Lorex DXR209161C9 Internet Remote DVR with 9 Weatherproof Color Night Vision Cameras

bought lorex model l23wd from costco. unit lasted 6 mo. then started restarting over and over. shipped to lorex repair facility. they recived 04/14 it is now 05/06 they cannot even give me an approximate date when i will get it or a replcement.

DO NOT BUY LOREX

I bought this Lorex setup in 2009 and then installed it at the end of 2012. I had tested

the unit with a included camera and found it working. On install, I found it didn't work

for internet access, although it worked in other respects.

Lorex customer service was very helpful, but ended up just telling me that the unit

was too old to repair (after only 3 years???), and that the only thing I could do was get

another one at a %10 discount. I suspect I could have got the same discount for telling

them I was a Shriner, but who knows. The point is it is not a lot of help.

Because the unit was (apparently) now trash, I opened it up. There are about 3 boards

inside connected by cables. After replugging the cables, it worked just fine.

The only other issue was one of the cameras had dead night vision. I will probably also

try to repair that, but if I only just end up replacing it, it is not much at $50 or so.

The unit works great now, and meets all expectations. The only thing I was not able to do

is view the cameras on my smart phone. Since smart phones were just getting started when

I got this unit, I don't blame them for this. However, I suspect newer units can do this.

It won't work on a smart phone because the remote display must be either a Windows

computer or run Explorer, both not real options on a smart phone or tablet.

The only other thing I would mention is don't expect this thing to be a motion detector

if you have cameras outside. They obviously tried real hard to make image motion

detection work well, and I spent many hours setting it up and eliminating areas from the

detection "maps". However, it was still generating way too many false detections. You

literally have to eliminate all plants and even shadows from the picture.

At the end I decided that the only way to make this reliable was to use Lorex's optional

external alarms to add PIR motion detectors to the system, which are far more reliable

than the optical detection the DVR provides. I notice that the picture in the manual

shows the external alarm being used exactly this way, with PIR detectors hooked to it.

If you have only cameras inside, this type of detection would probably work for you. I

would plan on closing all the windows and shades for this. Otherwise when the sun

shadows a plant outside, and it is waving in the wind, that will set it off.

To sum up, I would have rated this product 5 stars except for the quality control issues

and for dumping all service on the product in only 3 years. I think you should support

what you sell, and not tell your customers their only option is to buy another one.

They surely will -but perhaps some other companies' unit, not yours.

Scott Moore

San Jose

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3 Pack Foscam FI8918W Wireless IP Camera with Pan & Tilt, Night Vision, 2 Way Audio, Apple Mac and

I purchased this 3 pack after experimenting with a similar camera from another brand. These were definitely a better quality. They were an easier setup, finish was better, and they provided more features. They work equally well day or night (range at night limited) and are well supported by desktop and mobile apps. If you are installing as a first time camera user read the instructions! Twice! Be familiar with your router's Port Assignment procedures. Lot's of options...pick the one that's right for you.

THe camera can be dificult to set up if your not familiar with networking. Aside from that, the video and pictures are adequate. If you want these camera's for sound,forget it. Basically useless in that category. One of the three crackles and pops like it has a short circuit and the other two are barely audible to any listener and or from any speaker to you. (if not within a foot or so from the unit).

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SVAT CV301-8CH-X Web Ready 8 Channel H.264 500GB HDD DVR Security System with Smart Phone Access an

Home burglary convinced the rest of the household to purchase surveillance set. Easy to set up and configure. My unit isn't connected directly to a monitor, but remote network access is simple and easy. 500GB with 8 cameras records about 1 week. The motion grid for recording is easy to set up on each camera and can trigger any camera u select to start recording if you don't want it recording on a schedule or constantly. Great product.

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TSSS Portable 1080P Full HD Carcam Car DVR 270 Rotation super-wide angle w/8 infrared night Light E

• 140 Degree Lens. 180 Degree ging for front lens. 270 Degree rotating screen: 1080P Full HD Resolution Video, 1080P
• Smaller Size. 1/3.2' CMOS,Low Illumination. 2.0" LTPS TFT LCD. Swith between Day and Night working status.
• Li-ion Battery Built-in. Recording Video while Recharging. Support TF Card from 512M to 32GB.
• Anti-shaking Function. Cycle-Recording. Auto-recording. HDMI Out. Preview Function.
• Package Includes: 1 x Car DVR, 1 x Camera Holder, 1 x User Manual, 1 x Car Charger, 1 x HDMI Cable, 1 x USB Cable.

Well it's good other than the battery doesn't keep a charge. But as good picture if it had a longer charge it would be better.

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This is the second K5000 I've purchased from this seller. I own many inexpensive DVR's, 808's and Lighter cams made in China. The 1st K5000 has worked flawlessly for 2 months, easy to operate and the resolution is better than all the other Car DVR's under $50, so I bought another for the sedan. For under $50 and free shipping I don't expect the quality of a $200 to $500 HD handycam. I'm very satisfied with this CarCam TSSS K5000. FBA (filled by amazon) is another plus, I always look for FBA before I consider a purchase.

Q-See Q25DVR4ES 4 Channel DVR with 250GB Hard Drive, Motion Detection, USB 2.0 & 4 Color Day/Night

After using this system for about 2 weeks, the saying "you get what you pay for" holds true. The DVR works as expected without any issues, and there is good flexibility in the setup for recording based on motion or time periods. Video playback through a USB port is possible too, and the DVR can connected to the LAN via a USB network hub for reviewing the video on a computer. The camera performance at night is limited to a usable 10-15 feet because of the limited number of LED's. The camera performance is rated 1.5 Lux and 380 lines of resolution which is better suited for indoor security because of the limited range and resolution. I upgraded 2 cameras to have 480 lines and 0.1 Lux for the exterior views with a great improvement in image quality. If anyone thinks buying a entry level system like this will duplicate the performance of systems costing 2 to 3 times more, they will be disappointed. If I had to do it again, I would do more research and work with a vendor to buy upgraded cameras and get the LAN port for remote monitoring. However this starter system will suit my needs until I get the mega-house with the $3K video security system.

Ive had this unit for 1 day. the discription says night vision up to 30 ft. try 10ft maxx, after that, almost total darkness. I need to see whats going on not only day but night even more . daylight the cameras are ok, sending the unit back, disapointed....

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Zmodo PKD-DK0863-NHD 8 CH H.264 Surveillance DVR 4x Outdoor Night Vision Cameras w/ Bracket 4x Cabl

This item won't work long without buying a SPECIAL kind of hard drive. "NHD" means "no hard drive", and the one from your old computer has error checking, which is BAD on a DVR. Being constantly on, and trying to correct every drive error, will burn out a regular computer-type drive. Once you buy the right kind of drive in 3 months, you've paid more. Check the cost of a Western Digital AV-GP or Seagate Pipeline drive. Doubles the cost.

Sony CCDTRV98 Hi8 Camcorder

I bought this camcorder to replace a Canon 8mm that was over 8 years old. My Canon camcorder stopped recording sound and finally stopped working. Canon would not repair it because it was an old model. My family has several Sony electronics products and none of them have had any problems. That says enough for me about Sony quality. About the camcorder...I like the video quality produced by the Sony Hi8 TRV98. It is a little better than the standard 8mm picture produced by my old Canon camcorder. I know Hi8 is not as good as the 500+ line resolution of Digital 8. However, the Hi8 400+ line picture quality is great. The pictures are sharp with excellent color. This is a great camera for the price if you do not plan on "going digital" to load videos to your computer. I like the large 3.5 inch LCD screen, Lithium Ion battery and the S-video out. ....

My son just bought this camera a short while ago and he just can't stop admiring it...Neither can his friends. This camcorder comes with plenty of features including steadyshot, 560x digital zoom and 20x optical zoom. Even though the battery it comes with is for two hours only, it suits him just fine. He has taken many shots and loved them all. The effects are neat:sephia, pastel, negative art, black&white, solarize, mosaic, slim, stretch. The sephia is my favorite and reminds me what old movies looked like. There are also many fades to choose from. Sony really has put a lot of work into this camera. I really suggest you buy it if your looking for a high-quality, moderatly priced camcorder.

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4.75 Stars...The camera performs great, the battery life is average. The .25 of a star is for the missing remote that I was hoping for.

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Extremely happy with this product that I bought summer of 2001.Have had no technical issues.The wife loves it for it's point and record ease.Playback is excellent.Some fun special effects.Audio is very clear.Hold it in one hand and a beer in the other.

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My son just bought this camera a short while ago and he just can't stop admiring it...Neither can his friends. This camcorder comes with plenty of features including steadyshot, 560x digital zoom and 20x optical zoom. Even though the battery it comes with is for two hours only, it suits him just fine. He has taken many shots and loved them all. The effects are neat:sephia, pastel, negative art, black&white, solarize, mosaic, slim, stretch. The sephia is my favorite and reminds me what old movies looked like. There are also many fades to choose from. Sony really has put a lot of work into this camera. I really suggest you buy it if your looking for a high-quality, moderatly priced camcorder.

Night Owl Security ZEUS-85 16-Channel H.264 500 GB DVR Surveillance Kit with 8 Color Indoor/Outdoor

Bought this in the summer of 2012 and just got round to installing it. very simple install. Easy firmware upgrade if you have a usb thumb drive. this was a 4 camera unit for about $250. Cheap. Can view remote using IE but NOT firefox or safari. No plugins exist so if you are a mac user you're not going to be able to monitor or control the dvr. works well on IE though. Video quality is not terrible, but not great either. Grainy but usable. You get what you pay for. I got a foscam IP camera (ptz) as a separate system and that is an amazing camera for only $75 but crazy good video quality and has lots of features. works on safari and firefox too, and works well on the iphone.

You probably won't get the same price I got (

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Magnavox ZC320MW8B Progressive Scan DVD±RW Recorder w/Line-in Recording (Manufacturer Refurbished)

• Magnavox ZC320MW8B 1080p Upscaling DVD Recorder General Features: Sleek black color Region 1
• Progressive Scan Video Out 5 Speeds for Up to 6 hours recording
• Edit Function (Scene Delete, Title Delete, Adding Chapter etc.) Closed Caption Data Writing
• Multi-Angle, Skip, Pause and Resume Play 99 Program Play, Random Play (CD)

When I purchased this recorder at a local retail store, I was told I couldn't record TV programs because it had no tuner and since I don't have cable TV. Since, I bought it to record my Sony Handicam videos to DVD, plus record from my computer,it was no big deal. However, in theory, I felt that a digital converter box was a tuner, so I connected a converter box, as an "external tuner", and voila, it worked! I'm able to record all the digital TV stations in my area, both timed and instant recording. I called the store and informed the salesperson of this information, in case any other customers questioned this ability. So far it works fine.

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Great product... I have recorded 2 dvd's from an old S-VHS camcorder. S-Video in works great. Instructions are a bit lacking and the user interface is really minimal and kinda hard to figure out. I still give this device 5 stars because of what you get for the price. If you need to get any old videos onto DVD, this thing will do the job.

***Update*** I have finished getting my videos onto DVD so I am no longer using the recorder... So, I won't be able to answer your questions as I have been able to in the past.

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had some worries about refurbished but seems to be working fine and doing everything it should . picture quailty is great . did have a problem the first day ,unit froze up and could do nothing with it, called tech support and they said unplug it for 1 hour ,that did the trick and no trouble after that .you might try that before calling tech support .i should have gotten one of these a long time ago . i am 73 and i figured out everything i needed to do what i do . great machine , Pete

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this item came very fast,in very good like new condition, player recorder works exellent,there is no visible counter, the set up counter is viewed on tv, but the price for this is very cheap and recorder records exellent and plays dvd back very good if you need a good low cost player recorder buy this one from this dealer.

I do the work of Video transfer professionally. The machine is rock solid, no discs have come back for having errors, thousands have been made. I never do reviews, this is my first. I wanted to tell everyone this machine is great!

Sony DVP-NS715P Progressive-Scan DVD Player

• Full 3-2 reverse conversion faithfully reproduces the film's original frame structure as transferred to DVD
• 12-bit, 108MHz noise shaped video D/A conversion delivers smoother gradation and more realistic recreation of DVD video
• Block Noise Reduction removes unwanted information blocks that cause picture anomalies
• Dolby Digital and DTS output for outboard surround processing
• Precision Drive 2 eliminates read errors due to imperfect, scratched or warped DVD discs

This is my third Sony DVD player and was bought to replace a poorly chosen Phillips DVD621 (see my related review.) As I had expected from my previous Sony purchases, (S550D, S330) the NS715P continues to meet my needs. The 715 comes with new features, the strongest being Progressive scan. If this will be your first purchase, it may be the best choice you could make in this price range. Features aplenty allow you to set-up playback for most any home theatre. Expect ease of use from both the onscreen display and remote. Fast search and startup time will satisfy the most impatient of us. The only general complaint I have would be for the 5.1 crowd, as the 715 lacks 5 channel output connectivity. However, since I myself personally left 5.1 for optical, have only the gripe that it does not come in a black chassis. This is a fantastic unit at a great price and I would recommend the NS715P to anyone.

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This player is one of the best DVD players out there for the price. Not only does it feature options that high end players have: such as progressive scan and multi-format playback, but at this price it's a STEAL!

That being said, there is one thing that SONY should have added to this DVD player: the ability to read ID3 tags. Although the player allows you to navigate through an on-screen menu to the song you want, it only displays the title that you give your file on-screen. It does not display the info from the ID tags such as genre, track numbers and artist. However, the player does have the ability to scroll the file name of your song on its front display.

By the way, for those of you who are having problems with playing CD-Rs with MP3 on them, be sure to burn the CD as an ISO 9660 format, level 1 or level 2 or joliet. So far all the media i've placed in the player worked flawlessly.

I've searched the internet and found that Amazon and [their partners] have the lowest price for this player.

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For {$$$}, this DVD is what all DVD players should be. AWESOME picture using the progressive mode. I have the Philips 30" widescreen and the pictures is simply out of this world. Crystal clear details and I find my self watching all my favorite dvds to see what I have missed before! You have done it again Sony! Thanks.

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I just bought this as a replacement for my Toshiba that was a few years older. I bought this mainly because I just got a 36in HDTV widescreen and wanted good progressive scan capabilities and optical sound output to my new receiver. This DVD is fantastic I have yet to experience any of the problems I read about, the anamorphic conversion is great, the letterbox edges are crisp and smooth the picture is wonderfull. The numerous jacks make it possible to get this up and running on any system but if you have the choice use the optical sound because it is amazing.

I purchased this DVD player from a local retailer in 2001 and I have been very impressed with the picture quality it displays on my 36" Wega HDTV. The video has absolutely no scan lines that I can see within a reasonable distance from the HDTV.

The audio outputs allow you to have either optical (my preference) or coax digital out. The player also offers a switch on the back to choose either Progressive, Interlaced, or Auto select video signal. The remote is very easy to use and has all the functions you would need to operate even the most feature rich DVD. The remote will also allow you to operate any Sony television but notably lacks some important more complicated functions (just enough to force you to have your HDTV remote on the coffee table 'just in case').

All around great player and considering the price is currently less than half what I paid for it (but so is the HDTV--oh the price of cutting edge technology that becomes outdated in a year), it becomes economical as well.

Oh, one last thing, it is also one of the few DVD Players that Sony made at the time offering MP3 playback (maybe Sony's softening up on their anti-MP3 stance) as well as VCD. Both of which I use on a regular basis.

If you are looking for a multi-disk player I would recommend the Denon 5 disc carousel. I currently use that DVD player on my larger T.V. in the family room.

JVC GR-AXM18US Compact VHS Camcorder

My husband and I bought a new digital camcorder last August, but have never adapted to it, as it is so difficult to view the films. We had owned several VHS-C in the past. This is a welcome return to a familiar format. As expected it is bigger that the digital one, but it is slimmer and lighter than our last VHS-C model.

The instructions are a little more complicated than the last model. The zoom button is very conveniently placed. We have only tested it and the quality of picture and sound seem good. We are about to go on a trip and see the results.

my old camera was getting worn out. i knew i had to look for a new one, but wasn't sure about digital ones. i was afraid that i would need a DVD burner to make DVDs and did not want to store all the videos on my hard drive, because i could lose them any time (you never know when a virus may strike). anyway, i almost lost hope, thinking that vhs cameras are long in the past. luckily, i was wrong. i love this camera! it's very convenient. it has a great screen, so you see what your taping, and you can flip it over to tape yourself! neat!!! i would definitely recommend this product to people like me, who like some things old-fashioned way!

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After a year's use of my JVC GR-AXM18U video camera, which was a gift from my husband's parents, I got the "Safeguard Mode" message that suggests you remove the battery and try again. After a lot of expense and trouble, including purchasing a new, bigger battery, I put the camera on the shelf for another year.

Today is my little girl's third birthday, and I really wanted to use the camera to memorialize the event. So in desperation I did a google search for "jvc vhs camcorder safeguard mode message" and have spent a good half hour reading that everyone else in the world who owns a JVC camera has the same problem, and that there's no way to fix it. The best solution is tossing it in the trash and buying a new one.

I just want to shout to the world that JVC is a defective brand, the company should be sued, and there is an online group attempting to do just that. As for me, I will NEVER buy anything from JVC again, and if I can save a few other buyers from the same disappointment and expense, then that's the best I can do with this situation.

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it is a good product

a friend o mine liked it and a had to sell it to him

so I'm looking for another.

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I bought this recorder for a gift (used). It has no volume on it, so I am seriously disappointed...it was DAMAGED and I am sure the person who sold it to me knew this. I am very very very unhappy.

VideoSecu WDR Day Night Vision Outdoor Weatherproof IR Zoom Security Camera 1/3" Pixim DPS Sensor H

It's a good outdoor camera with weatherproof housing. There are many infrared LEDs for night vision, so the image quality is very good even at night. I could not be happier with the camera.

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Best CeeNee eeTee Full 1080p HD Karaoke/Network Media Player with 1TB 2.5" SATA Internal Hard Drive

• Supports VOB, MP3-XML, and MP3-CD+G Karaoke
• High Definition USB/Network Media Player
• Supports USB WiFi + 3G
• Play HD movies, music, photos, web browser, karaoke
• Lightweight (11 oz), Portable dimensions (Length x Width x Height :3.128" x 1" x 5.35")

I mainly bought this machine for its karaoke feature. This ceenee device not only plays multiple types of video, but it makes for a great karaoke machine. I have a collection of karaoke videos that I use. I can easily create playlists and booklets in excel format. You can enter the song number and it plays or it can be added to the queue, just like in a real karaoke bar. The ceenee also makes for a great external hard drive.

VideoSecu Home Video Surveillance 700TVL CCTV Body Box Security Camera Built-in 1/3" Sony Effio CCD

This camera was inexpensive. The quality of the image that it produces is not great. I guess that you get what you pay for. Color is "off" and I get color "blooms" at the edges of objects. Marginally acceptable for what I needed so I did not return it. If I needed two, I would not buy another one of these.

This is a great camera for the money. It has a good picture and I was astonished at it's low light capability. The only complaint I have after about 1 month's use is that the information and directions included with the camera are VERY lacking. The only thing included tells how to adjust the varifocal lense and even then it is a poor desription and apparently poorly translated from another language (grammar). Even though there are 6 switches & 1 rotating level adjustment on the back of the camera there are no directions for any of that whatsoever. Perhaps they think a pro installer don't need them but for a camera of this price there would probably be many amateur installers buying them. There is also a tiny allen wrench included with the camera and I found "a place" on the camera to use it but I have no idea what it does! Lack of information is why I only gave this camera 4 stars instead of 5 but otherwise I highly recommend.

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This camera is a very good deal for the price. Before you can use it, you have to focus the lens. The picture image is as good as you focus it. The night vision capacity of this camera is good, you can see clearly with street lights present. The mounts are very stable and strong being made out of steel. I can't really find anything bad about this product.

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I had reciveed half year ago.I want to recommand it.I used it out door security .In night under street light ,it still clear view.I'm happy with this deal .I came back shop for another camera.

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Defender Connected 4CH H.265 500BG Smart Security DVR with 4 x 480TVL 75ft Night Vision Indoor/Outd

Bought Home Depot online $399.99.

All info is on a mini CD-ROM. You must have something that can play it or you're outta luck there.

Video out is BNC connector so you probably will need the BNC male to RCA female for watching video unless you want to deal with heavy old school VGA monitor cable.

Not much for audio input.

Ad heralds high quality video. Not really. Face it, is you want decent video (especially at entrance, etc) you need to avoid most cmos cameras. Expect to need at least one upgrade camera. You get what you pay for with cameras.

A plus is unit is very compact with no external buttons. If an intruder found it they would still have to have an input device (assuming you hide the input). Not even a power switch. If that was a bother then an external one (power strip) would do. This makes me think it would be a stellar automotive security device. If they steal the whole car then a password becomes moot, but if they don't find it they could be on 'Candid Camera' for the cops after the auto is recovered.

Home Depot has been JERKing me around for 2 weeks now by phone and emails after telling me return would be no problem to return it. They say no refund issued until unit arrives at their 'warehouse'. Yet they still have not setup a pick up according to UPS. Just giving me a lot of jive double talk. I have lost all respect for Home Depot Online.

12/28/2012: UPS picked the the unit a couple of days after I posted this review HERE and at the HD page.

12/30/2012 Home Depot Online email informs me the same review I placed there has been removed. Email says they do not allow criticism of their 'customer service'.

1/2013: Finally got refund, took 3 more weeks. They claim they must have it back in 'warehouse' before a refund is processed.

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HD 1080p Car Dashboard Camera Car Accident DVR with LCD and 140 degree wide angle lense IR NIght Vi

Constantly emits white noise when on. While charging it becomes a loud squealing. No response from the manufacture about it. Seemed like it had all the features I wanted but in its current state it's not something I want to listen to in the car. So that kinda defeats the point.

Update: While tempted to just return it curiosity got the best of me. Opened it up, turns out the speaker is glued directly to the battery. No surprise it makes all sorts of unwanted noise. I clipped the negative wire to the speaker itself after that it was a whole new ball game. No audio playback from the device itself is a fair exchange for peace and quiet. Be warned parts will go everywhere nothing aside from the board is really secured in all that well.

Buyer beware: You do not get all that is advertised. Also, the instructions are limited. You cannot get a response from an e-mail that is even comprehensive. Their answer was as if they responded to someone else's inquiry. My complaint was I did not receive the advertised free air vent mount for a smartphone. They told me to use one from the smart mobile-phone. I asked for direction that was not in the instructions. I wanted to know if the camcorder would record continuously (going over the previous recordings on my memory card). The response I received was, a memory card is not included with the camcorder. Therefore, I do hope whoever reads this review heeds my warning. Buyer beware. This is sold by an independent seller and not handled by amazon. I guess I am up a creek without a paddle.

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Really disappointed in this little unit. I ,mean REALLY DISAPPOINTED. Battery won't hold a charge, will not record while plugged into car 12vdc power point. Nice looking and all that, but generally not anything that was advertised.

I'm very disappointed in Amazon letting people use their Good Name!!!! and sell junk. I would advise anyone who is thinking about getting one of these, DON'T! Your throwing your money away

NO STARS.

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The quality on these cameras seems to be hit or miss. I have three that all function well, but, all three are not the same model with the same features. One is apparently an older model that records in segments of 1/2/3 minutes, although the box say 5/10/15 minutes. As others have said, the instructions are terrible, but if you play around with the controls, you'll find a number of features not listed, such as pushing and holding the arrow buttons to zoom in and out. The video quality on all of mine is very good. I've also had no problem with the sound functions. Hopefully, they have run out of the older models and are shipping only the newer ones that actually have the functions listed on the box. A dash cam is definitely a good bit of extra insurance. The day we installed ours, we filmed a car coming on to the interstate nearly hit us, and then cross two lanes and hit a poor guy in a new F-150. The police department was very appreciative of the video.

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Cons

What I got was a camera that wont anchor properly on the suction holder.. that has to have been a manufacturing defect.. The power chord was so long, it turned my car into an entangled mess..

Pros

The picture quality looks decent. definitely not HD, but for what you want it for, it can pass.

Panasonic DMR-EZ48VP-K 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder with Built In Tuner

• 1080p Upconversion via HDMI. Dub from VHS to DVD.
• Multi Format playback , DVD, DivX, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW.
• Viera Link to Panasonic Televisions
• Built In Digital Tuner for DVD Recorder
• SD card slot

Finally a DVD recorder that actually works and is pretty easy to operate. Thus far I have tried recording from VHS to DVD several times with out any problems. One just can not beat the two button recording sequence. You press the specified VHS->DVD record button located on the front of the unit then you either press the record button to play until the DVD is maxed out and finalize the recording automatically or the play button that will allow you to stop the recording, finalize at a later time, add VHS content from another VHS tape, etc. My pops that is not tech savvy at all has managed to work the unit. He is smiling that he can now convert his 20 year old VHS tapes to DVD

A must have is DVD-RAM discs. Allows one to tape broadcast content to view at a later time then delete and record again. I am still trying to find a PC program that will allow me to take DVD-RAM content and edit it on a PC. I have tried Adobe Premiere without any results (does not recognize the file format. If anyone knows please advise.

Update 11/21/2008 After many months of use I can say that the unit has worked very well for the purpose that we purchased it: Transferring homemade VHS tapes to DVD. First the footage is transferred to a DVD-RAM disc. (I purchased a pack of 5 and have only used 2 that still work). I have used with great success the authoring software called: TMPGEnc Authoring Works. It allowed me to take the raw unedited footage that was transfered from the VHS to the DVD-RAM disc then using TMPGEnc Authoring Works to edit footage and then burn it on a regular DVD.

It is also a decent VHS and DVD player.

Buy Panasonic DMR-EZ48VP-K 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder with Built In Tuner Now

The auto scan flawlessly found all the analog and unscrambled digital channels offered by Comcast in my area. It does not have an HD tuner but does capture the widescreen 16:9 signals. If you record on DVD-RAM (not -R, -RW, +R, or +RW) it will record the widescreen picture. Three added bonuses for using DVD-RAM are "Chasing Playback," which allows you to watch a program from the beginning while the machine continues to record the remainder of it; more editing options; and the ability to selectively erase individual programs from the disc and then record new shows in the deleted space. You can find 10-packs of Panasonic DVD-RAMs online (item #LM-AF120LU10) for about $19; Amazon has a 5-pack (LM-AF120LU5) for about $10. The discs are rated for 100,000 re-recording cycles, versus about 1,000 for R/RW! Don't expect to find them in stores (which baffles me).

I found the menus and remote control to be quite intuitive. This is also the quietest DVD recorder I have used. The machine is loaded with features, including upconversion all the way to 1080p if you use the HDMI connection. One of its best capabilities is that Panasonic engineered the 4-hour LP recording speed of the DVD drive to provide the same playback quality as the 2-hour SP speed! No, the VHS recorder does not record digital broadcasts, but who cares with the great playback quality of the DVD drive? I'm using the VHS to dub my old tapes over to DVD.

We interrupt this review for a helpful note...a couple years ago I learned from personal experience (and a Comcast technician) that digital signals are more "fragile" than analog ones. My first lesson occurred when I was connecting my new Panasonic HDTV. Some of the digital channels were very unstable and would cycle between displaying and going to black, or showed significant digital artifacts. That problem was caused by my brand new high end surge suppressor, which included f-jacks for cable protection. The suppressor's internal cable protection circuitry altered the signal slightly, causing the problem. The tech connected the TV directly to the cable wall outlet, bypassing the suppressor, and the signal was perfect. (Note: always plug your AC power cords into a surge suppressor!) I had to recall my second lesson when hooking up my DMR-EZ48V. At first, a couple of the digital sub-channels in my area (21.1, 33.3) could not be received. I remembered that I had used an existing push-on type coax for my cable connection from the wall outlet to the machine. My bad. I replaced it with one of the cables the Comcast tech had made for me for future use, with screw on f-connectors, and all reception was perfect! We return now to my review of the DMR-EZ48V...

I have not seen any digital artifacts during playback on my Panasonic HDTV. The instruction manual gives you details for tweaking the machine and fixing many possible problems (I had none) by using the large array of accessible menu options. This machine may not be right for a technophobic individual, but for an enthusiast it is great!

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DMR-EZ48VP-K 1080p Upconverting VHS DVD Recorder with Built In Tuner Here

I purchased this mainly to transfer home movies. Unfortunately, Panasonic has decided that it knows better than you do. They have programmed the machine to divide recordings whenever a break in the video occurs. This means that your two-hour home video is going to be automatically divided into about 16 parts and there is no option to disable it. Each division causes a loss in the beginning of the next part.

You will have to plug a separate VCR into the unit to be certain of uninterrupted recording. Of course, you might as well buy any DVD recorder if you are going to do that and pay much less. The DVD recording quality is good as good as just about any other recorder.

Too bad: Panasonic built a good concept, but they forgot to give the consumer the freedom to decide how to record.

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...and we've owned three different brands in the last 5 years.

This machine plays ANYTHING we throw at it (stuff recorded on two other DVD recorders---a year-old Liteon model, and a four-year old phillips dvdr75 which died two years ago!): dvd+r, dvd+rw, dvd-r, dvd-rw). Of course, retail DVDs look great too.

It has an awesome ATSC tuner (auto-set-up worked and found all channels), and receives dozens of HD channels here in the Los Angeles area. Timer function works great---no faiulures.

We've had it for about two months, and made over 65 recordings---not a single "coaster" ever.

We use the HDMI output (this machine comes with its own HDMI cable--a real value).

The XP (1 hour speed) looks very clean, the SP is very good, and the EP (6 hour) is a little pixelated, but not terribly.

We've copied DVDs to VHS, and I've made direct VHS recordings---all look as good as one would expect VHS to look.

I think We'll buy another DMR-EZ48, so that when this one wears out, we'll be assured of complete compatibility and interoperability of all my discs.

Pansonic introduced this DVD recorder a year after its predecessor, the EZ47VK. The EZ47VK had almost the same feature set, but suffered from overheating problems. So Panasnic added a cooling fan with the EZ48VK.

I bought this recorder to transfer VHS tapes to DVD and to record programs off cable TV. In both these respects this player works just perfect, with one flaw which I will touch on below.

The auto-tune feature tuned all the standard (non-pay and non-premium) channels from my cable company and even set the clock time based on the local PBS station. The ATSC tuner picks up over-the-air HDTV and DTV programs. I am using this player with an Antennas Direct DB2 Multi Directional HDTV Antenna. It picked up local HD channels and some from as far as 40 miles away. A minor annoyance is that when you switch between antenna and cable (I use an external A/B switch) you need to auto tune the channels all over again.

Transferring VHS to DVD is a cinch. The resulting DVD is often better than the source VHS tape due to the noise reduction. I've also had excellent results recording my favorite TV programs (particularly movies from AMC and TCM). In the two months I've had this player, I've recorded just over 40 movies for personal use.

As others have suggested, DVD-RAM disks are a must-have for this player, particularly for recording TV programs you want to later delete. DVD-RAM disks give you a Tivo-like experience, and you can pause and rewind the program while the rest of the program is being recorded. And DVD-RAM disks allow you record over and over thousands of times.

Caution about dual-layer DVD+R disks:

The only problem I had with this player is with dual-layer DVD+R disks. When recording multiple programs in sequence, the player can get "confused" with the layer change in the dual layer disk. It corrupted two disks, making them unreadable. And it required me to power off and power on in order to eject the corrupted disks.

Anyway, I found that that recording dual layer DVD+R disks works perfectly when I recorded a single long program that spans both layers.

Overall, I have high praise for this player!

Toshiba BDX3000 3D-Ready Wi-Fi Blu-ray Disc Player

• Full HD 1080p/24 fps video output with DVD upconversion to 1080p, AVCHD playback, and wide format support
• Blu-ray 3D playback (requires compatible TV/receiver and 3D glasses); BD-Live for online features
• Built-in Wi-Fi/Ethernet with streaming content from Netflix, Blockbuster, VUDU, and Pandora
• Decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio | Essential for true high-definition audio
• HDMI-CEC connects the BDX3000 and your compatible HDTV for convenient two-way control with one remote

(UPDATE Jan 27th, 2011: There is a firmware update available now to fix the freezing issue. I am updating so others can benefit. As I have returned my player I will not be able to post reviews about the new firmware.)

(UPDATE Jan 20th, 2011: I returned the Blu-ray player. Amazon was amazing with their service.)

(UPDATE Jan 5th, 2011: There are still no firmware updates available. I have also updated this review in various sections below according to my experience with this player.)

I think Toshiba should be happy that they get one star out of this unit from me!! This is a very poorly designed 3D blu ray player. The software of this player is in such bad state that if you try and tweak around a little, it will freeze on you. And once frozen nothing will work. (As other reviewers have also stated, not even the power button.) The only way out is to unplug the unit. The freezing issue is so frequent that it makes this unit almost useless. Lets me give you a brief on what my take on this blu ray 3D capable player is:

Remote: (UPDATE Jan 5th, 2011: Forgot to mention before, no backlight on the remote as well. Another thing I have noticed is that the remote has a very short range and sensitivity is poor.)

Little confusing with the menu button. Too many of those are present and you have to kind of remember which one will do what. Apart from that there is no mute button on the remote. Everything else looks fine and easy to use. But again if the unit freezes you have to jump out of you cozy couch and unplug the unit as the remote won't work in that scenario.

Playback: (UPDATE Jan 5th, 2011: Didn't encounter playback freezing after that one incident. But 8 out of 10 times the player won't come back from standby. I have to keep unplugging the power cord to get it started.)

Yes, it will play your DVDs, Blu-ray etc very nicely and won't freeze during playback. The only freezing issue I faced during playback was after pressing the rewind button while a DVD was playing. (Although, this only happened once out of may be 10-12 times I pressed the rewind button and other buttons during playback.)

WiFi:

This player has a built in WiFi which is nice. And also the setup was easy. But the sad part is it drops signal every now and then. (May be another software issue or a poor hardware) Also, after dropping signal it freezes sometimes.

Net Connected Apps:

If you can get around the WiFi issue (May be by placing your WiFi right next to it or using an ethernet cable.) then you can try the net connected apps. There aren't many but the high hitters are present. I first tried the Pandora app. And yes, it freezes again :( .... I had to try at least 3 times to get my Pandora app going. I finally bailed out of it after another freeze on my 4th try. But it was not completely unsuccessful. It does play music from Pandora and has all the things one need (like search and radio stations that you have already created etc). Next, I tried the Netflix app and it freezes right there. That was too much to take and I completely bailed out of the Net Connected apps section!!!!

Setting Menu:

The setting menu is nice and easy to tool around. But the freezing problem is existent there as well. The player froze at least twice within 5 mins when I was tooling around.

Speed and response to command:

It is slow to respond when you hit a button. But one can live with that if other features are set right.

Load up speed (for DVD and Blu ray):

Not bad. I wouldn't say it is great but I think it would be hard to find another player with better speed.

3D capability: (UPDATE Jan 5th, 2011: I tested the player's 3D capability and when it plays it plays well. I do not see any issue with 3D playback from the players end.)

I am still waiting on my 3D capable TV to come. This player came within 2 days of my order so I am sitting with this player and my old TV (with no 3D capability). The TV will arrive in next few days. And if I am not utterly frustrated with this player I might give it a try for 3D and update this review accordingly.

To sum it up, if you are only going to put a DVD/Blu ray disc in the player hit the play button sit back and watch the movie then you might be fine. If you intend to press any button other than play, think again before you waste your time with this player, especially those who want the Net Connected Apps and setting to work fine.

Now, all the issues I have mentioned, I believe are because of a very poor software. So there is a slight likelihood that Toshiba might give a firmware update and do away with the freezing problem. Until then this unit is useless. (And yes I did check if there is an update available at this time, but there wasn't any)

Buy Toshiba BDX3000 3D-Ready Wi-Fi Blu-ray Disc Player Now

UPDATE 1/27/11

Firmware update has appeared to fix the power issues. Menus seem a little speedier too. Image quality is also still great. Changing from 2 stars to 4

Player came bundled with my 3D TV. Nearly every time i want to use the player I have to physically unplug it and plug it back in to even get it to respond! It constantly is freezing and crashing!

When the player actually works, it produces great images, absolutely top-quality. This is the only reason I'm giving this player 2 stars.

hopefully a firmware update fixes the player in the near future, if so I would give it 4.5 stars. Until then, I cannot believe a top of the line player like this actually makes it to market with the serious problems it has.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba BDX3000 3D-Ready Wi-Fi Blu-ray Disc Player Here

FYI!, FYI!, buyers. I received this Toshiba BluRay model BDX3000KU when I ordered my Toshiba 55WX800U 3D HDTV around the first of December. Also received two pair of Tosiba 3D glasses as part of this package. First OF ALL, I cannot say enough good things about ordering from Amazon.com. I got a terrific deal! I had shopped locally, in Nashville and online for several months. The TV is wonderful! HOWEVER, after hooking up the DVD, it would not turn on. It would only stay on standby. No luck with the DVD remote, the TV remote or manually. I contacted Amazon.com customer FYI! Again the same problem when I attempted to turn on the unit the following day. I tried everything and nothing worked until I unplugged the unit electrical cord and plugged it in again. In reading the owner's manual I learned this allowed the unit to RESET. It worked beautifully and would turn on the remainder of the day. BUT, ANOTHER HOWEVER! When I tried to turn on the unit this morning after it setting overnight, it would not turn on. I again unplugged the unit, waited several seconds for it to reset and AGAIN it then turned on. At this point I called Toshib a customer service and spoke to Don. Don put me on hold and researched the problem. Per Don, this is a "KNOWN PROBLEM" for this model by Toshiba and is called a "POWER FREEZE". Toshiba is seeking a resolution to this problem with this model. Per Don and Linda, who I spoke to when I called Toshiba a second time to clarify, Toshiba will call me at my home phone when the resolutiion found. I was not given a time-frame for a return call as it is not known when a resolution will be found. I SPECIFICALLY asked both persons whether I should return this unit to Amazon.com a second time and purchase a different model as I really like the feathures of and the functioning of this model except for waiting for a resolution of the "POWER FREEZE" problem. Both assurd me I need not do this. THEREFORE, I am keeping this BDX3000KU unit expecting Toshiba to call with a resolution to the problem or offering me another unit. I am mailing the registration card tomorrow. I am glad as I did not wish to bother Amazon.com again, expecially as this is a problem with this particular Toshiba model and Toshiba is seeking a resolution. I suspected as much when the same problem occurred with the second unit received. LET ME RESTATE this not an Amazon.com problem. I have had nothing but amazing service doing business with Amazon.com at this time. I WILL attempt to contact Amazon.com customer service by e-mail and clarify the problem with this model of BluRay DVD player by Toshiba in case there are any additional customers who have this same problem and contact them. Let me say last that the ONLY reason I feel I cannot give this product a 5 star rating is because of this problem and Toshiba was not able to give me a ballpark timeframe for getting back with me.

UPDATE: I received a call from Toshiba at 4:15 pm and spoke with Justin after missing a call from Amy a few minutes earlier. Justin checked Amy's notes and transferred me to Advanced Services Group and I spoke with John. Per John, my problem has been referred to the Research Group and I should be receiving a call in just a few days. Let's hope all turns out okay for my unit.

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same as many other reviews , this player constantly freezes and you have to unplug

it and start over. when it works it works and plays well but it froze 3 times on the

last movie we tried to watch . I finally got my old toshiba dvd recorder out and

finished watching the movie.

I also got this in the package with the 46" 3D tv and am real happy with

the tv. I did read a couple reviews that stated they would send it back

but it was bought in a package. That doesnt matter just send the dvd player back

and keep the tv and glasses . thats what we did. In the returns area just click on

the dvd not the tv and glasses

Im going to try a different brand of blu ray player , toshiba has some issues

to work out with these.

Amazon is so easy to work with , ill be buying the replacement here

I received this bluray player for free (bundled with my Toshiba 3D tv). I believe it retails for $250. Unfortunately, the great price of "free" can't even make the shortcomings of this blu-ray player palatable! The main issues are as follow;

Many times, the player will not turn on. To get it to come on, you have to unplug it from the power source (This usually does the trick).

The player frequently freezes while you are watching a movie. Again, the only way to get it to start working normally is to unplug it. This is REALLY irritating if you are in the middle of a movie. Also, when this happens, I have noticed that getting it to work normally is touch and go. I have had to fast forward and rewind (just playing around with it) to get it to unfreeze. Sometimes it will start the audio, but the picture will remain frozen.

The features that it has are great (wi-fi, netflix, etc.) but you cannot enjoy them with the constant freezing up of the player. Toshiba should really do something about this product. They should be ashamed to have their name associated with it. It really is a piece of junk. Again, even being free did not make this a good deal!

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I needed a white HDMI cable for my particular arrangement because the cable couldn't be hidden. This cable was the exact length I needed, well made, and at a great price.

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Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Cont

The antenna and remote control are junk right out of the box. The end fell off the antenna and the remote control worked some of the time and then quit all together. That is the reason for the 4 star rating. On the up side the tuner stick and software work great. The unit also works great with Windows Vista Media Center. I have eliminated the TV set in my motor home and watch TV exclusively on my laptop. I can record programs or schedule programs to be recorded, then put my laptop to sleep. The computer will wake up and record the program. The best part is I can shrink the screen down to any size I want then set it for always on top and stick it up in the corner of the screen. I can surf the net or write a review while watching TV. As I am writing this review I have eight windows open and all is working fine. My laptop is a lower end Compaq ($500.00 range) with Windows Vista and 2 gig's of ram. If you open the box and throw the antenna and remote away you then have a 5 Star product. Changing channels is a snap, just click on the TV screen then use your number keys to select a channel.

After I received this tuner and it failed to install with the supplied software I contacted Hauppauge Customer Support. They advised me the supplied software was out of date and directed me to there site. After downloading the software, and getting the tuner partially working the remote did not function. I contacted them, and they diagnosed it and said they would be happy to replace it. A month and half later, they still had not replaced it, and the tuner had problems changing channels slowly, freezing, and just going blank. After repeated calls to Hauppauge, they assured me they would send a new remote. Finally I called support again and asked if it was possible to just exchange this unit for something that would work. They said they would be happy to for $128.00. The tech did state that they had troubles with this unit.

I am very disappointed with this product and my experience. If you purchase one of there tuners, be advised there customer support is very non-supportive.

Buy Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Cont Now

This is a great tuner/ video recorder. It is fully compatible with Vista and Windows Media Center. The remote control is convenience and works great with Windows Media Center. It virtually transforms your desktop/laptop into a HDTV plus a digital recorder system. Powerful hardware configuration (CPU, memory and hard disk) is strongly recommended. Recording 1 hour of HD contents (720p/1080i) in Windows Media Center requires 6 GB of hard disk space. The software package is good but I prefer Windows Media Center.

Read Best Reviews of Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-950Q TV Tuner Stick/Personal Video Recorder with Clear QAM and Remote Cont Here

Hardware

When my cable provider (Comcast) announced a conversion of extended basic channels (24 to 71) to digital, I bought the Hauppauge HVR-950Q to replace my Hauppauge HVR-950, an analog only USB tuner. Picture quality with my old Hauppauge HVR-950 was fair to good on upper channels, but so noisy on lower channels that channels 2 to 7 were unwatchable. The first thing I noticed when I popped in the new HVR-950Q was a dramatic improvement in picture quality on the lower analog channels and some improvement too in upper channels. Obviously the HVR-950Q has much better noise filtering than the old HVR-950. The quality improvement in analog channels alone is reason enough to upgrade.

Temperature

A little worrying about the HVR-950Q is that the silicon inside must run pretty hot. The best way to judge this is to feel the metal ring of the cable. This tuner is powered from the computer USB port. Judging from its heat output this tuner must take most of the 2.5 watts (500 ma x 5V) that a USB port can deliver, so this tuner definitely needs its own port.

Clear QAM

I knew prior to the conversion that my cable contained a large number of 'upper channels' because my large screen TV found them and displayed them with odd channel numbers like 74-3, 76-7. I initially paid little attention to them because it seemed they were mostly duplicates of lower channels, but when Comcast announced the analog to digital conversion, I mapped them and began to suspect they were clear QAM (digital) channels. That is what they are, and they are likely to remain clear going forward because the small cable boxes (DTA's) Comcast distributes to analog customers are reportedly unable to decode encrypted channels.

Software

I agree with other reviewers that the WinTV software from Hauppauge leaves a lot to be desired. Hauppauge actually has two software packages that are totally different, probably designed by separate software teams. I prefer Ver 6 which is an upgrade of the earlier Hauppauge software and features a convenient snapshot feature. However it really only works for analog channels (most the QAM channels don't display properly). It also uses about 90% of CPU capacity making other programs slow. In Ver 7 the snapshot feature (spacebar) works, but it is undocumented and saves files only in bmp format making them huge. I emailed Hauppauge customer support asking if there was a way to change the file format and never got a reply.

For receiving QAM digital and HD channels from this tuner I find the 3rd party software package BeyondTV works well. It gives an excellent picture, has a built-in program guide, and uses about 60% of the CPU capacity. It can takes a while to set up as the QAM channels need to be mapped into the standard channel numbers. You need the latest version of BeyondTV to get QAM channels, but upgrades from any version 4 are free.

Comcast lack of support for computer TV tuners

During the digital transition period I found Comcast provided no support at all to those with computer TV tuners. Comcast never tells you (in literature or online) that there are 60-80 'hidden' clear QAM clear channels, including HD channels, on your cable that can be picked up with non-Comcast equipment. I talked to three Comcast service technicians and not one would confirm the existence of dozens of clear QAM channels on the cable.

Comcast will not tell you about clear QAM channels

The HVR-950Q and most newer TVs if provided with a direct cable connection can provide access to the HD channels that are there. In contrast the equipment Comcast provides (for free) to support its analog customers in the transition to digital is low end, non-HD equipment, which if hooked up as Comcast recommends, blocks access to HD. My guess is that this is by design. Wikipedia in 'QAM tuner' notes, "The law does not require the cable provider to advertise the availability (of clear QAM channels), and the cable customer service representatives are known to unequivocally (and incorrectly) insist to customers that (an HD) converter box is mandatory to view any HD channels."

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

(update) A day or two after the extended basic analog channels were taken down I found 40 or so 'upper channels' (channel numbers like 76-9, 77-4) had gone missing. Whoops, I thought I was going to eat my words about clear QAM channels remaining on Comcast, but false alarm, they all still there just at new frequencies. A week or so after the extended basic analog channels were taken down, auto scan on both this tuner and my large screen TV is finding 87 clear QAM channels (about 70 of the 87 are new channels).

I pay Comcast well over 1,000 dollars a year in cable fees, and their idea of customer service is hide the fact that there are 87 unencrypted digital channels on my cable, many of which are HD, that I can legally access with non-Comcast equipment and without signing up for Comcast digital service!

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My review was mysteriously never posted the first time, hmm... trying again.

I've seen reviews on other sites that say if it didn't work the person just didn't know what they were doing. I'm a system administrator, not just a typical user, so trust me when I say I tried everything I could think of to get this to work on 3 different machines. The first machine I tried was Win7 64-bit, 1 gig ATI graphics card (with latest drivers), and 6 gigs of ram. I tried installing using the CD and the updated software on the website which at the time was 1.2b, 1.2c came out after I had initiated the return. I also tried just plugging it in and hoping Windows Media Center would detect it like I saw in other reviews no luck. Using the vendors software, it froze when searching for channels. I even left it on over night (8+ hrs) thinking I didn't give it enough time, but it didn't matter. Each time I tried a different way of installing it I used the cleaning utility on the CD to start from scratch.

The second computer I tried was Windows XP Pro, 512mb nvidia graphics card (latest drivers), 2 gigs of ram. I had the same exact problem, it froze when searching for channels. The third computer I tried it on was my Vista laptop, same problem and Windows Media Center could not detect the tuner just like Windows 7.

On all three computers I used the cleanup utility between installations to make sure I wasn't simply installing on top of itself. The lights on the tuner were on indicating that the computer detected it (also showed up in device manager) and that it had a decent signal. I forgot to mention that I tried using the Windows Media Center Installation file that Hauppauge provides on their website, obviously that didn't work either.

As a last resort I reformatted my Windows 7 machine thinking (and hoping) that maybe something I had on there was conflicting with the tuner in some way. I did not install a single thing before trying it on the clean install, but I had the same problem.

Also, be warned that Hauppauge customer service is ridiculously horrible. I tried contacting them before returning the tuner. It took them 5 business days to reply to my first email and all the response said was "Are you connecting anything between the unit and the pc (included extension usb hub etc)?" I responded the same day and it took another 4 business days for this response from them "Can you give me more information on the pc you are using? Do you have another pc you can try the unit on?" Granted, I should have given them the specs to my computer in the first email. But coming from a customer service/tech support background, the response time alone is terrible and the one sentence responses are mind blowing. They should have combined those emails into the first response and gotten it to me within the 48 hr response time that I swear I saw on their website. If I responded like that at my tech support job of 4 yrs I would've been in a lot of trouble.

Needless to say, do your homework by reading both positive and negative reviews. Also check out other sites to read their reviews. I did and was hoping I'd be on the positive side, sadly I was not.

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