Digital Recorder with headset-blk

Excellent recorder...sensitive, holds a lot of audio, easy to transfer to a PC.

I record my parrots on it, and can share the funny things they say with others. =)

(100) Red Colored Paper CD / DVD Disc Sleeves With Flap & Window #CDIWWFRD - Perfect for Organizing

These arrived quickly with free Super-Saver/Prime shipping. They are exactly what we expected in every way *except* color. This is a dull/flat red, a lot of orange in it. We were wanting to use these for Christmas CDs, but they really are not red enough.

If the color doesn't bother you, then these are just fine in every other way. Quality construction, window stays in place, etc.

Sure these are cheaper and they work, but you definitely get what you pay for.

The sleeves are very flimsy, very thin.

For archival purposes I would recommend going with the Memorex ones instead. They are much better quality.

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RCA TH1814 4 GB MP3 PLAYER WITH FLIP-OUT USB & DISPLAY

I have owned several sets (50+)of mp3 players. mostly from philips and sony. I need something that can accept aaa battery for a simple reason, I travel a lot. When I am in a foreign country, aaa battery can be found fairly quickly. This is not the case with li-ion battery since most foreign country I have been to use different voltage and outlet than the USA.

I bought 2 of these and so far I am impressed with the sound quality (I used SkullCandy noise isolating earbuds & toss away these stock earbuds).

Olympus DS-2 Digital Voice Recorder

The Olympus DS-2 Digital Voice Recorder is one of those breakthrough products that makes me want to recommend it to everyone I see.

Digital voice recorders have been around for a number of years and I have owned a few, a Sony and an older Olympus model. They have previously been very disappointing, mostly because of the poor sound quality. Comparing the DS-2 to older digital voice recorders is like comparing a high-end stereo system with a Victrola.

The DS-2 is a reasonably sized, very configurable digital voice recorder. But the term "voice recorder" is not the best description of this little gem. You will discover, as I did, that the quality of recording can be so good that you can easily record music and be quite satisfied with the incredible sound. It has a built-in stereo microphone and you can also attach an external stereo (or mono) microphone using the mini-jack mic input.

The built in speaker has decent output for its size. You can also use headphones or connect to a stereo or other audio device using the headphone output jack. I use a cassette tape adapter in my car which enables me to listen to my audio notes on my car stereo while driving.

The DS-2 has 5 different recording modes. 2 of them are Stereo (Stereo HQ-Stereo High Quality recording and Stereo SP-Stereo Standard recording) and the other 3 are mono (HQ-high quality, SP-standard recording, LP-long term recording). Olympus uses two different recording formats, WMA and DSS, depending on which recording mode you are in. WMA mode is used for all stereo recordings as well as the highest quality mono mode (HQ). The DSS format is used for the 2 lesser quality recording modes, SP and LP.

Recording time for the DS-2 can be as much as 22 Hours 20 Minutes in LP mode and as short as 1 Hour 5 Minutes in Stereo HQ mode. If you are using the DS-2 strictly for dictation or general voice reminders, you will be quite pleased with the recording quality in the lowest quality mode, LP. And remember that in this mode you can record for over 22 hours. I think that is pretty amazing. If you bump up the quality to SP, you can still record for over 10 hours. HQ mode records for over 4 hours. Stereo SP mode records for over 2 hours and Stereo HQ mode records for just over 1 hour.

You can alternate recording modes and your total time will adjust according to whatever mode you happen to be in.

The DS-2 display is small but more than adequate. The text is sharp and clear, while the back-lighting makes visibility excellent during daylight or in dark situations. There is contrast adjustment

The unit uses 2-AAA batteries. You can also use NIMH batteries if you want to be able to recharge batteries. Battery life is pretty good averaging about 10-12 hour while recording or 8-10 hours of playback.

The unit also comes with a USB docking station and software which works on both Macs and PCs. This enables you to upload audio files to your computer where you can then listen to them or just store them

Here are some of the other features of this device...

-5 folders which can hold 199 files each for a maximum of 995 recordings. You can also name your folders something other than the default "Folder A, Folder B", etc. There are also some pre-set folder names available such as ""Meeting", "Memo", "Note", and so on. Although it is tedious to change folder names on the player itself, using the DSS software and making the changes via the computer is a breeze.

-VCVA (variable control voice actuator). A fancy phrase that simply means you can set the device to only record when a certain loudness threshold has been reached. This enables you to avoid recording silence thus effectively extending the total recording time. This feature is very adjustable and you can adjust it to compensate for ambient background noise.

-Mic sensitivity can be adjusted for either "Dictation" which is lower sensitivity or "Conference" which is high sensitivity.

-Timer record function lets you set the recorder to begin recording at a specified time.

-File Comments: You can enter up to 100 characters to name a file. There are also 10 pre-set comments such as "Important", "Confidential", "Priority" and so on. Although it is tedious to add file comments on the player itself, using the DSS software and making the changes via the computer is a breeze.

-Noise Cancel Function: The recorder has a feature to reduce background noise during playback. This can be useful if the recording was made in an environment with a lot of background noise.

-Alarm: You can specify a time for an alarm to sound and you can also attach a specific file to play after the alarm is turned off. This is a great feature for giving you audio reminders at specified times.

-Variable playback speed: You can vary the playback speed in intervals up to 2x. This is great for listening to long recordings in half the time.

-Index Marks: You can "mark" files during recording or playback with up to 16 index marks per file. This is handy for quickly accessing specific parts of a long lecture, for instance.

-Files can be moved from one folder to another.

-The device can also be used as external memory for your computer...for the transport of files to another computer for instance.

The features are numerous, but easily accessed via an intuitive menu system.

I absolutely love this little device. It is an excellent performer with great features at a very good price. It is an excellent value overall.

As far as I can tell only Sony, Panasonic, and Olympus manufacture digital voice recorders. The Sony web site SORELY lacks good technical information on their units. In contrast the Olympus web site is rich in technical info and specs for their units. You can even download the DS-2 manual in .pdf format. The DS-2's sofware (DSS Player) is Macintosh compatible (OS X). It is clean, intuitive, and very functional even though it looks a bit OS 9-ish. It converts the .wma or .dss files to .aiff for manipulation in Garageband, iTunes, or Quicktime Pro. The DS-2 is simple to use and I am pleased with the sound quality right out of the recorder.

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The Olympus DS-2 has become my memory, and my safety net at work. I can't imagine working without it.

So why would I only give it 4 stars? It's not perfect. Let me give a few reasons and caveats:

First, the bad...

It's 64MB. I knew the recording time going in, and I'm not complaining -it's just a touch expensive given the memory size in my opinion. Wish it were 128 for this price.

There is no on-off; just a "hold" that essentially turns it off, sort of. Not a big deal, but you wouldn't know it unless you read the instructions thoroughly.

Finally, the menus. I really would suggest reading the manual about the recording lengths and qualities. Within the menu structure, it doesn't say whether you're recording as .wma or .dss, just hi-quality, super hi-quality, etc. etc.

Now the good...

It records in .wma file format. This is key for me. I did not, and will not be installing the software that comes with the product. I'm sure it's fine, but a great selling point for me was that the recorder acts as a mass storage device under Windows XP. What's that mean? You plug it in, and it's recognized as a drive. You open it, and it has a matching 5 folders the same 5 folders that are available on the menu. Open them, and you see the .wma files. Drag them on your desktop. Double click, and they play. Windows Media Player goes to work without any conversions or proprietary software. Also, Ctrl-Shift-G speeds up the recording to 1.5 times. Even better! Read the manual to be sure that you have the device in Mass Storage Class mode.

The microphone is excellent! You'll notice the frequency response on the specs. It's pretty darn wide. Nothing below 100hz, but that's fine for voice. I don't think I'd try hi-fi recording, but the .wma at 128 is pretty darn crisp, even if you only get 1 hour of that. If you're picky, it has a mic port on a 1/8" on top.

Oh yes, the mic plug port. My lifesaver! (Follow all of your local laws here, of course.) I record business calls. Find a $7 phone mic (your local RShack) and you can keep a phone record of conversations, too. How many foreign dialects have you heard that you wish you could go back and listen to again?

It's USB. Very important to me. I don't have to do anything special to move files. The little dock is nice, but totally unnecessary. I generally just take the included cable.

I wish I had this in college. I could have slept a whole lot more.

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I just got my DS-2 the other day and I have been putting it through its paces before I take it out to the real world. Here is what I have learned:

Recording is fairly simple. There are some features & options associated with recording, and it's a little annoying at first figuring out how to manipulate those features. But once you get past that initial learning stage, it's pretty easy. And the recording quality is good, no complaints there, even at the lower quality levels.

The main reason that initial learning curve exists is because manual that comes with the product sucks. Clearly, it was written by people for whom English is not their first language. In addition, key steps are often omitted from the instructions. This becomes especially apparent when you try to plug your device into your computer and go forward from that.

But now that I've gotten past the various technical hurdles, I think I'll really like using this recorder. I've decided my favorite recording level is HQ mode, which provides a high level of clarity, and it still gives me over 4 hours of recording time. A higher quality level would trim back my recording time too much for my needs. The playback is very clear, and lots of aspects of the playback are adjustable.

For transcription purposes, the DSS player software allows as much functionality as a cassette transcription machine with foot pedal. Instead of using a foot pedal, you can stop, rewind, raise the volume, or make other adjustments using the function keys, or other keys you customize. You can set it to auto-rewind back 0 seconds or up to 5 seconds, you can slow the playback, reduce background noise, or raise the volume, all on the fly. And once you've got the keystrokes down, you don't have to tab back & forth between screens as you're typing, either. For a speedy typist like me, this is a huge benefit.

If you're using the DS-2 to record music, you can also access your files through another media system like Windows Media Player, or simply from your Explore menu, which would probably be better for your purposes. But because I'm transcribing interviews, the DSS Player software is a very key part of this device's functionality for me. And so far, after I got past the very annoying technical issues associated with start-up, I think this is going to make cassette transcription a thing of the past.

Plus, I purchased my DS-2 through Amazon, and at $98 plus shipping, it was cheaper than every cassette transcription machine available.

For those of you who've already purchased the DS-2 and want some extra help, or for those of you who love detail, I've provided a few tips that Olympus doesn't provide, or doesn't do so very clearly, in their manual. Hope this helps you get your machine working to its fullest extent faster than I did.

ON THE RECORDER ITSELF

To get to the Menu screen from which all other options become available, press and hold down the button on the side labeled DISPLAY. Navigate among the options using the INDEX (UP) key or FOLDER/REPEAT (DOWN) key. To select an option, hit the middle DISPLAY button again.

If you're in Conference mode (the preferred mode -sorry, dictators), your recordings will be saved in files within folders. The folders are named A, B, C, D, E. You can only scroll down through the folders, you can't go backwards. You can re-name the folders, but you can't name the files. The files are named as numbers. For example, if you had made 4 recordings in folder A, the screen would show you a little A in a black box, and in big numbers the number 04 to designate the number of files in the folder, followed by a slash and another number to designate which file you're in. If you've been recording, pressed stop, and press recording again, it will automatically record in a new file.

You can choose one of 5 modes in which to record, of varying levels of quality. The first 2 (LP & SP) record as DSS files. After that, they switch up to WAV files. The better quality recording, the shorter the recording time.

ON DOWNLOADING FILES

Here's where the true suckiness of the manual reveals itself. You get a little booklet which is the Cliff's Notes version of the complete manual. The complete manual is available online, after you load the CD-ROM. To load the CD-ROM, you need the serial number. The serial number is not anywhere on the device, contrary to everything you might expect. Even the Olympus tech support guy I called did not know this. The serial number is in fact on the sticker on the CD-ROM sleeve.

It's best to load the CD first, before you try to plug in your device to your computer. But if you don't load the CD first, it'll work anyway. You just might curse a few extra times.

The CD will load software that helps in the playback / transcription process, and it also provides a driver for the device. Plug in your device using the USB cable, and your computer should recognize it automatically and load the driver as well.

When the DSS Player software is open and the device is plugged in, you'll see a window with rewind, stop, play, fast forward buttons at the top and a file menu at the left. If you don't see any filenames in the big space, your recorder and cable & cradle may not all be connected all the way (mine wasn't at first). You should hear a little happy beep from your recorder when everything's hooked up solidly, and you should see files on the computer screen. Your recorder will read STORAGE REMOTE.

When playing files using the DSS Player, your recorder will light up and read BUSY. You may also choose to download files to your hard drive and play them from there.

DO NOT SIMPLY UNPLUG THE DEVICE! If you do this, you will have to uninstall the device, restart, and re-load it. To unplug correctly, click on the little icon on the lower corner of the screen, tell your PC to disconnect, another window will come up confirming whether you should do this or not, and then it's ok to remove the device.

I have followed these intsructions and then unplugged the USB cable from the computer, and it hasn't liked it when I've done this. I'm going to try leaving the cable in and unplugging the device from the cable to see if that makes a difference. Probably it won't. But be prepared to monkey with this until you do things in exactly the order that the device prefers.

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I bought this digital recorder solely for the purpose of using it with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 voice recognition software. As other reviewers have previously pointed out, installing the DS-2 software and integrating it with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 is not as user friendly as I would have liked. I had to pay $9.95 to upgrade to "Plus" status, and then instructions were unclear as to how the DS-2 software actually got upgraded (e.g. I had no idea what form the upgrade came in). This was terribly frustrating since I had paid for an upgrade but wasn't told what the next steps were to find and to install the upgrade.

Once payment for your upgrade is accepted,however, you receive a licence number with the payment confirmation. I found a place in the DS-2 software to enter the licence number and presto!, the software upgraded itself. It is a shame that I had to experiment and improvise to figure out what to do next.

The Olympus manufacturers seem to assume that consumers know what they know and therefore do not need to be instructed clearly on what to do to upgrade and when to do it.

If you are smart and focused, you will figure it out. It's a shame that Olympus doesn't include easy instructiions for the consumer.

Bottom line, however, I got the DS-2 software and Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 to integrate and I am one very happy camper. The recorder is light, records beautifully and crisply, and is easy to operate.

XBLUE X7 USB Call Recorder, Cocoa (2499-01)

Item arrived, looked nice. No driver discs. Only a download web address on the instruction sheet. Link was broken, had to look around website to find drivers and software. Installed software, hooked it up. Terrible outgoing sound quality. tried gain adjustment in software. Mostly it just made the hum get louder. Yes it had a hum. Sending it back. Shame, I needed it, and really wanted to like this product.

Purchased this device and am very pleased with the quality and the level of recording capability...it worked as advertised and is simple to use, we record calls in our office and am going to purchase more units for the other branches...

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very cool thing to have in your office to record both sides of the conversation, then it auto saves it and you can email your conversation.

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Hi; Got it and I was needing it to work as discribed. Just was a big disapointment,from there tech personel said. I must be totaly unable to opperated even the most basic software program. That's really nice of they to say to me. Still have this piece of... and can't use it. Bought another brand that is a phone recorder using a sd card black opps by spygadgets. Check for there positive feed back. This sd phone recorder works and a big thanks to spygadgets. AJ

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Downloaded the software and thought this should be easy to install, NOPE I was wrong. Maybe this doesn't work with Windows 7. I wasn't able to get any of the buttons to start recording I plug it in and the green light comes on and a red light next to the gren buttons light up. Nothing happens when I press a button. Sending it back. This was a waste of time.

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Panasonic VDR-D250 2.3MP 3CCD DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

the picture quality is great one of the best I have seen. The optical zoom is pretty good but I wish it was like 25X or more. The 3CCD is really a great improvement ot regular picture quality. I give 4 stars because the zoom could be more but overall a great camera. I have a problem using DVD RAM so I am using only DVD -RW which gives easier playback both on the tv and on the computer.

Very Good & Easy to Operate.

Good Qa;llity & Reasonable Price.

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I use my VDR-D250 to shoot in-house product reviews and commercials. The 3CCD allows me to create green screen backdrops and provides a quality picture. The built-in microphone is sensitive enough to pickup a lot of ambient noises (which is great if you want to capture party conversations), but I've attached a boom microphone when needing directional audio with wind screen protection.

Easy to use controls helps a lot, too.

Getting the video off of the DVD-R discs media format (.VOP) requires conversion by external editing software. After trying Vegas and other software without luck, I had success with Adobe Premiere Pro CS3.

Overall, I really like this camera.

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BMW Style Car Key Spy Camera Video Recorder Motion Detect Dv

I bought ths item on Amazon and thought it was a nice item for the price. I also have a BMW so it easier to hide. I opened up the box and realized there is no SD card, so make sure you purchase one. The intructions are a bit hard to understand and are small in size. I think that Chinese is the original language and translated into English. I figured how to get it to work and it is overall a pretty cool gadget for the cheap price. Could not get the time set and some other minor stuff. This item is more novelty that professional quality, but I am having fun with it.

I was really looking forward to playing with this neat little gadget and was very disappointed to find that it did not work. I charged it with the supplied usb cable plugged into my laptop, I tried a different cable, I tried a wall charger...nothing. Lights flashed when I plugged it in but after it charged overnight I was unable to get it to turn on...tried reset many times, no good. Shipped it back and ordered another one, hopefully I don't get a lemon this time.

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I used this item and found it was simpler to use than some other brands. It also was a lot clearer than expected. The microphone seems to pick up everything.

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What an excellent idea! Too bad it didn't work, item appeared used, instructions are in Chineese. Best advice: DON'T BOTHER!

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Its a junk . I ordered this item and it did not work out of the box. this item is a Junk.

Sony DCRTRV50 MiniDV Digital Camcorder w/ 3.5" Touch Panel LCD, Mega Pixel Video/ Still, Memory Sti

if you are planning to buy a good handycam go for trv50. if you are planning to buy trv950 or sony vx2000 please have a look this camera too. i bought this camera last month....it is really nice. picture quality is excellent. still mode is wondeful and touch screen is very useful. the only gimik is bluetooth technology, but other features are just fantastic...you cann compare trv50 with trv950 only.the difference is only 1ccd and 3 ccd. but otherwise you will not feel much difference. i recomend this handycam to semi professionls too.

Bren1 Record Clamp Gold Edition

I own a Michell Reference Hydraulic turntable with an acrylic platter. The Michell record clamp does not fit my turntable so had been looking for a good alternative. Now that the Bren1 clamp is available in gold it is ideal for my needs matching the platter supports. The clamp itself is very nicely engineered, and a good weight though not too heavy. Easy to fit to the spindle with its recessed edges. Soundwise it certainly impresses bass is deeper and tighter, and the top end sparkles that bit more as well. I didn't think a clamp would really make that much difference but I was wrong I would highly recommend this clamp.

Memorex MB002 Digital Voice Recorder

I wanted a basic memo voice recorder to give as a gift. This was the cheapest one I could find that had a decent amount of features. But, it somewhat shows how cheap it is...

The size of this recorder (according to the specs) appears to be about the same as other competing units, but it is actually a little bigger than it should be. If it was about an inch shorter, it would fit better in your hand. The recording quality is a little scratchy, but my main complaint is that it doesn't play loud enough to hear it without turning up the volume so much that its audio quality is very scratchy.

Another problem is it makes clicking sounds through the speaker when buttons are pressed or options are changed. I would only recommend this recorder for very limited voice memo activities and when you are looking for a cheaper device.

I had bought this unit somewhere else, and the next day it went right back. VOX did not work as described, and the sound quality was worse than the worst worn-out micro tape unit I have ever had the displeasure to listen to. In the electronics world, the word "digital" implies pristine, crisp sound, yet this unit not only plays back as if you spoke through a folded towel, it also swallows entire syllables. Makes me shy away from other Memorex products. I'm amazed they even put such a stinker on the market.

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The price was right. It performs well with one hand and yes it is a little scratchy sounding at full volume, but I put it up to my ear anyway so that others around me can't hear. I just hope it lasts for at least 1 year. That was the lifespan of my last (radioshack brand) voice recorder. By the way, the size is about right. It's not so small that it gets lost in your pocket yet not so large that it won't fit along with your keys and a pack of gum.

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I am using this recorder and I find it very convenient tool for recording contact information while talking to people. Its size and weight makes it a very handy and attractive gadget.

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Okay this is a "value" priced digital recorder. It does largely perform as advertised. The problem is that if you really need a digital recorder, than you will need a better model than this. Otherwise you will find you use this a few times and than it sits in a drawer. Save your bucks and buy something you really need.

Honeywell L5100PK - LYNX Touch with (3) 5816WMWH Door/Window Transmitters, (1) 5834-4 Four-Button W

I am extremely pleased with this alarm system. I installed it by the entry door to the garage as that is the way we enter the house normally. I pulled a power cable and phone cable up through the wall from the basement. I installed the door/window switches on the front door, garage entry door, and the patio door. I put the motion sensor in the main living room, and ordered another one for the master bed room. My house has only 4 sets of windows in the whole house and one set in the garage. They are two double hung windows, side by side, with only about 1-1/2" between them. I ordered 5 of the Honeywell 5814 low profile window sensors and put one in the middle of every window pair. I added a Honeywell magnetic reed switch contact to every one of the window sensors to catch the right side window. It made for a nice tidy installation, that is totally covered by the vertical blinds on the windows, and it does not interfere with opening and closing the blinds. I purchased two Honeywell 5853 glass break sensors, and put one in the center of the living room, and one in the bedroom, both mounted on the ceiling. These glass break sensors will sense glass breakage from up to 25 feet away. By carefully placing them where I did, it will cover the glass from the living room windows, the patio door, and even the side lites by the front door. I also purchased the Honeywell FG-701 glass break tester to test the glass breakage sensors.

Next I purchased the Z-wave module and the wireless internet module. I installed them, and found a reasonably priced monitoring company called AlarmRelay.com that will monitor the system via internet for $13.95/month, and give me total connect so I can see what is going on via my android phone. They will monitor for $8.95/month via land line, but I do not have a land line here. So far, I have added a Honeywell thermostat model YTH8320ZW1007/U to the system with the Z-wave interface, and it automatically turns my heat down on the week days at 10:30 at night. It turn it back up at 5:30 so when I climb out of bed at 6:00, the house will be nice and warm. It again turns it down when I leave for work, and at 4:00, when I leave work, it turns the heat back up so I have a warm house to arrive home to. I purchased two GE 45614 Z-wave 3-way switches and connect one to my outside garage lights, and one to my Kitchen lights. I set them up so the outside garage lights will come on at 5:30 PM if the system is Armed Away, and turn off at 12:30 if I don't come home to turn them off. The kitchen lights come on when I open the side door to dis-arm the alarm, so I am not walking into a dark house.

I had a local alarm company give me a quote awhile back for a system, and they wanted $850 for the system and $20/month for monitoring. I think I got a better deal by doing it myself, and it is much more expandable. The local alarm company would certainly not tie in the lights and thermostat, and it was a bare bones system that they were quoting. I can not speak yet for battery life for the sensors, but if Honeywell's claims are correct, I should not have to worry about it for several years. The glass break sensors have two batteries in them, all other sensors have just one. It looks like Honeywell thought of just about everything when they designed this system. One more thing, I have the system programmed to call my cell phone in the event that it alarms. My phone line is through the internet, using Ooma, and although the system is monitored, I like to get a call if it is triggered, which so far it has not, but I did test that feature. I live out in the country, and my internet service is wireless, with an antenna on my roof, pointing to a transmitting tower about 4 miles down the road. That is the best I can get out here. I am an electrical engineer, and researched several systems before deciding on this Lynx Touch system and I think my research paid off. My final comment is yes, I would buy this system again, and recommend it to anyone looking for a high class wireless alarm system for a DIY type person.

As a DIY person I've installed a couple of a GE Simon XT systems. These are very easy and straightforward to install. I decided to try the Honeywell Lynx 5100 to see if the sensors were more reliable that then ones of the GE product (high sensor failure rates ). This may end up being a good system but, for a do it yourself person, this is horrendous. The kit comes with a one page quick installation guide that is hopelessly lacking. It also comes with a programming guide that is more a default table of settings than a real installation guide. I had to search online for the real installation guide but this one seemed to be developed by the same person who developed the other guides, quite lacking.

Installing the system is straight forward once you spend hours figuring out what is what. Ex; a "zone" is really a sensor. So when you are programming "zones" you are not really programming a zone but a sensor. Everything with the installation guide is similar.

The system has no direct output for an external siren so you have to add on either a wireless siren or a wireless relay to connect a wired siren (good luck with the installation guide for that one).

Seems everything with this system is an add-on. Wireless modules, IP modules, phone jack module, even this "Kit" comes without a wire to connect to the external power adapter (at least they included the power adapter).

Once programmed the Lynx 5100 seems to work OK though, thanks to a very confusing manual, I don't think I'm taping to all the capabilities of this system.

Buy Honeywell L5100PK - LYNX Touch with (3) 5816WMWH Door/Window Transmitters, (1) 5834-4 Four-Button W Now

I was recently in the market for a home security system, and the two top contenders for me were the 80-649-3N-XT GE SIMON XT Security System and the Honeywell Lynx Touch 5100 systems.

I liked both of these systems for a few reasons:

1. They were sold in low-cost prepackaged kits, with everything needed to set up a basic home security system.

2. They come from name-brand security and automation system vendors.

3. They work with many different monitoring services (so I can choose one I want, and not get stuck in a contract with a particular vendor).

4. They have large ecosystems of extra sensors, accessories, and communications modules, and they'll be flexible in the future.

5. And finally, they're wireless, meaning I don't have to run tons of cables through my old home to set up the system.

** Included Hardware and Build Quality **

This kit comes with the touch control panel, three wireless door sensors, a wireless motion sensor, a backup battery, a remote key fob, a 9V power transformer, and all the required mounting hardware for either stick-on mounting or screw-in mounting.

Everything worked perfectly and was put together well. The only thing missing was low-power cabling to go between the screw terminals on the 9V AC adapter and the inside of the touch control panel.

** Installation **

Installation was straightforward, but took some time. Additionally, the included instructions are not organized well for a regular homeowner trying this as a DIY project. Read through the different sheets of instructions before attempting to set up the system--and make sure you go through every menu in the installer's setup area, marking down all the settings on paper so you will know them later without having to navigate through the system's menus again.

One important note: during the system setup, if you ever see the 'Allow Installer to Re-Enter Programming?' dialog, make SURE you tap "Yes" and not "No". Resetting the system is a pain in the rear!

** Accessories **

Amazon also offers a ton of great accessories--consider getting a glass break sensor or two for basement windows, another key fob so you can keep one on your keychain and one at your bedside, and a wireless siren so you can put one in the garage or outside, so neighbors can hear if someone is breaking in.

You can also get a WiFi module to connect to the Internet and allow remote control from a smartphone or tablet, and a Z-Wave module to allow for some nifty home automation.

** Recommendation **

I'd definitely recommend the Honeywell Lynx 5100 to others; I know a few other people with older versions of this system (they all use the same accessories), and they have never had trouble with their systems (though setup was much more difficult without the touchscreen/GUI!). Be sure to install everything correctly, and to test the sensors every now and then, and it will give you peace of mind for many years.

Read Best Reviews of Honeywell L5100PK - LYNX Touch with (3) 5816WMWH Door/Window Transmitters, (1) 5834-4 Four-Button W Here

Arrived fast and packaged well. The system was an easy install and seems to be in good working order. Thanks!

Want Honeywell L5100PK - LYNX Touch with (3) 5816WMWH Door/Window Transmitters, (1) 5834-4 Four-Button W Discount?

only Honeywell gives you the direct not just the wireless option. u need to pre-wire for power and cat 5 with internet module. only a few monitoring companies will use it without requiring u to buy their module.

good manuals, a lot of options for expansion just know u must use Honeywell cameras or their camera adapter for total connect (spent a good 3-4 days trying to set up camera with alarm company until they realized total connect couldn't use my non-Honeywell camera). even with direct internet Total Connect is slow to connect and react over 3g from cellphone.

the use/programming is well thought out and laid out on the very responsive touch-pad, can be used with/without monitoring but many settings are not fully explained and only understood by a commercial installer. to understand every option will take some time.

sensors extremely easy to install and work reliably at 75 feet at least. can turn off many functions like beeping or audible alarms and bypass/turn off sensors if you want to leave a window open etc. kind of pricey but i saved a lot by installing it myself without the extra module required by the monitoring companies and now i have cellular and pots backup. 5 stars if total connect was more responsive and if it could use any ip camera.

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DVD Video Bluray Player Shelf Wall Mount Bracket Cable Box Adjustable

Straightforward to install, this glass shelf is ideal for wall mounting a cable box/DVD player underneath a wall-mounted television. The installation took about 15 minutes, with the longest part finding studs to secure the shelving unit into. The height of the shelf is adjustable, and the shelf is wide enough for a cable box or DVD player and remotes to fit alongside. Happy with product

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Avid 9920-65063-00 Multitrack Recording Software

• Unleash your creativity-from composition to completion-with the award-winning toolset
• Get unrivaled sound quality, now with even higher resolution
• Create bigger, better mixes, with up to 96 simultaneous audio tracks, 64 instrument tracks, 512 MIDI tracks, and 160 aux tracks
• Work faster and easier with Clip Gain, real-time fades, Automatic Delay Compensation, multitrack Beat Detective(TM), Elastic Time and Pitch, and more
• Experience high performance-even on slower hard drives

This is a Cross-grade from Pro Tools Express (which ONLY comes bundled with certain AVID hardware) and not a full version of the product. I haven't tried the product yet since I don't have Pro Tools Express. I returned this and I intend to ordered a full version.

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Olympus WS-320M 1 GB Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player

My DVR (digital voice recorder) experience has included the Sony ICD-MS515, the Olympus DS-2200 and DS-2. My main use for DVRs is PC archival of lectures and sermons.

The new WS-320M appealed to me because of its 1GB of flash memory, small size, WMA codec, and built-in USB connector. My older DS-2 is disadvantaged with only 64mb of memory and a proprietary USB connector.

This DVR is much smaller than other DVRs. It is almost half the volume and weight of the DS-2200 (similar to the DM-20). The WS-320M is constructed mostly of plastic, but it is well made and assembled with screws. There is a mechanical hold switch. The USB port cover / battery holder slides off smoothly after pressing the release button. No significant force is required to slide off the port cover or to reassemble it. There is a groove you need to line up first to reassemble the port cover. The small AAA battery cover is not attached to the DVR and can get lost. There is a hand strap hole, but no hand strap is included. The buttons, switches, and d-pad are well-made and provide a small amount of tactile feedback. The smaller size of the DVR makes it very portable but it can cause problems operating the switches for those with larger hands. Anyone used to small music players should have no problem operating the WS-320M. However, someone who regularly uses a voice recorder for dictation should probably stick to the larger professional DVRs like the Olympus DS-2200 and Sony ICD-BM1.

I started testing the WS-320M without reading the manual. It was easy to use. Button and menu operation is very logical. The LCD screen is smaller and less bright than the DS-2200 / DS-2, presumably to save battery life. The screens displays a large amount of information including folder name, time elapsed, time remaining, battery, record mode, and more, though not necessarily at the same time. A press of the OK or STOP button will change the information displayed. While recording, the screen displays a horizontal bar sound level meter.

The WS-320M uses only the Windows Media audio format codec. Other Olympus DVRs use the proprietary DSS format. I prefer the WMA format over the DSS format because the audio sounds more life-like. DSS format in SP or LP mode sounds harsh and full of compression artifacts. Recording in STHQ mode on the WS-320M with the built-in microphone produces satisfactory recordings but even better sounding recordings can be made using a high quality external microphone like the Sony ECM-DS70P or the Olympus ME51S. Overall, I liked the recordings on the WS-320M more than the recordings from my DS-2200. The DS-2200 tends to clip high volume sounds. Using a stereo dubbing / attenuator cable, I "ripped" some songs from a CD player to the WS-320M in STHQ mode. The "ripped" music sounded like FM radio quality or better. All of the voice recordings are file date-time stamped appropriately and date-time stamped internally. You can see the internal date with the program DSS Player (not included).

When I plugged the WS-320M into PC, Windows XP recognized it and installed it. There appears to be no driver available for Windows 98. A new drive appeared in the My Computer window. I was able download the recordings to the PC at about 50 MB per minute. I then uploaded some WMA format audiobook tracks to the WS-320M voice folders. The transfer rate uploading is about 26 MB per minute. This is faster than USB 1 and is comparable to many small mp3 music players. I was able to play the audiobook tracks in voice mode.

In general, the voice mode operation of the WS-320M is very similar to the operation of the DS-2200 or DS-2.

As a music player, the WS-320M is comparable to a Creative Muvo Nano / N200. The sound quality is good with a strong low end and a very low level of background hiss (only noticeable with sensitive earbuds). The volume levels range from bedtime quiet to painful. Music is transferred to the WS-320M by copying music files to the music folder or to the root. The WS-320M can handle two levels of folders (artist and albums for example). Navigation on the player is by folder and not by tags. The player uses mp3 tag information only for the screen display. This player can only play bitrates from 5 kbps to 256 kbps. It will not play 320k mp3 files.

This player has most of the functions of dedicated mp3 flash memory players. There are settings for RANDOM, REPEAT, REPEAT ONE, Play One Folder, Play All Folders, ROCK, FLAT, JAZZ, POP, User 5 band EQ, SRS WOW (surround sound / trubass). You can change the order of music tracks and delete music tracks. There is no bookmarking function and no sleep timer.

More information can be gleaned from the WS-320M user manual available for download from the Olympus website.

The WS-320M is a good player / recorder for a student. You can fit a week's worth of lectures on the recorder and still have about 500 mb left over to fill with music. I would not recommend it for a business person needing a true dictation recorder because of its small size and small controls. But for someone who wants to record meetings and seminars and listen to music, it is a good choice.

Pros:

Small size, good price benefit ratio, long battery life for a voice recorder, good construction, built-in USB connector, informative display, good quality voice recordings, WMA codec, dictation capabilities, external microphone input, date-time stamped recordings, plug and play for file/music transfers, and MP3/WMA music player with DRM support.

Cons:

Tiny controls, separate battery door (risk of loss), lesser quality built-in stereo microphone (typical of consumer level recorders), no remote control capability, no included dictation software (DSS Player Lite is available for free download), no included carry case or strap.

ADDENDUM (July 13, 2006)

Upon reading the comment that the reviewer's WS-320M had firmware 1.18 and kept date and time correctly at all times, I contacted Olympus customer service and was able to obtain a warranty repair to correct the problem where my WS-320M would not keep time with the battery compartment disconnected. About ten days after shipping the recorder to Olympus, the unit was returned repaired with a note that the circuit board was replaced. My recorder now keeps the correct time.

After seven months of use, the WS-320M has held up well. It has been protected by a sheet of clear vinyl wrapped around it and still looks new. I have been very satisfied with this recorder. The recorder will even play protected audiobooks downloaded from the public library. My Ipod will not play those audiobooks.

[I came back and edited this review after reading the next guy's more favorable take on the player. I gave it another chance and... I still don't like it much, but it's worth a third star after getting over the shock of its not being the same quality of the DM20]

For context, understand that I also own an Olympus DM-20 that I am using for comparison: whereas the DM-20 is the perfect voice recorder, aside from memory and transfer speed limitations, the WS-320 looks like a toy by comparison.

#1, claims USB 2.0 speeds, whereas my unit is transferring music at about 20Mb per minute (yes, per MINUTE). Same speed as the USB 1.1 DM20, roughly (I've been racing them).

#2, The manual claims that you can now put MP3s and your own WMAs in the Voice folders in order to use fast/slow play, etc. on language-learning programs and for music-learning. It won't recognize MP3s in the voice folders, but you can put WMAs encoded with the standard 9.1 or lower codec in there that were recorded with bitrates of 256kbps or less, mono or stereo, at 22khz or others (I've only tried 22khz and 44.1). I haven't tried vbr, but it will not recognize the "wma voice" codec or acelp.net. Also, You cannot place index marks infiles other than those recorded on an Olympus recorder--you can transfer from one recorder to another and place index marks, but not add them to files recorded onyour PC.

#3, there is a lot of hiss in the background when you record, even in STHQ mode. I don't think this is a defect issue, I think it's a CODEC issue or maybe hiss from the device electronics getting in as EMI--I don't know, but the noise knocks it right out for any sort of serious recording. It's close to the same when using an external microphone, more than for the DM20, although some hiss goes along with analog microphones of course. This reminds me of a microcassette, for example. I've tried using a pro-quality studio mic and good headphones to make sure, which gave less hiss but still more on the 320 than the 20 (The DM20 mic and codec are pristene by comparison)

#4, compared to the DM-20, HQ quality is much lower than what I was expecting. HQ on the WS320 already sounds a bit like an answering machine with digital background flutter (artifacts) when you hear it on headphones, whereas on the DM20 I can hear the words to music being played on the stereos of passing cars fifty feet away in HQ mode! After looking at the files from both recorders, I can't really explain the fact that the DM20 files sound clear (barely-detectable digital sheen in the background in HQ mode, and most users won't hear it at all in normal use) while WS320 files have a pronounced digital sheen. HQ mode on both recorders is 44.1khz mono 32kbps. Note that STHQ mode on the WS320 is 64kbps/44.1 stereo, but 64kbps isn't an option in the WMA codec for mono recording, for whatever Microsofty reason (a better choicefor HQ might have been 22kHz stereo, which yields precisely the same file size). I'll note that several reviewers on the net complained that the DM20's mic only recorded up to like 8+ kHz, which some consumers (probably playing anumbers game on paper) thought was too low; certainly, the WS320's mic captures higher frequencies. I tested this by holding one recorder in each hand (like a complete dork) and recording the same voice file simultaneously onto both, then listening to both files on my HTPC on headphones and looking at them in software. Bear in mind that virtually all the action for human voice occurs below 2kHz, so all you're adding for frequencies above that are basically harmonics and what I experience as a sense of airiness. ...And hiss, which is a high-freq phenomenon. All those extra kHz (that's thousands of Hz, btw) have now to be compressed into the wma, with the results being (1) that the very same file is about 8% larger when recorded on the WS320 relative to the DM20, and (2) the meaningful frequencies down below 8kHz all have less bandwidth to play with, and so sound degraded because of all the extra stuff (hiss...) being compressed into the same bitrate from higher frequencies. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. [Tip: I use a lowpass filter of 19 to 19.5 in the LAME.exe MP3 encoder settings to deliver demonstrably richer bass] Finally, the mic level on the DM20 is much, much stronger than the WS320. "Dictation" mode on the WS320 is inadequate unless you're playing back the files in a silent room with the recorder's volume max'ed, and even then it's very low playing back. In both dic and conf modes, the DM20 mic makes much LOUDER RECORDINGS!!! The "dict" setting on the WS320 is unusable in my opinion unless you tend to speak very loudly into the mic; me, I'm usually muttering into it at 4a.m. On the bright side, SP mode on the WS320 uses the WMA codec now, and aside from heavy digital artifacts, the speech itself is intact. The DM20 used a propriatary DSS file format that was wretched for SP and LP modes.

#5, The plastic housing conducts and amplifies every slight pressure of your hand on the recorder. It's a constant distraction, and very pronounced. This is not a problem when using an external mic.

#6, The hold and voice/music switches are now so small and have so incredibly little travel distance that I literally can't tell with certainty by touch when I've pressed a button. Somehow I always manage not to successfully put it on hold when I attach it to the computer, probably because the switch slides back while I'm separating the pieces or plugging it in. These controls are slightly too easy to move by accident.

#7, The buttons are now too small to operate easily. I have to concentrate on them to a degree that's distracting, especially record/stop/play. I've also noticed that the recorder seems to shut off after X seconds, whether or not it's in hold mode. As a result, sometimes I have to hit Rec twice five seconds apart before anything will happen.

#8, Once you pull apart the battery compartment to expose the usb port, reattaching the two pieces is a trick. Since the housing is rather flimsy plastic (ah-hem, the DM20 is all metal), I feel like this is going to either break one fine day or the ridges that help hold it in place will break or the unit will begin trying to separate on its own. Maybe it'll last until I'm ready to call such an event an excuse to upgrade. I use these things hard,no doubt; the thing is so light that I forgot it was in my breast pocket and it fell onto the pavement, detaching instantly into four pieces (battery compartment, compartment cover, battery, and recorder). The finish scratches easily, btw, and so I've ended my mental dialogue as to whether or not to keep the unit. Sliding the two pieces in place isn't always easy, since it has to be lined up just so; at least for me, it's requiring a new habit of how to do it right. I also keep misplacing the battery compartment, but that's just me. Point being that this is not a "use it hard and don't worry about it" kind of device, further reducing its suitability for a research project, etc.

#9, Whereas the DM20 has a hinged door for the battery compartment, the WS320 has a piece of plastic that pops all the way off, and can do so if you squeeze the recorder the wrong way. It fell off without my noticing while I was manhandling the two pieces back together and I found the recorder later in my pocket with no battery cover. I spent an hour looking for it.

I had no idea there would be such a vast gulf between Olympus' "business" products like the DS-2 and DM-20 versus these new products that attempt to cram in features at a "low" cost. Certainly, buying separate devices for voice and MP3s might be better, at least until they release a pro lineup to match these specs and boost the transfer speeds somehow. I'm looking at it from a professional perspective (where $200 is a sensible price), and from the perspective of voice memos (where $200 is NOT required). This new lineup disappoints me even for the task of making voice memos while I'm writing, since it's so unergonomic; and certainly I could never take it into the field for interviews.

I suppose I should also mention the good stuff, right? The MP3 player has very nice sound quality. I have WOW and 3d on "low," since I usually dislike these things and I'm otherwise a Grado-headphone-wearing audio snob who wouldn't touch an Ipod. Listening on the ws320 is pleasant. MP3 folders can have two levels beneath "Music" (e.g., Music\artist\album\title.mp3). The built-in speaker is very adequate (for voice playback, obviously). One major reason for my "upgrading" from the DM20 is the USB-direct feature: plugging it directly into the computer without a cable is very, very useful, especially since it uses standard removable disk drivers like other recorders and so requires no proprietary drivers or software.

In general, Olympus seems to be the only place to look for quality voice recorders; however, if voice recording quality is your primary concern, I don't think this recorder will ever satisfy you. As for space, the 1GB capacity only becomes of use for (a) field recording, which isn't a good idea on this unit, or (b) mp3s. I've rarely filled up my DM20, since I frequently download the files to my computer for backup and transcription.

Buy Olympus WS-320M 1 GB Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player Now

Adlevision's negative review of this product almost convinced me to skip purchasing the WS-320M and spend over twice as much on an Edirol R-09. Though, I took a chance by purchasing the Olympus unit any way. Since receiving it, I have put my WS-320M through its paces and have concluded that this is actually a fantastic little unit. Though, I should preface that my unit is running Firmware version 1.18. My suspicion is that some of the reviewers might have earlier units with an older firmware. Here is a breakdown:

Sound Quality:

I bought the WS-320 to use as a recorder of music lessons. With its high quality capability of 64 kbps, 44 kHz, stereo, the sound quality far surpasses nearly every other digital recorder out there today. In comparison, it has way better sound quality than a micro-cassette recorder. Best of all, this unit can record up to 35 hours even at top sound quality. As a practical test, I placing this unit 6 feet away from me during a vocal lesson. The resulting recording clearly picked up the full range of sounds from soft talking to loud singing and piano. The dynamic stereo mics have both a 360 degree and narrowly focused modes.

Ergonomics:

The unit itself is very small, about the size of a small cell phone. Still, I feel the controls are actually quite reasonable considering the compact nature of this device. The primary buttons, record, stop, and play, are all raised and placed on the side of the unit so that you can tacitly feel your way around. Considering the tactile controls combined with the confirmation sound beeps, you can easily operate this unit without looking at it. My feeling is that users who bashed the size and ergonomics need to get with the 21st century. 8 Track-sized tape decks are dead.

Quality:

Some users complained about the time being lost when you separate the battery section. Mine does not have this problem. The time and date stay put just fine. For that matter, mine has no problems at all. All features work, I have never lost a file, and all transfers to the PC are very quick. Though again, these issues could be things that Olympus fixed with my newer firmware.

The only complaint I have about this unit is that the case is made of a very fragile seeming plastic. For the price, this unit really should be metal. Personally, I would not feel comfortable carrying it around loose in my pants pocket banging against my car keys. Instead, I keep mine secure during transport by protecting it in a cell phone case. Olympus even makes a fancy leather carry case for this unit that sells for about $15 if you prefer.

Summary:

Ditch those micro-cassettes and go digital! It is much nicer to record your content, move your files to a PC, and then write off CDs of your material. Early releases of this unit may have had issues, but those problems are now clearly worked out. The modern unit is stable, has great sound quality, and comes in a small convenient ergonomic package. I highly recommend it!

Read Best Reviews of Olympus WS-320M 1 GB Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player Here

I am reviewing this recorder from the point of view of the non-technical end user. I am taking a very challenging physiology course with high-speed lectures that pack three hours worth of information into one hour. I needed a high capacity recorder so that I could always have my lectures with me for quick review. I also wanted to be able to unload them onto my computer and replay using Windows Media Player. This is the only recorder I could find that can potentially hold all of the relevant lectures from several semesters.

I love the fact that this tiny unit is very frugal with batteries. I also love that it's so sensitive that I can record from my seat and not risk forgetting to retrieve it or losing it in the mad grab for recorders at the end of the class.

My classmates marvel at the capacity: You will never be forced to dump things to free up space! Sound reproduction is excellent for my puposes. When replayed though my computer speakers, it's like being in the lecture hall.

I only gave it four out of five stars, though, because the high-polish case is easily scratched. Brushed metal would have been preferable.

As I previously stated, I make no claims to technical expertise. I selected this unit because it had the features and capacity I needed for challenging science courses. I have returned to college after thirty years to study nursing, and this time around, I want to make full use of all the technology that wasn't available to me in the seventies!

Want Olympus WS-320M 1 GB Digital Voice Recorder and Music Player Discount?

I am a grad student, and I use my WS320 while travelling and conducting interviews for my dissertation. I have had it for a couple months now. For a long time, I refused to replace my little minicasette recorder for a digital one because I heard horror stories of people losing their work when transferring data etc. Well, this has turned out to be one of the best investments EVER. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my WS320. I am no expert in audio equipment, so I cannot speak to that... but I conduct interviews in various settings, and the recorder picks the voice up even in crowded cafes with the music on (not perfect, but you can easily understand and transcribe the interview). I am one of those people who hate to learn how to work with new pieces of electronics, but everything (or almost everything) about this recorder is pretty intuitive, and I figured it all out on my own, and it didnt take more than half an hour. I love the USB plug, it makes it super easy to transfer data to my computer and then play the interviews through Windows Media Player. I also love the MP3 player feature. I have put on a few of my favorite CDs, and I listen to them while travelling to my interview sites. Even with them in, the recorder still holds some 15 hours of interviews (I have only used the highest quality setting). Now, that said, there are a couple of improvements that could be made; (1)I keep losing the battery cover while the recorder sits in my bag, (2) the recorder scratches very easily (because of points 1 and 2, I suggest that you get the case offered through the Olympus website... little overpriced, but may be worth it) and importantly (3) the SOUND IS NOT VERY GOOD IF YOU ARE HOLDING THE RECORDER IN YOUR HAND WHILE RECORDING. It is actually really annoying to listen to anything that has been recorded while the recorder was being held the static is super loud. So.. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is going to sit it down on a table while recording, but not to people who are using it in the car while holding it and talking into it at the same time. Hope this helps.:-)

Mini Telephone Analog Recorder PRO by Brickhouse Security

I will highly recommend this voice recorder works perfectly .I just bought the converter because I have a digital phone and this item is designed for analog phone ONLY .

good luck

The product felt cheap and flimsy. The labels for the buttons were lacking proper descriptions for their function.

The size of the overall device and the display size was decent.

File storage on the sd card could do with some improvement.

and after all that, the product doesn't work.

I tried it on 4 different phone systems and none worked.

It only records what is being said on the phone that is connected directly to it, no recordings from any of the extensions.

Very misleading..

Buy Mini Telephone Analog Recorder PRO by Brickhouse Security Now

This unit is a cheap knock off or worse. We purchased it from QUALITY ONE, they sent us an already returned defective recorder. It has no brand name, no name on the instructions (which are next to useless). They unit we recieved had broken cables, the SD card and batteries already installed and recordings on the card. One of the recordings stopped suddenly which is when I assume the unit went bad. Based on the dates of the recording it lasted 2 weeks for the previous buyer. We ended up getting the "Call Assistant SD Phone Recorder" which is also listed on Amazon for about $200. That worked perfectly. I would recommend avoiding this recorder, If you insist on buying it then DO NOT buy it from QUALITY ONE!

Read Best Reviews of Mini Telephone Analog Recorder PRO by Brickhouse Security Here

Shuts off after recording for five minutes. Says "fail," and it does in my book. Do not buy this product if you wish to record telephone conversations more than three minutes long.

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Night Owl Security Products LION-42500 4-Channel H.264 Video Security Kit with 2 Night Vision Camer

If you are looking for a decent DVR with the price right this is it. The cameras that nightowl provides with their kits are not very good. I would suggest better cameras. I have installed two of these. The Falcon and the Lion. Internet setup is kinda tricky unless you are network savy, but it is not impossible. I would recommend you go to and see if your router is on the list. I have AT&T DSL with a 2-wire gateway. The instructions that come with the dvr for internet remote acess are really worthless. So if you are not "network savy" find someone who is or you could post your router make and model and I would do my best to help you. I am able to see my cameras from every computer in my house and at work or anywhere there is high speed internet. To me that is so cool. I would have given 5 stars except for the cameras. In fact dont spend the extra money and just buy the dvr with no cameras. I have these cameras hooked to my dvr. VideoSecu Outdoor Infrared Day Night Vision Home Security Camera Weatherproof 1/3" SONY Super HAD CCD 3.6mm Wide View Angle Lens 420TV Lines 30 IR LEDs A12

Complete Professional 4 Channel Real Time (500GB HD) DVR Surveillance Security Camera CCTV System P

I do not know where to begin. I searched high and low at every camera system out there and still not sure if I understand all the options but decided on this system as it seemed the best bang for the buck.

1) The picture quality is exceptional compared to my old cameras. The daytime color is perfect and the night time black and white is very clear. Can make out individuals during the night time. There is no way you could positively ID someone as far as the camera states in the dark but I would guess 30 to 40 feet for a positive identification is possible.

2) The recorder is much quieter than my old one and I can hardly tell it is running unless everything else in the room is off.

3) The setup was difficult but the GW Security technical support was excellent. I called and left a message and they called back within 30 minutes. Took control of the system and had me up and running on Internet Explorer in about 10 minutes. I still have to call back with some router numbers to have it set up on my smartphone. I have not done this yet but will update just as soon as I do.

I will give further updates in the future after they have run for awhile. I am still in the process of trying to get them set up for optimum coverage around my house.

The size is big enough so that others will know that they are there and the red glare from the infrared is noticeable from the street.

Overall, seems to be worth the money spent.

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1.5FT Optical Toslink Cable

I thought I would get a cable that was the same diameter as the four or five foot cables that I have. This one is about 1/16" in diameter and it didn't work for what I wanted it for anyway. Maybe not it's fault, who knows?

I purchased this because the cable pictured is thick, with rounded connector ends, the one I received is the exact opposite, both thin and squared... squared is the opposite of rounded, right? This cable is too flimsy to do anything with, to tell the truth I was a bit worried about opening the packaging and breaking the oh so thin, not to mention fragile looking, cable, well, cable really is too strong a word, thick string would be a better description... yeah, I try to get what I pay for, apparently this was not the place to spend my money!

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Don't have much to say about this other than it is small like I wanted and it works as expected. What else could you want to know? Is it 1.5' = YES! Does it work = YES!

Read Best Reviews of 1.5FT Optical Toslink Cable Here

Thinnest wire ever!! The twist tie wrapping it was thickernot a joke, the twist tie was actually thicker. It doesn't even deserve 1 star, but they don't offer a 0 star rating. I've never even posted a 1 star review before.

Bad seller, u can't show a pic of a product and send a different one, amazon should drop this vendor.

I bought a different digi optical cable from a different vendor and it was great, just as pictured. It was only 1.50 more, wishing I would have just bought 2 from that other vendor. This vendor is a fraud!!

It wouldn't be so bad if not for the ONLY reason I bought it was to replace a similar thin gauge optical wire, but that one was a FREE throw in on a nice headset

Seriously Amazonfor the good of your company, you need to drop this vendor

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What's there to say? Light magically travels through this thing to convey audio information to devices. This one is pretty short, but for my application (feeding a pair of Turtle Beach headphones) it was just right.

ReplayTV RTV5516 160-Hour Digital Video Recorder

• ReplayTV service subscription is either a $12.95 monthly fee or $299.99 one-time lifetime fee; discounted $6.95 monthly fee is available for consumers with more than one active unit
• 160-hour personal video recorder with theme record for capturing programs based on keywords or themes
• Built-in home networking capabilities via Ethernet; no extra costs to network
• Pause live-action TV shows, jump back 7 seconds for instant replay, enjoy high-quality slow-motion and fast forward effects
• Send programs between ReplayTV units in your home; blaze past annoying ads in 30-second increments with QuickSkip

First of all, the DVR (digital video recorder) category is amazing. It is not just an incremental step up from a vcr -these things make TV watching far more convenient. Start a show whenever you want, pause it, rewind live tv, etc etc. There are plenty of reviews on all of that, so just a word on choosing a Tivo or a Replay:

I have 2 Replays and 1 Tivo now. On the whole, both are great and for the most part, they do exactly the same set of things. The only "important" feature that Replay has that Tivo does not is the ability to skip commercials automatically, which works most of the time and is very cool. The only major feature Tivo has that Replay doesn't is that it automatically records "similar" shows to ones you've chosen in the past to fill unused disk space -also cool. Outside of these two, they are functionally very similar.

The main differentiator I find is power vs. ease of use. Tivo is slightly easier to use -our 5 year old is a pro at it. Replay requires a couple extra keystrokes, but is a bit more flexible, such as giving you more range on how many of each show to save to use your disk space, etc.

If any of the above are decision makers for you (commercial skip, auto record, or ease of use vs. flexibility), then go with it. If not, the rest really is about the same so just shop on price.

Enjoy -they're both great.

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I bought this after much debate between the TiVo and ReplayTV about a year ago, and am very happy with my Replay. Although the TiVo is easier to understand for most people, this doesn't mean the Replay is difficult by any means. While visiting some family friends out of town, I told them about my Replay and how much better it makes TV watching, and I set it up for them the next day. Since then, I haven't heard of any problems figuring it out. I'm also showing some local friends my Replay and encouraging them to get one. Although it sounds like I'm a ReplayTV missionary, I wouldn't convert my friends if it wasn't worth it.

Since getting my Replay 5504 about a year ago, I upgraded it from 40 hours to 120, something that's apparently more difficult to do on the TiVo. Also, although ReplayTV was hit with a lawsuit for the 5000 series because of the ability to automatically skip commercials, the "Show|Nav" feature does the same thing, although they can't advertise it as that and you need to push one (1) button now. The TiVo makes you fast-forward like a VCR.

Read Best Reviews of ReplayTV RTV5516 160-Hour Digital Video Recorder Here

I have 2 Replaytv's, one 5504 and one 5040. I also have a Tivo. I can do much more with Replay than Tivo. Tivo is a closed system, Replay allows you to do more with the unit if you happen to technically inclined. With that said my 5 year old can work the Tivo, but has problems with Replay. You get alot more for your money with Replay. Also the picture quality is much better with the Replaytv.

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I wrote a review about this product about 3 weeks ago, but for some reason it never showed up so I'm writing it again.

I bought this unit about a year ago actually paid (if I recall) $600.00 for it at the time . . five months after I got it I was carrying it out, and pitching it in, to the garbage can with disgust and regret. WHAT a waste of money. ReplayTV refused to refund our money or make it right. We'd already returned it once and there seemed to be nothing they could or would do.

First of all I had to return the first unit because it had some sort of logic/software problem and we could not get past the first 3 steps of the "set-up" process.

Then, the replacement unit had a similar (but different) problem. Spent seemingly HOURS with ReplayTV's customer service people super-polite people but very stilted and it was as though they were reading canned scripted replies to my questions and comments. Extremely frustrating. It was sort of like talking to robots. There were two basic problems one was that it would (nearly daily) freeze up and have to be 'reset' -lots of programming was lost on a regular basis and when we went on vacation the unit stopped working after 7 days. The customer service rep told me that if "it" senses no activity from the user within a week time period it basically goes off line. . . it is designed that way (so she said) which is.....crazy.

And that wasn't even the worst problem. The worst problem was the dial-in phone number for programming download was "not working" they verified there was something wrong with it so suggested we use the Dallas or Fort Worth numbers...and yep, you guessed it those are significant toll calls to us. We live north of Dallas. . . .and there was no ETA for the local number to be fixed. The "fix" turned out to be a suggestion from ReplayTV for us to remember to unplug the phone line and just trigger a call once a week. Which I did. Until I got the phone bill at the end of the month and saw that even 1 time a week was racking up 40-60 minute calls per WEEK.

Then the unit just got to be so much trouble and seemed to have more and more bugs that kept surfacing (and the customer service folks were SO uninformed and "rote" in their responses it got so we didn't even bother calling them anymore)....well one day I just went to Best Buy and bought a TIVO. It was actually my 2nd TIVO (the original TIVO that I bought in 2000 is still working in our master bedroom) only reason I chose the ReplayTV was for the commercial skip feature (which they've now discontinued) . . anyway save your money buy a TIVO. They're GREAT. Read my other reviews and you'll see my review from the original TIVO superb customer service compared to ReplayTV. Now -I hope now that I've written this review twice now it will show up.

You know what. I actually had written a nice review about this product... I thought it was decent, not necessarily better than TiVo, but not bad none-the-less. I can't change my "star" rating on my review since it's an edit though, but I really give this unit 2 stars.

Now, 4 months later, I warn you, STAY AWAY from ReplayTV...

My ReplayTV has clunked out, so what do I do? Call for support! Yippy. I visited their website to get the support, and found that they don't even have an 800 number, yay, long distance calls required. Then, I was reading that their average wait time to get to an operator is 2 minutes for 95% of calls... great! So I called them up, thinking, well 2 minutes at long distance is no big deal... hmm... I waited 15 minutes listening to elevator music, then finally hung up, costing money ya know. So I called back the next day, and held up for 20 minutes, then hung up. WHAT IS THIS! It's long distance and I'm paying to sit on hold which I shouldn't have to do anyways. So I finally called back a third time, when the operator answered I checked my phone, 17 minutes, she was VERY friendly though thank god, but not very helpful. And if this didn't solidify my warnings about this product, I said to the support woman "these things probably break all the time," she answered, "god yes"... She spent 10 minutes having me go through simple routines, decided she couldn't help me, then transferred me to "level 2"... well, I then sat on the phone for 20 minutes waiting for level 2, they never showed up, again, I had to hang up the phone, I have now wasted over 1 hour long distance time with ZERO help from this company.

Thats just my customer service experience with them, I'm yet to get resolved, so I still have a broken unit. And now I've finally reached "level 2" and found that since I've had my Replay for over 3 months, they would be happy to fix it, I only have to pay $75 PLUS $20 in shipping just to have it "repaired under warranty", well hell, the new unit is only $4 more with free shipping.... garbage. How is this company in business!

But to get to the units themselves...

Although the ReplayTV works fine most of the time (before it breaks), it often freezes and stutters, or just has little glitches or problems that require a reset. Plus the software is just not that good. If you want to watch a show and not record it, but you know a recording show is coming on that will automatically change the channel, you cannot go and just stop that recording ahead of time, if you do, you'll remove all future recordings too, how stupid... the ReplayTV unit is just loaded with inconveniences like this.

The fact is, the latest TiVo's (SAME PRICE TIVO.com) do EVERYTHING the Replay does and does it better, more reliable, with real customer support. The TiVo for $100 does show sharing, you can connect multiple units and watch shows on each unit, you can even download your shows to your computer with a download manager, you can connect via ethernet, all the things the Replay "had" that the TiVo didn't, well, TiVo has it now.... again, same price. The TiVo unit is just that much better, there is truly ZERO reason to purchase a replay unit.

So please, read my review, and listen, STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY... do NOT buy a Replay.

Onkyo DVSP504S Universal HDMI/RS232 Single Disc DVD Player

• DTS and Dolby Digital Decoders Built-in
• Plays DVD-Audio and Video, DVD-R/RWs, DVD+R/RWs, Super Audio CDs, MP3-Encoded CDs, WMA-Encoded CDs, CD-R/RWs, Video CDs, Audio CDs, and JPEG- and HD JPEG-Encoded CDs
• Vector Linear Shaping Circuitry (VLSC) for Pure Signal Processing - Data is converted between the sampling points, and these discrete sampling points are joined with analog vectors in real-time to produce a smooth output wave form. This ensures that the DV-SP504's disc drive emits the cleanest possible signal from DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD, PCM audio CDs and MP3-/WMAencoded discs
• HDMI Output for Video and Audio - HDMI on the DV-SP504's rear can output uncompressed video 480p, 720p and 1080i to a compatible display. You can pass video directly to an HDMI-enabled HDTV or pass multichannel audio to your AV receiver, including Dolby Digital and DTS signals
• DivX Video Playable

Image's mint!

Better if you connect it through an Onkyo A/V receiver like HT-S6100 or up.

SACD is as good as it gets. If you can spend a bit more than a custom DVD player & HTiB, this is the player to get.

I tried Like a rolling stone both in CD & SACD and there is no mistake.

Great for music lovers!

No cons I can see.

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What a DVD player... outstanding.

Nice, good performance, simply excellent.

You should buy it.

The only bad feature of it... it only reads Region 1, so, if you use to travel around the world and buy DVD's everywhere (as myself) this is not the DVD you are looking for.