Showing posts with label tape recorders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tape recorders. Show all posts

Thursday, November 20, 2014

New Mini Spy 4GB Flash Drive HQ Digital Audio Voice Recorders Pen USB Recording 70 hrs White and Bl

New Mini Spy 4GB Flash Drive HQ Digital Audio Voice Recorders Pen USB Recording 70 hrs White and Blue colorThe instructions did not accurately explain how to record and then hear the recording, it is horrible, I threw it in the garbage

This flash drive did not work at all. Tried to charge it and it wouldn't even charge let alone record anything.

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It is fine for personnal messages.

But if you want to record anyone ot anything farther away than a couple of feet, replay is too soft to hear

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When I looked at this thing, I was skeptical that it would work. After testing it, not only while it was in my pants pocket, but also 50 feet away in another room..... I had to say, wow! It really works great and has excellent clarity also. There is a slight delay when you start recording but it states that in the instructions. Pretty simple to operate: just charge it for a couple of hours, turn it on and start recording. Just haven't figured out how to erase previous recordings yet.

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As with just about all Chinese-made products I've ordered recently, the instructions for this are terrible! How hard is it to get a fluent speaker of the language you're translating to to review for proper syntax, grammar and overall readability? I'm leaning toward boycotting future purchases of good manufactured in China until they get a clue.

Monday, September 8, 2014

New 2.0-Inch HD Dual Camera Car DVR Vehicle Accident Dash Recorder and 8 IR Night Vision Light

New 2.0-Inch HD Dual Camera Car DVR Vehicle Accident Dash Recorder and 8 IR Night Vision Light
  • LCD?2.0"TFT LCD
  • Lens:120 Wide Angle
  • With nigh vision function
  • Dual lens survailiance the outside and the inside together

It's constant recording :( Thought there's motion detection but I was wrong. The biggest disappointment was with the night vision. In fact IR Led's are not strong at all. You can see image only up to 2" in front of the camera ! HD is photo only, video is VGA. Wasting of money. Regrets, regrets...

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i ordered a "New 2.0-Inch HD Dual Camera Car DVR Vehicle Accident Dash Recorder and 8 IR Night Vision Light". the product sent is the older version without night vision.

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Love it, no problems at all Used it on a recent trip and it was great to have with us.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

LYD W213ED4 2.4GHz Digital Wireless Security with 4 Digital Cameras, Motion Detection and Alarms

LYD W213ED4 2.4GHz Digital Wireless Security with 4 Digital Cameras, Motion Detection and AlarmsI purchased this to keep nanny on track while I am at work. I was not able to connect to internet as I am not familiar with these things. But I set it to record daily and would come home and monitor daily activity. You can connect smart phone to this and view activity from anywhere online, you just have to know how to set it.

Video Quality was OK at Best, GUI for Software was NOT user friendly. Video bleeped in and out. Buy something else.

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Lens does not get much Simple materials, beware of falling! But a great product for the price

Lens does not get much Simple materials, beware of falling! But a great product for the price

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Friday, July 4, 2014

Sony SLV-D370P DVD/VCR Progressive Scan Combo Player

Sony SLV-D370P DVD/VCR Progressive Scan Combo Player
  • Combo DVD/VCR unit with component video output for progressive DVD playback
  • Playback support for DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, VCD, SVCD, CD-R/RW, JPEG CD, and MP3 CD
  • VCR can record programming while DVD plays; 8-event recording
  • Video connections: Composite A/V (2 in, 2 out), S-Video (1 out), component (1 out)
  • Dolby Digital/DTS output via digital optical audio output

This has many features and is a very good product for the price. The DVD and CD players are good. I send the sound to my home theater receiver and it sounds wonderful. The VHS portion plays better than my other stand-alone SONY VCR. What I really liked is that this unit has Quasi-S Playback so I can play my S-VHS tapes. The picture is good. What I found amazing was that the EP record mode (6 hour) looked better than the SP (2 hour). I played some EP recordings made on this unit on my parents' JVC and the picture was outstanding. You can also view CD ROM (JPEGS, etc.) images with this unit on your TV. My only complaint with this unit is that the remote is too small and too "busy" with all the buttons very close together. If you want to watch DVDs, record and play VHS tapes without going beyond that I would recommend this SONY unit as a possible choice if you are in the market for a combination unit.

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I have been looking for a unit that will play both DVDs and VHS tapes. I have a pretty good-sized collection of DVDs and pre-recorded VHS tapes. This SONY unit fits the bill. I can play everything with this single unit. I can still record tapes off the cable too if I wish. One remote handles everything. I can also hook this unit to my TV using an RF cable or RCA type cables if I wish. You do not get that option with a stand-alone DVD player. So far I am very pleased with this unit. All my tapes look very good and the Fast Forward and Rewind is very fast. The price is right to.

Read Best Reviews of Sony SLV-D370P DVD/VCR Progressive Scan Combo Player Here

The remote control might drive you batty. You have to point it directly at whatever it's controlling in order for it to work. Besides the obvious, this means that unless you've memorized the buttons and can feel which is which, you must hold the remote level and then lean forward to read its labels and press its buttons.

Otherwise, the thing is nice. I like the fact that its remote is actually a universal remote that can control channel, volume, and power to many makes & models of TV, including my 15-year-old Panasonic. We're finally able to use a single remote for the TV and its media player while still having full access to the media player's features, such as "subtitles on/off".

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My old DVD would not play some of the many new formats, i.e. DVD-R, etc. This unit plays every DVD I've put in it with no hassles. The VCR has an auto tracking adjustment feature that seems to be fool proof, no stutters or static in the sound. And the icing on the cake is the remote. I understand it! Plus it controls my television functions. Excellent price and standard excellent Amazon service. Well done.

I have purchased two other DVD-VHS players in the past. This one is the best!! Picture is great, and the fast scanning is terrific. The price can't be beat either. Very happy I purchased it.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

LG CU405 Push To Talk 3G Quad Band GSM Cell Phone AT&T

LG CU405 Push To Talk 3G Quad Band GSM Cell Phone AT&TI've had my share of cell phones. Before getting the LG CU400, I had a Sony/Ericsson 500A. I loved that phone but S/E's Customer Service stunk! (Because of a SyncManager database error, they said I had to reinsall the O/S to fix the problem! Yea, right!!!) The LG CU400 has a progressive ringtone. Right now, you can't change that. From what I understand per LG, Cingular made this an LG-requirement of their phones. It's annoying when I hear someone else's phone do that, especially when no one answers the phone! It doesn't have a quick-lock feature (that I can find.) The Contacts are laid out in a wierd way (to me.) Name1/H, Name1/W, Name1/M, and so on. (H=Home, W=Work, M=Mobile, and so on.) I don't know if that's because the data was on the SIM and isn't 'loaded' into the phone, itself, yet, or what. I do like the location of the speaker button a one-touch feature. When the phone is closed, pressing any button on the side will display the date/time. It's not in color No biggie. It's a PTT (Push-To-Talk) phone. (I didn't buy that capability ...) When you dial a phone number, the numbers are pretty big. It has an external antenna. My last phone had an internal antenna. I didn't buy insurance in case I drop it and it breaks, or something. It's possible that can happen. It's not a Razor but it's thin. The internal display is very clear! I let the fully-charged phone run out the battery and, twice, it's lasted only 4 days with very minimal use. Your call history is a couple of buttons down the menu-path, no biggie. The speaker gets fuzzy at about 4 out of 7 bars. You can't accidentally take pictures of inside your pocket or handbag. I don't use the download capabilities of the phone for anything. I don't IM. I just use the phone as a phone. So, I'm not going to comment on those features. The 'door' that needs to be opened for charging is very flimsy! I can see it breaking off very easily. You'll want to 'turn' it 90 degrees UP to get it out of the way of the charger-cable. There's no holster, yet, because it's so new. There is a data-cable that can be used from another phone, so I'm told. Be sure to ask about the peripheral hardware BEFORE you buy in case you need to have it right away. All the peripherals may not be available yet.

In sum, it's not a bad phone. The ascending ring, the external antenna, and the fuzzy speaker, so far, hold me from giving this phone a Rating of 4. It's above average but I don't think it deserves a 4. I'll try the phone for a while and then try the Samsung C417. It's all about tradeoffs.

I got this phone as a christmas gift, and, aside from the battery issue my first one had, this is an absolutely terrific and easy to use phone. the keypad is the best i have seen on any phone, and the size of the screen is perfect. I had my previous phone, a samsung x4217 or whatever it was, for well over 4 years, and i had just about had it with that phone, so pretty much anything was an upgrade. All i wanted from my new phone was a screen on the outside to show the time, and a camera that i could quickly pull out and snap a quick pic of something, and this has both. this phone also has a video camera, which is a great extra feature. the outside screen doesn't have any fancy bells and whistles, it just shows the time and whatever symbols you have at the top of the interior screen. this phone has great sound quality, and the speaker phone works like a champ. the ringer is nice and loud, and being able to use the bluetooth to send sound files to my phone, instead of downloading tones from cingular for an arm and a leg, is another great bonus. We also signed up for the multimedia package, which nets you unlimited internet and Cingular Video access. Cingular Video is great for espn mobile and cnn quickies, along with funny shorts from shows like letterman, family guy, and the brak show.

at the end of the day this is just a phone, and it does everything that a phone should do, ie. not drop calls and it has great sound quality. it doesn't do any particular added bonus that great, but it does all of them well, and that's how it should be. if you are looking for an inexpensive phone with a lot of well-rounded features, this is by far the one to get.

Buy LG CU405 Push To Talk 3G Quad Band GSM Cell Phone AT&T Now

I bought this phone to replace my wife's ailing RAZR. It has Cingular 3G high speed data, Push-to-talk, and a good feature set. The size is just slightly thicker than the slim RAZR phone form factor. My wife seems to actually like the slightly bigger size because it is easier to grasp and use. The menus are decent and the sound quality seems above average. The battery is also quite good thus far. It also sports bluetooth and a nice speakerphone, which means loud ringers and a good, strong vibrate alert. All in all-this phone seems to be a winner for the price. If you want PTT in a slick package from Cingular, look at this capable phone, the V365 or Blackberry Pearl!

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We bought 5 of these for our family two months ago. We were previously Nokia and Motorola users. We made the transition fairly easily. Pluses: big keypad, big, bright display, decent sound quality EXCEPT for the speakerphone, nice camera with video. Minuses: iffy batteries (one phone had to have the battery replaced within two weeks), poor quality speakerphone, annoying placement of PTT button, too much emphasis on web access functions for those of us who don't like using a phone for our internet connections. Bottom line: if you're looking for a good, cheap phone that does all of the basic things well and has a nice set of extra features to play with, this is the one for you!

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I have owned the LG CU400 for about one month. Both the call quality and the reception are very good. Battery life is acceptable, although I should note that I use the phone only for calls no internet, no Push to Talk and no Bluetooth. The speaker phone is on the tinny side but acceptable about what one would expect for a phone of this size.

I have, however, encountered two problems:

1. While the battery life is acceptable, I encountered a problem with the battery strength indicator. The battery strength indicator on every cell phone I previously owned showed that the battery strength gradually declined as I used the phone, thereby giving reasonable advance notice when the battery needed recharging. This is not the case with the indicator in the CU400. The first CU400 I owned showed that the battery was fully charged (3 bars) until a relatively short time before it turned itself off because the battery was too low. Specifically, on one occasion when I timed it, the indicator went from 3 bars to 2 bars five or six days after a charge. After only 10 additional hours on standby with no calls at all, the phone turned off because of a low battery.

Thinking the indicator was defective, I returned the phone to the AT&T store and received a new replacement. The indicator on the replacement phone operates slightly, but not significantly, better. The first phone had Cingular markings and the second had AT&T markings, so I doubt that the two phones came from the same manufacturing batch. It seems that this is an inherent problem with the phone. If you buy one of these, I definitely recommend immediately charging the battery when the indicator goes from 3 to 2 bars and buying a car charger, if you spend any appreciable amount of time in a car. The car charger does not come with the phone.

2. When the phone is powered on or off, it makes an annoyingly loud and harsh noise. My wife nearly jumped out her skin the first time I turned the phone off while standing next to her. The noise cannot be changed to another tone, but it can be turned off by putting the phone on vibrate or by turning the ringer volume all the way down. Of course, if I were to do either of these and forget to turn the volume back up after the phone is turned on again, I will not hear the phone ring. I complained to AT&T, which advised that the phone makes this noise because it is a "3G" phone and that the noise is supposed to replicate the sound of a "jet." All I can say is that I have been around airports for quite a while and the noise sounds nothing like a "jet" to me. The closest thing I can compare the sound to is the noise a vacuum toilet on a cruise ship makes when the toilet is flushed. It is really hard to imagine that a major US corporation would put such an intrusive sound in its cell phone and not give the user any option to replace the sound with another.

In summary, the CU400 is a very good basic phone, provided you don't mind listening to the sound of a toilet flushing when you turn it on and off and you also don't mind either frequently charging or running the risk that the battery will unexpectedly run out of juice

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Emerson PD6548BL Portable CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio and Cassette Recorder

Emerson PD6548BL Portable CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio and Cassette Recorder
  • Portable CD player with AM/FM stereo radio and cassette player; CD-R/RW playback compatible
  • 20-Track programmable memory; Records directly from radio or CD player
  • Wide range twin three-inch stereo speakers
  • Stereo headphone jack
  • AC/DC operation (detachable AC cord included)

My parents bought this CD player for my sister over 6 years ago. About 3 years ago, she gave it to me. I used to use it every day until I got my MP3 player. I pulled it out of my closet this morning and it still plays CDs and tapes, and the radio works great even with the antenna broken off. Most of my stuff doesn't last more than a year, and this thing has survived 3 years of my abuse and still works like the day I got it. If you want a durable, fairly cheap CD player boombox, this is your best bet. It outlasted 2 high-end Sony Boomboxes and numerous portable CD players over the years. I highly recommend this boombox not only for durability, but also great sound quality and style.

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I bought this little item primarily to play CD's since all my higher priced CD players had croaked. For the price, it plays and sounds just fine, though no adjustments can be made to the sound quality. If you are one who needs bigger bass or wants to fiddle with sound controls, this is not the unit for you. My only real gripe is the lid for the CD player doesn't open quite wide enough which makes it more difficult for me to insert and remove the CD. It's doable just a little inconvenient. Overall, I'm satisfied with the product and would recommend it if all you need is something with fairly decent sound at a very reasonable price.

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I received this cd and tape player as a gift about a year and a half ago. I use it to listen to radio, cds, or tapes at work while I work. The tape player doesn't automatically stop at the end of a tape. You have to push the stop button to get the play button to pop up. That is the reason I think that my tape player wore out. The knobs inside to turn the tape will no longer turn but the play will still push the film through and thus it chews and ruins every tape I now put in it. So it worked for a year and a half and I really liked it but now I think when I buy a replacement I will find a better quality one.

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It holds up well to the kids' abuse. They use it all of the time. For the price it is difficult to beat.

This radio CD player is adequate, there is a big however....If you have cassette tapes you wish to use that are Chrome (CrO2) or Metal or 90 or 120 minute tapes; the instructions warn you not to use them. Use only regular 60 minute tapes.

The metal and chrome do work , I just do not know for how long, or what it is doing to the player; but since that is my cassette collection it's what's going in this machine. I just wish there would have been some warning and I would not have purchased this particular model.

The sound is not the best, however so far it has allowed me to record some books on CD to cassette tape.

There is a repeat playback for the CD as well as the ability to program up to 20 tracks to any order

The tuning for the radio is not the best, it takes me back to the days of the first portable radios I had where it was a challenge to get the station into the best reception sound. For the price it is okay, but really would have appreciated a bit more warning on the tape situation.

Friday, May 30, 2014

Samsung YP-T7X 512 MB Digital Audio Player

Samsung YP-T7X 512 MB Digital Audio Player
  • Supports MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, ASF, JPEG files
  • Built-in flash memory holds 512 MB
  • Real Time Equalizer Display
  • 10 hour built-in Li-Polymer battery
  • Accessories: Necklace, Direct USB Adapter, In-Line Encoding Cable, USB Cable, Earphones, Belt Clip, Carrying Case

I had experience with MP3s with my pocket computer but I decided to get an MP3 player stand alone. For the convience mostly since its size is a fraction of my pocket computer and for sound quality.

I did some research and I decided against IPODs. They are NOT good value for the money plus I did not want to be tied to Itunes. Also I personally enjoy the radio. I wanted an MP3 player with a radio. I went with this one after checking the Web for reviews.

I have had my player a few days now. Overall I am very pleased. The FM tuner is superb. The sound is very good. Especially with the WOW or SRS functions selected. The MP3 player is great. Unlike IPOD this player has the nifty ability of direct in-line recording. What that means is you hook up an included cable to the line-out of your music system and the line-in end on the Samsung and you get conversion to MP3 at the bit rate you desire up to 192.

So if you have books on CD or tape you could record them on a low bit-rate.

I also like the ease of uploading files. It uses a windows folder system. The device turns up as a removable drive and no driver is needed for systems over Windows 98. You then just drag files over. You can create new folders to hold the files.

This I think will help a lot when I start adding hundreds of songs. Yes 512MB is not that big, but you can simply cut and then copy back over entire folders without much problem.

A couple more things to say about this. One, 512MB still holds a lot of music. Actually it is 486MB after the system software takes some space. But really unless you were hiking in Peru for a month it is not that hard to swap folders out. For any given day or weekend the storage is more than enough unless you listen to MP3s from getting up to going to sleep.

Why 4 stars? The picture function simply is a gimick. I downloaded pictures at the suggested pixel size and they look pretty bad.

Bottomline is the goods outway the bad. Especially as you can use this as a normal removable drive to transfer files and also to display text files. Very, very pleased and the radio and direct in-line recording make it a lot more nifty and usable than the increasingly narrow and featureless seeming IPODs.

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This MP3 player ROCKS! And here's why: 1. It sounds great 2. It's the size of a book of matches and weighs like one ounce 3. It has a color screen 4. Has rechargeable battery 5. Is simple to use and navigate once you are familiar with it 6. No moving parts, it's a flash drive 7. No extra software required, just drag & drop in Windows, or Media Player. 8. It has a FM radio built in. The only downside to this player is the crappy headphones included. I bought some better headphones, and with the included belt clip, I'm all set for the gym. Ipod Shuffle eat your heart out.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung YP-T7X 512 MB Digital Audio Player Here

It's a good item. I haven't tried any other mp3 players so I have no basis to compair.

It caught my eye with the color screen, which is really nice to have some graphics on your hip. The user interface is real easy to use. I have yet to read the manual and I have no reason to. The audio quality is nice. The little bud earphones give sufficiant sound quality. I like the image viewer. It could use a couple more cool features to utilize the color screen. More graphics or such. It has a screen saver function and it'd be nice to use a custom image. Audio options are excellent. You can adjust just about anything.

It's small, light weight, very versitle and easy to use. It comes with a good ammount of accessories.

I have nothing really negative to say about this product. It's real good and I'm happy with it except i'd go for the 1 gig @ 200 instead of 512 @ 150.

Cheers! ;D

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This player is the first MP3 player that I actually like. It has a customizable equalizer to get the sound to sound just the way you want it. Very very few MP3 players let you do that and it is something I believe should be in all MP3 players. The player is small but has a bright color display. The player doesn't require any additonal software in Windows XP. You simply drag files between your computer and the player in "My Computer": it is that easy.

There are a few quirks. The little stick that you use to move around the interface is a little too loose. You can move it up and the player will think you mived it left or right. Similarly, manuvering around the interface with the little stick takes a few tries before you figure out how to find the options you want. But these are minor complaints for such a feature-rich and small mp3 player.

Battery life is OK at max 10 hours.

I highly recommend this player. I did alot of research on the web and this had everything I wanted. A radio, recording, color screen and easy drag and drop song loading. It works seamlessly with windows media player at home and at work I trasfer files onto it from a mac with no problems. I have not a single regret purchasing this product. It holds enough songs, the interface is so simple that I can switch songs and turn up the volume without pulling it out, and so far it is quite durable. I think if I bought an ipod I would have deeply regreted it. Everyone I know that has had an ipod has sent it in for expensive servicing several times and the price for an ipod is too much for no radio, no line in and being locked into using itunes suxxx. Get this player, you won't regret it!

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Q-See QS558-452-1 8-Channel Full D1 Security Surveillance DVR System with 4 High-Resolution Cameras

Q-See QS558-452-1 8-Channel Full D1 Security Surveillance DVR System with 4 High-Resolution Cameras and 1TB Hard DriveThe Q-See QS558 DVR is a quality home or small business security tool that will work well for you if you know its limitations. I have tested and installed numerous CCTV DVRs and found this one has quite a few bells and whistles for the price point. See details below or the PROS/CONS list for more. (See my photos under this product for more info too.)

It is an 8 channel DVR with H.264 video compression. That means it can record up to 8 analog cameras of your choosing, including audio if the camera supports it. The H.264 means clearer video while using less hard drive space versus older video technologies.

The DVR video output is via VGA, BNC, or HDMI. So you should be able to run a cable to wherever you need to for local monitoring purposes.

The menu system is nice and presents a good resolution. It's not as clunky as others I've seen on other brands. It is easy to navigate through the menus and it even has a built-in startup wizard in the software, which I've not seen before on DVRs, in case the included documentation is not enough.

Important features for this DVR are that is can record 30 frame per second (fps) for all 8 channels. That's good, fluid motion video. It also allows numerous video streams at the same time, so viewing it remotely on your iPhone won't cannibalize the main video feed. You can stream/record to different places simultaneously without performance loss. (Google `pentaplex' for more info.)

This DVR also offers motion detection, email alerts for video loss, motion, etc. and multi-user capabilities. You can also run PTZ cameras on it if you wish. Each camera (channel) can be configured for different settings, allowing a fully customizable set up. For example, you may want full D1 resolution at 30fps for street cameras to catch moving vehicles, but half D1 10fps for a side area with little activity.

The four included cameras are somewhat large... almost as big around a soda can (see photos). This is common with far distance IR cameras. However, what you lose in size you gain in NIGHT VISION. The IRs on this camera are rated at 100ft and they work! It makes near objects at night appear like daylight. The daytime resolution is great! The daytime videos are clear, colorful, and bright. They have little pixelation, even on big monitors. The included sun shield and waterproof rating make them the perfect outdoor camera if you can get over the size.

This DVR is advertised as a universal viewer through software installed on a computer, a web browser, or a smart phone. However, it is not as limitless as it seems. The software can be downloaded and installed on Windows or Mac OS, but the web browser feature is limited. It works on Internet Explorer (IE) 10 and below, but it must install an ActiveX add-on for the IE browser. If you are not an administrator on the computer upon which you're using, this will not install and it will not work.

Additionally, it shows to support Google Chrome and Firefox browsers, but it does not do so natively. You must download third party add-ons from various individuals to use these browsers. I didn't like that part. On the up side though, all administrative features were available in the web browser mode as in the software mode.

I installed the iPhone app and tested it out. Be sure to get the viewer app for the series you have (QT, QS, etc) or it won't work. They have several Q-See viewers, which is a little confusing. Once installed, the app was easy to set up and you can simply swipe left or right to change channels/cameras.

On a side note, I visited the Q-See website to check for firmware updates and it has a good layout with easy to find information and FAQs for the products. The knowledge base was very nice too.

Overall, I'm fairly impressed with the feature set. I do wish they offered better browser support NATIVELY, as well as an option for viewing on a computer where one may not have administrative privileges. But for the price, I would definitely recommend it.

PROS:

* Full D1 resolution on all cameras

* IRs on cameras illuminate well at far distances at night

* 240fps for full video on all cameras

* Pentaplex multi-streaming capabilities

* iPhone and Android apps available

* Full administrative functions/configuration available via web browser

* HDMI, BNC, and VGA ports

* Can record audio as well

* H.264 video compression = good video at low space requirements

* Motion detection, alarm trigger, or scheduled recording

* Windows 8 and IE 10 compatible

* Small form factor case can be discreetly hidden

CONS:

* Internet Explorer users must have admin rights on computer

* No native Firefox or Chrome support. (requires 3rd party add-ons)

* Motion detection mask blocks could be smaller to allow more finite blocking of a particular area.

* Cameras are a little on the large size.

* Camera power/video cables could be longer (maybe 75ft or 100ft)

I think the hardware here is quiet good in a TiVo like little box. And while I'd prefer the relative elegance of IP cameras, these analog cameras do the job at a cheaper price.

My problem, and this is a recurring theme for me in reviewing network enabled devices is the software. I setup the box with a password as any reasonable person would not wanting people to easily hack into my camera system. And I'm punished for it with having to reenter it constantly with an onscreen keyboard. And I suspect, why the iPhone app can't connect to the DVR either over the wider Internet or over my LAN.

Now, I'm sure if I were just interested in monitoring my property from a desk and recording it this would be great and simple but my major use case is checking up on things when I'm away.

Oh, and you should invest in a UPS backup power supply as this thing makes a really annoying squeal when it first powers up.

Buy Q-See QS558-452-1 8-Channel Full D1 Security Surveillance DVR System with 4 High-Resolution Cameras Now

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Samsung DVD-V1000 DVD-VCR Combo

Samsung DVD-V1000 DVD-VCR Combo
  • DVD player and 4-head VCR, compatible with S-VHS, VCDs, CD-R, and MP3 audio
  • 400x speed rewind; 16-event/1-year timer recording; records non-copy-protected DVD to VHS
  • Component-video, composite-video, and S-video outputs offer optimal connection with compatible DVD player
  • Virtual surround sound simulates 5-speaker sound using only 2 speakers; DTS digital output for DTS-enhanced DVDs
  • Measures 17 x 4 x 14.3 inches (W x H x D)

If you don't own a DVD player yet, you won't know much of what you are missing. The quality of the VCR portion of the product is excellent, and the DVD playback is also fine. No need for an RF modulator, as everything you need to connect to TV's old or new is in the box. Get an S-Video connection ASAP, though.

Most problems start when you go to use the thing. Others have mentioned problems with the remote and menu functions; I, too have had situations where I had to turn it all of, and try it all again until it worked.

The biggest irritation will be to electronics buffs who chose this because other models were too high. If you have a DVD in the drive and turn the unit on, it will start the DVD no matter what you are trying to do. In the middle of getting the news? It will play the DVD. Switching to catch the latest MTV video? It will play the DVD. And forget RESUME functions. Turn the player off and you have to find your chapter anew. We have started to eject the DVD on turning the unit on if we want the VCR channel to stay on screen. Big irritation big.

For the VCR side, until you PLAY a VHS tape the VCR display is not shown on screen (tape status, etc.). The controls on the remote are poor, and although it does double-function for your TV I wish some buttons were just TV and some buttons were just VCR. You will know what I mean when you see how small and oddly placed some of the remote functions are.

At a slightly lower price this product would be a great value; at the current price it isn't worth it, but does the job for a 2nd DVD player in the home to get rid of that old, yucky VCR you have had for years.

Buy Samsung DVD-V1000 DVD-VCR Combo Now

This player is perfect for the average user (as I said in the title). It combines a good ... DVD player with a good VCR ..., saving space and electrical cord confusion.

DVDs play perfectly, exactly the way they are supposed to, without skipping or anything. While there are no special frills or anything, it does exactly what any normal person wants out of a DVD player; plays DVDs without skipping or screwing up. In addition, the DVD player can play audio CDs, including ones with MP3 files on them. This means you can listen to 10 straight hours of music without pushing a button, as long as you also have a CD burner.

The VCR part is great (or at least much better than the 12 year old VCR we had previously). It has 4 tracks in it, which means when you pause it, you dont get those little white lines all over the place. Even better, you can record from a DVD onto a VCR (but not vice versa) provided the DVD isn't safe protected.

As far as ease of use goes, I only had one problem with the entire thing. When you first connect it, it tries to auto-detect the time and what channels you have. For some reason, it couldn't find my antenna, which forced me to tell it what the time was, as well as what the channels were, manually (adding about 2 more minutes to the 5 minute procedure of setting this thing up).

I don't have tons of experience with DVD players, so I can't say this is the best DVD player on the market. I would be lying, because I have nothing to compare it to. However, it fits the average user's needs perfectly. If you want like ultra amazing picture that you need to zoom in 8x to notice, you might want to shell out that extra $... for one of the newer ones. But for now, this is perfect.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung DVD-V1000 DVD-VCR Combo Here

After spending some time researching the 3 combo DVD/VCR players I could find, I settled on this one based on userfeedback from several sites. The first one I purchased was a bit of a dud (VCR door didn't open when ejecting a tape), but after exchanging it for a new one, I'm glad I picked it. Overall, it's a good sturdy unit. A bit wider than my original VCR. Initial setup is very easy. Plug the cables into the TV, plug the CATV from the wall into the unit, turn it on and let the autosetup run. The unit goes out and adds all the channels it can find, and even sets the time for you.

Video quality is very good. VCR playback looks very nice, and the auto-tracking is a nice feature. Very fast rewind too (a full T-120 in less than 2 minutes).

DVD image quality is very good. If you can get S-Video into your TV, go for it. Playback/pause works smoothly, although FF/Rew scan takes some getting used to if you're coming from the VCR world.

Only complaint (as with some other reviewers) is the remote. Buttons are kind of small, and takes some getting used to. Labels for a few buttons are pretty small, and it took me about 10 minutes to figure out where the Return button was. There are buttons all over the place, and not all of them are in the usual places you expect them.

If you're looking for a new VCR, and want to get into the DVD world without completely obsoleting your video collection, I'd give this one a good looking over.

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A VCR/DVD player combo is a great idea and most stores are sold out of them. However I have had nothing but problems with my Samsung. The DVD player locks up and won't let me access the menu on some of my DVD's and therefore forced to watch some movies with subtitles and not able to skip chapters. If you want the advice from someone who ownes one, my advice is, if you are going to spend the money up grade. I wish I would have spent the extra money to get a better top of the line model.

This is an excellent choice overall. It has many useful features to it. The remote however lacks a lighted keypad this should be standard these days. An additional drawback is whenever the VCR channel is changed the VCR signal interupts the television mode, on most video players this usually happens only when going from TV to VCR mode. This is a real pain if you use picture-in-picture (PIP) as I do, you then have to press the TV/VCR button after changing channels. Also this has NO VCR Plus capabilty (a minor drawback). Hookup for this unit is easy. It transmits an excellent picture even when the cable signal is a little weak, unlike the Panasonic PV-D4761 that has every feature imaginable but has miserable picture quality in VCR mode, whether playing back a program you taped with it or simply watching the cable piped through it. As great as the picture quality is on this Smsung with both the DVD and VCR/Cable the Philips DVD/VCR combo picture is slightly better, however the philips ate my VHS tape & seamed to lack an illuminated front panel clock. The Samsung is an excellent electronics gift or self purchase. It doesn't have all the features of the Panasonic PV-D4761 but it has every one of them you'd need and more than a few that you would want including 2x & 4x zoom. It plays CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, VCD, and quasi S-VHS the panasonic does not play all of these CD types and cost me approx [price] more than the Samsung & Philips.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Maxell 6-120 8 mm Camcorder Tapes - 2 Pack

Maxell 6-120 8 mm Camcorder Tapes - 2 PackThese tapes are getting harder and harder to find. Ordered three packs, they arrived quickly with Amazon Prime 2-day shipping, packaged safely. All three packs original/new condition, worked like a charm. May order a few more to have on hand. Very satisfied with the sale!

These are hard to find in stores because my recorder is older. Glad Amazon still has them available. I am sure I will need more as time goes on.

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had trouble finding this 8mm tape in my area, amazon made it so easy, I'm glad to save time in searching for things I want -just click and it's done. thanks

Read Best Reviews of Maxell 6-120 8 mm Camcorder Tapes - 2 Pack Here

These Maxell 8 mm camcorder tapes are a pretty good product. I bought these years ago when I needed to borrow my brother's camcorder that requires 8 mm tapes. Nowadays, they're getting harder and harder to find, as everything now is digital/hard disk. The picture and sound quality on these tapes isn't quite as good as the more expensive 8 mm metal tapes, but it's decent enough to do an adequate job of capturing your moments. I swear, the picture and sound quality on the 8 mm camcorders and 8 mm metal tapes is sometimes better than some of the top-of-the-line hard disk camcorders. I have a hard disk camcorder, but sometimes I wish I had an 8 mm camcorder.

I recommend these Maxell 8 mm tapes, but I would try to get the metal kind if you want REALLY good picture and sound quality.

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These old camera tapes are hard to find! I tried walmart walgreens and best buy and no Ione had them anymore! Which is aweful because how could I use my camcorder? Shipping was fast and all tapes were enclosed in original packaging! Was perfect for me!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Panasonic VDR-D300 3.1MP 3CCD DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Panasonic VDR-D300 3.1MP 3CCD DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized ZoomThe Panasonic VDR-D300 "Palmcorder" is a compact 3CCD camcorder that records videos to mini DVDs: 3" (8 cm) DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD-R. (Note that it cannot use the "plus" version of DVD+R/RW.) Thanks to the three separate 1/6" CCD image sensors inside, it shoots broadcast-quality videos and turns in decent low-light performance. It also doubles as a 3.1MP digital camera, but its forte definitely lies in shooting video.

5/4/06 UPDATE: before going any further, let me offer a bit of a "warning." The fundamental differences between DVD camcorders and tape (miniDV) camcorders are two: 1) DVDs let you access a scene quickly and easily, while tapes have much faster start-up times (assuming you are already at the point where you can record or play); 2)DVD camcorders like the VDR-D300 use MPEG4 compression whereas miniDV camcorders compress much less. For most scenes you won't notice a difference. In fact you can probably shoot a good professional-looking movie on the VDR-D300. Just be aware that the MPEG4 can very occasionally raises the ugly head of heavy compression for certain shooting conditions. The "warning" concerns the DVD media: if you use DVD-RW, which is more common and cheaper than Panasonic's DVD-RAM, be prepared for up to 5 minutes of formatting time and up to 10 minutes in finalization time (both have to be done with the AC adapter attached, not from battery). In a nutshell, if you plan to do some editing, use DVD-RAM. If you plan to just shoot and watch (like me), use DVD-R or DVD-RW in Video mode (both require finalization but can be played back on almost all DVD players). I just wanted to point out the long formatting and finalization times as the biggest caveat with DVD camcorders, including the DVR-D300.

Update2: if you buy this between now and 7/31, you can get a free camcorder bag and 3 DVD-R blanks from Panasonic by mail. Check their website for the PDF rebate form.

Before offering my take on the VDR-D300, let me tell you why I chose it. My story might be of some help in your own decision making.

First, I had always wanted a 3CCD camcorder of my own. Most consumer camcorders on the market have one image sensor inside. The image sensor is like the eye of the camcorder. The VDR-D300 has not one, but three CCD image sensors, each designed to process a specific color: red, green or blue. In fact, all professional video camcorders -like the ones used to shoot things on TV (news, dramas, etc.) -use the 3CCD design to better capture color. Together with proper white-balance calibration and judicious choice of lens, you get eye-pleasing colors and sharpness not found in most consumer camcorders, which tend to give dull, bland, fuzzy video images.

Second, I was a little fed up with using tapes for video recording. You know the drill: you buy a tape-based camcorder, then you find out it's a pain to dub it to a VHS or a DVD, or to transfer it to a computer, so you end up using the camcorder like one or two times a year. Like many folks I have been using the video function of my digital camera a lot and left my Sony DCR-PC5 camcorder behind in the closet. My Fujifilm F10 digital camera shoots pretty good video for a camera, but for important occasions, I still want a real camcorder. (Cameras are designed for still images whereas camcorders are designed for moving pictures. For now and the foreseeable future, there's no perfect hybrid camera that does both very well.) DVD-recording has always appealed to me because I could just pop in a recordable/rewritable DVD, shoot some footage, and then play it back, without all the fussing involved with tape recording. I played with my friends' DVD camcorders (Panasonic and Sony) and really liked this "new" way of shooting videos. I waited until someone released a camcorder that combined DVD recording and the 3-chip design. Panasonic finally did, and I bought.

Oh, when I was contemplating the purchase I also considered Sony's HD (high-def) camcorder, which records high-def video on MiniDV tapes. In the end, budget constraint (that one is $1500, a lot of dough for a poor guy like myself), compatibility concerns (i.e., impossible to burn HD video to DVD, not many friends having HDTV) and also the fact that I have been totally let down by the subjective quality of HDTV content on TV convinced me to stick with the standard NTSC resolution. My priority was to get a camcorder that shoots great colors and clarity, not one that gives the highest resolution. It's the same thing with buying a digital camera: higher number of megapixels doesn't necessarily mean a better picture; the camera's image sensor is just as important, if not more.

OK, let's take a look at the VDR-D300 itself. (A slightly cheaper model, VDR-D250, also sports the 3CCD design and records to DVDs. It has slightly lower resolution and lacks a built-in flash and a few other features.)

Whenever you evaluate a camcorder, video image quality should account for 75-80% of the composite score, because you buy a camcorder to shoot videos! Here, the D300 shines, thanks to its 3CCD design. Video quality is especially excellent when there is a lot of light. It's difficult to describe in words, but let me just say that with this camcorder, you can shoot video that looks almost like the professional stuff you see on TV: clear pictures, pleasing colors, smooth motions. Even though the D300 shoots at the same resolution as other NTSC (standard defintion TV) camcorders, its video images are very noticeably clearer and look sharper. Many consumer camcorders exhibit bleeding reds, but the D300 is largely free from this defect. I would like to point out that when I say "professional-quality eye-pleasing" colors, I don't mean high-saturation colors. Most people like warm, high-saturation colors that "jump out" of the screen. The D300's colors are rather muted when set to auto white balance. If you want to get warm colors, you'll need to manually set the white balance to achieve this effect. I personally use WarmCards from VortexMedia.com.

Indoors, without professional-grade lighting rigs, the D300 turns in good performance. Definitely better than 1CCD camcorders (except probably Sony's HD camcorders), but you'll get most of the 3CCD prowess if you provide enough lighting. After all, photography and videography is 99% about lighting. Not just how much light, but the angle of light, the temperature of light (i.e., white balance), and the quality of light (i.e., diffused or concentrated). Having a 3CCD camcorder like the D300 helps improve your home video images tremendously, but if you want your video to look close to being professional, you need professional lighting techniques. For example, when shooting indoors, use a video light. You can buy a cheap one and just mount it on top of the D300 (it has a cold shoe) and turn on the video light manually. Also use the WarmCards I mentioned earlier to achieve the white balance you desire.

The D300 records videos in three quality settings: XP, SP and LP. XP here means the best quality. (On some video equipment XP means eXtended Play, which equals the least quality, but not here.) You can fit about 18 minutes of video on one side of the DVD media (DVD-RAM, DVD-RW or DVD-R). SP, or Standard Play, gives you 30 minutes, but the quality is noticeably inferior. I'd never use LP (Long Play), because video quality there is worse than VHS. The battery that comes in the package lasts well over an hour of shooting with LCD on (you can also use the viewfinder only to conserve power). You can buy an extended battery that doubles the battery life.

The D300 has some nifty features not found in other brands. One truly unique feature is something called AGS (auto ground-directional standby). This mysterious-sounding function automatically pauses recording when it detects the camera titled straight up or down. This is most useful when you (like I) often forget to stop the recording and end up shooting a lot of junk footage of the ground, shoes, etc. Another nice feature is optical image stabilization, which utilizes a set of small lenses to compensate for handshakes. In theory, optical image stabilization is better than the electronic type (found in Sony's products); in practice, the D300 seems to do a good job of minimizing, but not completely eliminating, handshakes.

The D300 can double as a 3.1MP digital camera, but this feature is nothing to write home about. Still image quality is just okay; I defintitely prefer to use my Nikon D70 or Fujifilm F10 for photography anytime, anywhere. Pictures are recorded on an SD or mini SD card (neither included). BTW, unlike with Sony's recent offerings, you cannot record video to the SD card or capture pictures on the DVD. It doesn't matter to me at all, since I would have wanted to keep video clips and still pictures separate anyway. (You can insert a still image captured on the SD card into your video during editing.)

Video editing can be done in camera, or on a computer. Both Windows and Macintosh are supported, but you definitely get more functions if you use a Windows PC. In fact, Mac users will be disappointed to know that the things they can't do with Panasonic's software, they can't do at all (i.e., no other software is compatible). In the end, it's worth keeping in mind that you buy a DVD camcorder really for its convenience; in my case, for example, I hate editing, so I'm just going to shoot, delete bad scenes, and finalize; no editing whatsoever. If you are an editing type, a miniDV camcorder will be better as all the major brands (Canon, Hitachi, JVC, Panasonic, Sony) offer comprehensive editing support for both Windows and Macintosh.

Conclusion: The Panasonic VDR-D300 (along with its lesser sibling, the D250) is the first DVD camcorder that offers the 3CCD design. Having three separate image sensors for the different primary colors improves image quality tremendously. Recording to a DVD provides the videographer lots of convenience, at the expense of having fewer editing options available than with miniDV tapes. If you want the convenience of shoot-and-watch and want broadcast-quality video, the D300 is absolutely worth its price tag.

I cannot fit everything I have to say here on Amazon, but you can check my blog for more comments and you can also e-mail me if you have any questions about this camcorder. Check my profile for contact info.

One final note: I've seen this model advertised for much less than Amazon's price on other websites. Those websites, all run out of Brooklyn, NY, are all masters at the bait-n-switch game. I know because I'm from Brooklyn and was neighbors with these irresponsible stores. Do not believe the high ratings these sites seem to have on shopping sites; if you search on the web you'll find a lot of unhappy customers who never received what they had ordered. Go with a reputable seller like Amazon or Best Buy or Circuit City. Good luck!

I reviewed many DVD camcorders over a 4-5 month period and feel this was the best choice. I almost purchased the Sony DVD405, but color was one of the first priorities on my list of wants with this new camcorder. Although the Sony has a better chip, the fact is that the Panasonic, with 3 chips, according to many reviews I had read had better color. The ease of use is nice also. Finalizing DVD's takes only a few minutes and not really a big deal, my only issue so far is the fade control which requires the operator to select it via the joystick control each time you want to use it. Selecting this control while recording requires a steady hand so that the camera does not shake. None the less, it puts my eleven year old, 8mm camcorder to shame. Love taking videos again.

Buy Panasonic VDR-D300 3.1MP 3CCD DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Now

This is my first DVD camcorder and I absolutely love it! It's also my first 3-chip video camcorder. The image quality is just really good, like the other guys said. The machine is also apiece of cake to use. I e-mailed "gadgester" and he recommended TDK 8.cm dvd-r blanks from amazon, so I bought them and now I just pop one in and go! No formatting needed. Finalization in the camcorder is needed to make the dvd-r compatable with my Sony dvd player at home as well as my Thinkpad.

One gotcha to look out for is the slow start-up times, from power off to on. It takes anywhere between 5 and 10 seconds for the camcorder to be ready to record, after you insert yoru dvd-r. If you use dvd-rw, the manual says it might take up to 20 seconds! Other than that, I have no problems with the camcorder. It's high quality, and I just love the conveneince as well as image quality.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic VDR-D300 3.1MP 3CCD DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Here

I have been using mine for about 2 months now. The picture quality is very good. I purchased a Sima light as an add on. It enhances the pictures even better. The still pictures are amazing too. I was trying to decide between Sony and this one. Finally decided on this one because of the picture quality.

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The picture quality is exceptional and it is very easy to use. So much nicer than punching the screen for menus like the Sony 405. Who wants to worry about finger prints and scratches all over the screen with those touch screens? It is also priced better than the Sony 405. We researched these cameras a lot before settling on the Panasonic, with picture quality being our #1 objective. We are more than pleased with our purchase!!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Jensen JTA-475B 3-Speed Turntable with CD, AM/FM Stereo Radio, Cassette and Remote

Jensen JTA-475B 3-Speed Turntable with CD, AM/FM Stereo Radio, Cassette and Remote
  • Belt Driven 3-Speed Stereo Turntable - 33/45/78 RPM
  • Auxiliary Input Jack for Connecting Your iPod, MP3 or other Digital Audio Players, Front Loading CD Player, CD-R/RW Compatible, Repeat 1 or All, Skip/Search Forward and Back, Random Play, Programmable Memory
  • Blue Back-lit LCD Display, AM/FM Stereo Receiver, Dust Cover, Cassette Deck with Single Key Operate Design, RCA Line-out Jacks, Power Indicator
  • Bass Boost, Stereo Headphone Jack, Stereo Speaker System, Remote Control, Output: 2 x 2W RMS
  • Power: AC120V 60 Hz; Remote: 2 x 'AAA' (UM-4) (Included)

This is a pretty sweet system! Plays all my old vinyls. This is a good option for a person who wants to have a CD player, Turntable (which is a manual, so u have to do all the heavy liftin'!) Radio (analogue old school tuner. What year is it 1982???) and a cassette deck. The records do hang over the sides of the player, but that doesn't bother me. The sound is pretty impressive. Not Audiophile style, but good enough...

All in all I would recommend this product to someone who wants to play their records and CDs, and doesn't want one of them godawful wooden cabinet systems.

UPDATE!

Two months in: The thing is worthless. CD plays only in Mono, Manual Radio Tuner Broke on the 3rd use! The Turntable is still passable, although now it sometimes emits a powerful screeching noise on low volume and also the actual platter appears to have warped where the needle contacts the vinyl. Have tried hooking it up to my receiver system with supplied rca jacks but no avail... Horrible! I purchased this as a first turntable for my son. He was extremely dissapointed when it slowly declined into a worthless mess. If anyone is looking for a serious turntable or something with a little lasting power look elsewhere... Lets face it folks, the All-in-one died with the Philco Console my parents had... I have since set my son up with a nice garage sale receiver system. My advice is to shop around. Check Craigslist. Hit the pawn and thrift shops. See if they have any decent component systems that aren't junk like this POS was. I wish I never would have wasted my money on such a stupid product.

BUY A COMPONENT BEFORE THIS! A Waste of Money.

STAY AWAY AND BUYER BEWARE.....

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This is probably one of the best deals you can get for this price range. The only reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 is that the speakers that come with it are worthless. They really do not provide a very good sound at all. I'd recommend the actual unit to anyone, but use the RCA adapter on the back and find a better speaker system. Other than this gripe, the turntable, cd player and tape player are great quality. They seem to hold up very well after long periods of use.

Read Best Reviews of Jensen JTA-475B 3-Speed Turntable with CD, AM/FM Stereo Radio, Cassette and Remote Here

We bought this thinking it would be a great item but little did we know it would be defective! Volume controls may as well not even be there because it turns itself up full blast. I contacted seller and asked for refund or for their help on fixing it and was redirected to the manufacturer where I have to pay almost more than I paid for the item just to send it back for a replacement and I don't get that money back.

So if you want this product double the cost for your future purchase of shipping and handling back to the original company.

thanks for the inconvenience.

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works decent but cant play any record without skipping. cassette player drags cd player is in mono radio is crap 1 star

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I enjoy my system. I did think I was buying a system that would record my records to CD's. But that's ok. I have a record player now and I can listen to my records. The system is small, that I do like. And having a remote is nice to. Now I will be able to have parties for my grandchildren and have themes of the 50's and 70's using my records, cassettes and cds. Thank You.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Vivitar 12.1MP HD Digital Camera with 2.4-Inch LCD VT324-STRAWBERRY

Vivitar 12.1MP HD Digital Camera with 2.4-Inch LCD VT324-STRAWBERRYthis camera shuts off for no reason. the battery compartment cover broke off the first day i had it, chintzy. the video mode does not work at all (and yes i have a 8g memory card installed) it runs through batteries very quickly. it takes 3-5 seconds to take a picture after you press the shutter button down. i paid $27 dollars for this camera and it it not even worth that price.

My mom is not very wise when it comes to tech stuff, so a digital camera was risky.

She's doing very well with it!

The only problem it that it ALWAYS defaults to flash off, and every time she turns the camera on, she has to enable the flash.

Buy Vivitar 12.1MP HD Digital Camera with 2.4-Inch LCD VT324-STRAWBERRY Now

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Delkin 128 MB Secure Digital Card

Delkin 128 MB Secure Digital CardHow many pictures will it store? It is the most commonly asked question from digital camera enthusiast but usually the question that is the most difficult to get a straight answer about. Well, considering I worked in the memory industry for over 7 years I can help clarify this perplexing question and do so unbiased as I have since changed industries.

The Delkin 128MB Secure Digital Card, like most 128MB cards, will store on average 142 pictures when used with a 2 megapixel camera, 106 images when used with a 3 megapixel camera, 64 pictures when used with a 4 megapixel camera, 51 images when used with a 5 megapixel camera, and 40 pictures when used with a 6 megapixel camera. These numbers are based off the assumption that you are going to shoot your images at the highest quality JPEG setting available for the camera and understand that they are estimates and may be off by as much as 10 percent due to numerous factors including the complexity of the scene being shot and the compression algorithm used by your specific camera.

I truly hope this review was helpful to you in determining whether this card is the right capacity for your specific needs.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Lite-On LVC-9016 Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder/VCR Combo

Lite-On LVC-9016 Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder/VCR ComboHad high expectations on this Lite-On LVC-9016 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo. I've used plenty of Lite-On DVD/RW drives for various computers with absolutely no problems whatsoever, so I was expecting to have a good experience with the VHS->DVD recorder feature. Coupled with the fact that it had a built-in firewire socket in it for ease of transferring digital video from a camcorder to the unit for editing / recording, I was sold. Lots of good features came with the unit (one-touch DVD->VHS or VHS->DVD recording, easy setup-menu, ability to record to DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW), though the remote isn't the most user-friendly remote that I've used (text is hard to read).

Before I could even try the recording features on this unit, I already had one severe functional problem: the unit would freeze unexpectantly while on tuner mode. The unit would be on a TV channel, and a few minutes later, the screen would turn blank, audio would be cut off, and the unit would become unresponsive to any user input from the remote or the buttons on the unit itself. The only way to get the system to power down would be to press the "Power" button on the remote. (The "power" button on the unit does nothing to remedy this situation, which I found to be really odd). I tried to look on their website for any information regarding this problem, but none is available. I did try updating the firmware on this unit with what was on their website. Though updating the firmware was a breeze, the problem still remained, so I think it might be other software-related issues with the unit. I'm not sure whether this is an isolated incident, but after reading some of the reviews for the previous model (LVC-9006), I will most likely be returning this defective unit for a full refund and be looking at purchasing a combo unit from another manufacturer.

Whatever you do, don't buy this. It has a laundry list of problems:

1. It's almost impossible to read the tiny button symbols

2. After playing several older tapes the color left, then came back after I turned it all off.

3. Very slow, takes 5 seconds to play, 15 seconds to record on the VCR/DVD, 20 seconds to stop recording a DVD, takes a minute to load a DVD, and sometimes it never ejects a DVD unless you turn it off and on

4. It crashes and stalls.

5. After you stop recording on the DVD it makes a loud reverberating sound that you can't control, even on mute.

6. When you copy something to the DVD it sometimes skips a minute ahead

7. When you copy something to the DVD it sometimes speeds up to make a "chipmunk" sounding video. It's funny to hear, but it's hell to try and go threw the deathly slow DVD menu to try and erase the mistake.

8. While it's reading a DVD, EVERYTHING else stops working. It won't turn off, it won't record on the VCR

9. It randomly says "FAIL" on certain blank discs while it allows others to work for no reason.

10. It's complex to understand.

If you can, avoid this product. There are many better ones.

Buy Lite-On LVC-9016 Progressive-Scan DVD Recorder/VCR Combo Now

I'd been debating getting a DVR, a DVD recorder, a HD recorder, etc. for a while when the VCR broke. As it turns out, I need a VCR for work so I picked up the LiteOn VCR/DVD-recorder.

I love it. Easy to set up, easy to use. Clear, well designed graphical interface.

Here's our situation: low tech. We had a videotape that I had labeled the "poor man's TiVO" that we would record on and watch our weekly programs. I wanted something that would be easy to set recording times on and this machine is it.

Speaking of low tech: all the reviews of these things talk about how to hook up satellite and cable boxes. No thanks, we are still watching broadcast TV. The tuner on this unit is very clear and one feature I appreciate is the "search for channels" set up. As it went through the channels, it showed what signals it was getting in a "picture in picture" type box.

Similarly, when setting up a timer record, it shows the channel that you have selected. This is useful for us because sometimes the bunny ears get knocked and a high UHF channel gets fuzzy and we miss our UPN or WB broadcast.

It's easy to record to a DVD-RW disc (our new "TiVO"). Playback is clear and easy to fastforward and skip ahead or watch in slow motion.

The remote is not cluttered and pretty easy to use. At first, I worried that I didn't see the "Audio" or "Subtitle" buttons on the remote, but there's a "Navi" button that opens a pretty unobtrusive onscreen menu that lets you pick these things quickly. I appreciate the lack of buttons now.

I know, our tv watching sounds pathetic compared to the home theater yakkety yaks in all the other reviews, but hey, it's just the boob tube. This is a great "replacement VCR" with a step up in quality.

(Four stars because I'm a hard grader)

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I have owned this unit for 4 days now. So far I have copied 3 vhs tapes onto DVD-R disks, and one on the editable DVD+R disk that came with the unit. All are perfect. I have had a couple of minor problems. In one case the tape started at fast speed and I had to dump the first DVD, but that was right at the start. I didn't waste any time. In the second case, I tried to change the display while the disk was recording and it locked immediately. So, I chalk that up to learning how to use the unit.

This pretty much does everything it says it will do, so I'm happy. Now I have both a VCR and DVD player hooked up to my TV, giving it more flexibility. This is a real money saver and definitely worth the price. My local camera store wanted $45 per tape for transfer. So, I figure I've already made that back and still have about 30 tapes to copy. Haven't tried making a DVD from my 8mm video tapes yet, but the instructions are pretty clear so I don't anticipate problems.

The unit gives you 3 possible ways to duplicate and they all work. You can play the tape and start to record when you get to the right spot, you can go to the guider program using your remote, or you can push the one-touch copy button on the unit.

Overall, a good experience so far.

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I own this unit. I purchased it originally because it had both a VCR and a DVD and could record from the TV, from my Tivo, and from my VCR tapes AND it was touted as being user friendly. The unit worked flawlessly. I now have a functioning VCR and DVD player in one, that also can easily record from VCR to DVD and/or vice-versa. It's just great. The interface is very easy to understand. You don't have to wade through a technical manual to know what to do; it's all laid out for you on the screen. The one hesitation I had was whether it would record and/or playback captions. Captions are a necessity in my household. I am happy to report that it does indeed record and play back captioned programs. I am so happy with this unit that I intend to buy a second one for my bedroom.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Califone 1886 Spirit SD Multimedia CD Player Cassette Recorder AM/FM Radio Boombox

Califone 1886 Spirit SD Multimedia CD Player Cassette Recorder AM/FM Radio Boombox
  • Function selector, Band switch, Tuning control, Volume control.
  • Built-in mic records student responses or projects.
  • Top loading CD player tailored for school use.
  • SD card slot and USB connector.Top-mounted 3.5mm headphone jack for individual use or to connect a jackbox for group learning.
  • Steel grills prevent accidental damage to recessed speakers.Rugged ABS plastic for safety and durability

I purchased this as a gift for my wife who is an "itinerant" exercise instructor, never knowing for sure what audio equipment she'll find at any particular location. I figured that a player that was designed for use by classroom teachers would be durable and work for her as well.

I was impressed by the versatility of the device. it allows for input via am/fm radio, CD's, thumb drive, memory cards and any device (e.g. iPods) that can be USB connected.

Weight and size are suitable for easy transport. It is of solid construction (except perhaps for the carrying handle which feels a bit flimsy to me and is the reason for the four rather than five stars); the speakers are protected by metal (not plastic) screens to preserve their integrity which is important in a machine that gets moved around a lot.Sound quality might not impress an audiophile but is more than adequate for the settings in which this player is likely to be used.

I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a solid, serviceable and versatile player.

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I thought it would have been better if power cord was removeable, weak FM radio reception I bought it for the SD card ability

Read Best Reviews of Califone 1886 Spirit SD Multimedia CD Player Cassette Recorder AM/FM Radio Boombox Here

I use this everyday at work. Gives great sound quality, easy to use. I would reccomend this product to others.

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Ordered 2 of these and returned 2. The first would not activate for CD, SD card, or USB usage with the mode switch. I guess I could say the second was better in that the switch worked but unit still would not recognize commercial or homemade CDs. Worst experience ever with a consumer product.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

HDMI to HDMI 3 Meter (10 Feet) Super High Resolution Digital Cable for: HDTV, 1080i, 720p, DLP, LCD

HDMI to HDMI 3 Meter Super High Resolution Digital Cable for: HDTV, 1080i, 720p, DLP, LCD TV, PS3, DVRAbacus24-7 is top notch in customer service. Would recommend this company. Perhaps other larger companies could learn a lot by the positive way in which they treat the consumer. Will do business in the future for any product that is needed from their company. Keep up the good work!!!!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Redhead Windscreen for Zoom H4n (Fire)

Redhead Windscreen for Zoom H4n
  • Where's your Redhead?

I try to let the product speak for itself. When recording audio outdoors a good windscreen is a must for you mics. Mother nature can and will always be unpredictable when it comes to wind.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Covert Smoke Detector DVR with540TVL SL Camera SDRDVR35-HSL (DC12V power supply)

Covert Smoke Detector DVR with540TVL SL Camera SDRDVR35-HSLThere are no instructions provided with this cam. There are 2 on-off buttons to deal with plus a remote to turn it on and off and that makes it extremely confusing. I've tried every combination of on and off and I can't get this thing to work. I pulled out the SD chip and tried to read any recordings I might have made on my laptop and it's always blank!

I have contacted the seller for help but have not received any response. Don't waste your money!!

This is a nice product that does as advertised. The documentation is lacking but fairly straightforward. Overall I'd consider buying this product again.

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