Konus College 600X Biological Microscope 5302

This Konus microscope is, for the price, a very effective biological microscope capable of being used for basic courses at the college level. The all metal construction makes it a very sturdy piece of equipment, and the moving parts have smooth, uninhibited movement. The microscope focuses very easily and the clarity of the viewing is outstanding. In well lit conditions, there is sufficient light for the scanning (total magnification 60x) and low power lenses (150x), but for the high power lens (600x) an external source of light directed into the mirror is very helpful.

Honeywell Ademco V20P60RFPK Vista 20 Panel Wireless Kit

I bought this kit for a new installation in my house. I went the self-install route and purchased a plethora of entry, motion, and glass break sensors from amazon and other places online.

Quick summary: I like this alarm panel. It has been around forever and has plenty of sensors and extensions available. For example, I have it plugged into my z-wave home automation system via a third-party product called the ad2usb. WThe options presented to the installer/user shows the appreciation for the risks and use cases addressed by panel. My dog hated the keypad sounds at first but has since gotten used to the the sounds. The panel works but this is my first experience in physical security systems so I don't have anything to offer in the way of technical comparison. I'm giving this 4 out of 5 because the hardware is way, way over priced.

1 what comes in the box?

Basically you're getting the Honeywell/Ademco 20P panel's:

a. metal enclosure, circuit board, transformer

b. siren

c. keypad 6160rf

d. motion sensor (passive infrared)

Benefit of this kit everything you need to get started. The 6160RF is particularly nice since you can now extend it via wireless sensors without having to purchase a transmitter/receiver separately.

Drawback not enough to do anything useful yet (but it is a start!)

2what will I need?

You're going to need a bunch more sensors. Personally I went with 1*Honeywell/Ademco 5816 wireless sensors for each door and openable window. Then I added audio-based glass break sensors the Honeywell/Ademco 5816. I have too many animals over 80 pounds so I can't do PIR motion sensors, hence the 5816s to detect glass breaks.

Oh and time and patience. You're going to need a lot of time and patience when it comes to programming the alarm. I'm now up to 24 wireless sensors added to my panel and I'm getting quite good at adding new ones but it was a struggle at first. If you're going the DIY route check out all the DIY alarm forums. Some have FAQs put together for these panels.

3 home automation?

This panel and hardware line has been around for decades. That means there are tons of extensions. I have mine connected to my z-wave system (Vera Lite) via ad2usb. It is kinda slick. Enter the correct PIN on my front door's deadbolt (Schlage) and the alarm is disarmed; no need to enter the same PIN at the deadbolt and inside at a panel. I can also arm and disarm it remotely using this system. You can get cellular boards (2G/3G/4G), ethernet boards, serial boards, etc and, with the right hardware and effort, you can control this from any typical operating system like OS X, Windows, Linux, BSD, etc.

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Weatherproof WIRELESS HOME VIDEO SURVEILLANCE 4 CAMERA SYSTEM DVR

I've experienced dealing with, BETTER STUFF company, and i'm satisfied with their service and the way they go the extra miles to please their customer, l'll recommend them to anyone, for their quality product and customer service. They're simply the best!

El producto presenta manual de instalacion deficiente. La informacion para la compra es deficiente, presentan camaras inalambricas y las mismas tienen cables para transmitir la imagenes y el sonido.

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Sony DVD+R 4.7 GB Recordable Storage Spindle - 100 Disc

For the last few years I have always bought these DVD+Rs. I've probably bought a dozen spindles and I've never had a problem. Some of the other reviewers have mentioned needing to throw an entire spindle away and I don't recall throwing more than an occasional disc away. Of course, if you've burned discs of any sort you'll know that regardless of brand you're going to produce the occasional "coaster."

That being said, it's important to realise that recordable drives and discs are similar to people in terms of compatibility. By that I mean that one type of disc may be in true love with a certain drive, but absolutely loathe another. Even if you've had great success with a certain brand of discs, you may not have the same success if you change drives.

My sincere recommendation is that you start small. Buy a few single discs or perhaps a ten pack until you're confident that the discs are working well with your drive. Then, you can start buying the 50 and 100 spindles. Sure, you may lose the "bulk discount" for the one or two "test" discs but you're saving yourself from losing an entire spindle of possibly incompatible discs.

I work a lot with DVDs, and have observed wide variance in quality, even from the same vendor. I had good luck with Sony when purchased from local stores, but most of the disks in my 100 stack from Amazon exhibit significant popping and stalling, regardless of write speed. Its impossible to say whether Amazon just got a bad lot, or if there was damage during shipping (the stack was rolling around in the box on arrival). My advice is to buy smaller stacks. Bigger stacks are cheaper, but if you get a bad stack, you lose a lot more money.

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I have been using these now for several years, have burned well over five packages of these 100 disc spindles using an LG SATA drive on my PC.

Only a few were coasters. Decent quality, decent price until now.

I bought a new 100 pack at a national office supply chain a couple weeks ago. I have bought them there before as well as BJ's but they no longer carry them.

After buring my final disc of the previous pack last night I opened the new one, popped in a disc and the trouble began.

Disc after disc failed to burn. I tried burning discs from the middle as well as bottom of the stack.

I tried different software (Ashampoo etc) still didnt work. At the suggestion of another reviewer here I installed DVD Identifier and sure enough, while the old discs say manufactured by SONY, these new ones say RITEK. Even though the package shrink wrap says MADE IN TAIWAN (which I look for as opposed to MAYLAYSIA) they are RITEK junk.

They will work in my stand alone Sony DVD Direct but Im throwing them out.

Guess it's back to Verbatim which by the way ARE burning just fine. They are an older pack, hope they havent changed the quality on those too.

Im sorry that Sony had to go this route

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These disks are no longer the same sony disks that they are used to be. The company that makes these "daxon" is no longer producing dvds as of 2010. Most of the current sony disks are now made by ritek and they are known for producing cheap quality optical media. I would advice to check the MID of the dvd before burning. The ones that are made by daxon are labeled as Sony D21 while the one that are made by Ritek are labeled as Ritek F 16-01. So don't be fooled by the brand and the "made in taiwan" because you not getting what you thought you are getting.

Another way to verify if they are made by daxon or ritek is by looking at the wrapping label on the bottom of the cake box. There should be a serial id starting with the letter D.

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I typically don't have any problems burning DVD's even using the store brands. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of coasters I've made over the years. These Sony discs have turned out to be absolute crap. I bought a 100 pack spindle and have yet to burn a good one. When I put in one of the other brands I have on hand I can burn the same file without issue so I know it's the discs. Interestingly, my main DVD burner is made by Sony. Go figure. Stay far away from these.

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JVC XV-M555BK 3-Disc DVD Player

• 3-disc DVD changer
• 10-bit video, 24-bit audio digital-to-analog converters
• Component-video, S-video, and composite-video outputs
• Optical digital output for Dolby Digital and DTS decoders
• Multibrand remote control

This was an absolutely great purchase. As far as I'm concerned it can go head-to-head with any of the more expensive models. As the author of the June 30, 2000 review notes, it handles many of the "problematic" titles with a breeze. This is truly a great machine. Another great JVC product. A company, which in my opinion, is leading the market!

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This is the first, and so far only, stand-alone DVD player I have owned, and I have to say, I'm very happy with it.

The convenience of having three separate loading trays means that one disc can be playing while the other two are being loaded; not really very useful for many people, I've noticed, but very handy when you're browsing through those multi-disc DVD packages. I've had some people complain about the lack of eject controls on the remote, but I've never considered that to be a significant problem--it's not like you can accidentally record over a DVD, like you can a VHS tape. Incidentally, the loading mechanism is hardly quiet, but it's not all that difficult to ignore--it's not really as loud as other reviewers make it sound. It's not the fastest loader I've ever seen though.

The picture quality is excellent, although I haven't seen a top-of-the-line system to compare it to, and I've had no complaints about the audio (note, I have this hooked up to a JVC 31" S-Video TV and a JVC Dolby Surround 2.0 4.1 [3.1 technically, with a subwoofer crossover] channel component stereo system; the S-Video hookup makes a significant difference in picture quality, especially on those freeze-frames; incidentally, this unit outputs video on both the S-Video and RCA-out connectors simultaneously. I assume it also outputs on the component connectors too, but as I don't have a component TV, I don't know).

I don't know how well CompuLink works with this unit, as I have an older JVC stereo system that doesn't recognize the DVD player as a component.

The unit is trivially easy to set up, especially by comparison to the rest of my setup, but I still recommend reading the manuals (all of them, including for your TV and stereo components) before starting to set it up--it may save you some grief, and might also remind you of features you've forgotten! Make sure you match up Left/Right pairs properly!! That's about the only tip I can offer.

This unit has only ever had problems with a tiny handful of discs, out of the hundreds that I own; I have played both region-locked (region 1) and region-free discs without any problems. Actually, I've had problems with two discs, but the second one turned out to be defective; the replacement worked perfectly. The only other discs that have given me *any* problems were 'Key The Metal Idol' discs one and two--and that was just in the menus. Disc three worked perfectly. I have also played VideoCDs on it, although I had to use a CDRW disc, rather than a CDR disc; it doesn't seem to like CDRs. It tended to lock up after finishing playing VCDs, however, and I had to eject and reinsert the disc before it would recognize it again.

I've had the unit lock up on me very rarely, and the few times it did all I had to to was turn it off (it did take a while to actually turn off--about 20 seconds) then on again--I have never had to unplug it or contact JVC, and I hope I never will.

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It's nice to have 3 discs in the machine at once, but this machine has very limited programming options, the remote control IR emitter is weak, and I frequently get the universal "NO" symbol (a red circle with a red line through it) whenever I try to do *anything*. This is the first DVD player I've bought, so maybe they are all like this, but I hope not. My recommendation is to either spend the extra four or five hundred and get a 200 dvd changer jukebox, or spend the price of this model on a high-end 1-dvd player that has more useful features.

Emerson GQ100 Karaoke Player

• CD/CD+G/MP3+G player
• Anti-shock loading system
• Key controller
• Personal player cradle
• Record voice while playing

Received this CD G/MP3 G player 2 days ago. Its a good player out

of the box. USB plug in, seems a little shaky. Unfortunately, the

info given did not mention that you can ONLY record using an MP3 G

disk. CD G use will not give you the ability to record. Seems like

that MP3 G is the wave of the future. But, not yet. Also, tracking

the package becomes tricky if you just look at your amazon acount.

I'm purchasing a CDG to MP3 G converter software to convert all my

CDG's to this format. Been singing for a while and really would just

like to record some of the songs. Also, the microphone jack is a

little nuisance for it is located in the back. If you have a wired

mic, you may lose your connection. This unit is quite light. Very

easy to drop this, especially while you are singing and moving about.

All in all, as a player, very good, other stuff, not quite.

A follow up yo my review. After 3 days, I used this equipment again.

Behold,it's not working anymore.Wow, that was something else.

Did not expect this to crap out this soon.....

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The cables adapter are on back area. Difficult to move when you're used the microphone because the equipment can drop!

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I purchased this item to replace a karaoke machine I had purchased at a local store. I was looking to upgrade. This machine is NOT an upgrade from the one I have. I hooked them up side by side and compared many things like sound quality, microphone output, echo, volume and key. This machine does not meet even the lowest standard for home use.

I will be purchasing another unit once I get my refund from returning this one.

I would NOT recommend this unit to anyone....if you've ever used another machine...it won't compare...and if you've never had one this one is sure to discourage your "singing" guests!

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While this player doesn't have any real bells and whistles, it works, which is the main point. Yes, the mic volume is low even at the loudest setting, try to turn the music volume down on the remote, it brings down the music volume but leaves the mic volume up. I have an old style stereo, and a new flat screen that I hooked it up to (stereo for sound, tv for lyrics). It will sort of lock up playing through a whole cd at times (lyrics will stop, but music will continue). I assume this is due to it's memory getting clogged. I just open and close disc, and restart song, and it seems to work fine. If you are buying this for the 100 song disc, don't, get a better rated player and get your own discs, the songs all have singers on all of the lyrics (but try the MPX button, I never tried it, but it may be a multiplex disc). Not to mention the quality of the songs is very bad. Mic is ok, average at best, and the usb port and microphone jacks are now located in the front of the machine, a definite plus. You can rip only the audio part of cdg's to a usb thumb drive (according to manual, I haven't tried it), no graphics, so if you wanted it to digitally store your cdg's, forget it. It reads my sandisc and patriot thumb drives nicely. Recording feature is nice, bad quality, but can be useful for those trying to "train" themselves. The key adjustment is just horrific, it slows down or speeds up music to match keys, so don't even bother with that.

Update: Cd tray stopped opening, I can't return it as it is past 30 days, so I decided to take it apart. I checked to make sure all wires and connections were tight, and moved the internal part of the power cord to a different position. It works well again. I hope this is helpful for anyone who is having this issue.

Update again: CD tray issue once more, the super-fixer hubby fixed it this time (he messed with the little drive gears in the tray), and I haven't had the issue since (of course, I circumvented this issue by putting most of my music onto thumb drives). I have noticed since the hubby messed with it, no more cd lock-up issues either, strange but I am not complaining. This player can read mp3+g format and avi, so it is pretty versatile for an inexpensive player. Get small thumb drives, if you use an 8 gig, it will take forever to read it before loading, I suggest 2-4 gig. You may have to use more, but it saves on the start-up time.

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Whereas the original price was great, especially since I used a $20.00 Amazon gift certificate, the machine became unusable within a month. The disk drawer would no longer open keeping the disk inside, irretrievable.

I now became responsible to ship, and pay for shipping, the item back to Emerson PLUS, send Emerson a check to covering them shipping a replacement machine to me!! These costs pretty much equaled what I originally paid for the karaoke machine!

Two emails went unanswered until I made a phone call to "Sales Support".

I am disappointed with the item as well as the lack of service.

Sheela

Pinnacle Systems 210100316 Dazzle DVC 80 USB Video Capture Device

I brought this home and had it up and running pretty quickly. I didn't experience problems transferring video from a VCR to my computer.

So why one star?

Well, I feel the box and their ads are misleading. The DVC 80 can only capture video in AVI format, with dimensions of 360 x 240, about half the size of of a TV screen. There is no mention of this anywhere in the minimal documentation that comes with the item. I thought I was doing something wrong, and tried to get in touch with customer service, but the wait on the phone was too long. I finally got an email to them, and their only response was that if I wanted MPEG-2, or a resolution of 720 x 480, I should have bought the DVC 150. It would have been nice to know that before I put out my money.

I bought this to convert family VHS tapes to DVD format. The problem is that it limits the capture to a very small screen size (I am not a techie) that is roughly 1/4 of my 17 inch monitor screen. When I burned my first DVD and put it on my home system the picture was really rough poor resolution. My main complaint is there is no mention of this on the box so I got burned for $70. It was a complete waste of money for my purposes!

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Packaged software crashed every time. Tried to upgrade from the website...poorest customer service since the old days of Apple. I have had this thing for over a year and have only been able to transfer about 15 minutes of tiny screen size video. This was a waste of my money. Save yourself the headache. I'll get more satisfaction cramming this device down the garbage disposal than I ever did transferring videos of my children.

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First of all I bought it about a year ago. And I tried to burn the cds on my system which is a dell PIII 700 MHz, with 512 MB ram and win2000 OS. For some reason it used to get stuck when I am trying to created the VCD after rendering the movie and creating the mpeg file. I thought may be something wrong with my system. So I upgraded to dell P4 2.4 GHz, with 768 MB ram and Windows XP home. Now when I try to install the hardware, I get the windows blue screen. The error is some kind of problem with security and authorization. I go on to the dazzle website and try to download any patches. In this process I am asked to register, and rightly so I try to register. Guess what! the site throws invalid number error, so cannot register. So going with the only choice I have, I override everything on XP and install the hardware. Now capture the movie from my VCR again. This time I dint get any audio and the movie is in snaps as opposed to a smooth roll of the scenes. I am still trying to convert this cassette to a VCD. Apart from this burning a movie takes about 8 hrs. To top it off did I forget to mention that I am trying to convert one casette to a VCD for the past one year with this equpmment... :-).

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Im not sure about the features and software as I could never get the product to work. The packaged software MovieStar crashed on start up everytime. I tried using other programs to capture, and no input was detected. When I tried to install the latest drivers for the product the installation froze each time. Average size AV cables (I tried two different sets)do not sit firmly in the device's inputs. The PC I am using is brand new and well above the minimum specifications and running XP. In case you havnt read it elsewhere, customer support is...well just don't bother, no toll free line, and outrageous wait time. E-mail responses are unhelpful at best.

Overall just dont bother with this product. Two thumbs down...way down

Kodak Easyshare Z650 6.1 MP Digital Camera with 10xOptical Zoom

Good value when bought thru Amazon. The camera is very small, but full featured. Full auto still shots produce great photos, yet if you prefer, it allows aperture/shutter speed priority for more control. The buttons, switches and controls are placed where they are easy to find without looking and the on-screen display lets you see what you will get. I recommend this camera.

I just purchased the Kodak z650 and have taken a number of pictures. It's easy to use and learn all the functions. Before buying this camera I looked at a number of cameras. I picked this one because of cost, zoom, and mega pixels. I looked at the Kodak z740 which is being replaced by this model and for a few more dollars you can get this model which takes better quality pictures and has the histogram feature.

A read reviews and a number of people complained about having the zoom without image stabilization. Well, when I took pictures at full zoom, even using the digital zoom, the picture was shaky in the view finder but came out clear. The 10x zoom is very nice even without image stabilization.

The price of this camera for the features is incredible. That is why I picked this camera over others. Read the reviews. This camera gets good reviews, even from the professionals. For the price you won't go wrong.

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I am very pleased with this camera. I bought it in hopes of replacing the Canon Sure shot that I had that took blurry pictures. This camera is the nicest digital camera I have seen. It is below a SLR digital, when in reality, it takes about the same kinds of photos as an SLR digital. If you are a professional photographer, you could do wonders with this camera and get awesome results. The LCD screen will show up fuzzy when viewing the image..BUT, once you take the photo, it comes out crystal clear. I am very much pleased with the performance of this camera. When I figure out how to work the image sharing on Amazon, I will show you some sample images from some of the modes the camera offers. I think anyone who buys this camera, and reads about all of the features and knows how to work it properly will love it. Like anything, you need to read instructions to see how it works, what does what, etc. From each mode I tried, this camera took a nice clear shot with amazing detail. Anyone who buys this camera will not be disapointed. It is a quality item. Also, very light weight and small. Great camera with a very affordable price.

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This is my second Kodak digital camera and like my old one I just love it. Flat out it takes some of the best pictures I've seen or taken for that matter. It's rich in features. From almost full manual PASM control to automatic point and shoot to multiple 'scene' settings for differing situations. Power up to first picture is quite quick. Shutter lag is quite small (no more missing those action shots!). The 10x optical zoom does lack stabilization but in good light and with a good shooting stance you won't generate much image shake. Macro photography is, as I've experienced in the past with my CX4230, exceptional although using the flash for extreme close-up work can generate shadows on the image due to the location of the flash unit. Natural light and no flash eliminate this problem. That all being said I do have some complaints; The door covering the memory card slot feels flimsy and could easily be damaged or broken. The 'joystick' used for navigating the menus is small and hard to use for fumble fingered guys like me. It takes some getting used to and can slow you down changing modes or settings if you're in a hurry. The camera seems to have some trouble getting focus in low light (I like to shoot at the beach at sunrise) and the extremely bright and annoying green 'low light assist' lamp cannot be turned off even though the Kodak FAQ page for the Z650 says it can be. All in all though, this is a great camera! It's got some heft to it so it feels like a real camera and not a tourist toy. It comes with a (plastic) 55mm adapter which allows you to fit any number of filters to the camera, though the included lens cap will not attach to a standard 55mm filter. Speaking of the lens cap, it's the one true disappointment with this camera, it does not stay on very well at all. The slightest tap and it will fall off. This can be somewhat solved by leaving the 55mm adapter on the camera as the cap fits that much better. I highly recommend this camera to anyone looking for an ultra-zoom model for a good price. You can't go wrong here.

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Just got the camera. I used to own Canon S70, which is better in everything besides the zoom. Unfortunately, my old canon was stolen, so I had to look for a temporary replacement, until I can afford a nicer one. Well, my search stopped at this Kodak. I got it for $200 only, which is great.

Everything works great so far. I cannot comment on the life of batteries, but I bought 4 recharchable ones and a recharger, so I doubt I would ever run out of power. I also got a 512M card, as the medium picture size is around 2-2.5M each.

Zoom works fine. I would say it's great for such camera. Of course you cannot zoom fully and expect that leaves on a tree would be in perfect focus, but it takes great pics in full zoom, so if you question that capability, disregard all negative feedback on this issue.

It takes pics in nice color. I would say 'full' color. Blue is blue and green is green. I've heard that Kodaks were good in this, so i can only confirm that rumor now.

As for the rest of functions, I have not had enough time yet to experiment with everything, as the school has already started for me, so I only have so much each day to devote to my new toy.

I hope I'll have time in a week or so to post more comments on other features, but to all who are considering this camera, I would say this:

it's not too small, but fits in one hand nicely,

it's 6M pixel, so takes nice resolution pics, which are below 3M each

it has nice zoom

it takes nice color

So, for this camera with its price, I gave it 5 stars. If you are looking for superior performance or quality, look at cameras that start at $700 or $800 you would not find anything in this price range that would satisfy your need. (I am looking into buying a $800 camera myself, so I've done a lot of research trying to get a nicer bargain with a cheaper camera and found out that there is too much of a gap between any 'cheap' camera and what I really want).

Hope I could be helpful

Sony BDP-S580 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)

• Enjoy 3D Blu-ray Disc movies in Full HD 1080p--also supports standard Blu-ray Disc movies in HD and upscales DVDs to near HD quality
• Instantly stream a wide variety of movies, TV shows, live sports, videos, and music from Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Hulu Plus and many more
• Free, downloadable "Media Remote" app for your iPhone, iPad, or Android phone turns it into a versatile remote
• Connect your digital camera, USB-enabled MP3 player, or USB storage device to enjoy videos, photos, and music on the big screen, Region (Blu-ray: A, DVD: 1), Power - 120VAC, 60 Hz
• Built-in Wi-Fi for an easy connection to your wireless broadband network; media streaming from DLNA Certified devices

We have had excellent experiences with Sony video and audio products. Their devices cost a little more than their competitors but they are high quality, last a long time, and are easy to use. All of our electronics (except computers) are Sony. This blu-ray is no exception. Easy to setup, easy to use, some surprise features, quiet.

Well the problem is on demand video from netflix or amazon or any other service. It simply doesnt work... often. Its registered, and I verified it with Sony. Its connected to the internet with no problems and the browser works. Movies stream no problem on my PC. We have 6Mbs DSL so movies stream no problems on our PC. I even placed it in the DMZ to allow all ports to talk to it without restriction, no dice. Netflix has the unit registered and it is receiving data. It connected wired and wirelessly with neither working correctly with on demand video services.

We got 1 movie to work only. All the rest of the time it doesn't connect to the service or is only partially connected. The one time we were able to watch a movie it was flawless with no hiccups.

NOTE: If you want to watch blu-ray currently as of this posting you need 10mbs internet speed.

We are very very sad. We specifically bought this for Netflix and can't use it. This is why the unit gets 4 stars and not 5.

If anyone knows something we don't please let us know.

--LATER

Well we found the problem. If you get an IP address for the unit from DHCP it will cause connection problems. Once we assigned the unit a static IP address (manual) with mask, default gateway, and both DNS (manual) the unit works flawlessly. DNS servers that worked: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

---2 MONTHS LATER

For best speed and connectivity set the DNS to Google's DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4). Don't use your DSL/Cable Modem Router as DNS.

---18 MONTHS LATER Aug/2012

With the new updates for the Sony device we now rarely have a problem with movies not loading, in fact I cant remember the last time it didnt load. Occasionally a movie/show does hiccup on Netflix and stop. You just hit the "menu" button and restart it. Its probably a packet loss over the internet. We have cable modem so I am not sure if the same effect happens on DSL. Sony is constantly adding new channels to our list. We actually got rid of cable, $70 a month for basic cable, in favor of just Netflix, VUDU, and Amazon. Between those 3 you can get just about anything. Still love the product and no I dont work for Sony ;) Your welcome to all in which my post has helped.

*Angy's husband, Al.... in house tech support*

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[This is a long review warranted by the number of features of the BDP-S580. I want to try to provide as much relevant information as I can in an attempt to make this as useful to you as possible. If you only want a one line "this is great" review, I apologize, but some folks like details :) I know I do.]

IMPORTANT NOTE: I have added a number of updates and edits over time to keep this review up to date. Be sure to check those as they can show resolutions to earlier problems I experienced. Typically I left the original issues in place in the review, followed by an Edit with a resolution, so that other people running into the same problem may be able to find answers.

Some background...

This was bought to replace an older Sharp HP20U Blu-Ray player and some of the features of a DLink DSM-520 network media player. After also having owned the Sony BDP-S570 (the prior model to the S580) for a short while as a first replacement effort, I decided to return that and get this newer BDP-S580 model instead in the hope they might eventually fix or improve on a lot of the DLNA flaws in the 570.

Let me say up front that I do like this unit, but have some concerns.

I am running wired connection over gigabit LAN with CAT6, although this device only has a 100M ethernet connection, and use the fastest available Charter service where I typically get 15 to 28 Mbps download speed at any given time. I am using HDMI connections through a receiver to a Sharp 1080p TV.

First the good...

1) Blu-ray load times are far faster than many other devices out there. This was one of the main points I wanted to get with the unit. In fact the prior BDP-S570 release is still one of CNET's fastest ever loaders, even with the 'quick start' feature turned off, and this is comparable. I do recommend leaving the fast-start option off in general in order to save energy; the money cost of keeping the device in a kind of startup mode is not worth it if the player can get up to speed quite quickly anyway. As a load speed test, I used the "Avatar" BD, the worst loader by a long shot among disks I own. Avator took over 5 minutes to get to the main menu screen on my old Sharp, and on the Sony it gets to the main menu in around 2 mins 50 secs. This is still not quick, but remember that this is the worst loader I have ever seen. Other BDs such as "Master and Commander", "Cars", or "300" all got to their menus within around 30 secs, and by getting to the main menu, I mean it had to go through all the FBI copyright warnings etc.

2) The unit is quiet when playing a disk. Not silent, but seems better than the S570 and far better than the old Sharp. Note that when you leave a disk in while using other features of the s580, it still makes some noise as if it is always keeping the BD ready to go. I suppose this is no bad idea for a quick launch when you choose the BD from the menu system.

3) The BDP-S580 uses Sony's standard XDB interface that can be found on the PS3, PSP etc. I like it but some don't. In my opinion it is quick, clean, simple to navigate, and this particular device seems to respond very quickly when scrolling the icons/options (some have seemed more sluggish).

4) I had no issues with buffering, stuttering or pausing during playback of online video. I used Amazon Instant Video, Crackle, YouTube, and the Hulu Plus free HD video to test. No issues during playback of online audio either using Pandora, NPR, Slacker. However, please see notes below in the 'bad' section that relate to actually getting the streaming to start...

5) DLNA playback of Audio files is good and the interface is fast and responsive. Much faster than the Dlink DSM-520. All files have played great so far, and include .wma and .mp3 formats. Note that this comment is in regard to AUDIO FILES ONLY, see the 'bad' section for my thoughts on VIDEO files across DLNA...

6) Picture quality from BD is better than my Sharp player. I believe this is largely due to the deep color system that Sony uses. In fact there are several levels of color depth you can choose if you feel inclined to do so (I just left mine on the Auto setting)

7) Upconversion of standard DVDs is excellent. Most BD players that upconvert DVDs do it well, and this is no exception.

8) The "direct attach" USB drive option is improved in the S580 over the S570. This is where you use some kind of external USB drive portable drive, desktop storage or even USB stick and plug it directly into the USB port on the S580 to access files on it. There are 2 USB ports on the S580 which is helpful, one front, one rear. With the 570 you could only use FAT formatted drives which are generally not a great idea, but the S580 is now improved to allow use of NTFS formatted drives.

9) It has a general Internet Browser. This is useful but limited. I have run into issues where pages are not very navigable (msn.com) or where they fail with a reported 'page is too big' error (hulu.com). Where possible, using 'mobile' versions of the web page tends to be best.

10) You can pair this player to a compatible TV etc to allow one to control the other via HDMI. I turned this off to reduce 'overhead' since it will do nothing for me with my Sharp TV and receiver, but I wanted to note this.

11) Media types that can be played from a directly attached USB drive are numerous, and include the following (taken from the Sony BDP-S580 manual as of 3/25/11 take note of the "*" numbers and check the info underneath!):

VIDEO File format Extensions:

MPEG-1 Video/PS*1*2, MPEG-2 Video/PS, TS*1*3 (".mpg," ".mpeg,",".m2ts," ".mts")

MPEG-4 AVC*1*2 (".mkv," ".mp4,",".m4v," ".m2ts,",".mts")

WMV9*1*2 (".wmv," ".asf")

AVCHD*2 *4

Xvid (".avi")

AUDIO File format Extensions:

MP3 (MPEG-1 AudioLayer III) (".mp3")

AAC*1*2*5 (".m4a")

WMA9 Standard*1*2*5 (".wma")

LPCM (".wav")

PHOTO File format Extensions:

JPEG (".jpg," ".jpeg")

What the *Notes mean:

*1 The player does not play coded files such as DRM.

*2 The player does not play this file format on a DLNA server.

*3 The player can only play standard definition video on a DLNA server.

*4 The player plays AVCHD format files that are recorded on a digital video camera, etc. The

AVCHD format disc will not play if it has not been correctly finalized.

*5 The player does not play coded files such as Lossless.

Now the not so good...

1) I wanted this to be a replacement for my old DSM-520 network media player. I knew from bad experience with the s570 that this would not be possible, and you can see from the list of formats above with the *2 note against them that Sony does not expect those to play. Essentially MPEG2 and a subset of AVI are the only video formats that 'might' work. These notes here are to warn others, and don't directly affect my rating since I expected it, although I am hoping future firmware releases might improve the offering. While the s580 is DLNA certified, this means that it essentially only needs to be able to play a VERY minimum range of video formats, and even then, depending on things such as the specific codecs used, it still might not work. I have a number of video files in several different formats none of which will even be seen to allow me to try to play. This includes .mp4, .vob, .iso, .avi, .m4v, .wmv all shared from a Iomega network storage device pushing out via a built in media server. [see edit below]

***

[EDIT 4/2/11] After getting a replacement unit, I am now able to see and play .mpg, .mp4(when renamed to .mpg), some .wmv, some .avi, all .vob. My original lemon would not let me even see these, now I can see and play. I am leaving the original note in place to help others who might run into the same problem.

***

Assuming you have a number of different format video files, if you want to be able to play ALL of your video files across your network to the BDP-S580, you will either need to use a media server that will transcode your files on the fly to something like MPEG2, manually convert all your media to a format that is supported (prohibitively annoying for most people) or get a different network media player instead of this.

(A reminder: the above note is really only regarding Video files on DLNA. My music files all behave beautifully so far, and include .wma and .mp3)

2) Playing of online video files. As I mentioned previously, playing online video files is great, but getting to them or getting them to start can be quite a slog. For some reason it takes ages (well, maybe 1-3 minutes) to get them to start. I'm not sure what the issue is. I'm running wired, not wireless. When I get the media playing I can see that I am getting over 18Mbps consistent download speed. When it runs, it can play high def files with no apparent issues. Its just connecting to the individual services, and in some cases opening the files when you get there, that takes so long. What's odd again is that I don't recall this being a problem with the BDP-S570 (the OLD model). I did set a static IP address and network info just in case it helped, as mentioned by another reviewer, but it made no difference for me. [see edit below]

***

[EDIT 4/4/11] This issue has been resolved by assigning a free public DNS server (8.8.4.4) as my primary DNS server in the network configuration. Originally I had this set to my local DNS server (my 192.168.x.x router). I don't know why this would really make a difference and I have never had any other issues with my DLink DIR-655 router serving as my DNS server before, however this does indeed resolve my problem. I no longer have any connectivity issues when connecting to the online video services like Amazon, Crackle or Hulu. I am leaving the original note in place to help others who might run into the same problem.

***

3) I have seen notes on CNET and elsewhere that BD-Live disks take a lot longer to connect up and start on the 580 than on other models. I did not see this noted for the 570, so this might be related to note 2 above. The S580 has no internal memory, whereas the prior S570 had 1GB built in RAM which perhaps explains the connectivity issue?

4) I could not upgrade my firmware over wired network. It would see it and try to download it, but would eventually give a network connectivity error despite the fact that everything else was able to run OK. I updated to the latest firmware using the CD method from the Sony website. Again, possibly related to item 2 failing in the connection portion?

***

[EDIT 4/2/11] After getting a replacement unit, I was able to upgrade firmware over the network. I am leaving the original note in place to help others who might run into the same problem.

***

5) Worth noting that as well as losing the internal 1GB RAM, you also lose the ability to output high def signal over component cable. Others have noted this too, and it is a fair point, but this affects *ALL* BD players built since 1/1/2011. This does not concern me as I use HDMI.

6) [5/13/11] The description on Amazon says that this unit can stream live sports, however no channels or live sport content appears to exist as of this time.

So overall I like the unit despite it's shortcomings, and basically those (to me) can be summarized as peculiar network connectivity issues where the initial connections were slow (EDIT: workaround is to add a static DNS server), and the poor implementation of the DLNA media player. The DLNA issue is especially annoying since it will play many more file types from attached-USB than it will across the network, so I know the player can handle them. As I said earlier I don't reject it because of this (I expected it from all my research and testing of the prior s570 model) but it is so close to being right that it is a shame. Hopefully this will be improved over time with firmware upgrades, but I won't hold my breath.

I have not tested Netflix or services other than those mentioned above yet, and if I do I will update this review. Likewise, I will update as I find new "quirks", good or bad. Finally, it is likely I will try to get another S570 and possibly a replacement for this S580. The first is to confirm what I recall from the comparison, and the second to make sure I don't just have a lemon network interface in my unit. I almost get the feeling its something like that.

Feel free to comment to ask me a question!

[Update 3/28/11]

Got the wireless up and running, and although it is indeed wireless N the performance isn't great. My DLink DIR-655 router is running in native N mode (i.e. only N and not a combination of b/g/n etc). Wireless signal is weaker that it should be given where it is in my setup. With 2.4Ghz frequency which I understand as being the 'single band' rather than newer, stronger 'dual band' implementation of Wireless N I was expecting some drop off, but it was worse than I thought. Performance was OK but noticeably slower than the wired when connecting to the online services (Amazon, YouTube and Crackle in my test), which is a little odd. Even if I was only getting a poor 20Mbps from the S580 to my router (and it should be a lot more than that [more testing to come]) that is almost enough to match my inbound ISP connection, which as mentioned before is typically 15-28Mbps, and one would therefore not expect such a significant difference over wired. One reason for testing the wireless was to see if it actually performed better than wired, in the event that the wired connection might be bad, but I just managed to prove that the wireless is worse than my wired. Might still have a lemon with regards to networking, or this might be the norm for the s580.

[Update 3/31/11]

Some updates on the slowness of the S580 regarding connecting to internet video... When powering on, I cannot even access any internet service for over 2:15 (2 mins 15 secs). Trying to access any of the services during that time results in a "Checking the network connection, please wait" message and it drops back to the main menu. Once that is finally up and running, getting to the main menus for the following services took:

Crackle : 2:28, Amazon Video : 3:00, Hulu Plus : approx 1:00 (stopwatch issues, but it was about that)

Once connected, and after selecting a video, it took sbout 48-55 seconds to start numerous TV episodes (Doctor Who, Red Dwarf) on Amazon, and 1:28 to start a sample Family Guy episode on Hulu Plus.

As mentioned in my original review, I get no issues once the playback begins no buffering or stuttering at all in any of my tests. It is just the connection time to the service and the video.

Now here's where it gets weird. After some time of playing around, the apps started to load up much faster, e.g. Amazon loading in approx 5 seconds rather than 3 minutes. The time to starting streaming of the episodes also improved across the board. I'm not sure why this would be the case.

For any of these internet video services, the 'icons' you click on to select e.g. "TV Episodes" or "Current Movies" don't always appear correctly on the screen. Superficial, but odd. It seems like the ones you have clicked on previously are the ones that don't look right, and this can be problematic where the name is normally shown on the icon but now it is not visible you need to highlight it and see what it shows at the bottom of the screen. I had noticed this the other day but forgot to mention in my original review.

Lastly, when trying to "resume" a movie on Amazon (Mask HD), it actually locked up the unit. I had to physically pull the cable from the wall to shut it down and reboot it.

** Additionally I also re-verified against an S570 using the same setup on my network with the same wired network connection (even used the same cable to be sure). I can confirm the following:

-Yes, the S570 loads up faster, and is very slightly louder than the S580.

-Yes, the S570 is WAAAYYY faster connecting to any internet video connections, and you can access them almost as soon as you turn the device on (no 2:15 wait). Crackle: 0:07 (7 secs!), Amazon: 0:07, Hulu Plus 0:04.

-No, the S570 does not have a general internet browser like the S580 does.

I will be sending the S580 back ASAP on the assumption I have a lemon and will update to confirm when I have tested the replacement.

[Update 4/2/11]

I received the replacement and its a lot of good news and some bad news:

1) New S580 WAS able to update the firmware over the internet (had to use manual CD method for original)

2) New S580 is now able to see and play several video formats over DLNA from my net media player (none with original unit). Actually it worked with even more than I expected based on the specs from Sony (played some AVIs, all WMV, MP4 when renamed to MPG, all VOB)

3) New S580 is SOMETIMES faster to get to the online media services, but other times I get "A network error occurred" message after around 1:15 which never happened on the original. Generally though, connecting speed is about the same. Hardcoding the IP address/network settings still doesn't make a difference for me.

This is great news since it proves my original unit was defective regarding it's network interface in some way, although when it works it is still slower than I believe it ought to be. The S570 is almost instant connection to the online media services (around 5 secs) so why is the S580 so much worse? This remains true even when I attach a USB stick in an attempt to give it some kind of pseudo memory to use should it need it (trying to make up somewhat for the 1GB taken out that the S570 has)

If you experience bad network issues like I did, I would strongly recommend getting a replacement. I can see at least one other review here where the same issues I had exist. I'm torn now between the S570 or this S580 (570=so much faster to access online, 580=almost unusable connect times to online video, NTFS format USB support, internet browser, newer so more likely to get useful firmware fixes)

I will add portions of this update into my original review to identify where the bad unit was at fault.

[Update 4/4/11]

Connection issues have been resolved! Adding a secondary DNS server of 8.8.4.4 sped up the connections to the network video services, but it still took approx 30-40 seconds. Going one step further and switching my primary DNS server from my local router to be 8.8.4.4 enabled almost instant connections to be established. I'm not sure exactly why this made a difference since using my local DNS worked fine for the S570 and all my other network items, but this odd workaround did indeed resolve the issue. Connecting to Amazon, Crackle and Hulu all take approx 5 seconds now, and starting videos from any of these sites no longer results in startup delays like before. I no longer have any reservations in highly recommending the BDP-S580.

Assuming this remains the same, I will keep the S580 since the only drawback of this over the S570 has been removed.

[Update 4/6/11]

On a hunch I tried to re-run the Avatar blu-ray disk now that the networking issue is resolved, and this time it came to the main menu in under 1:40 rather than the previous 2:50. I guess this is due to the BD Live content check which I think this disk does every time you start this one up, so I suspect that any other BD Live content disks might also be speeded up as a result. Excellent news.

[Update 4/10/11]

I definitely recommend getting the free "Media Remote" app if you have a suitable phone. Without this the keyboard entry mechanism using the included remote is too painful for any kind of substantial use, e.g. for entering search criteria in YouTube. Nice to be able to use a regular keypad format from the phone.

[Update 4/15/11]

1) After playing around some more with the online Music channels, I'm still very happy with them. Pandora is good and responsive, setting up new stations is easy (I do highly recommend the Media Remote for any text entry) and the results are good. The Slacker radio channel is also good and responsive, as is the 2010 Lollapalooza channel (which is actually Slacker-powered). The Berlin Philharmonic channel looks interesting with numerous recorded live concerts/pieces but you need an account to access them. NPR Radio channel was a little disappointing in that you can only access previously recorded segments rather than true online radio, but still useful. All in all, still nothing bad to say about any of the online audio channels.

2) With regards to the weak DLNA support, I am finding that with many of my files I am unable to do anything other than play, pause or stop them. If I try to FWD or RWD through them either it does nothing and says the "option is not supported" or it flies through so fast that after you press the FWD button, within a second it hits end of the file and drops me back to the menu system as if the movie finished. It doesn't even provide a timeline that you can scroll against like you can with online video content in e.g. Hulu Plus or Amazon. Very annoying. So at this point I'm reluctant to use any features other than just Play, Pause or Stop on my DLNA shared media and will just keep hoping that eventually Sony will release a firmware fix to improve DLNA support. Its interesting to note that some files specifically some VOBs behave better and allow useful FWD to at least get to some specific point, so again, the possibility and functionality is there but poorly implemented. Note that this problem does not seem to happen on USB attached files, only over DLNA network share.

[Update 5/10/11]

I have now spent a lot of time exploring the various free video channels. That is to say most of them with the exception of Vudu (for this I did browse the interface but didn't run any programs it looked nice but seemed to be the most sluggish channel menu), Netflix and Sony's own Qriosity. Everything is working very well except for one podcast area I came across for Code Monkeys, which might have actually been an issue with the hosting server. Points of note include the uStudio channel which has some nice short HD "natural world/landcape" shows (quality was very good, but not as good as a true blu-ray), Golflink is interesting if you're into golf at all, Billabong had some great short videos that you'll probably only ever watch once or might use to show the S580 off to friends, and videocast.com which was probably my favorite of the lot. The "How" channels can be informative if you're looking for something (How.com, Howcast). Generally though we're settled into using the S580 for playing blu-rays and accessing Amazon VOD, Hulu Plus free movies, streaming from my DLNA device, and the occasional YouTube hit or Crackle episode. Still loving the device and highly recommend it.

[Update 5/13/11]

Based on a comment to this review (thanks Trevor) I see that the product description and Technical Details both indicate that the S580 can play online content "including movies, TV episodes, videos, music, and live sports from Netflix, YouTube, HuluPlus, Pandora and more". While this seems to be mostly true, there don't actually appear to be any LIVE SPORTS channels or content at this time. Either the description is incorrect or the channels are in development. You might perhaps be able to theoretically access some using the Internet Browser but I suspect the interface is so limited it wouldn't support the streaming format. Take note if this is something you're especially interested in, and I will update if/when I see any live sports channels appear, e.g. MLB.TV or something similar.

[Update 11/22/11]

I came across a slightly different supported Video list from the Sony site, from their marketing specifications updated 3/23/11.

I want to point it out because although it APPEARS to clearly detail the apparent media types supported for each format, IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE CORRECT. Note that several of these items directly contradict the Operating Instruction specs shown earlier in my review, such as running AVCHD from DLNA it says here it can, but in the Operating Instructions it explicitly says it isn't supported. I can also personally confirm that some of the items listed here are NOT correct, such as mkv, mp4 over DLNA. Therefore if you see this info elsewhere and want these features, be sure to verify it actually does what you want before the return period runs out!

Video

AVCHD Disc Format Forlder: BD/DVD/CD/USB/DLNA

MPEG-1 Video/PS (.mpg .mpeg, .m2ts,.mts): BD/DVD/CD/USB/DLNA

MPEG-2 Video/PS, TS ( .mpg.mpeg, .m2ts,.mts): BD/DVD/CD/USB/DLNA

MPEG-4 AVC (.mkv, .mp4, .m4v, .m2ts,.mts): BD/DVD/CD/USB/DLNA

WMV9 (.wmv, .asf): BD/DVD/CD/USB/DLNA

[Update 2/11/12]

I previously reported a possible issue with playback of Sherlock Holmes BD at high volume. I traced the issue to a a bad speaker in my setup which was causing my receiver to overload. Replaced the speaker and all is well, still no issues with playback of any disks.

The original erroneous report has been removed.

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

IMPORTANT REMINDER If you ever set the BDP-S580 up and then return the item for any reason (Amazon or elsewhere) make sure you disassociate it from any linked accounts you setup. At the very least, you will need to go to the Sony Bravia site and remove the device from the account you setup when accessing the internet the first time, otherwise anyone else who purchases or uses the same unit in the future will have access to e.g. your Amazon Prime account and will be able to potentially order pay movies against your account. Same goes for Pandora, Hulu accounts etc. With Pandora we had to change our password since there didn't seem to be any way to easily unlink/undefine the settings, although maybe performing a "Reset BD" option from the Sony menu might have taken care of the stored password?

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

Read Best Reviews of Sony BDP-S580 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Here

I did a lot of research before purchasing this player. I am not a big Sony fan, and lean more towards Samsumg. I got a Samsung C6800 and returned it after a few days. When I got the Sony, the first difference I noticed was the user friendly XMB menu bar on this player. Setting up options was a breeze and there are quite a bit that can be tweaked. The built-in Wi-Fi works flawlessly. Another good feature it has is that as it streams content, it would show you the current download speed which is neat. Want to control your player from your phone, there's an iPhone App for that. Load times and picture quality are comparable. It has nice sleak remote as opposed to the quite-frankly ugly Samsumg remote. So all in all it is a solid player and it has alot of the little touches that make it the best out there.

On a side note, I agree with the other reviewer about the limitation of picture quality on component video connections. But I would'nt take any stars from this player for that because it is a Blu-Ray industry issue. Any new player manufactured on or after Jan 2011 is supposed to restrict the quality on component connections. While it is a different discussion why they should or should'nt do that, bottom line is that it is not a short-coming of this player. If you have component video connections (and many people do), you should be considering the 2010 players.

Want Sony BDP-S580 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Discount?

My wife and I are addicted to Netflix streaming on our PS3 so much so that we are considering getting rid of digital cable. I was considering getting a second PS3 but the price difference between it and other BR players (I don't play video games, really) is really quite large.

The good: It has more bells and whistles than the PS3 as far as content. There are all kinds of other streaming video options available. It also starts and plays BR movies as fast as the PS3.

The bad: REALLY clunky interface. Coming from the smooth movements between menu selections on the PS3, I guess I am spoiled. Changing selections and working inside apps are choppy and slow. It is so bad that I think I may have a lemon. Also, Netflix is totally gimped in that you have to use a computer to select movies to watch by adding them to the instant queue...which is not sortable in the S580 interface. It comes with a facebook web interface that is ridiculously slow.

I am gonna go to the Sony store and see if they will let me play around with one of their BR players to see if the experience is any different.

Save 2% Off

I bought this unit specifically for watching streaming movies and TV through Netflix and Hulu, and sometimes music through Pandora. My first disappointment occurred almost immediately when it wouldn't play Netflix at all. It wouldn't even let me sign in to my Netflix account. It kept saying I needed a firmware upgrade to use Netflix. So I tried to use the built-in firmware upgrade feature to do that, but guess what, that didn't work either, even after I had gotten the wired networking working. Some networking features worked, but not all, and not Netflix nor firmware upgrades. I finally figured out I needed to go to the Sony website and download the firmware upgrade files from there. Fortunately, their website clearly explained the manual firmware upgrade process. I was finally able to upgrade the firmware and get Netflix working. That was when I discovered that the streaming downloads take forever to start downloading (well actually about 1-2 minutes). Once the streaming movie gets started, it works okay from there, on my 30 Mbps cable Internet connection.

Next I tried Hulu. That was much worse. Because Hulu requires that you watch a commercial every 6 minutes, now the 1-2 minute network wait occurs EVERY 6 MINUTES instead of just at the start like with Netflix. These are the same shows that play instantly on my computer using the same wired ethernet connection. So every 6 minutes, I wait while this player makes the connection to the new source and waits 1-2 minutes unit the stream gets going. Hulu also has more menu layers to get through to select your show, so even selecting a show takes up to 5 minutes with this player. On the good side, the buffering feature works very well so if you want to see a scene over again, rewinding is fast and simple and doesn't require re-buffering the stream from the Internet. That is the only thing that works better than my old LG player.

Another problem I discovered is that EVERY TIME I turn the player on I have to re-setup the network connections... even for a wired connection. It keeps forgetting what the network setup is supposed to be even though I save the settings every time.

Summary:

If you're looking for a streaming player and don't NEED Hulu, I would look elsewhere as lots of faster players will do Netflix just fine. If you need Netflix and Hulu and Pandora and Slacker and others, then these Sony players may be your only choice for now, but I would wait because there are likely to be better units coming out before long. Even though I like all of the above-mentioned services, I may return this player as my patience wears thinner.

I haven't trying playing a blu-ray disc yet, but others have commented that that works well, so I will take their word for it.

UPDATE 2011-04-04: After a few days of this player not working well, I called Sony tech support and they had me change the primary DNS setting (in Internet Setup) to 8.8.8.8 (Google DNS server), and that fixed nearly everything. The long delays in streaming content are now completely gone. Sometimes I still have to remind the player to use wired connection on powerup, but once I do that it works quite well. Based on this performance I changed my initial 3 stars to 5 stars because this player has more streaming Internet features and content than most other players.

mediaxpo 1,000 Black Paper CD Sleeves with Window and Flap

I've ordered 1000's of sleeves because we split it among 3 of us.

These sleeves are of heavier construction and looks much classier than

your normal 'white' tissue paper.

I ordered these sleeves to hopefully get a little more organized. They are made very sturdy. Since they are all black they will also look much more professional when I sell or give away picture CDs.

Buy mediaxpo 1,000 Black Paper CD Sleeves with Window and Flap Now

When I look for a CD sleeve (I use hundreds of them) I want a heavy paper and the window to be made well no wrinkles or creases. Those from CheckOutStore always meet my expectations!

Read Best Reviews of mediaxpo 1,000 Black Paper CD Sleeves with Window and Flap Here

I went against my better judgement and chose the little bit more expensive option for this product thinking that if it was being sold by Mediaxpo then it would be the better product. I hope this isn't the case. The paper is decent, but the plastic "window" is very cheap. If I had to buy this product over again I would strongly consider going with another brand before I bought from this seller and this version again.

Want mediaxpo 1,000 Black Paper CD Sleeves with Window and Flap Discount?

I once bought black CD envelopes (from a different company) but the plastic middle was sort of crunched. This time plastic was smooth. The envelopes is also very good quality. I'm glad I got it!

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BulletHD Waterproof 12.0 MP 720p HD Helmet Camera with Fisheye Lens - Includes all Accessories

This camera suffers from some flaws which have rendered it unfit for purpose for me. The first being that the 1080p picture wasn't as in focus as other, singificantly lower budget 1080p helmet and dash cameras I've used. The video stabalisation feature doesn't seem to work very well at all. Don't expect it to remove a great deal of shake and expect it to do this at the expanse of the smooth flow of the video recorded (i.e. video will look jerky as if frames are being dropped or if you'd converted the frame rate on a pc or something like that). These points were enough to cause a dissapointment. However the camera saves video to a new file every 5 mins. This wouldn't be a problem for me except that there is a 3 second gap between saving one file and starting the next. This may not sound like much but you're losing over 30 seconds of an hour recording which for helmet cam application is simply unacceptable. I bought this camera to replace a cheap ebay camera which also loses 3 seconds of video (but only every 20mins) after having an incident when a car made a dangerous manoeuvre in the 3 seconds of video which were missing. That's unfortunate but moving the chances of this happening from 3 times and hour to 12 isn't really what I was going for.

On the plus side there are a lot of mounts, a spare battery and decent manual with this camera. It's just let down by optics, stablaisation and short file rotation problems.

If you think that you're always going to get missing video when files are rotated, a friend has shown me his old Drift HD which records video into a new file about ever 25 mins or so with no frame loss at all. It can be done and not tackling this issue in the firmware of a camera designed for helmet mount use is simply very very bad software design.

1st off, after having owned the contour and GoPro, I considered those 2 cameras to be the best professional HD helmet cameras on the market. The GoPro is bulky, but gives great video. The contour wasn't waterproof and for several applications I needed a waterproof, professional HD camera. So I was on the search a few months ago. I came across the BulletHD and like all other cameras, it sounded too good to be true. Not so. After I ordered the BulletHD Pro 1080, I was completely surprised how small it was. Smaller than the contour and way smaller than the ugly GoPro. The Bullethd unit is all aluminum and is very tough. It has just about every possible mounting solution available on their website and can mount to literally anything. There is no buying a waterproof housing for the unit. It is waterproof to 33 ft for snorkeling and wake boarding. It also has a built in stabilizer which no other helmet camera offers. I was able to strap it to my double horse RC helicopter and got some amazing shots of my neighborhood with its wide angle lens. I like to use the 720p at 60 frames per second for the cool slow motion shots. It is also selectable to 1080p at 30 fps. It can also take 12 mp still pics. It comes with a rechargeable battery and a spare and some basic mounts, but like I said, there are a LOT of mounts available on their website. It does have audio also which works well if you use the water resistant cap ( the one with the small hole in it). But if you use the waterproof cap, (no hole) there is no audio as this cap is used for underwater. As far as I have found, the bullet HD is the smallest HD helmet camera that offers 1080 and 720. You won't be disappointed. If you don't want to spend just under $300 for the BulletHD Pro 1080, they also offer 2 other models that shoot 720p and look almost the same, but are under $180. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube of the BulletHD, and most of them seem to be European countries. It's just now starting to get popular over here in the USA. Again, an excellent camera and as of now, I would only change the battery life to more than 2 hours.

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This camera functions fine as a waterproof camera. The problem is that it does not record audio very well. I tested it by speaking directly into the camera, both front and rear facing, and the audio was barely audible when played back. If you don't want audio, then buy this, but what is the fun of recording yourself going through class 4 rapids when you can't hear your reactions?

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This camera is not worth the money. Very glitchy. Cannot update firmware after several tries and cannot set time. Emailed the manufacturer twice with no response. After calling amazon about it they finally emailed me with a generic email that was no help so I sent back to Extreme Gadgets. Still waiting for my refund.

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Panasonic RR-830 Desktop Cassette Transcriber / Recorder

If you need to transcribe tapes for any reason at all you will save yourself hours of time and frustration by using a tape recorder/player intended for transcription rather than your tape player alone. Panasonic has been making this good machine for more than a few years. To my knowledge it's the best value around.

The foot pedal is essential and easy to use, and allows you to stop, start, and back up your tape without taking your hands off your keyboard. The speaker is good, there is a tone adjustment, and in addition a headset (and this one is comfortable to wear) enables quiet transcribing and improved intelligibility, because the sound of your keys going a mile a minute won't interfere with your hearing your taped material. Importantly, there is a control lever for tape speed for "variable speech control," so that you can play your tape a bit slower, or faster (which you sometimes need, too).

There is a mic and a remote jack, and fast forward and fast reverse. A tape counter your odometer is helpful. Different little lights glow when you're taping, recording, when the machine is on. This is a straightforward, simple, and gimmickless machine that is very nicely put together. It measures a neat and tidy 8 by 10 inches, and packs up simply and with no fanfare. Indispensible if you need to transcribe tapes.

I am a professional transcriber. I do not recommend this for anyone who transcribes on more than an occasional basis. Yes, the price is very good, and when I first bought one I was happy with it. But it broke down very quickly. I had to keep unscrewing and opening the bottom of the (very cheap) foot pedal because the pieces inside that were supposed to connect to cause the tape to move would come loose. Also you have to press play and THEN use the foot pedal in order for it to work.

It's a very basic machine. For the casual transcriber who may only use it on an occasional basis, it's a good deal. But anyone who uses it more than that, invest the money in a better machine.

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As a psychology doctoral student I have to transcribe many therapy and interview tapes for various reasons. This machine has dramtically cut the amount of time needed to do that. I was hesitant to spend the money on a transcritption machine as they are not cheap, but I'm glad I did! It was money well spent and I'm having more time on my hands as a result. I highly recommend investing in one of these if you have to transcribe audiotapes.

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I am extremely happy to find this product on Amazon.com, since the retail office product stores don't seem to be carrying such items anymore. Of course, there are more "bells and whistles" that one could desire in such a product, but considering the price, this product is an excellent offer. I was amazed at the speed in which this product arrived at my address once I placed the order. All in all, I have always been very satisfied with Amazon.com, and this purchase did not change my opinion one bit.

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I am also a professional transcriptionist and work with this machine several hours a day. I like it -it's a good machine for the price. I replace mine about every 3 years or so. I have used machines that are MUCH more expensive and they may have a few additonal features, but this little machine has all the features I really need. I have never had a problem with the foot pedal. The usual reason for replacing is that the longer tapes (90 min. tapes) are heavier and can cause too much drag on the spindles. If you have to use the heavier tapes, you should probably get a heavy duty machine, but it will come with a heavy duty price tag.

Weather-proof 2.4G 4-Channel Wireless Surveillance and Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night

this product is not the best!!! driver doesnt work well, either is missing files or gives a lot of errors when making it to work. works at the first time then stop working for missing a specific code saying " class does not exist.errorcode=0x583"

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Panasonic Pro AG-HPX170 3CCD P2 High-Definition Camcorder w/13x Optical Zoom

I absolutely love working with this camcorder. Having searched a long time for a modestly priced HD camcorder that had the same manual features I have grown accustomed to on my DSLR, I was delighted to find the HPX 170, as it provides a well organized set of controls at a price point much lower than that of similar cameras in its class. The HPX 170 and its P2 workflow work seamlessly with my MacBook Pro running Final Cut. The camera itself is a solid build, and feels great to work with on long shoots. The onboard mic is nothing spectacular, but it is better than most I have encountered. The built in lens provides spectacular depth of field, and a particularly good wide angle field of view. For lovers of low depth of field, a 35mm adaptor is still probably a must, however as you can see in the video, the camera lens gets pretty good low DoF results on its own, when zoomed in all the way at 51mm. All in all, at this price level, the HPX 170 is pretty hard to beat, given its full manual controls and well managed P2 workflow.

I'm a film student and needed something that was relatively inexpensive and came with the most features.

The waveform monitor is such a plus for this camera. The focus assist is also another great feature that really helps getting the maximum focus.

This camera truly has some outstanding features from its competitors. The ability to change the frame rate, deleting clips in camera (P2 work flow), light weight for hand held glidecams, great image quality, and many, many more.

I do pretty much any type of video work, form weddings, to music videos, to short films. This camera will get you what you want. There is however a learning curve if you are just now jumping into prosumer cameras. Although the camera does come with an outstanding guide from Barry Green.

You will not regret your decision if you get this camera.

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I bought this camera as part of a technology grant funded by my publisher in order to film interviews. I have only had it for one week, but I love this camera so far. The learning curve has been incredibly fast, and I'm posting a short video I shot today with this camera as a sample of what I've filmed with the Panasonic HPX170.

I love the wide-angle lens. I've never worked with a camera with a lens like this, and so I'm quickly learning about how to use depth of field in some shots.

I love the easy-to-change record settings. It records in about 20 different modes, everything from HD 1080i-60i to DVC Pro 50 to plain DV. I love that it has auto-focus and manual focus (and iris) options.

I like how easy it has been to upload my videos to Final Cut Pro, which I also have only owned for about a week.

Altogether, I have no complaints with this camera after one week's usage. I do wish that additional P2 Cards weren't so expensive. My HPX170 came with a single 16GB card, but I will probably invest in a 64GB card when they come out later this year.

The 16GB card records only 17 minutes in HD. The HPX170 does have two P2 card slots, so you could have two 64GB cards (128GB), which would record for over two hours in HD.

This would be a very sweet set-up with two 64GB cards.

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Am in the midst of making my second feature length film relying primarily on the HVX170. This camera is so spectacular it's hard for me to see the advantage of moving to anything more expensive.

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Casio Exilim EX-Z40 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

I had 6 criteria when purchasing a new digital camera.

1st was ultra-compact size. The casio is perfect. Small as can be. Only pentax smaller but battery, speed are better on casio.

2nd. Battery life can not suffer due to size. This battery lasts forever. I started and stopped this camera a dozen times taking 10 pictures at a time, half with flash, all with LCD, and it still has power left. I am amazed by this power management.

One important point. If you battery runs out you are done. You must put camera on usb docking station to recharge. Battery is proprietary. Casio offers a rapid charger for those who need it. Battery normally takes 190 minutes to fully charge.

3rd. Simple to use.. I understand all the settings of manual mode but implementing them can be too difficult. The casio was easy plus it has the BEST SHOT feature. Pick your scenaio. For example PORTRAIT, SCENERY, CANDLELIGHT, etc... It automatically sets the basic settings (ISO, Exposure, White Balance, Focus) based on the BEST SHOT selection you make.

4th Speed. I'm tired of missing things. I want fast finger to snap shutter speed. This camera is great. Even shot to shot is very good.

5th. Picture Quality. This is highly debateable. Without comparison I though the pictures were good. Next to a high quality camera I noticed issues with sharpness and graininess. But before comparing I thought pictures were good.

6th. Low light. Does very good compared to other cameras at this size. Not as good as Larger.. But I was pleasantly suprised.

One big bonus. If you host your own website this camera during usb connection can not only copy the pictures onto your computer, but it will also design web pages with your pictures on it. I really liked this feature.

I was seriously looking at Canon SD-110, Canon's Picture quality is better. Also SD-110 does 640x480 movies. Casio only does 320x240. But I wanted a really small camera. And though the Canon is compact it is not ultra-compact like the casio. Overall I recommend this product.

I was in the market for an ultra-compact camera, and I knew exactly what I would use it for: real life social events (I am in my early 20's). These include weekend outings with friends (whether it be camping or playing in the park or BBQ's), dinner gatherings, family pictures, clubbing, sports events, etc.

So, these were my main criterias when choosing a camera:

1) Size I basically wanted something tiny. But I wanted a real, useable camera...not those "keychain digital cameras".

2) Picture quality I wanted quality lenses, a 4+ megapixel resolution, and I wanted to have seen good sample pictures online from various websites.

3) Unlimited movie lengths My last camera (Dimage F100 which was great by the way, but unfortunately I spilled a drink on it) only took 30 second clips. Sometimes, moments worth recording last longer than 30 seconds.

4) Speed I wanted something that started up quickly, and I wanted something that didn't lag between pictures.

5) Feature Set I wanted a camera with a strong feature set offering, including sophisticated auto focus, different picture modes, and the ability to manipulate pictures from the camera's menu should I need to do so while I am away from my computer.

6) SD card memory No compact flash for me.

7) Battery life I want it to last through a long-weekend roadtrip. No, I don't want to bring the cradle along while I'm roadtripping or chilling on a boardwalk.

8) Looks After all, I will be pulling this out of my pocket at clubs, right?

Given these criterias, I narrowed my choices down to the Pentax Optio S4i, Casio Exilim ex-z40, Sony T1, and the Canon SD110.

After days of research, I chose the Casio. After owning it for 2 weeks now and having taken it out on the town multiple times, here are my observations:

1. Picture quality To make it easy: it's great. Ultra-compact cameras have come a long way in terms of sophistication and quality. I use 2304 x 1728 fine resolution on a Kingston 512mb SD card, and by the time it reaches my 17 inch lcd monitor and/or a 4x6 professionally developed printout, it's simply a high quality picture. Indoor pictures aren't glamour-photo-studio crystal-clear sometimes, especially with florescent lighting, but this camera will exceed the needs and expectations of most day-to-day uses like mine. I don't want or need to do professional portraits to frame, and if I do, I would not be using this tiny pocket camera. For sure, this Casio beats the old 35mm cameras in picture quality, plus the feature set and ease of use easily puts using a 35mm camera out of the question. In fact, most of my indoor pictures from last night were really, really good. Simply put, it is above par with what you'd expect from a high quality, name brand 4 megapixel ultra compact camera these days. And probably most of the time, you'd just be surprised at how well pictures come out.

2. Build quality Great. Yes, I have a Made in China version. I was wary of this and at first was praying that somehow mine would arrive in the mail with a Made in Japan sticker. But, after accidentally dropping it twice from waist level (as we will all do in day-to-day social situations), the camera is just fine. Feels solid. The little knob at the side that holds the included lanyard spins around and makes tiny squeaky noises...understandable and usually unnoticeable, but it annoys me at times.

3. Ease of use top notch. As expected from a company like Casio, the menu takes no brains to figure out. In my experience of designing user interfaces for general public use, I frankly think you can't make a menu that's more dumbed-down than this. The button placements are just about perfect. On/off button requires the fingertip to press, since it's tiny and hidden within grooves. But I think of this as a spectacular design feature, because I do not want my camera turning on in my pocket. Menu and Disp buttons are tiny, but come on, that's what we're looking for, right?

4. Speed Generally good. Start up time is more than quick enough. At a party, when a photo opportunity comes up, I'd grab the camera and push on and I can capture a moment pretty much faster than anyone else with a digital camera. With flash, occasionally you'd have to pause 1-2 seconds inbetween shots. But realistically, everyone in social situations know and understand the capabilities of ultra-compact digital cameras.

5. Battery life fantastic! One major reason I chose this Casio was the stated long battery time. It hasn't let me down yet. On multiple occasions of all-day normal use (including many many many on/offs, using the huge 2.0 inch LCD screen on the back for all pictures, and using flash for virtually all my nighttime pictures), the battery indicator didn't even drop from full-charge. I still charge every night, though, when I upload my pics. I'm waiting to bring it on a long-weekend trip to see how it holds up. But I'm confident I couldn't have made a better choice as far as battery. I'm pretty darn sure neither the Canon, Pentax, nor Sony could match this Casio in terms of battery.

The negatives: not too many.

1. When indoors, the LCD screen is extremely grainy. This is weird, because outdoors it's great and clear and impressive. But when you're at home in front of a computer and you turn on the camera and point it around a lighted room, it looks like you're watching an old tv with really bad antenna reception. But, I mean, it works just fine for you to take pictures with.

2. Travel charger. I wish they'd give me a travel charger for road trips, because I don't always need/want to dock my camera.

3. Picture quality. Aren't we always hoping for a camera that will one day produce perfect pictures automatically 100% of the time?

4. No AV/OUT nor AC/DC charger capability. Not that I really would use either of these, but it's something that other cameras seem to have that mine doesn't.

That's about it. Hope this review helps.

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I have been a Canon user all my life, and often recommend my customers to the Canon name (I work for a major electronics store in the camera department). So initially I was a little leary at purchasing a Casio camera... but I am not at all disappointed in the quality. Granted, I purchased it only two days ago, but I have taken over 70 pictures... and I am extremely impressed. The macro mode is phenominal, better then that of the Canon S400, allowing me to get practically on top of a flower with a clear picture. The other shooting modes on the camera are remarkable as well, even though I haven't had much of an oppurtunity to play with them. For instance, there is a sunset mode, which adds a reddish filter to the image, there is a portrait mode which blurs the background adding an effect to the subject, a landscape mode, and some other fun tools that allow you to take pictures of fireworks, to stitch yourself into a picture if there are only two people, and a black and white as well as sepia filter. The best part is the ease at accessing all of these modes.

Some of the best features I have seen from this camera are the battery, allowing the user to take over 300 pictures with one charge with the LCD running , the memory which by using SD allows the speed of taking pictures to be incredible, and of course, the lens quality which is made by Pentax . The actual size of the camera is what sets it apart from the restit's thin and compact, perfect for throwing into a shirt pocket, or a purse.

The only drawbacks I can see are the LCD in REALLY low light conditions tends to be a bit grainy, and the actual view finder itself is tough to useespecially for those who have vision problemsbut since the camera is more or less designed to solely use the LCD, it works out. The only other recommendation I have is don't use the camera on normal modeuse it on fine if you want amazing quality pictures. Otherwise you may notice a grainy quality.

The bottom line is whether you are a new user, a novice, or a professional, you will be impressed with the sleek style and professional quality this camera has to offer. The average user will be impressed with the bonus features, and the person without a computer will be impressed with the editing abilities on the camera itself. I can not speak enough about this camera, its docking cradle, or the features it contains (if you couldn't tell). Its so intuitiveso user friendly, you have to wonder why other camera manufacturers haven't made it this easy. I am glad to see that Casio is getting back into the market, and the Exilim Z40 is definately a phenominal product. I hope if you purchase it, you enjoy it as much as I do.

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I did about a month of research before I finally purchased this camera and I must say that I made the right choice. Here are the reasons why I purchased it and why I am very pleased with my purchase (not in any particular order).

1. Doesn't have the lens problem (E18) that Canons do

2. Has high quality pictures with hardly any wait time to focus and inbetween shots

3. Best Shot mode is very convenient

4. Many more manual controls than most ultra-compact cameras

5. Extremely small and light weight

6. Battery life excedes any competitors'

7. 2" Display

8. Comes with a docking station for very easy transfer of pictures to either PC or Mac

9. The price

I hope that this helps anyone who is considering an ultra-compact camera, it takes great pictures and is extremely convenient. Why spend more for the Canon S410 and get less?

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I read a lot of camera reviews before purchasing the Exilim EX-Z40. The reasons I chose this model are: Speed, display screen size, camera size and battery life. My experience so far has been very good. The day I got my camera, I stowed it away in the front pocket of my casual shirt, (I could have fit two or three Exilims in there), and went to a t-ball game. I snapped over 70 pictures in aboout 90 minutes. The camera powers up fast (less than two seconds), and with outdoor light, photos can be taken one right after the other. This allowed me to take two or three shots of a subject, and keep the shot I like.

Another positive is the overall ergonomics of this camera. It looks cool, and just feels good in your hand. All the controls are well placed, and the power on/off button is recessed, so as not to have the camera accidentally turned on in your bag or pocket.

The two inch display is nice, especially when using the on-screen menu. The print size on the menu seems large because the menu is so big. The downside of the large display is that Casio did not increase the resolution while expanding the display. At around 85,000 pixels, the display is lacking the detail that will allow you to decide on the spot which pictures are good and which are great. Sorting the bad from the good will have to be saved for the computer.

I was impressed with the quality of the photos I took with this camera, especially action shots. I had feared that this camera would not take good action shots, however, I was wrong. When I got home and ran the slide show on my PC, I was thrilled at the quality of the photos. Some of them looked so real, I thought I was looking out a window, and not at my computer screen. This camera definately produces photo quality images. Another good surprise I had was the fact that of the ten or so indoor shots I took of people, not one of them had any hint of red eye. Since almost all small digicams have problems with red eye, I assumed that would be the case, but so far, no red whatsoever and I wasn't using the red eye reduction feature either! I hope this holds true in the future. One thing about the indoor shots though they were a bit grainy.

The docking cradle that comes with this camera is light, compact, simple to operate, and very functional. After shooting all day, simply place your camera on the cradle, and with the press of only one button, you are watching the slide show of all your photos scroll by on your camera display or on your computer screen. It really is that easy. The cradle also charges the battery, and can send photos directly to your printer. The negative on the cradle is that there is no AV output. If you don't plan on viewing your photos on the TV, then it's no big deal.

The battery life on this camera is excellent as stated by Casio.

The full printed operating manual does not come with the camera. You can read it on the provided CD ROM, or print the 180 page manually from the CD.

The only other negative I have is the fact that there is no review after capture with the display off, only with the display on. Many cameras in this class have the review-after-capture feature, which allows the camera to be operated with the display off (battery saving) and when a photo is taken, it is displayed on the screen for two or three seconds, and then the display goes off again. This is a nice feature that I wish this camera had. Maybe it does, and I haven't found it yet.

Like many shoppers out there, I compared this camera to the Canon Elph before purchasing. The Elph may have a slight edge on picture quality, but not much. It does have an AV output. The battery life will not come near to the Casio's, and the Canon has a goofy rubber cover over the AV and USB ports on the side of the camera. This cover seems very flimsy, and is not secured well to the camera. The Canon has good speed, but I'm not sure if it's as fast as the Casio. The Canon can be pruchased a bit cheaper, but doesn't come with the cool cradle. Either choice will do you well.

Overall, this little camera is a lot of fun, and will provide excellent photos for anyone who wants a pocketable, go-anywhere camera.