I have had yet on any of my devices. If your getting the S590 I assume this will be important to you. And yes, it has a dedicated Netflix button, and the app loads faster than my Wii or Panasonic Blu Ray players, and my Sony TV's, so I assume they have "fixed" it, but I haven't done a lot of viewing yet.

Blu Ray performance:

Another reviewer said it won't play Disney movies, but I didn't have a problem, more later. First I put in the Star Trek (2009) Blu Ray, which has great visual beginning. I didn't have any performance issues that I could tell, and the menus are VERY fast and responsive, almost to a fault as there was a bit of shutter on the pop up menu, but unless you watch the movie with the pop up constantly going up and down I don't see this as a big issue. It was roughly 30 seconds from hitting the eject button to close the tray to the Paramount intro screen going, not bad.

I then tried a 3D Disney Blu Ray (Tangeled, a true Disney made film), as one reviewer had said Disney BR does not work. Seeing as how this player is VERY new( a few weeks to a month on market), My guess is there was a firmware issue, disc issue, or user issue. That said, Tangeled played flawlessly in 3D as I skipped around chapters trying to cause an issue, but it all worked great.

Also, this player, in my opinion, works very fast when skipping chapters or loading a scene from menu, where some playera seem to pause or lag. It was also quick to fast foward and "rewind", with little to no pause when hitting the button. A noticeable leap over my 2011 model panasonic bdt-220.

Network set-up:

As usual for modern Sony products, if you have a WPS router, took roughly 2 minutes, from the time I started the set up on the TV, walked to my router in the next room and hit the WPS button, and then walked backed to tell the TV to begin connecting.

The Media Remote app for Android worked very well, but you must first go to the settings menu on the TV and scroll down to the Media remote section, and "register"(aka activate, a button push) the feature(an unnecessary step IMO but I guess they are worried about people with an unprotected router have their TV taken over by pranksters?).

Now some people are complaining about build quality. It's true it doesn't feel as sturdy at the Panasonic Players I bought last year, but is by no means flimsy. Unless you are planning on dropping it regularly, or letting your dog chew on it, I don't see a problem with this. It does look nice, with a brushed metal "look" on the case.

As with seemlingly EVERY Blu Ray player, it does not come with an HDMI(which baffles me, it isnt expensive to make a high quality HDMI cable, don't get fooled by the HDMI cable prices).

6-Month Update

I have now owned this product for 6 months. If I were to again compare it to the Panasonic's , although they are a generation older, the Sony absolutely blows them away. It loads movies faster, it streams Hulu and Netflix faster, it updates firmware MUCH faster, and I have not had any streaming or Blu Ray video problems at all.

I have encountered one issue, but won't change my rating. On Fast Boot mode, while the boot is nearly instant, I did encounter an odd issue where it boots itself. If you have your TV HDMI control function, it will turn on the TV also. It's a bit unnerving when you are asleep and you are awoken by your TV turning on and seeing a Main menu. This COULD be an HDMI control issue with my TV though. There are two ways to solve it: Turn off fast boot(it's still much faster than most Blu Ray players), or turn off HDMI control so it can't turn on your TV itself. Also, while some Sony TV's do not, this player will also auto zoom/strech the screen when you are watching a 4:3 format video on netflix, to fit your widescreen, so there aren't any bars on the side. I know many people want to use every inch of their TV screen.

Also, Sony has been fairly quick lately to keep the Internet Video Apps up to date/ recent versions, So no TiVo-style glacier slow Internet Application User Interface updates to worry about.

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This is a awesome Streamer/Bluray/DVD player. I haven't experienced any issues whatsoever playing back Bluray disks. Boot times are very good with the disks I tested. Everything played back perfectly with stunning picture quality. However, I really purchased this player for its streaming abilities. Sony players were dinged in the past for a poor Netflix experience. Sony have fixed this with a updated Netflix interface that supports 1080p and Dolby Digital+ streams. Similarly Amazon VOD supports Dolby Digital bitstream audio, and VUDU and HULU+ are unchanged from the 2011 players, but work fine. Its also nice to have "crackle" on there so you can watch the odd Seinfeld episode when you fancy.

I also tested the player with a DNLA server. Sony seem to recommend Serviio (free) so I think they must test the DLNA features of the player with this software. I tested photos, music and video and everything played back perfectly.

Anyway, a great streamer/disk player. Highly recommended !!

** update **

Had a need to play a Disney BD disk on this player the other day. A comment here suggests that Disney BDs won't play. Complete nonsense. They playback perfectly.

** Update (8/27/12) **

Sony added support for watch lists with the amazon Vod app.

Cinema NOW is now supported.

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I've been looking for a Blu-ray player for awhile now and my purchase was delayed a bit due to so many conflicting feedback entries over products. I finally decided to go with a brand I trust, Sony, that had the features I was looking for and just see what happens. The S590 is 3d capable, but I have no interest in 3d and that is why I do not address it in my review.

Out of the box the player is a bit plasticy. (Is that a word?) Yes it feels a little cheap, but on the upside it is light and matches my other equipment. I don't need a Blu-ray player that is built like a tank. After all, it is just going to sit there on my media shelf playing movies. I don't get why people complain about it. Do they take their players mountain biking with them? So yes, the case is plastic, but I could not care less. One important note, an HDMI cable is not included with the unit, so be sure to have one if you want an HDMI connection.

I plugged in the player via HDMI and turned it on. First thing I established a wireless connection so I could update firmware. My router, in the next room, was seen immediately, along with routers from neighbors. I entered my password and was connected. Next, I updated the firmware. That took less than five minutes to do. Amazon Prime connectivity was next, then Netflix. No issues at all. I then decided to stream an Amazon Prime movie, Mission Impossible 3, as it is hi-def and I wanted to see what performance was like. The movie started up within 30 seconds, I saw I was getting between 8.4 and 10.2 megabits per second. The picture was clear and smooth. Over the weekend we streamed from Amazon Prime and Netflix and were very happy with the speed of connection and quality of video and sound.

I also tried playing Blu-Ray and DVD movies, both with no issues. I did not time how long it took to get a movie playing, but I can (very unscientifically) say that it was faster than what I have seen with several units. Everything played as expected.

Boot up time is acceptably fast. I chose the slower boot process as I don't want the player in standby mode all the time. When I turn the player on, I am able to choose what I want to do in about 15 20 seconds. More than acceptable.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the player. It is responsive, boots quickly and has handled my needs, (Blu-Ray disks, DVDs, Amazon Prime and Netflix.) I have not tried other features, so I can't speak to them. Given my experience, I would expect they would work as advertised, but you never know until you try them.

If I have friends looking for a Blu-Ray player, I won't hesitate to recommend the S590!

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In April I decided that although I loved my LG blu-ray player for Netflix and watching blu-rays, I wanted a new player that would let me watch Amazon streaming and have an updated and easier to use Netflix interface. My old player worked perfectly for what it did, I just wanted something that did more.

First, based on my great experience with my LG player, I ordered the LG BD670. I liked the interface, liked how it played blu-rays, loved that I could search Netflix from the blu-ray player itself (the old player would only let you view your queue and a few of the specific categories that it chose, you had to go to another device if you wanted to search or even browse beyond that) and I loved Amazon streaming. But it did not play Netflix well: during the course of pretty much anything I'd try to watch, whether it was a 2+ hours movie or a twenty minute tv episode, it would lose the sound and have stuttering picture for anywhere between a few seconds to several minutes. After less than two weeks I contacted Amazon and sent it back. I put my old blu-ray player back and it worked with no problems, for Netflix and blu-rays both.

Then, based on glowing reviews, I tried the Panasonic DMP-BDT220. Initially it seemed great. I liked it even more than the LG. Then it started having connection issues. Actually, it started having connection issues the first day, but I didn't realize right away that it was going to be a *constant* problem. There was not one day that it did not lose the internet connection. Granted, where it was set-up is as far away from my wireless router as it can be while the two devices are still the house, so some connection issues are understandable, but it would lose connection when nothing else in the room it was in had lost their connection and beyond that even, it would not reestablish its connection until I'd cycled it off and on, sometimes several times. I really wanted it to work, since when it was working, I loved it. I did not contact the company, in fairness, so I cannot say if they could have helped me or comment on their customer service. I did check online reviews and message boards and found that I was not alone in having internet connection issues with it. I tried some fixes that were posted but nothing worked. I read more than one person complaining that they *had* contacted Panasonic and were told that the wireless in the player just wasn't that strong, and the only real cure for connections issues was to move the player closer the router. That wasn't an option for me so, incredibly frustrated, after almost a month of it, I contacted Amazon and sent it back. Again I put my old blu-ray player back and it worked with no problems.

Finally, as a last resort, I tried this player, the Sony BDP-S590. Tentatively, hesitantly, I would say it *seems* I've found my player. I admit, I held off on the Sony because it was more expensive than the LG, and at least at the time I was first looking, the reviews weren't as good as for the Panasonic. But for me, it's working. It sits where the Panasonic sat (and where the LGs sat) and doesn't have any connection issues except when there is genuinely an interruption that is affecting everything else that's connected to the router--and even then as soon as the router is doing its thing again, all I have to do is hit "Retry" and the player is connected again, no turning it off and on repeatedly. It has no problem playing Netflix, or Amazon streaming, or Crackle, or Youtube, or good old blu-rays. I appreciate that it's got the only remote that actually controls my not-that-old Toshiba tv, which isn't a big deal, but it's nice. I'm not an audiophile or videophile or whatever, so I can't comment on the technicalities of the sound or picture; it sounds and looks fine to me. The loading times aren't long enough that I get impatient, but I'm not the sort of person who times those things as long as they aren't long enough to make me take notice.

As far as I'm concerned, if you just want to watch stuff, it works. And if you have any sort of distance constraints on where you can place it (like if you don't want to/can't put it in the same room with the router) this is your best bet. I waited to write this review, paranoid after the first two blu-ray players, but after about a month of this, I'm still pleased with it.

At this point, I have made the rounds. I first bought a refurb Panasonic BDT210, thinking the black flashes would be fixed. They weren't. Sent it back. Then, I ordered a Panasonic BDT220. Very nice player with great picture and sound quality, and excellent streaming. Problem was there was a soft, distinct, rhythmic, gulping sound when playing discs, especially with DVDs. Exchanged it for another. The second machine had wireless connection issues. Return it rather than face a headache. Heard really good things about the BDP S390 and 590. Skeptical at first since I have been a diehard Panasonic player fan. Hooked up the Sony. Smooth as silk setup with wireless. No problem at all. Zip, zip, zip. That made me instantly happy. Very user friendly. Quiet player too. Not silent, but no disturbing sounds. Then there was the picture quality. Wow. The Panny is great, but the 590 is photographic. Beautiful picture. Great sound as well. Quick disc loading (though the Panny may be an insignificant touch quicker). Excellent streaming with a fine picture (extra hi/HD even with wireless). Navigating apps is smooth and quick. Amazon's user interface could use some tweaking when it comes to search and selection, but I get my Prime movies with no issues. I can't comment on USB and external files because I don't use them. The PQ on this player along with the smooth and friendly user interface got me to such a degree, I ended up ordering a second one for my other TV. I'm very happy with how things turned out. It's been a long haul, but Sony gets an A+ from me on this player.

Please note: Updating the firmware on this player can take a few minutes. It's quicker when the player is hard wired. The player has to be turned on again after the update is completely finished. Also, Sony customer support was friendly, responsive, and helpful when I called asking about the update. :) Panny needs to improve the quality of their customer service. Rather cut and dry in my experience.

Zmodo 8CH Video DVR Security Surveillance Camera System with 4 CCTV IR Outdoor Surveillance Black C

This DVR works really well. I purchased one as a gift and one for myself a few weeks ago. They've both been running and recording continuously for 2 weeks. The user interface on the DVR is very simple and easy to use, unlike some other DVR brands that have a poorly designed user interface. The remote pc and mobile phone interface also works great. This DVR allows you to set up recording on all cameras at the D1(highest cctv) resolution, but you have to adjust the frame rate depending on how many cameras are recording. On one system, I have 6 cameras recording continuously at D1, with 5 cameras at 10 frames/sec and 1 camera at 19 frames/sec. If I added a couple more cameras, I'd have to reduce the frame rate a little on each camera to still record at the D1 resolution. All-in-all, a great system for the price.

I have had this product about a month,every thing working as its supposed to. Very easy to set up had to buy extra length wire as included wire (60') not long enough for 2 cameras. Great quality pictures & good infared night vision. Great addition to anyones home security system.Still has room on DVR for 3 more cameras & PTZ camera .

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Should have done some more research before purchasing. Works fine but the cameras are very low end and have a very limited range at night. If you are just looking for a basic system this will work for you. FYI the networking instructions are horrible!!!! You better be somewhat IT savy!

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Toshiba SD-2200 DVD Player

• Dual-disc capacity plays DVDs and CDs
• Built-in Dolby Digital decoding
• HDCD decoding and precision filtering
• DTS and Dolby Digital output
• Optical and coaxial-digital output

After going through several DVD Players, I have found the PERFECT ONE -the Toshiba 2200 DVD Player!

This player features everything that one needs to start watching the movies you love:

* S-Video/ Component Video

* Dolby Digital Decoder

* Zoom (3 levels)

* Dual tray

* Coaxial & Digital audio output

It plays every DVD flawlessly, and the audio quality is superb. Do not even think about buying anything else, this is the player to get. It is worth every penny!

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After receiving this DVD player, I was able to set it up and start watching movies in less than five minutes. The picture is excellent, comparable to DVD players that cost hundreds more. The remote takes some getting used to, but is actually quite functional and logical in its setup. The value gets even better when you realize that it supports DTS audio as well. And to those who complain about the lack of an eject button on the remote, it's because if you have an entertainment center like I do, you probably don't want the tray banging against the glass when it comes out of the player. The fact is this player is easy to use, produces great audio and video, and is priced well to match. If you want a good high-end DVD player, the 2200 does the trick in every aspect. Gotta go now, finding more DVD's to watch this weekend!

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This is my first DVD player that I bought, and I was initially very happy with it....great price, great sound, great picture quality.

Then about 3 1/2 months after I received it, it stopped playing discs. I took it to an authorized Toshiba service center in late October, and after a few weeks found out the broken part was on backorder until Late November (suggesting that this is a flaw not unique to my machine). I still haven't gotten it back.... Furthermore, although the parts are covered by warranty, labor is not. A little ridiculous to pay for service to a machine that is not even half a year old.

My recommendation-don't buy as many people are having problems with it (look through other reviews) due to both shoddy equiptment and a dismal warranty.

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I have found this player to be of great value for the price I paid. Nice features include the option for optical, digital, or 5.1 output, easy to use interface, and a dual-DVD/CD changer. The sound is crystal clear, making the perfect complement to my Sony STR-DE835 receiver. All the extra features are great except for the fact that the remote is impossible to read in the dark, and the SD-2200 will _NOT_ play CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-RAM, or other such recordable media. However, it will play all your normal CDs, and even decodes the seldom used, but nice to hear, HDCD, or High-Definition Compatible Digital format, which effectively doubles the sampling rate of CDs (from 44kHz to 88kHz), for an incredibly clear CD listening experience. All in all, this player is a great choice for sub-$400 DVD players.

I've had my Toshiba DVD for nearly 1 year now, and for the last 4 months or so, there have been numerous problems, like frozen pictures, "lost" discs,high pixelation, etc. I finally got fed up and brought it to an authorized Toshiba service center. Firstly, it's only fully warranted for 90 days. After that, it's parts only for 1 year. This repair will cost me $125.00. Nice. Thanks. Also, the AUTHORIZED service center has had my DVD for 5 weeks and counting..."Maybe some time next week," they say. I'm sticking with Sony from now on!

Defender Sync 19 Inch LCD All-In-One Security System with 4 Hi-Res Indoor/Outdoor Surveillance Came

First off, the idea of this DVR security combo is fantastic. I loved having the monitor and dvr as one unit. However, after three weeks of use, a burning smell and 2 camera failures forced me to return the unit. I dont know if it was just this unit that was defective or if this is a widespread problem with these combo dvr's. Just check around to see if anyone else has been reporting similar problems. It's very time consuming to layout, set up, and configure your system just to take it down and return it after a few weeks of use. Good luck.

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Jazz Elite Hi-Definition Video Camera

It's a great little camera. You can't beat it for the price. It comes with all the hardware and software you will need to connect to a computer for downloading and editing videos and photos. Batteries for this camera has been hard to find. Amazon claimed to have them, but when I went to order them, they had been lined out. Also, make sure you get a memory card when you buy the camera. The internal memory isn't very large.

I received this product in a timely manner. I found it very easy to set up and was able to use it right away. The buttons are a little difficult to see as I am older but once I got the hang of it we took some great videos. I would recommend this product.

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Bought this camcorder as an alternative to the Flip because it was recommended by a friend who thought it was an excellent product. It has lived up to expectations and to the product description. It takes good single snapshots and the video quality is good. It is easy to use but the user's manual can be more comprehensive. I am in Guyana now and have take pictures of the rainforest as well as the Kaiteur Falls and have played them back. Did not have the time to download and instal the codec for sound so I have not been able to hear sound on playback on computer but hear it on recorder which is what had been indicated on manual.

There are still many features which I have not had a chance to explore but the main purpose for which I bought the camcorder has been fulfilled and will buy another for my wife.

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This my second Jazz camcorder. my first was a mod. HDV178. It is rigid, compact, and quick to use. This one is the Jazz HDV188. Wow! Nice. I bought it for my grandson who is on forward ops stationed in Afghanistan, 101 Army air born.

I bought him a cheap little Jazz model last year just before his deployment. Unreal... through patrols, combat, desert, sand, heat & icy nites the darned thing held up for near a year before he fell on it and broke a switch!!! This time I got him a nice model (newer than mine but the same HD v series).

He writes us that he and his company buddies have gotten more enjoyment and fun out of that little video/photo camcorder than all the other pass-time gifts and distractions that they've received.

For PFC 1 class K.A. Smith

signed granddad

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Sony HXR-NX70U NXCAM Professional Camcorder

Overall, end product (film quality) is great. G series lens lives up to its rep. HOWEVER:

HUGE HUGE HUGE Problem with this camera is the zoom. It's beyond terrible. The see-saw zoom button that rocks back and forth is so bulky and unpredictably inaccurate it's worthless. you have to depress the button half way (which is a good quarter inch) until it does anything and then it's so sensitive that it zooms in out out super fast out of your control. Even worse, the zoom ring on the barrel of the lens is unusable. THIS PRODUCT SHOULD NOT EVEN HAVE BEEN SHIPPED LIKE THIS. In my eyes, it's broken right out of the box. The reason you can't use the barrel zoom is because when you turn it ever so slowly for a creeping zoom, it steps in little tiny jerk movements. In other words, it zooms in like this: "zoom, pause, zoom, pause, zoom, pause,"etc. It renders your footage worthless. And I'm not talking super slow either. I'm talking at a medium speed it does this. So it's either super fast zooms or no zoom. How could a conglomerate like Sony ship these with such a design flaw is unfathomable. I have read other reviews of this camera with the same gripe so it's not just me. So there is really no usable zoom on this almost $3000 camera. Lastly, it's only a 10x zoom which is nothing. Gimme a 20x at least like all the other cameras in this price range (It has a digital zoom but we all know you cannot even use that in a professional end product. It looks like utter garbage I don't even know why it's offered, it's just "cropping" the frame, it's not actually zooming). Anyway, all the pros to these cons can be found in any other cameras in this price range (IE 24-60i frame rates) so i wont mention them. Here are a few notable unique pros worth mentioning:

Pros: it is supposedly water/dust proof which I'll never use (or be confident enough to attempt ruining my new camcorder)

The wide angle G series lens operates at low light very well. Night shot might prove to be useful one day, the user interface is laid out very intuitively. Reminds me of my Nikon D90 DSLR menu ... kind of... and I am a big fan of the on board analog mixer which has a 10db and 20db pad for the condenser mic. In the end the half inch sensor in this beast gives me incredible imaging so I'll keep it, but damn it Sony, you better come out with a software update to fix the zoom so i can change this review and give you 4 or 5 stars!!!! Until then, I would only recommend this camera to people who will not be zooming in or out of the subject they are filming. Which is no one.

P.S. For almost $3000 you can give us the longer lasting FV100 battery. It's like a $30 difference sheesh. how cheap are these guys?

I've been a pro videographer for over 10 years and always look for video cameras that perform extremely well without having to pay 5-10K. For the money, this cam is extremely good. The claimed features and specs are real. The depth of color is outstanding. Plus, the low lux setting is much more than a small enhancement. There's a definite improvment at venues with lower lighting. Very good cam. I would add 2 features: Controls for the zoom speed & streaming video out/firewire. We proudly use this at XoomworX.

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We bought this camera for a high school to shoot events and such. It is a GREAT camera!!! WE LOVE IT!! The Menus are easy to access and get around. The option for internal storage or SD Card is GREAT!!! I shoot a football game on the internal storage for the team and halftime events on the SD Card. I agree with the other review the zoom control sucks. FORGET about a smooth slow zoom. I have stopped using the zoom controls and now ONLY use the ring to control zoom. Even this does not produce a smooth zoom and the zoom ring is backwards to me. BEST product we have bought in a long time!!!

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I wasn't sure about buying this camera. The rain/dust proof feature is quite important to me, but didn't want to spend 3K on something with bad reviews... Well, last month Sony released the so waited firmware update, solving a lot of the main problems exposed here... I bought the camera 2 weeks ago, and I'm really happy with it. Of course it lacks the features found on 5K $ cameras, but this one has more than enough to me. It's a great product....and rainproof!!!

UPDATE months later: I enjoy more and more this little camera! Image quality is fantastic (check some at my Vimeo page for a small sensor camera. The trend today is dslr video, but if you're looking for a very easy way to capture good footage, this camera is great. No need for lens changing, great sound, zebra, peaking, histogram, acceptable manual controls for everything when you need... I'm happy with my choice to document our canoe trips and even some paid jobs.

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HXR-NX70U Firmware Upgrade

Sony is offering a firmware upgrade for NXCAM Camcorder "HXR-NX70U". The applicable products are with the firmware version "Ver.2" or earlier.

Additional HXR-NX70U features*

1. Improvement of zoom rocker operation(Selectable zoom speed)

2. Dual Recording for Simultaneous Rec. to its internal memory and memory card

3. Added 1920x1080/30p and 1280x720/60p.

4. The EXPANDED FOCUS and HISTOGRAM buttons are now assignable keys.

5. Added Last Scene Review feature.

6. The Display ON/OFF button now also controls display of the Face Detection Box onto video output.

7. Display ON/OFF optionally overlays Zebra and/or Histogram display onto video output.

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Pyle Home PHDMF2 Dual HDMI Wall Plate

Neither HDMI port worked on this when it arrived. I tried it on two tvs with many different HDMI cables. I would avoid this product.

USed this to wire my DVD and satellite directly to the TV throught the waal.

Works great and i'm happy with the item.

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I wanted a wall plate to put in a media closet and this worked great. I ran 50' of HDMI cable through my attic and connected it this piece. After two months of use, it is still working great. This wall plate is a great option for people, like me, who like clean connections.

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Best price on the web. Very easy to install. I used this to cleanup the ugly clump of cables running down the wall and over the mantel. Works great.

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Purchased two of these and both ports on both parts are very sensitive. Plugs inside the wall are nice and tight and work well. The outside ones though are a different matter. You have to make sure and seat the the cable connector firmly all the way in, then make sure you don't move it. Any movement at all and the picture, sound, or both will quit and you have to take it off and reseat it. Tryed 3 different cables, same result.

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Pharos Traveler 127 Unlocked Phone with gps navigation, Wi-Fi, Windows Mobile 6.1, 2 MP Camera, Med

Touch screen is not sensitive enough. GPS software (Smart Navigator software) that come with it is really bad. Smart Navigator has a very poor user interface compare to OCN8. I couldn't use any other GPS software (TOMTOM, Iguidance). You can install them, but they wouldn't start. Garmin XT (One of the worst GPS software) works and Finally made OCN8 working by doing some editing. Build quality is very poor. Feels plasticky. Very low call volume. If you are in the city you cannot hear anything. Poor battery life. Compare to HP iPAQ 910 Business Messenger it is very slow. In my opinion if you want a QWERTY keyboard enabled Windows Mobile device buy HP iPAQ 910 Business Messenger (it also has poor battery life).

From the specs, a wonderful smartphone. Except that voice dailing is unsupported. And that it apparently doesn't work with bluetooth certified devices. And let's not forget the GPS that can't find a satelite at night. Or the company's refusal to provide warranty support if you received one as a gift and therefore don't have a receipt.

Let's also not forget the poor battery life and the microSD slot only accessable with the battery cover removed. My advice: buy anything else.

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My experience with this phone is different from other users. My previous phone, a blackberry .. was my 4th blackberry in under 2 years so I have officially given up on the company. They don't make phones like they used to. That's how I discovered this phone .. I was looking for a phone that could do all my tasks at work and still handle a decent phone call or occasional picture. Some of the reviews for this phone were outstanding and others were down right terrible. I found a good deal for it on the internet, ordered it, and it arrived within the week. Its features are really good and it could do everything my blackberry could (at least on paper) and more. I have used blue tooth with it no problem. I used the gps at night no problem. It was a little clunky with regard to applications but I changed my sd card from a 512mb to a 2 gig and that fixed it. I even upgraded it to windows 6.5 using a nifty hack by Erick Will. This phone puts my blackberry to shame. Now on the other hand my girlfriend has a google phone that makes my phone a little prehistoric in comparison. But, a lot of the applications I get standard with my phone (courtesy of windows), she has to purchase from android marketplace so I reckon its a win/win for me. I recently had to contact Pharos tech support due to an intermittent microphone issue. Their support was outstanding and offered to replace my phone under warranty (thanks Natalie). Hows that for customer service? Now, my largest gripe for this phone is its lack of accessories. Try finding a case or cover for it. Impossible!

If Pharos still makes phones in the future, and I am still in a financial position to purchase a phone from them (since its a world phone it doesn't come from a cellular provider and must be purchased outright), I probably will get a Pharos phone again. That is a lot of "if's" especially in today's economy where no-one has any money and technology is getting faster and cheaper. But, if you are in a position to give this phone a try, I would say you should go for it. Its a very decent phone.

Read Best Reviews of Pharos Traveler 127 Unlocked Phone with gps navigation, Wi-Fi, Windows Mobile 6.1, 2 MP Camera, Med Here

Samsung D807 White Phone (AT&T)

I love this phone. Went from a Motorola RAZR to LG CU500 to this in a very short time and can easily say this phone beats those in a hearbeat in terms of ease of use and looks!

If you find its short cuts which after a week of use you will you'll see it's extrememly customizable and easy to use. CNET rated it excellent after their extensive review system and said the only fault they found in it was the 'slippery' keypad which I have not had any problems with coming from the flat keys of the RAZR.

To the person that called this phone upgly, couldn't be more wrong. Unless you're looking at $600 phones out in the Asia and Europe market right now, there isn't a better looking phone out there!

p.s. the white is much more attractive but more feminine.

I have had this phone for a little over a week and I am in love with it. It's so fashionable and functional at the same time. And with bluetooth and iTunes, you can make your own ringtones from any song in your library and then bluetooth it to your phone in the blink of an eye! So cool!! I can't find anything bad to say about the phone --the MP3 player is awesome with a sweet display --i bought the extra SD memory card and I have so much room now --the camera is incredible quality for a phone. 1.3 megapixels turns out to be a 11 x 17 inch photo at 72 dpi. I printed one out and was amazed! My friends are so jealous of this phone and all the stuff it can do. I love the colors on the displays, especially the rainbow color of the numbers! I'm very happy I bought it and you will be too!

Buy Samsung D807 White Phone (AT&T) Now

This phone truly is amazing. I researched phones a ton before actually receiving this phone, and let me tell you that no review does it justice. It's a beautifully designed phone. The camera is okay for a phone and the buttons are a bit slippery, but you can customize almost everything on this phone (sounds, fonts, colors, etc.) It's small and I don't see any problem with the earpiece volume. My last phone was a Sony Ericsson K790A and the call volume was worse, although if you're used to a loud volume you may be disappointed.

The most annoying part of this phone is that the phone makes an annoying beeping sound with every single button you push (menus, text messages, dialing literally every single button). You can turn it off, but you have to turn off ALL keypad sounds in order to do it. Not a big deal, but I really liked the dialing voice that actually pronounced the number you were dialing while you were dialing, but alas, it has to be off to avoid the headache-giving beeping noise.

Overall I would recommed this phone to anyone. It isn't the most feature-rich phone on the planet, but if you like customization and having a very cool-looking phone, this is the one!

You will get a lot of compliments with this phone, and in my opinion the white is such an improvement over the black. It looks extremely clean and it's different than any phone out there. I wish I knew how many compliments I've gotten in the week I've had it.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung D807 White Phone (AT&T) Here

I just got my Samsung phone today and I must say that it is the best phone I've had so far. I upgraded from my Razr and the difference is night and day.

PROS:

1. Lightweigh but still durable enough not to break easily

2. Color scheme is perfect

3. Camera is better than many other of today's phones

4. Can make a call with the slide down

5. Easy to navigate menu

6. Long battery life

7. Great reception

8. Volume is sufficient

9. Doesn't get dirty easily

10. Easy to see icons

CONS:

1. Only comes with phone and charger (thought maybe small memory card)

2. When first starting out, performing simple tasks may seem difficult. IE. transfering music, photos, videos etc.

There are so many good things with this phone that they outweigh the bad. I highly recommend this phone to children who want the music aspect of the phone, and to adults who want a quality phone for a reasonible price.

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I have had this phone for about a month and love it. This phone has everything i need like:

Big Screen < Games are easy to see, and better game play compared to other phopnes with small screens. This phone displays big text wich is way easier to see and can be customizable. >

1.3 Mega Pixel camera < Pictures are very good for a phone, but not that good to print out. In the other hand 1.3MP is better than VGA >

MP3 Player < Very Good MP3 player ! Speaker is CLEAR and LOUD, but it would have been beter if it was a bit louder. I haven't tried hearing music through the samsund headphones yet.>

Expandable Memory < This phone comes with 18mb of internal memory, wich is more than enough, for games, graphics, ringtones, pictures, and any other data you save on the phone. But, if you plan to have more than 4 full songs on this phone, you will need a Micro SD card. Be aware ! this phone supports up to a 1 GB. I went out to get a 2GB, when i slide the 2GB card on my phone, it showed 998,687K of free memory ( 1,000,000K = 1GB ), and not 2GB, wich is about 1,998,000K. I went to return the 2GB for a 1GB and my phone showed the same amount of free space. >

This phone has very good reception, and good call quality. The speaker is a tad low, sometimes it is hard to hear the person you are talking to. Sometimes i have to enable the speaker to hear in loud enviroments, and even that the speaker isn't very loud. The download time for a song from my computer to the phone is about 25 seconds. I have problems trying to transfer songs to my phone because somtimes it doesn't let me. When a song is tranfering, it will stop at 20% and then displays a window wich says: FAILED TO TRANSFER FILE. I have to keep trying this for about 5 times, until it is able to transfer the file, after that i will be able to transfer about 15+ songs until it fails to transfer another song.

brite-View BV-980H Digital HD DVR (for Antenna and clear QAM use) ,with 320GB HDD Built-in, EPG Sup

I think this high definition single-tuner hard disk recorder was a great concept on paper, but I think it was rushed to market before the user interface was thoughtfully created and tested. I ordered one and tested it extensively for two weeks, and ultimately returned mine. Mine got returned MOSTLY because it was apparently defective (so said brite-View technical support when I explained the problem I was having -which was that it was not receiving a solid signal, so my video had pixelation in it, which in turned interfered with successful recordings -recordings would end unexpectedly midway through recording). And no, I didn't have a bad feed or bad wiring. All my other digital devices (1 HDTV and 2 other digital recorders) worked flawlessly.

I was using the unit to record not from antenna, but from cable TV (it will work with either). It does work well (assuming you don't have a defective unit like mine apparently was) to record "QAM" digital cable TV signals -that is, HD cable TV signals that are not encrypted by the cable company and do NOT require a cable company set-top box to be connected to your digital recorder or HDTV. I am just a "basic cable" subscriber and do not need/use a set-top box. My cable company (as many/most do) provides unencrypted HD channels of all the local broadcast TV channels in my area, plus a few others like community access channels. All that with no set-top box and for "only" about $20/month.

My unit's defect notwithstanding, the unit made beautiful HD recordings (when it could lock onto the cable signal).

However almost everything else about USING the unit was difficult. The menu's are not thoughtfully laid out and it takes lots of navigation to get from one feature to the next. The process of scanning for available channels, and then customizing your own list of usable and favorite channels is buggy and unfriendly. It took me LITERALLY 4 hours one evening to customize my channel list after an auto-scan of my cable feed.

Even simply trying to "channel surf" while watching live TV through its own tuner or while setting up a timed recording was frustratingly slow. It takes 2-3 seconds to go from one channel to another, so if you need to flip through 10 channels to get to another channel you want, you better not be in a rush -it could take you 30-60 seconds or more, just to change the channel! The "favorites" channel feature would help speed up that channel changing process -if it worked properly, which it does not.

Setting up timed recordings (and then later retrieving the successful recordings) are also more difficult than any other recording device I've ever used. First of all, all timed recordings are set using military time. If you are unfamiliar with military time, you have to keep making the conversions in your head (or use a cheat-sheet which I created) just to get it to record at the right PM hour (what real time is "17:30" again??)". Then finding the resulting recordings in another section of the menu system is difficult, because the resulting displayed file names are written/formatted in techno-geek code (again including military time references in the recordings' file names), and again you have to do some mental decoding to interpret which file is which. Nowhere in the set up and then the recording of programs can you simply enter the program's actual name for easy reference. This unit is nowhere even close to the ease of programming of say Tivo (the gold standard), or even of Windows Media Center, or how my Panasonic digital recorders work. Even 1980's era VHS recorders made program recording easier!

So, even though the unit makes an excellent actual recording of an HD signal, I have to give it a thumbs down ultimately, due to its other many shortcomings in its user interface. If you don't care about an easy-to-use intuitive interface, and are a VERY VERY patient individual, you might actually like this recorder.

If you are seriously considering buying this unit, I strongly recommend that you first read through the "AV Science Forum" which has a long thread of discussion about this unit from those who've purchased it. Google "AVS Forum" and then at site, search "BV-980H."

Probably like several other users, I heavily rely on digital OTA channels and netflix to feed my TV in the daily life. I found brite-view DVR might be a choice since it supports EPG schedule recording and usb port for increasing recording capability.

First, I have only used it for few days so I wasn't able to test out all of the features but I did get to test out the basic ones. Here are some thoughts:

1) the size,weight and built quality is decent enough.

2) user manual is not that useful and you probably need to download newer version on their website.

3) after finish initial setup, you have to press "menu" button on the remote to scan TV channels.

4) remote control is not really responsive.

5) it takes between 5-10 secs to load EPG and you can view detailed program description from EPG.

6) video quality is good. (I am using RCA ANT1650 with BV-980H)

7) takes too many steps to play my recordings under file management. (got the email form them and they will add shortcut on the menu for ME :)

When I emailed and called technical support to ask how I should scan OTA channels from 980H (not showing on instruction), they also told me they will update new firmware to fix some bugs and improve the performance by end of July. So far, it works as advertised to get 4 stars. I will wait for their new firmware and upadte my review later.

Buy brite-View BV-980H Digital HD DVR (for Antenna and clear QAM use) ,with 320GB HDD Built-in, EPG Sup Now

I tried two of this item & neither was satisfactory. I returned the first one for a replacement. Now I am returning the second one for a refund. Both units had the same problems. The timer record function on both units was unreliable. They would often fail to record the scheduled time frame. The sound was also a problem. There would often be no sound when playing a recorded program or when viewing real time. I could get the sound to come in by toggling the source button on the remote (can not toggle this during play back, so I had to make sure the sound was working before starting play back.) This is not a game I wanted to play. The unit is not user friendly. It takes too many steps to find & play a recorded program. When viewing the list of recorded programs, there is no thumbnail preview. There is no provision to delete multiple programs at one time. There is no provision to lock (protect) a recorded program so that it does not accidently get deleted. These are the most irritating problems. There were more. I do not recommend this product.

Read Best Reviews of brite-View BV-980H Digital HD DVR (for Antenna and clear QAM use) ,with 320GB HDD Built-in, EPG Sup Here

Great idea, extremely poor execution.

I would only recommend this to someone who wanted to waste time and money. I returned mine.

Some of the problems:

1. Manual is nearly worthless. Eg, does not tell you how to play back what you have recorded. No support contact info in the manual.

2. The firmware that came with the unit is aweful. Must have been a 7th grade school programming project.

3. The firmware upgrade is not that much better. Must have been an 8th grade school programming project.

4. Could not get it into Pacific Daylight Savings time. No matter what I did, it would never show the right time. Finally gave up and let it be Pacific Standard time. This required a lot of conversion just to set up a recording time.

5. Twice I left the unit alone for a couple days. Turned on the TV. Unit had locked up on its own. This required a reboot by unplugging power.

6. Rebooting from turning power off and on caused some of the programming to disappear.

7. Program guide that loads on the screen is slow to load and slow to respond to the remote control.

8. Support is pretty much non-existent. My second call was never returned.

There is a need for a high-quality device to record over-the-air TV. Whichever company can actually make it happen will be a big winner. The company that put this device together is unlikely to be the big winner.

Interestingly, LG made an LCD digital TV with a built-in DVR that gets program information over the air. A friend has one of these and uses it only with over-the-air TV and it is fantastic. It is an LG 42LD1DR. Why LG does not produce a stand-alone digtial receiver with DVR is beyond me, because they obviously know how to make it work well.

Want brite-View BV-980H Digital HD DVR (for Antenna and clear QAM use) ,with 320GB HDD Built-in, EPG Sup Discount?

Written October 24, 2011:

It gets the job done... barely.

It does some things very well:

I can't tell the difference between the original broadcast and a recording.

If you record to a USB Drive, you can move the USB drive to a PC and play the recordings back or (using your own software) burn a DVD for your Aunt Millie. (You have to set-up the USB Drive recording in advance, it`s not possible to copy programs between the internal hard drive and a USB drive after the fact.)

If the power fails: The settings and recording schedule are remembered.

However, after playing with the brite-view bv-980h for just a couple hours I found...

Live TV

----------

The info button displays the Date/Time, Channel Name, Program Name and etc, but does not display the Episode Description. (The Episode Description can be seen from the EPG by highlighting a program.)

If you pause Live TV: When you start to play again, a large overlay banner is displayed at the bottom of the screen until you exit the time delay function.: Really annoying.

While recording a TV Show from the schedule , a large overlay banner is displayed at the top of the screen: Very annoying if you want to watch a show while it is being recorded.

Electronic Programming Guide (EPG)

-----------------------------------------------

I *assume* that all single tuner DVRs must tune to each channel to retrieve that channel's guide information. That would explain why it takes about 15 seconds to display each 6-channel page of guide information.

However, the brite-view makes this issue worse, because:

1) It does not remember *any* EPG info. If you page forward, then back, you still have to wait 15 seconds for the first page to reload. It should remember the entire guide for at least an hour.)

2) It uses the tuner to display the currently selected channel (It should use the tuner to retrieve the EPG info for the *next* page.)

3) You can not jump to a channel within the EPG by entering the channel number on the remote. Obviously, you should be free to jump anywhere within the EPG by entering the channel number.)

4) It does not have page-up/page down keys. If you want to display the next page, you have to press the Menu Down key six times, and each time, you have to wait a couple seconds while it tunes to that channel. (The channel up/down keys should move a single channel. While the menu up/down keys should move an entire page.)

I can receive 30 channels. Working as fast as I can, it takes me almost 2 minutes to bring up the guide and page down to the last (fifth) page.

While viewing the Electronic Program Guide, you can set a recording by highlighting a show and pressing the record button. However:

1) There is a bug: If I page backwards from the first page to the last page, then highlight a program on the last page and press record: It will record the wrong channel. (It will record the channel from the same position on the first page, not the channel from the last page.)

2) There is no way to record a series from the EPG. (You can schedule a single recording, exit the EPG, go into the Menu and change the scheduled recording from single time to repeating Daily/M-F or weekly. That process takes about 15 to 20 button presses.)

3) If you attempt to record a program that has already started, you will receive the message "Date/Time not feasible". (You can record a program that has already started by pressing the record button from Live TV.)

4) You can not tell what shows are scheduled for recording from the EPG (After pressing the record button, a red dot is initially displayed in the episode description area, but the dot is lost as soon as you move off the episode.)

Menu System and Settings

---------------------------------

In my time zone (EST), it's not possible to set the clock to the correct time. Manually changing the time has no effect. Turning Daylight Savings Time (DST) on and off has no effect. There are only 6 Time Zones to select, EST is the east most. The Automatic Time set is off by an hour. At least people in other time zones can correct the time by setting the box 1 time zone to the east.

It takes *seven* button presses to display the list of recorded shows. (There is a nice big "Source" button that toggles between Live TV and Video In. It should rotate between Live TV, Recorded Shows and Video In.)

Editing the Favorite Channel list has no effect.

It's not possible to go directly between the EPG and the Menu. (You have to exit to Live TV, then enter the other.)

The menu button is not consistent. It should always toggle between Live TV and the home screen of the menu. However, if you are viewing the list of recordings (a menu sub-screen) it will toggle between that and the home screen of the menu.

Remote Control

--------------------

There is no button to directly access recordings.

The EPG button is small and buried amongst the skip forward and skip backward controls.

Conclusion

--------------

The bv-980h was released over 6 months ago, and there have not been any firmware updates.

brite-view should show some pride in their product and fix some of these issues.

============================================

Update: I could not take it anymore. I'm returning the DVR. Instead, I'm going to use my office PC as a DVR.

My Office PC has an HDMI output. Also, I already have a USB ATSC tuner and a media center remote control. I've purchased a 25 foot HDMI Cable ($5), and a 30 foot Active USB extension cable ($12), I'm going to run both cables from my office into my basement celling and into my living room.

Wish me luck!

Save 4% Off

Samsung SC-DX103 DVD Camcorder

I got the Samsung DigitalCam SC-DX103 from retail for $277 (without tax) to record my brother play the piano @ the Manchester Music School. There was a $680 Sony HandyCam with the Dolby 5.1 surround sound and really high quality video recording, but I didn't want to pay $400 extra & I doubted if the sound quality (my DigitalCam has Dolby Stereo sound) would be significantly better on the Sony Handycam because most of the costs would go to the video quality & not audio. So, for my purpose of recording a concert, I thought that this should suffice.

It did there was a bit of booming in the sound quality when I recorded myself playing piano but it wouldn't matter. At first, I thought that the camcorder might actually be terrible buy because after I made several test tries I played the videos from the camcorder & the sound was awful. Actually, the camcorder's speakers are mediocre & they sound terrible when they play the piano recording, but the actual recording's audio is not bad --> if you play the recording from a computer or a tv it should be fine.

The video quality was okay. In fact, the camcorder's software would make the recording really crisp & clear, but the only thing that made the whole thing "ok" was the smaller resolution of the recording--> doesn't look necessarily crisp on a tv. the video was fine in all circumstances except in really dark environments. then everything would turn unpleasantly gray. there's a c. nite function which i haven't used but i looked up & i think it's a special mode for dark situations.

the lcd has backlight function which, according to wikipedia, increases readability in low light conditions.

it also has wind cut function if you want to cancel out of noises caused by heavy winds.

its zoom is 34x optical & up to 1200 x digital. i tried the optical zoom @ 34 x, but i realized that my hand shaked too much (i.e. heartbeat) --> made me wonder if the 34x was just a hype & it was actually completely useless. then in the menu i found the anti-shake function that did reduce the shaking significantly (but there still was some shaking) at maximum zoom. the shake is almost unnoticeable in normal zoom.

something that amused me was the digital effect function. it has different modes including black & white, negative, art, emboss, mosaic, etc. the emboss & mosaic modes were really artistic & interesting the camera shows a modified version of my recording (as i am recording) & it looks like some sort of art painting done by picasso.

if you compare this to a similarly priced camcorder lets say "Sony Handycam DCR-HC30" @ 279.99 (see CNET review),

the samsung camcorder has larger resolution 720 x 480 @ widescreen (vs. 640 x 480), the same low light mode & image stabilization, better video format (mpeg-2 for dvd rather than mpeg-1 for vcd)

the sony contestant has a touchscreen lcd display that samsung camcorder doesn't but CNET says the response on the sony's touchscreen is terrible & I really like the feel & the response of the small joystick on samsung's display, so I'd think that the touchscreen on the sony handycam is a waste of money & samsung made a smart decision in putting a regular display with joystick control while putting that extra money into video quality

both have easy mode (enlarge menus, etc.), the sony lacks the 34x optical zoom (it has 10x)

both weigh .9 Ibs.

so in fact, after writing this review & doing all the research, i actually feel even better with my purchase. i give 4/5 stars (sony would get 3/5 stars)

ah, forgot to mention that if you use smart card for this camcorder, you can take pictures --> you can use it as a camera too.

Maybe I'm asking too much for a $250 product, but I feel a little misled. In addition to the MiniDVD record capability it has a flash memory where you can take video and pictures too. The product came out this year, so I thought I could use a couple larger flash memory cards and mainly record video that route. Once I get this, I learn it only takes 2GB cards (no SDHC). So I buy 4 2GB cards and a 3pack of MiniDVDs, figuring I'd just use flash memory and that would be easy enough for most of my recording. The first time I put in an SD card and see that the screen switches from 16:9 to 4:3 on me. I discover that it only records 4:3 on SD. And I learn that it records in MPEG4 for SD memory (versus MPEG2 on the DVDs). I understand their MPEG4 has proprietary codecs, etc. I tried importing video into Sony Vegas, but found it would not read the format off of the MiniDVD. I tried re-ripping the DVD using DVD Decrypter, but that still did not work as once I dragged the video file into Vegas, I got only video (no audio). Also, in general I found the use of the MiniDVD's on this Samsung to be not very attractive. Like many users, I pause when recording. When viewing the recorded DVD, each pause at the end of a segment would show as a frozen image for 2-3 seconds before moving to the next scene, which is very annoying compared to using tapes to record to. Thanks to Amazon's generous return policy, I'm not at a loss. Am seriously considering going the High Def route, as it seems many of those products have less problems (based on reviews here) for someone like me who wants to be able to do some editing of the video I shoot.

Buy Samsung SC-DX103 DVD Camcorder Now

I made a HUGE mistake buying this camcorder. Let me preface by saying I did not get it at Amazon, but a "box" store, and could not return it, even though it was only 32 days old. The two year warranty was only for AFTER the manufactures warranty, and Samsung only warranties for defect and repair, they will NOT replace or refund anything.

That said. The worst part of this Cam. was the loss of video for not using the "specific" mini-dvd-rw's the manual recommends. You can NOT use just any brand of mini-DVD in this camera, or you could cause 'data loss, and the disk could become jammed in the disk slot. All of this information was "conviently" located in the manual in fine print under the 5th bullet of DVD Disk types / functions, nothing on the box suggests these potential problems. IF you buy this camera only use TDK, MKM, or Verbatim disks specifically for Video cameras. If you don't....

Our first use of this camcorder was a two week trip to New York and Canada's Niagra Falls. This is a once in a lifetime trip for my husband and I and we purchased this camcorder specifically for this trip. Initally, it was excellent. The video quality was what we expected for the $$ we spent, and it was very easy to use. After recording approx. 10-15 min. the cam. gave us a black screen of death and said disk error. Fine, as we brought two diff. types of DVD-RW's two diff. brands sold by the same store we bought the camera in...and were told it would work with our camera. Each and every DVD ended up having disk errors and by the time we got home and were able to check what was recorded PRIOR to the errors, realized that NOTHING was there. The disk errors remained and we LOST our entire trip...mind you, this was 10 disks worth of filming our trip. All due to disk error.

The Second WORST feature...you cannot upload your DVD's from the camcorder to your computer for editing. YOU can only edit from the camcorder itself and any transfer of data is for viewing only. You can't use DVD's of any type to upload for Facebook, U-Tube or any other computer program. Instead, you have to buy the SD card, which is optional and a paultry max of 2gb!! (Equates to very small amounts of video). In this case you can only use what has been recorded to the SD card and cannot transfer between the DVD and SD card. THIS was completely unacceptable to me, even for a $200 camcorder!

Moral of the Story: Store would not take it back. Samsung won't refund, replace, or otherwise. We are stuck with a camcorder we HATE, and out $200, plus another $400, getting the one we should have gotten in the first place!!!! UGH... Buyer beware!

Read Best Reviews of Samsung SC-DX103 DVD Camcorder Here

I got this primarily as a throw-away car cam, throw away in the sense that if (or when) it dies I'm not going to be bothered by its demise. The main selling point on this camera to me was that it records video to SD and that it was only $149 at a local price club new. Since then I've seen it as low as $99 new on a common online auction site, still a fair price for what it does.

Just for the heck of it I tried to record to some miniDVD disks I was given, but it wouldn't recognize them. I didn't bother to try figuring out if it was an issue of compatibility or the camera being defective since the little disks only hold (a pointlessly short) 30 minutes anyway compared to the 2+ hours of video on 2GB SD cards. This camera doesn't work with SDHC so 2GB is the biggest that can be used. However, those can be found all day for less than $10 shipped.

All following comments relate to using the SD card only for recording.

Video and sound quality are fair. Controls are simply arranged and easy to reach. Start up time from first power switch activation to the RECORD button being recognized is a longish 9 seconds, in part due to the fact that the disk drive does seeks looking for a disk even when there's not one in the camera. No disk is required to record to SD. Under XP Pro, Windows Media Player with a generic downloaded codec pack reads the files from the SD card without issues.

I have not tried to edit any videos yet. There is no headphone jack and the built-in speaker is fairly mediocre, so you'll need a separate monitor for playback if you're wanting decent sound. Batteries are inexpensive and plentiful; battery life recording to SD seems fair. The SD card inserts in the bottom of the camera next to the threaded mount hole, requiring the camera to be dismounted in order to change cards.

The camera does have a built-in lens cap, that's a definite plus in my book. This camera uses a standard type of camcorder strap that goes over the back of the hand, but the strap and pad is very narrow compared to most other cameras I've used. The result is that when sliding my hand into the strap the pad and strap tend to roll and twist; It takes some effort to get your hand into the strap properly even after some practice. I will probably modify this camera to accept the strap from my old Cannon.

Would I buy this camera again? Only at this price or less. It's only a bit more expensive than the novelty flash video cameras and has a whole lot more features. It has proven to be quite suitable for in-car mounted use, especially since SD is impervious to vibration.

02.04.11 Edit: Battery is dead, new one on order for ten bucks free shipping as soon as I can find fifteen bucks worth of eligible items to buy with it. :) Also, I added an aftermarket wide angle lense to it to get a wider FOV. The existing FOV is too narrow to get much more than the windshield width with the camera mounted just by my right shoulder.

Want Samsung SC-DX103 DVD Camcorder Discount?

In a nutshell, this camcorder is inconsistent when recording to DVD. Fairly often, the screen will flash "disk error" and all of your prescious memories will be trapped on the disk, never to be seen by anyone. In other words, the camcorder will write bad data to the disk, making it unreadable. Unfortunately, once this happens, it cannot be corrected. Also, the battery life is no more than 10 minutes.

Save yourself some money and much dissapointment. Do not buy this camcorder (or anything Samsung). We've had one of thier digital cameras malfunction on us, too.

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Go Video Rave-MP ARC2.5c 2.5 GB MP3 Player

• Special Bonus: When ordered from Amazon.com, item comes with free DJ-style headphones valued at $49.95
• Stores up to 83 Hours of Music at 64 kbps; Plays for 10+ Hours with Included Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery
• USB 2.0 Connection for high-speed music transfer
• Plays MP3 and WMA Digital Audio files; FM Tuner with 20 presets; Records voice, live sound, and FM radio
• Includes 90 day warranty, 76 tracks with bonus music and free downloads from eMusic.com, Earbuds, USB Cable, Carrying Case, and Battery Recharger

I was amazed 2.5 GB for $79 after the rebate with a nice headphone to boot! Alas I should have read and trusted the reviews. So I got my MP and charged the battery using the charger unit. I left it chaging overnight and the next day I was able to download music to the player. Then I got the dreaded sad face with a mosquito bug next to it. I guess my son unplugged the USB cable from the Computer before unplugging it from the unit as recommended in one of the other reviews.

So OK I then used the phone number that another reviewer kindly gave out and pressed option 1 and 0 and only waited for less than 5 minutes to get a real live support person. I told him what happened and he ranted that I should never have charged the unit for more than 5 hours. It was my FAULT for not following directions and overcharging the unit overnight until it died!!

I went to the product manual and found out that they are making this up as they go. The manual clearly states to charge the unit for at least 5 hours not as I was told for ONLY five hours. I kindly mentioned the support moron that in my 30+ years of using electronic devices I never had a brand new unit die on me of suspected overcharging.

Anyway I'm glad I bought the unit at Amazon and I expect to get a replacement soon. I also bought the $9.99 extended warranty that will give me my money back up to a year from my purchase.

I will give the Rave MP3 another try and hopefully they will fix the battery charging problem and have a viable product.

Buy Go Video Rave-MP ARC2.5c 2.5 GB MP3 Player Now

The only thing that is more of a joke than this product is their customer support.

After three weeks I started to get sad face and bug icons(Now its all I get). You email their technical support with the problem and they send you their e-mail FAQ to you.

I called the technical support line, which by the way is 877-772-8367-You'll be needing it) and waited for at least 25 min. before hanging up (It also took a good 4-5 min to navigate thier automated phone system).

I paid $119 new, and I paid $119 too much.

Buyer beware.

Read Best Reviews of Go Video Rave-MP ARC2.5c 2.5 GB MP3 Player Here

I got this package upon its release because it had much more space and features than the iPod Shuffle (at the same price), and was significantly cheaper than the iPod mini.

Good features:

+ Built-in radio tuner is well integrated and works

+ Voice recording is a neat option if you want it

+ Included earbuds and headphones are decent

+ Sound quality is below average but decent for a portable device.

+ Driverless, no need to use proprietary software like iTunes.

Bad aspects:

Since it uses the computer directory rather than building its own index via proprietary software, be prepared for a lengthy indexing wait each time you change something on the drive.

User interface is "iPod-esque" but much clunkier and harder to use

Battery life is significanly less than the 10 hours in the specs

Doesn't charge through USB, requires a largish AC adapter

I could overlook the ergonomic and usability weaknesses in this item if the battery were just a bit better. As it is, I find myself wishing I had held out for the higher priced and higher quality iPod from Apple.

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I definitely don't recommend this product. When I record voice, it seems that there is a limit of 20 mins. If you inadvertedly record more than 20 mins the player freezes, so you have to reset it using the recessed button. The file system also has problems, I have several zero length files in the player that can not be deleted. I also hungs if you press the wrong key when recording from radio.

It seems that the firmware was never tested :-(

I had bought this in Nov for something to listen to on the bus and at work, about a week in I noticed that the screen had gotten really dusty and that there was nicks on the body, not much of a problem, then I found that to copy alot of music at once I would have to load everything....and then meet a error screen and everything gets all buggy. Still not to bad but annoying as hell.

Hitachi 2000 Sansi Lumens 3.9 Lb WXGA LCD Projector (CPX3)

This projector offers all the connectivity, including built-in speaker

for HDMI input and makes it an ideal projector to connect to portable video devices w/o speakers. It's light weight and small form factor and

including case is good as you don't have to shop for one more item!

Picture quality is good for the category this projector fits in (720p).

Main negative is NOISE, Fan is loud if you are in a quiet environment or

doing slide presentation. Even in economy mode, noise is too much. They

could have used less powerful lamp (2000 lumens is a lot) and run the fan

quieter.

Works very well and the picture quality is great. The wide screen format matches my laptop's native resolution. Automatic keystone adjustment is awesome and works so well (just aim the projector at screen at any vertical angle and the picture is always rectangular)

Buy Hitachi 2000 Sansi Lumens 3.9 Lb WXGA LCD Projector (CPX3) Now

Olympus VN-90 Digital Voice Recorder

If you need something simple and inexpensive this is the product for you. Some key features: well designed -compact only 2.3 oz., quality built, good voice quality, receptive mic, good battery life, recording capacity (3 separate folders), reasonably priced. The negatives; can't download recordings to computer, the recording time for SP mode (and this is the mode I would recommend using for quality...) is only 67 minutes.

I needed a recorder for my children's violin lessons...bought a sony TCM-323 cassete recorder..hard to FF and REW exactly right..when practicing it wasted too much time, also the sound/clarity was fair.. Was not sure if a digital recorder could record what we needed, was going to be any better than the cassette recorder. We needed clarity to pick up the fine music of the violin.~~Spent the money for this product and already I do not know what I did without it! Not only does it record clear/free of all the sounds a cassette recorder makes...but the playback--is speedy and makes practicing a breeze! I love the small size! It is actually fun to use! The TWO folders are useful for different child's lesson...Only drawback is the SP mode (which is the best for clarity and sound) has only 1hr7min of recording time..wish it could be longer!! LOVE THIS PRODUCT!

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I had an Olympus DS-150, sadly it went through the washer one day. I didn't really like the controls on the DS-150, so I was looking for something that would be easier to operate. The VN-180 is well designed, with easy to use buttons. Nice, since I bought one for my retired Dad to help him keep track of things (he was skeptical, but now uses it every day) The VN-180 has 3 folders, 2 are general purpose, and the other is a schedule folder.

Alarms! You can set a Schedule alarm to play back that days schedule messages at a certain time each day. With the other two folders, you can set up to a total of 20 alarms (any date/time) tied to a specific message, that will cause the unit to beep (subdued), and then with any button press will play the associated message even if the unit is off. This is a very nice feature.

The recording quality in the SP mode is good (although not as good as the DS-150), and the LP mode is serviceable. You can set the sensitivity of the microphone (Hi/Lo) which does help with noisy environments. The VN-180 also has a fast playback option, and auto-shutoff. The only thing I don't like about it, is the quality of the LP recording.

Read Best Reviews of Olympus VN-90 Digital Voice Recorder Here

I use this device almost exclusively for doctor appointments

so I can remember what the doctors said during the session. It is quiet and unobtrusive no whirring noises. I place a mini-2-

mini cord between the earpiece socket on the olympus and my line

input on the computers soundblaster card, start up cool edit pro or any sound editor and push play and record the conversation to

a wav file which I then convert to an mp3 file. This way I have

a permanent record of ALL of my doctor appointments. For the price of the recorder, and if you are an aging baby-boomer whose

memory is starting to go south this device is a god send.

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Again, Olympus has succeeded in making a quality product. This model in particular served me quite well. I have had it for only half a year and it is in top shape. The features that this model contains are amazing. I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a serious device to record and store your thoughts.

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10 Pack 8cm/3" Inch Mini DVD-R Disc Disk for SONY HANDYCAM CAMCORDER DCR-DVD201

Shipped fast, but I'm disappointed. It says ''FOR Sony handicam'' However, they are NOT Sony discs like I wanted. When I place one in my Sony handicam of course it says ''Sony disc recommended'' so we will see how it works....

I had purchased my camera awhile ago. I was not able to find the 8cm 3" Mini DVD's for it. A friend advised me to go on Amazon.com and I would probably find them there. I was never on Amazon.com, so I wasn't sure exactly where to search. Amazon.com is a great website if someone is trying to find something they can not seem to find at a local retail store. I am excited that now I could use my camera again. It has been in the closest way too long.

Buy 10 Pack 8cm/3" Inch Mini DVD-R Disc Disk for SONY HANDYCAM CAMCORDER DCR-DVD201 Now

Honeywell Ademco 5843 Wireless Relay Module

If you have a 4 button ademco keyfob, chances are you have at least 1 extra button (normally there are buttons for off, on, panic, and then you run out of things to do). That 4th button activates this switch which has a normally open / normally closed output rated at 2A / 28VDC. The switch itself requires 9VAC or 12VDC to run, so be sure to have voltage present to operate it.

People often mistake that it can be programmed to operate from the 5800 series transmitter on your panel. IT CAN NOT. It only listens for unused buttons on the wireless devices (keypad, etc) and can enroll up to 8 devices to activate its one relay out.

I use it for a keychain mounted controller to my electric gate it gives me a handheld way to open the gate in addition to the pushbutton in car garage door opener design. It is handy if I am walking into a secure area and wish to open the gate partway to walk through then close it behind me and engage the 1200 pound mag locks to secure the gate.

Programming of that 4th button in your panel is an option as well (you could have it turn on lighs via x11 or some other feature) but be certain that the panel's receiver can hear your keyfob where you intend to use it. Consult the ademco vista series programming manual for further instructions here.

Audiovox D1710 7-Inch Slim Line Portable DVD Player

• Ultra-slim portable DVD player with 7-inch TFT active-matrix LCD screen; unit measures 7.75 x 1.125 x 6 inches (W x H x D)
• Anti-glare, anti-reflective screen coating maintains viewability even in bright areas
• Plays DVD-Video (NTSC/PAL), SVCD, VCD, CD and MP3 CD, and Kodak Picture CD; includes AV cabling and slim remote
• Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel passthrough to compatible audio/video receiver
• Includes 3-hour lithium-ion battery pack; offers built-in stereo speakers with Q-Surround simulated surround sound

I bought two Audiovox D1710 DVD playersone for each of my daughters for Christmas. Both arrived defectiveone kept shutting itself off after only about 30 minutes of viewing time (this happened whether using the battery or the 110 volt power supply). The other failed to recognize about half of the DVDs we tried to viewit kept giving us an error message which stated "Wrong Disk" (these were brand new DVDsnot old or scratched ones). Additionally both units had poor picture quality and had very distorted "pixelated" video on some new DVDs. The troubleshooting section of the manual was useless. The "Customer Service" portion of Audiovox's website was even more worthlessthere was no troubleshooting information even remotely related to the problems we were having. The Audiovox Customer Service Phone Number was even less helpfulyou cannot talk to a real person, and after a lengthy menu we were instructed to leave our name and number only to hear that "the mailbox is full"we never were able to leave any information. I finally returned both units for a refund and spent a little more to purchase two Sony DVDs. The Sonys work flawlessly, have beautiful pictures and much better sound. My advice is not to waste your money and your time on the Audiovox D1710spend the extra money to get something that works well.

Buy Audiovox D1710 7-Inch Slim Line Portable DVD Player Now

My wife and I had been thinking about buying a DVD player for home use. We do some traveling year-round and go camping in the summer, so it seemed like a good idea to get a portable DVD player, but we thought they were very expensive. We chose the D1710 for its portability, appearance, features and mostly its price range. At $200. or less, we weren't expecting much. Smaller 4.5"-screen players were only $30. to $50. cheaper.

The D1710 reads DVD's, CD-ROM's, MP3's, JPEG's, TIFF's, and possibly other types of disks/files. It has audio/video and coaxial outputs so you can watch movies on your regular TV, and it comes with a credit card-sized remote control, which works well. The screen is as clear as other players we saw on display costing twice as much, and the sound is typical for such small players with little speakers; it sounds good, but tiny. When using headphones or plugging into a TV or home stereo system the sound is crystal clear and as powerful as a home-based player.

So far we've watched about 10 or 12 movies on the D1710, and although it's tracking is decent, it's not flawless. We haven't played a single DVD yet that didn't momentarily skip or hang at least once or twice during the movie. An occasional black screen happens, but each time we waited and the movie picks right back up within maybe 5 to 15 seconds. To be fair, most of the movies we watched have been on cheap DVD's, and judging from reviews of more expensive units this seems to be quite common among portables.

The battery, though we've only used it once so far just to test it, lasted exactly 2.5 hours on the first charge. I understand the life increases after a handful of charges.

Lastly, we couldn't get JPEG's to show, and the manual is all but useless. I looked up the Audiovox website, which wasn't much more help. You have to create a user-account and then send off some text (no email address for help!), and someone will get back to you within 2 business days. They did, and directed me to call a toll-free number. It turns out that in order for the D1710 to read JPEG's, you need to record them onto disk using CD burning software as opposed to using the "drag and drop" CD feature in Windows XP. After that, it works fine.

Overall, this is a great player for $200.

Read Best Reviews of Audiovox D1710 7-Inch Slim Line Portable DVD Player Here

I have been dying to get a portable DVD player for years, then I received a 1710 for Christmas. It's been absolutely wonderful! When I first sat down to "try it out", I was upset because it seemed like the DVD player wasn't working. I admit, the quick help guide wasn't much help. Then I tried the AV IN/AV OUT button and discovered it was set in the incorrect position. What a simple fix! Since then, I have enjoyed watching an array of movies from mini DVD-Rs (1.4GB), full size DVD-Rs (4.6GB), old DVDs and new DVDs, and even rentals. Everything has played flawlessly. The sound quality is so good that it can be heard clearly from a different room. The picture quality is great in any of the 3 available format ratios. The function keys are spaced well for easy use and are easy to read. From a distance of approximately 10 feet, I could see the picture clearly, plus the remote control worked from that distance too. I've used my 1710 almost daily since I got it for Christmas and have had no problems yet. If my opinion changes, I will get back online to give an update. I can't attest to the customer service given by Audiovox because I haven't had to use them. :-)

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I purchased my Dvd player for a big trip the next day. I tested it out at home with the wall plug that was provided in the package. It worked great so i charged up the battery that night. Used the car adaptor the next day. The DVD cut off 15 min into it, and would not come back up. The player started to smoke so i returned it back and exchanged for another one (same brand). This one did the same thing except i used the battery instead of the adaptor and it started to smoke again. Even at the store it was smoking when the employee checked it out. I would not buy another one! Not worth it!

WILL NEED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY IF YOU BUY THIS PRODUCT! Worked fine on our first trip next use was outside of the 90 day warranty and it started freezing up about 30 minutes into a movie. It's next little trick was saying "wrong disc" or "no disc" with any and all DVDs or CDs I placed in it. So I have spent $200 for a trip worth of watching movies. NOT A GOOD DEAL! If anyone wants to buy it for the battery I'm selling :-)