Showing posts with label sound recorder download. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sound recorder download. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

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

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

Read Best Reviews of Sony DVD+R 4.7 GB Recordable Storage Spindle - 100 Disc Here

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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Sunday, September 7, 2014

Jvc Mdv60Du10 Mini Digital Video Cassette (10-Pk)

Jvc Mdv60Du10 Mini Digital Video CassetteI shoot videos professionally, and I command the best quality for my projects! These are top notch!

Although the tapes arrived in 5 packs of 2 (not at all like the picture shows!), they are very good and inexpensive tapes.

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Received product quickly and got excellent pricing. Super Cheap Freight. Will do business again.

Read Best Reviews of Jvc Mdv60Du10 Mini Digital Video Cassette (10-Pk) Here

Good quality mini-DV tapes. I used these tapes as master copies to transfer to computer for video editing and keep it for record. With the value I paid, I don't have to keep re-using the same tape.

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There is a combination of things that give you great picture quality including but not limited to the type of camera you use, lighting, and of course, the kind of recording tape you use. I chose the JVC MDV60u10 because it provides great color and works well with my Panasonic DVC30P prosumer camera. The playback is the same time and time again with little to no loss. I have found it to work very well and provide great service for our documentaries and promotional work.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Discovery Kids Digital Camcorder Blue

Discovery Kids Digital Camcorder BlueI think the camera works great! My son uses it for making all kinds of videos, and except for using up 4 AA batteries pretty quickly, it is just the thing for a child under 10.

I was shocked to see just how cheaply made this was. I would not recommend this for anyone.

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I ordered this camera for my 8 year old daughter for christmas and am so glad my mom and I decided to try it out before giving it to her. Even after an hour of trying we couldn't get the videos we took to download to my mom's computer. After we turned off the camera anything we had shot would disappear. I'm so glad we tried this out before I gave it to my daughter she would have been disappointed too.

Read Best Reviews of Discovery Kids Digital Camcorder Blue Here

Discovery Kid's products are designed to "look cool" in the box but they are cheap plastic junk. They break after a few weeks. What's worse is the manual states that they are warranted by Discovery Store Inc. but if you do not buy direct from Discovery Store, they will NOT HONOR THE WARRANTY!!! So what happens? You buy your kid a cool toy. They use it for a few weeks. Then it breaks. You have crying kids. You call Discovery. You don't have an order number, they tell you to get lost.

Don't buy this junk. It is guaranteed to break. Shop around and find something that is hobby quality instead of disposable toy quality or just select a different gift for you kid.

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I was very disappointed with this camera. It had gotten so many rave reviews on Amazon. It is not made well, has a tiny screen and is pretty complicated to figure out. I wish I would have spent the extra $50 for a better camera rather than throwing away the 70$ I spent on this one.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

VuPoint Solutions Digital Video Converter - Black (DVC-ST100BZ-VP)

VuPoint Solutions Digital Video Converter - BlackI recently purchased this item in order to convert a massive collection of old video tapes into digital files and to record analogue input from my PlayStation 2. All in all the device is very easy to set up. Just be sure you have a TV with composite A/V inputs to plug the device into. You will also need an SD or SDHC card (not included with the product) onto which to save your digital files, as well as a way for your computer to read said card.

Note that the cords which lead input and output to and from the converter have all male ends, so whatever your source and destination devices are you will need them to have female connectors. In my case, My PS2 outputs through a cable with male connectors. To make the connection between the PS2 and the converter, I ran the PS2 output through my VCR and then ran the VCR output into the converter. The converter output then plugs into the TV.

As another review has stated, this product converts analogue input into MPEG-4 encoded .asf video files (a Microsoft format which should be readable in Windows Media Player). The quality of these files is decent--certainly not spectacular--but far superior to some cheaper analogue to USB converters on the market. There was some noticeable artifacting and blurring in the image after converting, but it is the sound quality that I think suffers more. The sound compression removes much of the highs from the input and "muddies" up the sound. I did not, however, notice any noise in either the audio or video after conversion.

I was able to import and edit the .asf files on my PC (running Windows Vista 64 Ultimate) using Adobe Premiere Pro without any problem.

As a final note, the construction quality of the device is not the greatest. The plastic feels light and flimsy, and I wouldn't be surprised if the buttons on the top of the device eventually stopped working. All this aside, however, I am generally happy with the product for the price (I purchased it on clearance at a local store). Just don't expect exact duplication in the conversion.

If you want to convert VHS tapes to digital format, this will do it without requiring extreme technical know-how. It converts VHS tapes to digital format (Windows Media Audio/Video... ".asf"), and stores the digital files on a flash SD card (the same type of memory card that is used in most digital cameras). Instead of connecting your VCR player directly to the TV, you connect the VCR to the VuPoint video converter, and the video converter to the TV. That way, the video on the VHS tape passes through the video converter first, and is converted into digital format and stored on the SD memory card. From there, you upload the video onto your computer from the SD card, and can then do what you want with it: you can make it into a movie with Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, and then burn it to a DVD if you'd like. Or, just store it on your computer. Simple enough.

Pros:

*Easy to use

*convert analog videos to digital while you watch the video

*compatible with pretty much all VCRs/TVs

*Compatible with bot PAL and NTSC (NTSC is the North American video standard, PAL is the European standard... if you don't know what this means, don't worry about it-the instructions are clear)

Cons:

*the converted digital video is lower-quality than the original VHS tape... not sure why

*Sometimes, the audio and video get out of sync... I haven't used this product very much, so I'm not sure how big of a problem this might become

*No option to use S-Video connectors

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I had hoped to convert my VHS tapes to digital recordings to either save on my computer or burn on a DVD. I purchased this converter with hopes of keeping the quality fairly close to that on the VHS tapes. But it was not even close. I then tried copying a DVD, and the results were just as bad. I just recently converted some VHS tapes using my ditital camera with very good results, but that was a long, slow process. So I had hoped to get this product to cut the conversion time to a minimum while producing quality video. But the video is just unwatchable. I guess the great VuPoint video conversion experiment will cost me about $35 since I purchased it from a dealer who does not accept returns. And now its back to the old video camera conversion. Alas.

Read Best Reviews of VuPoint Solutions Digital Video Converter - Black (DVC-ST100BZ-VP) Here

To any R/C FPV hobbyists out there, this device is *great* for recording your live video feeds for reference or recovery of your model. The quality is not great, but it's also not terrible either for standard definition video. The recorded video is easily shared on YouTube without need for conversion. It can be powered by a 5V UBEC if you want to wire it into your ground station.

One of the excellent, non-obvious features of this uber-cheap recorder is the fact that it has a pass-through video output. This means you can hook it up inline to your ground station monitor or video goggles (using a couple of RCA couplers). Another benefit of the pass-through is that it will turn a weak video signal that would otherwise blue screen a cheap LCD into a usable signal. That means you can potentially have a non-blue screen LCD for less than $50 which also serves as a DVR!! Finally, using the video pass-through allows you to easily see when you are recording, and you can also play back recorded video directly to your LCD or goggles. The only downside to the pass-through is that some of the DVR's on-screen icons/text might overlap your OSD, if you're using one. However, you will not find anything better than this for FPV at this price point.

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This is a great device for converting from VHS to SD cards. I just needed something simple plug and play with no frills of editing or effects, and this device delivered. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to clean out those old VHS tapes and convert them to a digital format!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Sony MZ-B100 MiniDisc Business Recorder

Sony MZ-B100 MiniDisc Business RecorderI had recently purchased a Mini disc recorder from the guitar center. It's advertised as a songwriters dream. In a box you get the md recorder, mic, headphones etc. I thought to my self,all these damn cords all the time! with todays technology and demand why hasn't anybody developed a md recorder with built in stereo microphones (along with an optional mic jack), built in speaker (along with an optonal headphone jack)And a variable pitch control (very important). Well, I did some deep research and found that the only way to find such a product was to take a look at sony's line of md recorders and see if there on the ball. Sure enough to my amazement I found the Mz B-100 a buisiness recorder with all the features I'd desired plus more. Except, it's advertised only as a journalists tool. This little bad boy is a songwriters dream for It's quick inspiration and exceptional surround sound quality (if you want). Mono or stereo and two more mega bass boost settings are available. It has a high/low mic sensitivity button. The stereo mics are labeled left and right on each side of the recorder and are by no means a toy, they sound fantastic and I haven't even tried it with an external stereo mic yet,I could only imagine. And the speaker works well enough to monitor your meanderings in quieter setting(not in crowds). You can also monitor while your recording to get the best mic placement with the supplied earphones that are great. Or even better yet, try monitoring at home with a set of professional studio headphones...incredible! It also has an input for an optical cable if you desire to hook it up to a cd player or multitrack recorder. And it has a power supply jack, contrary to the advertised specs. Also You can label each track or pass. And The recording time and battery life are great. It's just an awesome little heavyweight! (can you tell I'm impressed?) Now a few little NEGS and believe me there just a few little ones. The carrying case is rather useless. The only thing it might do is protect the finish, that's it! Besides that, I've seen better carrying pouches that come with more inexpensive ones, I think in considering it's application, a padded case would have been more deserving... besides, I always accidentally hit record when I grab the carrying pouch (not good). And Considering the price of the machine, A display screen that lights up is invaluable to the journalist. Definetely an overseen feature available on lesser md recorders. Another problem is a few of the buttons are rather tiny. I have a very small hand and even I find it difficult to press some of the buttons such as erase, edit/memo, display, etc. Apart from that, It's a powerhouse of a tool. Still amazed that Sony isn't pitching it to the music retailers.

I'm a professional broadcaster, having used MD since the early 1990's, and our organization uses these for newsgathering. The main flaws of the MZ-B100 as noted elsewhere are lack of lighted LCD, and extremely slow RR/FF and other actions, due to the single AA power supply and other issues. But another drawback is that, after extensive use, and with some units this develops earlier, it starts adding phantom tracks without pressing the track button. This is bothersome when you're trying to keep a record of what is where. I hope SONY comes out with an upgrade, but doubt they will, because they already have the slightly cheaper MZ-B10 and other digital recorder options.

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Every positive comment I've read about this machine is true. I liked mine so much I ended up buying three (when they were available.) I use one in my studio, take one with me to classes to record lectures (I'm 62 and have gone back to university.) I gave the third to a dear friend who is a fellow retired broadcaster living in Amsterdam who does a show on the internet DFM network Sunday afternoons and frequently includes stuff she has recorded into her mix. (Thunderstorms are great with mega bass turned on.) What nobody seems to mention is that there is a port on the top of the machine for one of Sony's transformer power supplies, which saves a lot on batteries. The transformers are good with 115-220 V at 60 & 50 Hz respectively, which means you can take the MZ-B100 just about anywhere in Europe or North America and not waste batteries except on remote locations. Sony's transformer has fold-in U.S. flat blade connectors to mains, but Magellan or AAA can fix you up with a converter plug for a nominal charge. Electronic editing is a cinch as you define edit points using the "mark" button. that assigns the track a number, which can then be moved to almost any other place also so marked. The first time I saw one of these machines was a photograph of Terry Anderson's workspace in Iraq on assignment from the BBC. I am told that when these MZ-B100's were released they cost in excess of $900. They are a bargain at more than that IF YOU CAN FIND ONE. I have Uher and Studer equipment that can't come close to quality per ounce that the MZ-B100 can deliver. The blank discs can be used "one million times" says Sony, without any noticeble loss of quality. I am a 40 year broadcast veteran, both "talent" and engineer, and if you told someone you could pack all of these features (read the manual, there's a link elsewhere in this product listing) in 1965 I'd have laughed at you while seriously questioning your sanity. If you can find one listed here or elsewhere BUY IT ! IPOD SCHMIPOD, this is the genuine breakthrough. There is also an optical digital input, which means you can virtually clone CD's if your CD machine has an optical output.(It's usually locatable by the little squareish plug in the back which protects the port when not in use.) I found the connecting digital cable and transformer on eBay. Good as the built in stereo mikes are, an expensive mike with a fabricated stereo mini plug to XLR connector does a fantastic job. The mic input also feeds phantom power to condenser mikes. All in all a little miracle of design and practicality.

Read Best Reviews of Sony MZ-B100 MiniDisc Business Recorder Here

This recorder has been the best investment I have made. It is user friendly, has easy to read and understand displays, and makes great recordings using an external mic or its own internal mic. I have recommended it to several of my friends and our university radio station owns several. Students prefer this model over those recorders like the MZ N10 that are both difficult and confusing to use.

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I have had this recorder for ten years and I cannot believe it is still working. I use it between five and seven days a week, recording interviews for my job. For the first seven years, I used the recordings for broadcast (radio and TV.) Since then, I have upgraded to a Marantz PMD660, but I use this minidisc recorder for my every day stuff. After hundreds of hours of recording and playback, it is still kicking. It has even been dropped a couple of times. My only regret, is that I did not buy three of these at the time. When this baby finally wears out, I will be sad sad sad.

Monday, July 7, 2014

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

10 Pack 8cm/3' Inch Mini DVD-R Disc Disk for SONY HANDYCAM CAMCORDER DCR-DVD201Shipped fast, but I'm disappointed. It says ''FOR Sony handicam'' However, they are NOT Sony discs like I wanted. When I place one in my Sony handicam of course it says ''Sony disc recommended'' so we will see how it works....

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

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

Friday, June 6, 2014

Fuhu nabi Jr. 5" Capacitive Touch Android Tablet for Kids

Fuhu nabi Jr. 5' Capacitive Touch Android Tablet for KidsI bought this for my two-and-a-half year old son. At first he didn't really like it, he was easily frustrated with some of the games that came pre-loaded on it. However, I sat down with him the next day, and encouraged him to keep playing, keep solving puzzles, counting, learning his alphabets, etc.. and within the day, he was hooked. Now he loves his Nabi Jr. and I love that I can have my iPad back. His favorite games are "Beck and Bo", which I downloaded free from amazon app store, and "ABC Puzzles HD" which I only paid $1.99 for (also off the amazon app store).

PROS:

-It's rechargeable, so you're not running through batteries like crazy.

-You don't have to buy cartridges to use it like you have to do with the innotab and leap pad.

-It already comes loaded with age appropriate games/puzzles. My son loves most of them (especially the puzzles).

-Comes in handy when my kid starts getting cranky on shopping trips and having a meal at a restaurant.

-Able to connect to wifi.

-Has a Mommy/Daddy mode that's password protected (you can also access a web browser and e-mail from this mode).

-You can have different user profiles on it, so when my youngest son gets older they could technically share a nabi, but I'll probably just get him a new one since the price is so competitive, $99 is not bad at all.

-Able to download Amazon App Store. If apps are not free, they're only about $.99 $3.99. Still better than $19 cartridge for a leap pad.

-Compatible with Netflix (however, I did have to go into my Netflix settings to configure the video quality. This way, my child's TV shows and movies run smoothe on his Nabi Jr. Not really a big deal, he doesn't have complaints, and rarely watches Netflix on it anyways).

-Has a rotating camera that takes pictures as well as videos. (Just FYI: There are two plastic films over the camera which you need to take off so pictures don't look so blurred).

-Has nice grippy bumpers that work! (He's dropped it on the pavement by accident getting out of the car, thrown it purposely [though I haven't let him do that again] when he got frustrated the first time, and it survived without a a scratch).

CONS:

-While it's rechargeable, the battery life doesn't very long. Maybe 4-5 hours of non stop playing and unfortunatley it takes just as long (if not longer) to recharge it back to full power.

-After a week our nabi jr. stopped charging. I contacted Nabi through Facebook, and we figured out that it was the wall adapter/charger that stopped working. I was then told that the company couldn't send me a replacement charger because they haven't officially released the nabi jr. yet. They encouraged me to return the whole thing back to Walmart (where I bought it) or wait until it is officially released, and then fill out the necessary paperwork to get a new one. Fortunately, I had an extra wall adapter from my HTC cell phone which solved this problem for me. I read a review by another parent complaining about the same problem, and it only validated my hesitation in going with that route. Why would I return the entire tablet (which already has a good amount of new apps downloaded on it) with the broken charger just so I can get a new charger that's only going to break in another week or so anyways? Fix this Nabi.

-It comes with a fake stylus. Lol this is just so silly to me, really Nabi? You couldn't just incude it? Oh but wait, not only do you not include it, it's not even available for sale yet! In fact, most of the accessories for nabi jr. have not gone on sale yet. I wanted to buy a screen protector, no such luck. However, I did keep on screen you're supposed to peal off on. I just snipped off the little tab in which you're supposed pull it off with, and smoothed out the little air bubble. Worked out well for me, I didn't have to spend extra money, and it was already perfectly placed on while in factory).

-Nabi accessories are on the expensive side.

-The Wings Challenges app does not work yet. It says, "Coming Soon". Nabi says its supposed work on the next update, but I have no idea when that's supposed to be. It's May 2, 2013 today, and Nabi has not even given an expected date.

-The Chores List is a great idea, but you have to buy Nabi coins to award your child for completed tasks. I guess it then goes towards apps he wants? Haven't quite figured that out yet because Nabi Jr. doesn't come with an instruction booklet or a "get to know your Nabi" type pamphlet.

-Oh and it has false advertisement. On the website it says something along the lines of learn ABC's with Dora the Explorer, put on a hat parade with Kai-lan, and count with Bubble Guppies. Yeah okay, where? Nickelodeon apps are few and far between.

-Lastly, I have an issue with the free apps which have ads. Unfortunatley if your kid taps on the ad, it'll bypass Mommy/Daddy mode where they are now able to buy/download/install this new app they just tapped on. Does that make sense? This is a chink in Nabi's parental controls. I've tried talking to them about it, to see if there was a solution, but they just gave me a bunch of runaround answers, and refused to admit that this was a loophole for game developers.

Despite all the cons, my kid loves his nabi, and I've learned to keep the wifi off so he doesn't accidentally start charging things to my debit card. I'm actually very impressed with how helpful it's been as a learning tool. I watch him play on it and I can see the gears in his brain working lol. Nabi also made 5 apps free for download to help with autistic children. I think this is wonderful. It may be a marketing tool, but I still think its great they've picked a route that's mutually beneficial.

I bought two for my 3 yr old and 5 year old. It has loads of apps for learning. Amazon has pleanty more games for free! I have control over the downloads and I was able to save SpongeBob and Mario Bros videos from Youtube. I use it when the kids are asleep. My older kids play with it more than with their own ipods. It is well built and I haven't had an issue so far. I only wished it had a manual rather than going on line. I love the look, it is kid friendly but also attractive to adults. For $99 it is worth it!!

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I purchase this tablet for my baby girl 3 weeks later the charger broke contacted this company and was told that there was not chargers avalible...I can not find one to fit anywhere! Please Naby people make it right like you claim in the website and produce some chargers.

Read Best Reviews of Fuhu nabi Jr. 5" Capacitive Touch Android Tablet for Kids Here

This is the quote from Nabi support on a getting a replacement charger cable: "currently, we haven't finalized our nabi Jr. charger replacement yet. We'd love to get you a replacement charger but in the meantime, we ask that you wait for a bit."

This is absolutely amateurish and unacceptable to not have replacement parts for a kids product. Especially when they use proprietary cables that can't be bought anywhere else.

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Just like the other customer, we have not been able to use our Nabi Jr for the past few weeks because of a broken charger. This is not a single incident. If you google "Nabi replacement charger", the first link will direct you to a web site for a Nabi 2 charger replacement web site. Since it is a widespread problem, they are replacing the charger for free. Not for the Nabi Jr! I searched Walmart, Target, and various online stores including Amazon.com and Best Buy (where I got our Nabi Jr), no one has it except Nabi store as I was told. I am willing to pay for it if I can find it on the Nabi store! No, not available either. What kind of "accessory monopoly policy" is that? They blame the problem on the manufacturer but what about quality control from Nabi?

I emailed Nabi customer service 3 times (no phone number), each time they responded with an automatic email response stating that they have extremely high email volume and referred me to "top 10 questions" in Q&A. Buyer be aware, just hope that you get to use yours more than a few weeks.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

(5) 6-Disc Capacity Black 14MM DVD Empty Replacement Cases with Wrap Around Sleeve #DV6R14BK

(5) 6-Disc Capacity Black 14MM DVD Empty Replacement Cases with Wrap Around Sleeve #DV6R14BKThese cases were pretty much what I expected them to be. The plastic quality was not great yet also not uselessly brittle. I have not experienced the same breakage problems that others have though I would not tend to drop these or throw them around too much because i am afraid of them breaking. The cases do hold CDs and DVDs well when you fix the unfortunately common molding problem with the push clip. After a few insertions you will notice you have a problem if you have to keep pressing the disc into the button. It is usually just a problem with the molded plastic being too thick on the retaining ridge of the button. That is easily fixed with a little scraping off of plastic. Similar molding issues disallow you to successfully close the case sometimes. That is easily remedied by just bending the case a little. Overall the case is what I expected for just a few bucks and generally serves its purpose.

I am very happy with these DVD cases. They will free up a lot of space on my media shelves. The cover art from a standard DVD case fits perfectly in the 6 Disc case. The cases seem sturdy enough for home use. However, I would not use these cases for shipping or lending DVDs. Also I doubt these will hold up well to constant use by children. But really what does?

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I had bought a couple of TV seasons on DVD from a blockbuster which was going out of business. But each DVD was in a separate, regular sized case and they took up a lot of room on my shelf. This 6 quantity case worked great to free up some space on my shelf. Considering that they were made of plastic they seem sturdy and well built.

Discs go in easily, but sometimes they seem to fit a bit too snugly and take a bit of extra work to get out. I don't think I'll have to worry about breaking them though. If you're looking for a replacement case or trying to make some more shelf space, I'd recommend this case.

Read Best Reviews of (5) 6-Disc Capacity Black 14MM DVD Empty Replacement Cases with Wrap Around Sleeve #DV6R14BK Here

They aren't "slim", they are of average case thickness, but do provide the amount of space it claims and should last a long time with careful treatment.

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These DVD cases would've been great, if two of the five cases had not been broken when received. The packaging looked fine and all other items received were fine.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Pioneer Electronics USA Retail Slim DVD/RW Writer DVR-XD10S5PK

Pioneer Electronics USA Retail Slim DVD/RW Writer DVR-XD10S5PKBought this at a Best Buy store for $60 (needed it ASAP).

I like that it is a clamshell style, not a drawer-style, to open. (drawers seem to add unecessary complexity for an external drive.

It comes with a cable to plug into 2 USB ports, though I haven't needed the second port to access CDs. (just using it one night). I believe this second plug is merely to draw extra power, if necessary.

I'm using it on a MacBook Pro from 2008. I haven't tried burning with it, but read seems to be just fine.

The Software that came bundled with mine (NERO) is for Windows only. But the hardware works just fine on my Mac.

Plays and burns discs just fine. One usb connection will work fine. One minor point about this design is that the open button on the top, requires usb connection before you can open up the clamshell. If you really need to open it without plugging usb, there is a button to pull and manually open the clamshell lid. I find it strange that they design it that way. Slim square design is simple but extremely portable. Some other brands design them to be curved shaped. I find it unnecessary if I want to minimize space usage. It plays and burns fairly quiet.

Buy Pioneer Electronics USA Retail Slim DVD/RW Writer DVR-XD10S5PK Now

Am using with Windows XP laptop after built-in drive stopped working. Looks more slick than expected from pictures, and has been working great with reading CDs and DVDs and writing CDs (I have not yet needed to write a DVD). Is quite compared to past drives I've used, can tell when it's working but no obnoxious noise like with other drives I've used, even at full speed. Has been working fine with just one of the two USB plugs provided, and the top-open design is nice and convenient to use while not having to worry about keeping space clear in front of it as with a slide-out.

Read Best Reviews of Pioneer Electronics USA Retail Slim DVD/RW Writer DVR-XD10S5PK Here

This DVD/WR Writer is extremely lithe and thin. Excellent for use in ultrabooks or netbooks that didn't have optical drive.

The only problem is my Ubuntu 11 didn't recognize the device and I am searching for a Linux driver for it. Since I have due boot feature with my ultrabook, I can always boot up Windows to copy files over.

I am pretty confident that I will be able to locate a linux driver for this device soon.

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Had purchased 2 others that didnt work on arrival and sent them back.

I decided to try this top loading Pioneer and it works perfectly. I

didnt bother to load the Nero that came with it. I just plugged it

into my DLink powered USB hub and the computer recognized it immediately.

Its fairly quiet and smooth running.Works great on burning DVD-R videos.

It was shipped in only a padded envelope which I thought pretty stupid,

but it arrived in one piece. A UPS miracle.

UPDATE: 5/10/2012. I spoke to soon. Lately DVD's are "skipping".

Tried different brand, same problem. Oh well!!

More Chinese crap. Sent it back.

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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

D-Link 16 MB MP3 Player

D-Link 16 MB MP3 Player
  • 16 MB MP3 player and digital voice recorder
  • Expandable using SmartMedia memory cards
  • Customize sound with equalizer presets
  • Includes earphones and PC cable
  • Requires a parallel port connection to the PC

Six months ago this product had an awsome price to value raito (I paid 30.00 after the 60.00 mail in rebate), however times are changing. Memory prices are falling, and you can buy a player with 64 MB for 90.00 to 200.00 , and many of these include a radio and USB connection. The point, this is a good product, but I would suggest you consider another, more advanced product.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Panasonic DVD-RV31K DVD Player, Black

Panasonic DVD-RV31K DVD Player, Black
  • DVD/VCD/CD player with MP3, CD-R, and CD-RW playback
  • Optical digital-audio output for Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound
  • Features Panasonic Advanced Surround (VSS) system with Bass Plus, 1-touch cinema memory, and dialogue enhancer
  • Discrete subwoofer output routes home theater sound to your subwoofer
  • Also includes S-video output, component-video outputs, multibrand remote control, and front-panel shuttle dial

The good?

Superb picture and sound

Plays everything: DVD, CD, VCD, XVCD, MP3, CD-R, CD-RW

Supports MP3 CBR and VBR

Quick loading mechanism

Front panel (display and controls) is fairly complete

Supports black level expansion

Brightness, contrast, and color adjustments

S-Video, component, optical, and subwoofer connections

Icon based menu system is very polished



The bad?

Feels cheap, especially the remote

Cannot play SVCD or XSVCD

No coax digital out

Surround sound, dialogue and bass enhancers, and cinema mode are useless

MP3 player has NO features



The MP3 player does not display filenames! Any directory structure that exists will get flattened. You'll get to know your songs by number... "1 of 122" or "24 of 122" etc. Programmed or random play would make things better, but unfortunately, those features are not supported during MP3 playback.

The bottom line?

If you watch DVDs most of the time and occasionally listen to MP3s, then the Panasonic RK31 is highly recommended!

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I bought this player based upon the stellar reviews posted herein and at (...). The player worked terrificly for the first four months (exceptional audio and video on our standard 27" TV). However, after 4 months, it started freezing up randomly more and more frequently until it doesn't play DVDs at all. Occasionally, it gives an "H02" error before it freezes (as alluded to by several other postings for this player at Amazon).

When I called the Panasonic repair center, they were very discourteous and rude and told me to send the player and $90 to have them fix it (with no estimated return time). I've decided to purchase a different brand instead.

Bottom line: there are an inordinate number of people in this forum outlining this same problem with this player after a few months of use. Also, the warranty period for labor is a very short 90 days. I suggest that the model design may be defective and that potential buyers stay away.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DVD-RV31K DVD Player, Black Here

What I meant by being like me is:

* first time DVD owner

* don't have a home theater system

* planning to just plug into a TV and use its speakers

* like intuitive remote control buttons

* want to be able to play VCDs as well

This is the perfect DVD player for you then. I found it especially easy to use. Right out of the box, just hook up the power and color coded video/audio cables to the back of your TV and it's ready to go. They even supply the batteries for the remote. I for one don't like to read manuals, but i really didn't have to. Power the player on, hit Open/Close, load your DVD disc, turn on your TV and it starts playing. If I want to access the menu, there's a clearly marked button called Menu and direction keys (Up/Down/Left/Right) and an Enter button at the center to make selections with.

The price for this player makes it attractive as well. After canvassing around department store for basic DVD players and adding the tax to it, Amazon's selection and convenience just won me over.

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After trial and error, and considerable research, I narrowed down my choices to the Sony S-360 and the Panasonic RV-30. Then I discovered this model, the RV-31. Despite the higher retail prices of the previous models, it's important to remember that international exchange rates, production efficiency, and greater consumer demand enable manufacturers to sell the newer, improved versions at lower prices. (Amazon's pricing, incidentally, reflects the commodity's inherent "value" far more accurately than other sellers, who are likely to have the RV-30 priced higher than the RV-31 simply because the seller's initial cost was higher.)

I was leaning to the Sony, primarily because of its sleek yet modest face and ultra-compact design (the thinnest and least deep). But for all its consumer-seducing bells and whistles (a "cinema mode" button? how many times is a DVD not a movie?), the RV-31 is still the inescapable choice in this price range. The ability to play variously encoded CDs, the disc-stabilizing feature, the shuttle control for fast scanning all represent advances in quality and convenience. And despite its more "gaudy" face, the machine's dimensions are almost as compact as the Sony's.

On the "down" side, the remote, like virtually all others I've tried, does not allow me to access my television set's menu, which must be set to "auxilliary mode" for the player to work, at least if you plan to continue using a VCR. But most viewers by now have become accustomed to using 2 or 3 remotes anyway. If not, the minimal exercise involved in walking to the set should not prove injurious to anyone's health.

I bought this DVD player 3 months ago and I could never be happier with it. Since then I have bought 3 more of these players for friends and relatives. I bought the Black or Silver they are exactly identical in functionality. I prefer the Silver look myself.

The MP3 player was a big plus! It plays my MP3 disks with ease. The only problem is that it only displays the numbers of my MP3 files when playing it. So you may have to memorize your MP3 via numbers. It will play the files in the order the MP3 files are written. Just make sure you make a list of the songs cause there is no way to memorize over a hundred songs in a disk.

Unlike the Toshiba DVD with the MP3 playing capability, the Panasonic DVD/CD/VCD/MP3 COULD Fast Forward/Rewind while playing the MP3 files. Im glad I did not buy the Toshiba, pretty much all the Toshiba players I tried in the electronics store could not fast forward/rewind MP3 file/song. This is bothersome especially if you need to scan through your MP3 songs.

Playback was excellent. I haven't got any bad pixelations where the picture was not completely processed which leaves bigger squares of the image all over the place. I did get a couple pauses/delay/discontinuity while playing the DVD on some disks. The discontinuity usually happens while it switches to the next track. It only happens rarely in the frequency of once in 10 movies I play. It may just be the disk itself causing it, especially if it has scratches.

As far a CD playing is concerned, it has pretty much what a normal CD player has. Search, Fast Forward, Rewind, Random, Scan and more... Just read up on the specifications to find out the rest.

VCD Playback is excellent as well. The image was nice and clear. Of course it will never match up with the DVD's picture quality.

The component outputs and digital audio output is a plus for future expansions. Most new higher end televisions and receivers have component inputs now. And most receivers that support DTS/Dolby digital 5.1 will have digital audio inputs. Though this particular player does not support progressive scan, the picture quality is up to par. Panasonic makes a model that supports progressive scan but it is slightly more expensive. It will look very similar to this one except it will say progressive scan on the front disk tray.

This player also implements special function for surround sound. It will simulate a surround sound through your television even though you don't have any of the complex receivers/audio equipment. Of course it will not match up with having your own surround receiver, but it is good enough if you don't have one.

This player has proven itself to be very reliable to me. Its ease of use and functionality makes it my top pick especially for its price range. At Amazons current pricing on this player (Black or Silver), you cannot find a better name brand in its class!

Friday, May 2, 2014

T-Mobile Samsung SCH-C225 Cell Phone

T-Mobile Samsung SCH-C225 Cell PhoneThis phone met almost all of the qualifications that I wanted: it isn't a flip phone, it's color with games, the buttons are easy to push, etc... but the problem is that IT CALLS 911 WHEN IT IS LOCKED IN MY POCKET!!! I have complained to T-mobile and they said that other people have had this problem and that they won't replace the phone, that I should just "be more careful." There is no way to turn this function off, it is an emergency feature built into the phone. I call the police several times a week and I assume that this bothers them as much as it bothers me. Besides that I have few complaints with the phone... you can't read the time when it's locked without unlocking it, but the signal is fine and it does what it says it can.

The positives:

Beautiful, detailed color screen. Stylish design (nicer looking than Nokia or Motorola phones IMHO). Menus are relatively intuitive. Battery life is good (three days if I don't talk much, two days if I do). Small and rugged. The numbers don't wear off easily.

Now, the negatives:

It's not very responsive to the unlock button. You have to push a two-button sequence to unlock, and you often have to do it several times before it will listen.

It calls 911 all by itself, when the keypad is locked. This is because, as a security feature, they figured you still should be able to call 911 when the keypad is locked. However, it does this by filtering out all keypresses until it sees a 9-1-1 in sequence, then ignores everything after that. This liberal policy means it can easily happen when you're taking it out of your pocket. It asks for confirmation, but sometimes THAT button gets hit by accident, too. Seems unlikely, but it's completed the call to 911 maybe once every month or so.

The sound cuts out on the speaker when the sound on the microphone reaches a certain level. This means if it's windy, or you're driving (naughty naughty), it'll cut out the sound, so you can't hear the other person, or their voice mail system, very well.

Buy T-Mobile Samsung SCH-C225 Cell Phone Now

Ok, this looks like a decent phone, certainly a good replacement for the R225, for those out there that wish to use their old accessories with this phone. A few comments...

First, the positives. Good options, menu is intuitive, color screen is bright and well laid out, good features. Nothing particulary spectacular, but good for the money. The earphone input has been redesigned so now using the earpiece does not kill your phone (R225)...A huge improvement. The accessories it comes with are also improved, though they are tan...a little odd.

Second, the negatives. There are only really two I could find. You can no longer apply individual ring tones to phone numbers...now it is done through a group system, which is a bit limiting and overcomplicated. The old system on the R225 was better. The next big problem is the screen contrast when the backlight is off. It is almost black, and not only is there no option to keep the backlight on at all times, there is no contrast control for the regular screen....only the backlit contrast is adjustable. This is a big problem. You will need to activate the backlight to see anything.

Overall a good phone with decent features...There is limited messaging and browsing, but no camera, though if you are looking at this phone you probably don't need one. If you need a replacement for your aging R225, this is a good choice.

And yes, all accessories for the R225 work for the C225 EXCEPT the earpiece. That means chargers, batteries, desktop chargers, etc. Get a new earpiece or take the one in the package and you are set.

Read Best Reviews of T-Mobile Samsung SCH-C225 Cell Phone Here

i travel for a living & this phone was suggested (& cheap to boot). sure enough, it works like a champ all over the world. great reception, calling the usa is a breeze & texting works every time.

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i bought this and within two weeks i had dropped calls and tons of static, i was coming from a nokia 3595 and that phone was better then this one. i went back to tmobile and they just gave me the same one all over again, geuss what, same thing all over again, ive had it with this phone!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

EzCAP116 USB 2.0 VHS to DVD Converter. Capture & convert video from VHS, Hi8, All Camcorders, DVD p

EzCAP116 USB 2.0 VHS to DVD Converter. Capture & convert video from VHS, Hi8, All Camcorders, DVD player, Satellite TV, etc. Capture Xbox 360/Wii/PS3 in full color. Upload videos direct to YouTube, convert for mobile device or make a dvd. Stream live with Skype, MSN, etc. Supports Windows XP/Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 32/64 bit, Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later.After searching the net for a video capture device for my Windows 7 system, I found only 2 choices that claimed to actually work on windows 7. One was a fire-wire device for $200 and the other was the EZcap device. Since I only occasionally convert video, I went for the much cheaper solution. The product works but there is a problem with the sound USB driver included in the package. It did not work!. Found this on You Tube . This shows how to install sound drivers and has link to working driver. Only other problem I saw while digitizing my videos is the sound would drop out momentarily while recording.

This product disproves the old saying about things that seem too good to be true. This little peanut shaped EZcap and the software that comes with it does the job of products costing hundreds more. It does everything it is advertised to do with a very small learning curve. It comes with a downloadable manual that explains and illustrates exactly how to do everything. I am in the process of downloading years of family video tapes from my VCR to my computer, editing them and making professional looking DVD's with all kinds of neat titles and special effedcts. I have used it on both Vista and Windows 7 computers. A little driver tweak was necessary to get it to work with Windows 7. Shipping took only a couple days and the supplier e-mailed me after I received it to see if I had any questions. At nearly 70 years of age, this little item may be the best value I have ever received for the money spent.

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If your looking for a cheap way to record videos onto dvd, ipod, psp, or anything, this is a good choice to make. There are better alternatives, but come with a higher price. So if you want good quality recordings at an affordable price, this is the product you want. Comes with all but one item that you need to start recording, which is a male to male rca cable to hook up the ezcap to your tv/dvd/vcr/anything that has a female output on it. But luckily for consoles you can hook it straight up to the ezcap and start recording with the showbiz software it comes with.

Read Best Reviews of EzCAP116 USB 2.0 VHS to DVD Converter. Capture & convert video from VHS, Hi8, All Camcorders, DVD p Here

This device is ideal for any analog video capturing. (VHS, 8mm...) Having gone through the easy setup and installation, I made my first atttempt to capture one of my VHS home movies. Fifteen minutes into the video capture, the recording stopped and displayed this message: "VIDEO IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED.VIDEO CAPTURE WILL NOT RESUME". Don't sweat it. All you have to do is disable the protection pop-up. Here's the fix. And trust me, it works. Haven't had a single issue since this fix. Enjoy.

You have to edit a configuration file.

Navigate to:

C:\Program Files\ArcSoft\TotalMedia ShowBiz\com.ArcSoft.CaptureModule\

Open "CaptureModule.ini" with notepad. Add "ProtectOn=0" under "[CaptureModule]" and save.

If it does not let you save, it is because your pc user permissions need to be changed.

Right click on the file, select properties

select "security" at the top

click on "users" and click on the "edit" box

Put a click in all the boxes and click on "apply"

Now it will let you edit and save the file.

Want EzCAP116 USB 2.0 VHS to DVD Converter. Capture & convert video from VHS, Hi8, All Camcorders, DVD p Discount?

The supplier emailed me the fix for the USB Audio glitch which worked great. I believe a couple of comments lists out the fix. Capture works good overall except the included capture software ArcSoft Showbiz will throw a Copyright error every time your VHS tape runs a blemish through it which is quite often with old video tapes so had to sit by PC and watch old videos all the way thru (whoo!) and restart every time it glitched.

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Saturday, March 22, 2014

CyberHome CH-DVD 300S Progressive-Scan DVD Player , Silver

CyberHome CH-DVD 300S Progressive-Scan DVD Player , Silver
  • Progressive-scan video (480p) with 3:2 pulldown support renders flicker-free images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs
  • Plays DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, SVCD, VCD, MP3, and JPEG picture CD
  • Picture zoom, last-disc resume
  • Dolby Digital an DTS 5.1-channel surround sound passthrough (coaxial digital-audio output)
  • Plays PAL and NTSC discs

Don't be frightened by the small-name brand and tiny size. This player works just fine. Good picture and good performance. I bought mine primarily because it can be programmed to play discs from other regions than Region 1 (North America's DVD region, for those who do not pay attention to such things.) It does this to perfection! I have had no problem with color shifts or distortion with PAL discs on my NTSC television, but be sure that you use the manual when you go through the "Setup" menu you will need to make sure your player is set to NTSC, not PAL, if you live in North America and want PAL discs to play properly on your NTSC set.

Not familiar with the PAL/NTSC thing? It's like this if an American buys a DVD from England, for example, he or she will find that it will not play in the average North American Region 1, NTSC DVD player because in England, DVDs and players are Region 2 and PAL TV format (North America has NTSC format TV broadcasts). They are incompatible and will not play. This player will play both PAL and NTSC DVDs, and will play them from any region!

There is one minor caveat there are no instructions as to how to change regions included with the player (but can be found with an internet search).

Not to worry, though this is how you do it:

1. With no disc in the tray, push "Menu" "1" "9" (ignoring the "No" symbol that appears on the upper left-hand corner of the screen).

2. A menu will appear that shows in highlight the region it is set to (almost certainly Region 1). Push the "Enter" button and the region number will change. You can set it to any region (1 through 6) or to Region 0, which means it will play PAL or NTSC DVDs from all 6 DVD regions!

3. Push the "Open/Close" button to close the menu, and you're done!

Enjoy!

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When it comes to the price/value ratio, it doesn't get much better than this item. For a little more than 30 bucks you get a region free DVD player ! (Yes, you can play any DVD from any country on this machine.... however, it is not mentioned in the user manual. All you need to do is press 'menu' '1' '9' and select region code 0).

The picture quality is really good. I have a 500 dollar Philips DVD player but the difference to this 30 dollar machine is almost non existent. The size of the player is a big plus as well. It's nice and small and can easily be moved from one location to another. It is great in combination with a DVD recorder especially, since it has an S-Video output. Also, it plays all DVD formats (including DVD+RW or DVD-R etc.). The voltage is variable from 110 V to 220 V which is great, if you want to use it in Europe as well. You can chose NTSC or PAL as output again, this makes this player truly international.

Read Best Reviews of CyberHome CH-DVD 300S Progressive-Scan DVD Player , Silver Here

A great little machine. Quite incredible value for less than $40US. I bought it for its PAL/NTSC conversion ability and it surpassed all my expectations. The converted images are superb. When you first buy it, the out-of-the-box settings are configured so that the machine can only handle Region 1 discs (if you bought it in North America). It only requires a simple re-setting of the Region code, which can be done using the remote.

1. Switch player on, making sure that there's no disc in the tray.

2. Close tray.

3. Using the remote control, key in the following: MENU, 1, 9 (Note: just type in these three all in a row. Don't wait for anything to come up after just entering MENU because nothing will happen until you type in the 1 then the 9)

4. A menu will appear that shows the region option near the bottom of the screen. Arrow up or down to highlight the REGION title.

5. Press ENTER. The Region number setting will change to a blank entry "-"

6. Using the numbers keypad, type in the number 0 (this is the code for region free and will let you play discs from anywhere in the world without having to change the setting for each disc from a different region)

7. Press ENTER again to save the setting.

8. Press OPEN/CLOSE to switch off the menu. The door will open for you to put a disc in the tray.

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OK, here's the sneak peak on the Target CH-DVD 320S, which I assume is the same as the CH-DVD 300S that everybody else is selling, but with a different model number to protect those "low price guarantees". As you will see, the firmware for this unit clearly identifies itself as "300".

I hooked up the player with the S-video output (it also has component), and the coaxial digital audio (it does not have opticial).

First, "close tray", "menu", "1", "9", does lead you to the screen where you can set region coding. I don't know if it works or not, since I only have region 1 disks. Also on that screen is a complete run-down of the HW and FW. I would be interested in what a CH-DVD 300S reports here. The CH-DVD 320S reports this:

MPEG FW 300.B.20.A

MPEG HW DB-B2-V01

SERVO FW CB36260

SERVO HW D07V1.1_

VEND HYOP300U

VENDVER 208.F

I put Terminator II in, my standard dual layer test disk. Video quality seemed a tad poorer than I was used to, but not objectionable to this mere mortal. I saw very very occasional minor tearing of the video, and the audio seemed just slightly (but no objectionally) out of sync. It reminded me a lot of what I've seen from PC DVD players. Its going to be fine for the wife's bedroom TV.

Then I stuck a DVD-R that had been "backed up" using DVD XCopy. As Arnold says "No Problemo". I don't have any DVD+R blanks, so I was unable to try a DVD+R.

Then I grabbed a CD-R that I had made that contained an MPEG-1 video stream. Mind you, this CD-R is *not* in VCD format. Its just a ISO-9660 data disk with a file on it "dsdsads.mpg". The player gave me a file browser menu, and when I selected that file it played the video. AFAIK, this is great because its a lot harder to master a proper VCD than it is to just dump an MPG file onto a CD-R.

Then I grabbed a CD-R with some .mp3's on it that I got from a person on this list. Again, I got the file browser menu. But when I hit play, the audio played at 2X speed. The MP3's on this

disk were mastered at 64kbit/sec. So don't do that.

Then I grabbed a commercial MP3 CD that I bought from BooksOnTape where the MP3's were mastered at 128kbit/sec. No problemo.

Then I grabbed a homemade MP3 CD-R (Pink Floyd, the greatest band ever) where the MP3's were mastered at 128kbit/sec. No problemo. I didn't have a VBR MP3 disk handy, so I did not test that.

Then I grabbed a CD-R full of .JPG's. It gives you the file browser window and when you hit play it does a slideshow with those. Nice.

The manual does not mention DiVX/MPEG-4 support, and I didn't have a DiVX disk handy to see if its there as a secret feature.

I ran out of time, and had to wrap this thing back up since its an XMAS present.

The only real question on these is "how long before they go belly up"? I've had a high end Sony and a mid-range Philips DVD player die on me already (I was an early DVD adopter). I came to the conclusion that its stupid to pay big bucks for a player that won't last anyhow. If this one lasts 1 year, I will be happy.

Despite all the great features -multi-region capability, plays almost any disc, etc. -this unit has one fatal flaw. That is, when it's turned off, it continues to draw enough current that it stays warm to the touch. Initially, although I can't imagine why it should need to do so, I didn't think it was a big deal.

Then a few months later, the unit conked out. It powers up, but it no longer puts out a usable signal. Lots of snow, no color, rolling picture, etc.

I can only guess it's because something in the electronics overheated and failed.

So, if this unit appeals to you, I highly suggest plugging it into something that will cut power to it when you're not using it. Something such as a power strip or a switched outlet on your home theater receiver or cable box.

If you plug it into the wall or another always-on outlet, don't be surprised if a few months later you find it has baked itself into becoming a high-tech doorstop (like mine).

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

GW Security CCTV Male Plug Lead Power Cord Wire Male Power Pigtail for Connecting Security Camera,

GW Security CCTV Male Plug Lead Power Cord Wire Male Power Pigtail for Connecting Security Camera, Pack of 10 PiecesI used this with the "GW Security CCTV Female Power Pigtail Female Plug Lead" and they are a perfect. They went together nicely and was exactly what I needed for my project that involved 12v LED strips.

I would like note that this is NOT all black, it has a red AND black wire the pictures appears all black, but the product I got had a red and black wire. The female product as I mentioned is ALL black.

female connector:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005Q0A0GI/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_8

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Bundle - 3 items: Sennheiser ME66 - K6 - Super-Cardioid Mic Capsule with K6 and Mic Windscreen

Bundle - 3 items: Sennheiser ME66 - K6 - Super-Cardioid Mic Capsule with K6 and Mic Windscreen
  • This Bundle kit includes 3 Items: Sennheiser ME66 - Short Shotgun Mic Capsule, Sennheiser K6 Powering Module (Battery or Phantom) and Mic Windscreen
  • Sennheiser ME66 - Short Shotgun Mic Capsule
  • Sennheiser K6 Powering Module (Battery or Phantom)
  • Mic Windscreen

I simply love it. It is great quality, highly accurate, and records clear clean sound. I have worked with some other microphones and I have always found something I was not happy with. I've had this one for almost a year and I have no complaints. It picks up sound well, and is clean. The bass is good and solid and voices do not sound hollow or flat. It can be battery powered or phantom (using camera power if you camera supports it.) I have only used the phantom power and I have never picked up a hiss, static, buzz, or too much ambient white noise. I hear microphones pick up more of that if they are on battery power, but I am very happy with it.

Pros:

Clean crisp sound devoid of hiss, buzz, or static.

Acceptable price, more then others, but well worth it.

Options for Battery or Phantom power.

Cons:

Does not come with a shoe mount, but those are easily bought.

A little long, but not really a big deal.

If mine broke today, I'd order a new one exactly the same right away, it is the best you can get without going into thousands of dollars.

Buy Bundle - 3 items: Sennheiser ME66 - K6 - Super-Cardioid Mic Capsule with K6 and Mic Windscreen Now

The Sennheiser ME33 w/K6 is a no-brainer for anyone. Excellent audio quality, built-in phantom power (excellent battery life) so you can use it with a DSLR. (Far better than the Rode Vidmic) I think this mic is a bargin and is just a great, all-around choice for many sound applications. A little long, but worth it--

Read Best Reviews of Bundle - 3 items: Sennheiser ME66 - K6 - Super-Cardioid Mic Capsule with K6 and Mic Windscreen Here

This is one of the best microphones currently on the market. Besides affordability, the quality is awesome, which makes it unnecessary to purchase something more expensive. This is great equipment for the amateur as well as the pro, outside or inside, film production or music recordings. An all-around great deal! Highly recommended!

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The Sennheiser mic is great and I'm very happy with the kit, but I had to get it from a different seller. The first seller, DVeStore shipped the kit without the windscreen. When I contacted them about it they told me to buy the windscreen (again) and they would reimburse me later. That is unacceptable IMO. Amazon I trust, others not so much. I sent it back and purchased it from the seller Videoscope they got it right and it has worked flawlessly. Five stars for the product and Videoscope, 2 stars for DVeStore.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Panasonic KX-TG1062M DECT 6.0 Corded/Cordless Phone with Answering Machine, Metallic Gray, 2 Handse

Panasonic KX-TG1062M DECT 6.0 Corded/Cordless Phone with Answering Machine, Metallic Gray, 2 HandsetsThis is without question, the best land line phone I have ever seen! Please look at my other reviews, you will see that I am NOT a paid reviewer to write what the manufacturer wants.

This phone does EVERYTHING! Sound is crystal clear. Both handsets and base unit have lit displays. Both have selectable ringer tones and volume. Each has independent "phone books" which can be copied from the base unit to the handsets or vice versa. Both the base unit and handsets have speaker phones. The phone books are super easy to program.

The answering system with date/day/time works terrifically! You can select pre-recorded message or make your own. The answering system capacity is 18 minutes or 64 messages. You can select between 2 and 7 rings before the answering system engages.

I like that the base unit works during power outages.

I especially like the five "speed dial" buttons to phone frequent friends or family with just one button. Great!

Call blocking works well.

Cordless handsets have great range and use rechargeable AAA batteries (included). The handset cradle recharges the batteries. The cordless handsets light up (back-lit). You can access the answering machine via the cordless handsets. The cordless handsets have speaker phones and headset jack. They have a clip so you can wear it on your belt.

It has a "handset locator".

It supports English and Espahol. Instruction manual is well written and easy to use.

It even has an "alarm clock" feature.

I have not found a better land line phone! Strongly recommend!

I purchased this phone a couple of weeks ago, as a replacement for a phone that had issue with the audio. I also wanted to be able use a very expensive headset I have. I have spent hours trying to find the right phone. I don't know what made me have an extra look at this phone, but the more I looked, and the more reviews I read, the more I liked it and I ended up purchasing it. I am using it mostly for my home office, but do use it for the occasional personal call as well.

Pros

====

* It has a good sound, so far I have not had the issues I had with my old phone. I have tried both the handset and the speakerphone, and like both. I particularly like the fact that I can put it on speaker, dial the number, and pick up the phone if I need to, or use the speaker phone. I also like that it's possible to switch between handset and speaker phone. Nice touch!

* The buttons/keys are nice. Easy to see without being too large. There are 5 options for speed dial, which made my life very easy! Some buttons (soft buttons) change depending on what you are doing with the phone at the time (on call or not, for example)

* Menus that are easy to understand. The handset is a little bit trickier than the desk phone, but in essence you can do what you want on that too.

* Once a number is programmed into the phone, it can be sent from handset to desk phone and vice versa. I only have one handset (will buy a second one soon), but I understand from the descriptions that you cannot send between handsets. But both can send to desk phone, and from there can be sent to hand sets. You can send all, or individual numbers.

* Large display. It's quite easy to read. I do have some issues with the display, see cons.

Cons

====

* Display. While I generally like the display, I wish it had been raised a bit, or that the phone had a greater angle. I have to either get off my chair or lift my phone in order to see the menus. Once a button is pushed, it's easy enough to see due to the back light, but it annoys me that I have to stretch my neck to see. It's a minor thing, but still.

* Answering Machine. When I got the phone, one of the first things I did, was to try to configure the answering machine. But that cannot be done on the desk phone, it has to be done by the hand set. Since that should be charged for 7 hours before use, this is a bit inconvenient. I thought this could have been done on the phone as well. The man telling me how many messages I've missed has a very metallic voice, clearly computer generated. It's annoying, but nothing major.

* Phone bigger under the handset. This I didn't realise looking at the picture, but the phone is not square. It is a good portion larger where the receiver is compared to the rest of the phone. That means that raising the phone at a larger angle may be an issue (see display above). One really needs a "cradle" to put the phone into.

* Metallic voice/feedback in my headset. I am not sure it's the phone or the combination, but my headset (Plantronic) is in the $250-range, and this phone is no where near as expensive, which leads me to think it's the phone. Especially since the headset has been used before without this issue. But it's something only I hear, not the one I am talking with, and it's not all the time either. It could be because it gets dual feedback, my headset pick it up, and so does the receiver (it has to be lifted off the hook).

But I like this phone, and I am likely to have it for a long time to come. It does the job much better than my previous phone, and the fact that I can use my headset is a serious bonus. I would definitely recommend it for anyone in need of a phone.

Edit: I just got another handset for this phone. Pairing the handset with the phone was a cinch, there is even a button for it. Then I just pressed the menu buttons and sent my entire phone list to the new phone. I also discovered yesterday that I can even listen in on the message on the handset when someone calls and I let it go to answering machine. I really like the features of this phone.

Buy Panasonic KX-TG1062M DECT 6.0 Corded/Cordless Phone with Answering Machine, Metallic Gray, 2 Handse Now

I was torn whether to rate this 4 or 5 stars. For my simple needs, it's definitely a 5, but it does have some quirks.

Good:

Great sound quality. Corded base for power outages. Speakerphone (which works great) on all components, both base and handsets. Access to answering system messages from all components. Functions as an intercom (and very well, too). 100-number phone book, which can be copied between units either in total or one entry at a time, and nine phone number groups that you can give custom names. Five-number quick dial buttons on base. Large, easy-to-use buttons. Uses rechargeable AA's (I *think* might have been AAA's standard batteries, anyway) instead of the expensive proprietary kind. Supports up to six handsets.

Not so good:

Some menus confusing. Direct-access to functions using "#" and a numeric code a joke, to me I want to navigate to a function using an intuitive menu, not look up a code in the user manual. On base unit, LCD contrast is not high enough to read display without backlight (at least in the location we've got it). Does not have a memo function as our previous (but much lower quality) system did, so I'm in the market for a fridge magnet recorder thingie now which is just fine by my husband, as he hated my leaving messages to myself on the answering machine....! ;-> ) Cannot copy phone number groups between units if you use that function, you'd have to name the groups on each unit and put each phone number in a group individually.

The reason I gave it a "5" nevertheless is that the "not so good" things I listed mean virtually nothing to me for my simple needs, especially when bounced against the "good" things, which *do* mean a lot to me. Your mileage may vary, which is why I tried to list everything I've noticed about the unit so far.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic KX-TG1062M DECT 6.0 Corded/Cordless Phone with Answering Machine, Metallic Gray, 2 Handse Here

I've owned this phone for just over a week and there are several things I like about it.

1. The handsets use two AAA batteries, instead of the specialized battery components common with digital phones. As my experience with my last phone, an AT&T model, left me without the ability to replace the battery, this one thing significantly affected my view.

2. Once you get the knack of the memory storage function that part of it is really quite simple to use, and much of the functions of the phone then become fairly intuitive.

3. The phone is operational when electrical power is out, which is a moderately common problem where I live due to thunderstorms.

There is one thing I don't like about this phone, but it is a small complaint: the voice control only raises the volume to a certain level and leaves me unable to hear at the level of volume that I'd prefer. However, this is a small complaint for the simple fact that if I pay close attention, which I should do anyway, I manage to understand all that is being said over the line.

The phone comes with a nice and unique ringer that can be heard from quite a distance. The handset use is very simple and easy to understand, requiring no reading of instructions to actually begin use.

Setting the timing of the automatic answering recorder is fairly simple as well. I've got mine set to record at six rings.

While I'm still learning about my new phone I must say that I am more than well pleased with it. It's far superior to the last phone I owned simply because of the type of batteries used. I appreciate Panasonic for actually considering the requirements of the user when they designed this phone.

I recommend it. This phone is very nice for the price and is as good, or better, than any other phone at this price level.

Want Panasonic KX-TG1062M DECT 6.0 Corded/Cordless Phone with Answering Machine, Metallic Gray, 2 Handse Discount?

This is the best-designed cordless I've ever owned, but it has a couple of problems.

Pros:

Well-designed user interface and documentation; easy setup

Standard rechargeable AAA batteries

Excellent voice quality through corded handset

Editable Caller ID numbers (you can remove the area code for returning local numbers)

Complete set of standard phone features (mute, hold, voice mail support, etc.)

Corded handset works during a power outage.

Set ringer off during recurring hours (like at night)

Cons:

Poor range. Cuts out when you're walking around. Hardly any signal if you're on the other side of the house. It has about half the range of my old 900 MHz phone from the same location.

Base speakerphone does not work during a power outage. If you're on speaker when the power goes out, it drops the call. I use the speaker a lot in my home-based business, and power outages are common during the summer thunderstorm season, so this is a major issue for me.

Update based on comments:

Yes, you can use a UPS for uninterrupted power. But my UPS was maxed out, which is why I bought a phone advertised as working during a power outage. If such a claim is made, then the corded handset should have: a) included an internal battery; or b) used the phone line to power the speaker, as one of my older phones does.

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Vegas Pro 11.0

Vegas Pro 11.0
  • Software offering professional audio and video production environment
  • Broad format support including AVCHD, XDCAM, and AVC QuickTime DSLR files
  • Supports SD, HD, 2K, and 4K workflows; innovative 2D and stereoscopic 3D tools
  • Intuitive DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring with DVD Architect Pro 5.2
  • Includes Dolby Digital professional AC-3 encoder and native 32- and 64-bit versions of Vegas Pro 11

I started with SV 9, then 10, and now 11. First, I am Sony's biggest fan. I own 3 sony video cameras, SV consumer and pro, and I promote Sony. But SVP 11 is the worst product I have ever used by sony. It is unstable, crashes whenever I use FXs and I can't even use the NEW Blue titler. If you don't save your work product every 3 seconds, you will lose your work. I am comitted to Sony, but I refuse to give them anymore money until they improve. I would not recommend this and I strongly encourage everyone to stay away from this. SVP 10 is Awesome! If you have it, stay with it!

Buy Vegas Pro 11.0 Now

It crashes a lot when rendering a long project. I can render the same project in pieces, but it will run for over an hour or so then crash if I try to do the whole project at once. This is on an i7 machine with 12G ram, the latest drivers and updates. It doesn't matter if I use GPU or CPU rendering, they both crash.

Pretty poor product.

Read Best Reviews of Vegas Pro 11.0 Here

I have been with Sony Vegas since version 2.0...and I even worked with a friend's 1.0 version before I bought 2.0.

I have enjoyed it and purchase 4 or 5 upgrades through the years. I even instructed 2 editors with Sony Vegas who are now commercial editors.

But version 11 from the start has been the most frustrating experience i have had. hang-ups, untold numbers of error reports and crashes. I contacted Sony about it and after several days they sent a reply that basically said, "turn off any of the new stuff and see if that works". What? turn off the things I upgraded for? Really? Another company telling me that I am the one who has bad equipment or am editing challenged?

I waited for their update, build 682, but nothing changed. If I had the money and time now I would jump to Adobe...if I had more money and time than that I would jump to Final Cut. But if what Final Cut people tell me is true, it seems that both Mac and Sony have decided to put a throttle on this level of editing...dumb things down. Maybe the evil empire of Adobe is the only one willing to put real resources into this level of editing?

I pray that something will soon convince Sony to go back to version 10 or something. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news about a company that I have defended through the years, but I feel betrayed.

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I had bought this product for my birthday because I love videomaking. I got it and it was extremely buggy everytime I try to edit something it freezes and says not responding. For the money I paid for it I was very disappointed I just ended up getting vegas pro 12 from the sony creative software site. I don't recommend this product.

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i was a huge fan of sony vegas 10 but this one is absolutely awful. Sony Vegas crashes literally every time i open a new clip. Absolutely awful.