Esky® Silver Plug-in 2GB Mini DVR Video Pen Camera with Video Recorder Camcorder

after using for a two weeks now there is some improvments that need to be made but after u figure out how to use it its fun, mine will stop recording video whenever it decides its enough and automatically starts up in voice recording, u cant do any spontaniease recording u will need a couple sec prior to setup, a little less obvious than holding a cell phone up but like i said thats only if you walk into the room already recording defeats my perpus .

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Dell Optiplex 755 Tower Computer, Featuring Intel Insanely Fast and Powerful 2.13GHz Core2 Duo Proc

What a great seller!

Great selection, described so concisely that I could quickly select the best item for our needs. After ordering, I was notified that we needed the product sooner, so a quick email and followup phone call was all that was needed to change delivery date.

Super positive, kind and helpful on the phone...and the item arrived a day BEFORE I expected it!

Painless and timely...just what I needed!

I will definitely look for this seller when we need to shop again!

First off, if you are not planning on playing PC games with this then still get it, but do it from EZBuyCafe. They are a superior seller. The only thing I would recommend that you get, apart from the obvious monitor, is this service pack 3 upgrade on Ebay (search windows xp service packs 2 SP3. Awesome CD update XP ). The reason you want to get this is because you do get a factory reset CD for the Optiplex, but it restores it to SP2, when you would want SP3. SP3 is supported longer than SP2 so you get more recent updates that make the computer 10% 15% faster, safer from the newer viruses and hacks, and able to support newer hardware. So that extra $10 is well worth your investment.

Now, with that said, this computer is quite possibly the best gaming PC for your dollar. However, it is not like that out of the box so I will give steps to make it much better while keeping it as cheap as possible. The only drive that I found that I needed to replace was the video card as the one they give you is really lacking. The best graphics card for your money, and one of the best that can be put in this older motherboard is on newegg just search Sapphire Radeon 7750 HD 1GB low profile ). The install of the graphics card is simple. Just make sure you actually use the installation CD they give you instead of trying to find the most updated one online. It is plenty to get this computer running great graphics without having to purchase additional power wattage. I think this computer has only a little over 300 which is low, but it still comes out as a great purchase. This computer is actually playing Fallout 3 and Skyrim which are huge games and it is playing them on HIGH quality with 0 load times and no noticeable shuttering or texture popping at all. If you bought what I told then it should cost under $350 and compare to PC desktops out that cost easily twice that. This is due to the fact that everything it comes with is very impressive.

It blows my mind that I spent less money on this computer and the Sapphire than I did on my 360 and it runs the same games easily 15xs better.

I will be releasing videos soon with me playing various games such as any Bethesda game, or Rockstar game to show how this is quite possibly the best PC built under $350.

And with that use the steam store to download the games and you will get incredible savings on just about all games out if you do it before January 5th

Buy Dell Optiplex 755 Tower Computer, Featuring Intel Insanely Fast and Powerful 2.13GHz Core2 Duo Proc Now

Ordered the computer and it came in 2 days. It was all set up and runs great, and it was exactly as pictured.

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The machine came as promised and was actually a faster version of the Core2Duo than advertised. I am quite pleased, but I have two suggestions for the company.

1. Two of the USB ports on the quad bay in the back do not work. This is not a huge deal as the machine comes with 8 total ports but it would have been nice if they tested them.

2. The bios rev was out of spec quite a bit, it came with A10 and Dell is on A19. Updating that as a part of their standard testing would be a nice touch.

3. The 160G hard drive is sufficient but an upgrade to a 250 would have been appreciated, or perhaps for an extra 50.00 offer a 40G SSD.

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The package arrived great and the tower works great. My husband is very happy with it and he says the graphics card is better than his old one. Thank you very much.

Three Port HDMI 3-Port (3x1) HDMI Powered Switch Switcher w/ IR remote and AC Adapter- Supports Blu

It works. However, the remote controller has a mind of it's own. It will work for a while then will quit until channels are switched manually.

Also, having only three inputs, it can't accommodate four devices, simultaneously, as advertised...

The model I received does not work. The indicator lights function, but there is no signal transmitted to the tv through the hdmi out. Guess I'm out the $30!

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AVERMEDIA AVERTV HD USB DVR TV Tuners and Video Capture C874 Sleek Black

I have bought a lot of stuff, mostly electronic goods, both good and bad. After a while the bad stuff makes me wonder if it is the products or my computer setup that seems to make this stuff quirky and unreliable. I built my own setup and am not averse to trying shareware and other types of programs. I had the Hauppauge HD PVR for about a year and a half. It produced a great captured video. Problem was that it was not very reliable. It would "hang up" frequently for no decipherable reason that I could find. The scheduling software was OK, I did not have the WINTV 7.0 as that came out later, but it didn't much matter because half the time I had a program scheduled it would have locked up at some point and would not capture anyhow. Finally it got to the point where I had reloaded, formatted, my computer for this and other reasons to get a fresh start and hopefully fix the problem. I would load this first before other drivers, after the video driver, and a few other sequences. I don't mind redoing my drives as it gives me a chance to get rid of the junk that has accumulated over time. The Hauppauge never performed reliably no matter when the driver was loaded. Finally the last time I attempted this I ended up using the wrong AC adapter to plug in the Hauppauge got a burning smell from the PVR. Oh well I never cared for the thing anyhow. I did still want to capture video to the computer and did appreciate the high quality the Hauppauge put out. I did some research and finally decided on the Aver USB HD PVR. I hesitate to say this as it's only been a couple of weeks but what a godsend. It's been performing now and the only time it has locked up was once when I was doing something else with another program and must have affected it somehow. Video capture is of the same quality as the Hauppauge and it actually has a video for me when I get back on the computer and look to see if it is captured; every time so far! I've never written a review for anything that I have bought but have been so impressed with the operational difference between these two products that I just felt compelled to do so. Running AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHz (Quad Core) 45nm, AM3 6MB Cache 8 MB Ram and an AMD Radeon 5700 series video card. Mostly do a lot of video editing. Running Win 7 SP1.

C874's capture quality is great, but the bundled capture app may needlessly burden low-end machines. There's a workaround which may help somewhat, so if interested, read on...

The whole point of the USB external device is to offload encode and decode (to TV) functions from the computer. As shipped, the software requires more CPU/GPU than the USB device really needs to perform its built-in hardware functions. So they just increase the computer hardware requirements to use the product. Clever.

The C874 should include a lightweight tray-dwelling capture app with full hardware settings and NO preview function or a selectable minimal one.

It would also be useful if the device could downscale any video input and do lower framerates and bitrates. The SDK info on their site indicates the C874 can do this and more. Strange that it is not standard with the product.

An HDMI-out player that has a responsive slider navigation feature and low CPU/GPU overhead would be a main selling point of the product. Preview on the computer isn't required if the PVR is doing the decoding, but maybe subsampled keyframes could be shown with timecode for navigation. The ability to put up a still image or colorbars on the HDMI-out when a clip isn't playing, and the ability to schedule playlists would make it very good for presentations or custom TV viewing.

Standard-issue should be a keyframe-cuts stream editor for basic trimming, excerpting, and joining of the native stream format. Even looking for a compatible editor online is a nightmare. Transcoding or re-muxing shouldn't be required. Perhaps the HDMI-out player could double as the editor with the addition of a few buttons and a save-as dialog. That would make edits a snap!

Capturing:

The ArcSoft capture module that is invoked manually or called by the scheduler appears to force the machine to decode preview video/audio, even when the preview is disabled during recording. There is no option to totally shut off preview at all times. It'll eat your netbook CPU alive.

There is a hardware acceleration toggle, but that doesn't support the Broadcom video decoder that some netbooks have or can be outfitted with, which has a high-priority h.264 decoder. I guess the hardware toggle is for GPU on high-end or newer machines.

On older Atom-based netbooks under XPsp3 or Win7sp1, a 720p or 1080i input results in nearly 100% cpu utilization at all times in CaptureModule. Even sitting there waiting to capture, the preview may lock up. Any recordings may truncate at less than a minute, even with preview supposedly off. 480i on the front input is more reliable, requiring less (but still significant) CPU.

There may be ways developers can provide preview video at lower overhead by sub-sampling keyframes or otherwise not completely decoding all frames, or even sub-streaming a tiny low framerate preview from the USB device. That's for the engineers to figure out.

So in the meantime, and counter-intuitively, we have to "back-burner" CaptureModule's access to the CPU for a netbook to get 720p captures to work (and only for manually initiated caps).

Copy below as 115 character single line to a text file, and rename it with a .cmd extension (cap-low.cmd)

start /low "" "C:\Program Files\ArcSoft\TotalMedia Extreme 2\TotalMedia Studio MV\CaptureModule.exe" /@RecordVideo@

Put the file somewhere out of the way and create a shortcut to it on the desktop. Then go into the shortcut's properties and set it to run minimized and change the icon to point at CaptureModule.exe at the path shown above. Rename the shortcut something simple like CapHD.

Now you've got a much better behaving CaptureModule that may actually record clean 720p if nothing else is running. The command script sets the cpu priority to LOW, so CaptureModule's preview decoding doesn't eat-up all your cpu cycles, and the stream can be recorded to disk with what's left.

That leaves open the possibility of dramatically lower CPU overhead during recording by omitting preview entirely. [see addendum below!]

Unfortunately, there's no way YET to make AVerMedia Scheduler call CaptureModule with the /low switch, so no unattended HD captures on low-end machines unless CaptureModule is fixed or replaced someday.

1080i is still too demanding even with that workaround. 720p is preferable for most things anyway no field order issues with different decoders, for one. 720p with 8000K video, 128K audio set to level 24 seems to be fine for most TV. Cable boxes can be set for fixed format 720p, although most default to 1080i, or a pass-through mode that can switch formats on you.

So, yes, you CAN do 720p HD recording on a low-end netbook! (to some extent)

The hardware in the C874 is good, but they won't let us use it efficiently.

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

Addendum 11/25/12:

Sysinternals Process Explorer shows what's going on with CaptureModule.exe

Running CaptureModule with /low switch, minimized to taskbar, preview turned off during recording, CaptureModule still has _two_ HUGE threads of this running:

ASH264Vid.dll

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

H.264 video decoding core

ArcSoft Inc

Properties comment: "work with ASVID.ax to decode H264 bitstream"

ASVID.ax is ArcSoft Video Decoder.

So now that we know for sure what's happening, we can try stuff:

I started a capture with preview OFF, then manually suspended both threads of ASH264Vid.dll, and the capture CONTINUED right along, while CaptureModule's CPU use dropped to !!!!! 3% !!!!!! (have to resume both threads to stop capture)

Now we're getting somewhere!

Another less impressive result was simpler to try: Start a capture with preview ON, then toggle the preview checkbox OFF during the capture, and the CPU drops to around 25% and the decoder threads vanish. Not sure why the vastly different numbers vs the direct suspend method... ???

So if AverMedia and ArcSoft just release a CaptureModule that can turn off preview properly, during recording and full-time, the product would work with almost any PC. But really, they should support the Broadcom codec as well, to get full functionality.

Buy AVERMEDIA AVERTV HD USB DVR TV Tuners and Video Capture C874 Sleek Black Now

I've been looking for a product that will allow me to copy some of the recordings I have on my AT&T Uverse DVR to my computer without losing any picture quality and this does the trick. I have my Uverse box set to output 720P and I hooked this device up using the included component video cable. I installed the drivers and software and I was able to play one of the shows I had on my Uverse DVR and save it to my computer. Of course this is all done in real time, so it takes however long the show is. When I played it back on the TV (form the computer) it looked as good as the original from when I play it from the DVR.

Now I can free up space on my DVR without losing any shows that I want to keep.

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Amazing item, only difference between the hauppauge hd pvr and this that's the hauppauge has optical cable for audio, other than that the capture is exactly the same plus the avermedia has better look that fits any entertainment centre

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Although there are some issues with the guide and Dish Network, it's the best USB tuner I've used. The IR blaster is very handy for universal remote use, and it works well even on a weak system. The HTPC I have it connected to has an Intel D2500NH and 3GB of Ram, and it works flawlessly.

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Sony RDR-GX257 Recordable DVD Player with HDMI Upscaling, Black

• HDMI output w/ up to 1080p upscaling for DVD/VHS
• Line Input Recording (Non-Tuner)
• BRAVIA Sync for Theater
• Compatible w/ DVD-RW/-R/+RW/+R/+R DL, & DVD RAM media
• DVD-Video/Video CD/SVCD/CD-DA (CD-R/-RW) playback

The Sony RDR-GX257 is a low-cost, tunerless DVD-Video recorder that manages good recording quality at the two faster speeds and isn't too difficult to use.

Normally, a recorder that performs its designed function well enough and with sufficient ease would, at least, deserve four stars. Unfortunately, in the case of this recorder, it earns two stars because, for the price, it lacks features that similarly priced competitive units have, such as the Toshiba D-R410 or, for a few more bucks, the Panasonic DMR-EA18K.

One feature that is lacking on the Sony is recording support for dual layer recordable discs. This problem itself may not be an issue, except there are units similarly priced that do support such media. Support for dual layer media on both -R and +R media would've added a bit more flexibility to this model that you get from the aforementioned Toshiba and Panasonic models.

Another feature that is lacking are s-video inputs, so you will never be able to record high resolution analog formats, such as S-VHS or Hi-8, to their fullest. On top of that, there are no s-video outputs. There are other players that have s-video inputs (and outputs) at the same price point, so why Sony decided to omit this from this model is baffling, especially since these inputs are included on the mentioned Toshiba and Panasonic players.

What is even more baffling was that the model that the RDR-GX257 replaced, the RDR-GX255, had these features! What in the world was Sony thinking?!

In all, because the features that were in the previous generation model did not get incorporated into the current model and that you can have more features at around the same price from someone else, it is very hard to justify this machine.

In all, I don't recommend this one.

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I read a lot of the reviews on this product and did not have very high hopes but seeing as all the stores that I went to did not have a large selection of dvd recorders I had to get this model. What I found that the setup was fairly easy if you are technical savvy, if you know what I mean. Well I got it set up to my satellite receiver and I said I was going to test the recorder first, so I got on of my dvds that I use from my computer, DVD+R, which cannot be re-recorded on once it has been recorded on. And what I got was a perfect picture with no 6 second record, like a previous reviewer said, it recorded everything that I wanted it too, it was fairly simple for me. I like to read the instructions that come with the product as it makes getting to know the product a whole lot easier. I suggest if you are going to set this up to give yourself some time to read the operating instructions, because you will not have trouble with this machine. Thanks and I hope this helps.

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This dvd recorder is somewhat hard to use, BUT it switches the cable box for you on a timer. The Toishiba 420 does not do that. That makes this recorder 100x more useful than the Toshiba, because I often want to record on several different channels in advance.

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I have owened one of these puppies for about a year now. I ran into this PRODUCT on your site and saw the reveiws. It really does not make sense. I have to say you need to know what you are purchasing. Once you know that, then you can actually see that this product does what it's supposed to do with ease. I have no issues with it at all. I use it frequently with no issues. As for the machine itself, it plays quietly, and would suggest it to anyone onverting old VHS or Hi-8 to DVD as well as someone recording digital satellite or digital cable instead of using a DVR.

Maybe it is just my machine.. but I bought this and a pack of DVD-RWs to replace my VCR, Big mistake! I set the timer for over the Thanksgiving holiday and when I got back I had all of 5 seconds of an hour long program recorded to the disc and nothing else (I had set the timer for 3 separate hour long programs). I tried again, set the timer, being more careful to ensure I wasn't making a mistake, and again I got less than 10 seconds of an hour long program. So I tried to manually record and found that the player would stop recording after a few seconds and I'd get a Huge: Cannot Record Copy write Protected error across my screen whenever I tried to record Anything! It wouldn't even record a 30 second commercial and when it Errored when I tried to transfer Home movies from VHS to DVD I gave up! I have had it for 7 days now and needless to say I am returning this machine first thing tomorrow morning!

AVerMedia A188 HD Duet - Dual ATSC PCI-E TV Tuner for Windows Media Center

Didn't even try to install the software that came with it, Media Center on Windows 7 works great with this card. I have had various ATI cards, but was looking for a decent true dual tuner (not a hybrid or a combo). This exceeded my expectations.

I wanted a dual ATSC tuner for mainly watching TV, and once a while record TV. I was using this in a workstation, which has no power management in either the BIOS or the OS (WinXP x64), so I thought it was safe to buy this after reading about other users who said theirs disappear from the Device Manager after going to S3 sleep.

I don't use sleep or hibernation, so I thought it would not affect me, but after installing it for three days, it disappeared from the Device Manager on the fourth day. Restarting and shutting down the computer did nothing. I even moved it to another PCIe X1 slot, and it still wasn't recognized. The only way it would get recognized again is if I cut the power to the power supply (turn off the switch in the back) and wait a couple of minutes. Mine disappeared with just about every other restart/startup of the computer, which is extremely annoying!

Based on the serial number, it seems Amazon is still selling older stock. Two days ago, the tuner was there on bootup, but then disappeared after it finished booting. You know it has disappeared because the AverQuick icon on your system tray turns from yellow to gray. Rather than try to deal with it, I returned the POS to Amazon for a refund. Presumably Avermedia has newer cards which fixes this issue, but I don't want the hassle of dealing with it.

I think Avermedia should be made to recall all these cards... The complaints for this disappearing problem was dated back a few years ago...and I had thought all would have been addressed and fixed by now...but I guess I'm wrong. Too bad...it's a pretty decent dual ATSC tuner (especially given the price) when it works.

UPDATE: With the availability of the $25 rebate, I decided to give Avermedia another chance, so ordered another one a couple of months later, and hoping that I would receive a later revision (given that Amazon must have a fast turnover for their products). This time I did received one with a much later serial number. However, despite that, it unfortunately still does the disappearing trick. After installation, I restarted the computer five consecutive times...and then it disappeared from the Device Manager.

Other users have mentioned that this problem is mostly with AMD systems, which my latest workstation is, so I decided to try it on my slightly older Intel Xeon based workstation...same issue there...

Some other users indicate that it might be a problem with heat. I touched it while it's in operation with both tuner working (when it was recognized that it)...and it was just slightly warm. Deciding to investigate this issue further, I decided to underclock and undervolt my workstation to see if it makes a difference. The Duet seems to not disappear. I restarted the workstation many times and it did NOT disappear. Also, the ambient room temperature has been quite a bit colder than the last card I tested because it's now December. I even put this in S3 sleep and then woke it up...and it was still there. It actually operated like this w/o issues for the past two weeks with many restarts and shutdowns w/o issue.

However, just as soon as I set the voltages and clock speeds back to default, the disappearing issues came back. Now, you're wondering why I don't just run my workstation at the lower clocks and voltages. But why bother upgrading to a faster workstation if you're going to underclock it? The other thing was that the workstation (other adapter cards) wasn't 100% stable at 100% of the time at the lower voltages. Besides, you expect 100% stability from a workstation, unlike a gaming rig for example. So back this goes to Amazon again... I don't think I'll waste my time with trying another one (unless they come out with a newer version (not just revision).

Buy AVerMedia A188 HD Duet - Dual ATSC PCI-E TV Tuner for Windows Media Center Now

The tunner works flawlessly with windows 7 64 bit. The tunners also handle weak signals well, much better than my wintv HVR9500 usb. Best off all, you get 2 tunners for $68.99! One important note, this card is digital only. and no FM. If you have any low power analog staions in your area you should add a hybrid tunner. Vista and latter will see up to 4 digital and 4 analog tuners, so adding as hybrid tuner will alow 1 more show to be recorded. A note about how manny tuners you should have. To ensure you don't miss the beginning or end of any shows, (in case of those inevitable delays that ocasionally occure)you need at least 2 tuners to record consecutive shows on different channels. This allows a 5 or 10 min buffer at the begining and end. It is REALLY frustrating when you miss the last few minuits of a show because it was delayed and MC stoped recording to start another. These cards support PIP whan the included software is used, but I haven't tried it yet.

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I recently dropped dish and installed this tuner on a new Acer Win7 machine. The installation was fairly easy and only took a few minutes to get the drivers installed of the disc. Now it is working flawlessly. I use Windows Media Center as my DVR. I have no complaints so far and love not having the bill from Dish. Any problems I had with the signal came from antennae adjustments. Now that I have that configured I have crystal clear HD signal.

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Workes well in Win 7 64 bit and in MCE:

Win 7 64 bit does not automatically pick up this card upon installation. Nothing shows up in Device Manager.

Downloaded Win 7 64bit driver from manufacturer - and installed driver, rebooted PC. Volla! Card shows up in Device Manager without any problem. Driver installation was quick and straightforward.

Picture quality looks OK. HD TV looks good by itself anyway. No major difference I can tell from the Hauppauge Win TV card I have

One of the best velue for DUAL digital tunner, especially considering that I bought used. You really just need to card itself no other accessories/manual/CD are needed if you buy used one

Product limitations:

Limited by only 1 signal input, shared among the two tunner. So, if you want to hook up more than one sources (like cable and satellite) you should look for a different product

Digital only Over The Air (OTA) ATSC broadcasting, or Clear QAM from cable. If you need to tune traditional cable signals, or traditional OTA NTSC broadcasting signals, you need a different product. But why would you want to look at any thing other than the digital TV anyway?

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Samsung SCD6550 DuoCam MiniDV Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom & 5MP Digital Camera

The SCD6550 is a great idea, but just doesn't preform as I had hoped. I was looking for one camera to take on vacation, replacing carrying a 2 year old Sony MiniDV and a 5 MP Sony CyberShot. My Sony takes 1 MP stills, has excellent video, but @ 1MP, the stills are not nearly print worthy. This camera is actually smaller and lighter than my Sony.

The 5MP still camera function gave excellent results, both with flash and with natural light and outside. Shot for shot it produced either as good or better prints (4x6) than the Sony CyberShot.

Digital video is this unit's short coming. I did identical shots inside and outside with the Sony and Samsung. The Samsung's video quality was very poor, looked more like analog or standard 8mm quality. Inside, with natural room lighting, it was pretty much unacceptable. Outside, the shots lacked the crispiness of the Sony. I took it back, will keep the Sony's and hope that Sony comes out with a greater than 2 or 3 MP model soon.

Anyone who says this isnt a great piece of equipment is talking complete rubbish! For the price and size it's excellent. Good quality stills and camcorder for when needed.

Yes, if you want a very small and very high quality camera then simple, buy a camera!

But for 2 in 1 this is the best on the market.

I took my one for first real use to Disney, Florida recently and it lived up to all expectations and was easy to carry, did all I asked and I came back with some very good shots (482) and a great deal of footage which is easy to play around with through my pc. 99% of shots of perfect and as good as my small canon SD400.

Yes, in a year or two I am sure something better will be around (as a previous reviewer says) but isnt there always???

Go for it.

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I would recommend this to anyone looking for a way to take video and pictures without the hassle of lugging around (and charging) two separate gadgets. It takes excellent pictures, just as good if not better than any other digital camera I have seen. I am also very pleased with the video I found the software very user friendly and video was easy to transfer and edit on my computer. The battery has a good life, I have had no problems having to stop and recharge it. There is a nite mode that compensates (very well, I think) for low light video. The camera is easy to carry around (it is smaller than my 35mm) and I am having no problems with the functionality all in all a great idea and easy to use with great pictures and great video.

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I have many pet peaves about this camera.

a) the video showed untrue colors and came out rather dark----don't try to record indoors

b) didn't fit into my hand naturally and had to use two hands to navigate the menu and even the record button. NOT GOOD

c) didn't start up fast enough---I always missed the shot

d) the camera photos aren't of good quality

e) microphone not that great---you couldn't even hear people that were standing ten feet away from the camera.

f) if your laptop is over 3 years old, even if you've got Windows XP, don't expect the software to be compatible.

g) the zoom lens zoomed to fast at the movement of my finger. I'd lightly press the zoom button to one side and it zoomed too fast and it did the same for zooming out. I felt like I had to just manually zoom----ie. walk up closer to the subject

I honestly say stay away from the Samsung's and the Sony's aren't much better and they have a monopoly on the matching accessories, ie. only Sony products are compatible with the camcorder.

I finally bought a JVC and they are awesome----the take more light in, better acoustical recording, better zoom function, quicker start up, and lighter. You can even buy the cheapest model (which is pretty much what I've got) and the picture is great! My parents commented on how they thought I must have a camera like the News reporters, as it's the same quality.

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To add on to the previous reviewers, I was very disappointed with this camera's performance. I compared the "5 megapixel" photos with photos taken with my Canon, PowerShot G3 (4megapixels), and the SCD6550 simply did not produce the same quality stills. The camera itself also seemed flimsy. The idea of having a two-in-one camera is so attractive. But another attractive concept, Canon's Elura50, offered a camcorder with a compact design. In the end, however, it broke down only after a year and a half. For a $500 purchase that is not a durable lifespan (cf. reviews for Elura50 and you will see that many are having hardware problems). This camera seemed less durable than the Elura50 as I maneuvered the various parts and dials. Of course, I am returning the camera before it can prove its durability. Nevertheless, maybe the folks at CNet can stake their money on it. Lastly, I should add that the positioning of the record button and function dials are poorly placed. I found that I had to use both hands when switching back and forth from camcorder to still cam modes as well as simply engaging the record button. This definitely takes away from the idea of a convinient solution for capturing those special moments.

Again, this camera is a great idea. But, I suppose we should wait until the manufacturers make one that has both solid hardware and quality image recording. This one is on the right track, but, still so far from accomplishing a quality product.

Nokia C3 Prepaid GoPhone (AT&T) with $30 Airtime Credit

The Nokia C3 is a solid, well performing mobile device. I needed a phone that could make texting easy, and the combination of the firm QWERTY keyboard and large space-bar makes it ideal. Call quality is good. This phone is a great value if you're looking to get rid of a $50-$70 monthly plan. AT&T offers the best prepaid plan rates of all the major networks, and the $30 airtime card included with this phone gives you 300 minutes from the start.

I love this phone, it's easy to use and has all the features i need. The service was fast. I ordered this phone on March 30th and got on April 3rd. It takes nice pictures and has video. The keys are a nice size. so you fellows will find this easy to use. This is a great deal

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This was everything I expected it to be. Service was great and phone has been perfect for what I was needing.

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I recently went through quite the ordeal of upgrading my flip phone to one more text friendly. The thing was, I couldn't hear or be heard when I was using the device as a phone. So back to square one, I found this phone on-line and after reading the reviews that talked about the clear calls it made, decided to buy it. I have not been disappointed. Great reception, seamless airtime credit added to my existing account, easy to understand features, etc. only reason I didn't give it five stars is the keyboard is a bit clunky feeling and the pads are easy to "double click", so lots of mis-sppellings!

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Panasonic Pro AG-HVX200A 3CCD P2/DVCPRO 1080i High Definition Camcorder with 13x Optical Zoom

We used this camera to shoot our short film and it proved to be awesome. The P2 cards were a little tricky to work with, but certainly less difficult and more portable than film; without the added expense of telecine.

For the cost, we could not have gotten this level of quality otherwise. I believe its got the depth of 16mm, plus it shoots in 24p. When we saw our final projection, we were just amazed.

Great cam for the money.

I have no idea whay they are still selling this camera for $5400.00. I have used this camera many times since 2008. Every time I am forced to use it on a shoot I just keep thinking how much better cameras have gotten. The P2 media is way too expensive. Cameras now take SD cards which are 40.00 instead of 350.00. The picture quality is pretty good but not 5400.00 good. The HMC150 is so much better in many ways. I understand people want to be able to have 2 P2 cards in their camera at once. For one thing most people need to because they can only afford two 16 gig cards, meanwhile with cameras that take SD cards you can put a 32 gig card in there for $60.00! It's heavy due to it's SD shooting option. Who shoots SD these days? I haven't touched a mini DV tape in years. Bottom line, there are way too may better cheaper options out there these days.

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I am now a proud owner of the Panasonic HVX200A. This camera has treated me very well since I've received it, although, there are some really important things to consider when making this purchase. This camera comes with many great features and great picture quality with a quick and easy workflow. The camera is somewhat heavy compared to others in it's size class, but it's the best quality for the price in my opinion. (next to the Sony EX1, which I have not put my hands on yet)

One thing I didn't consider when purchasing this camera was the cost of getting it up and running. This camera comes with a great (big) price, too. P2 cards have come down in cost since the E-Series card came out, but thinking a little further into it is a must. In order to be in a run-and-gun situation there are a few more items needed. You'll need a place to store all your footage, and with the P2 card they haven't made it easy. There are 2 products that I would trust, although, Panasonic's P2 Store is the lesser of the two. Nexto DI has a product that I purchased to go with my camera so I can shoot events and not have to worry about running out of space or time. $2000 Nexto=500GB, $1500 P2 Store=60GB. You decide which is better.

With my Nexto DI storage I wish I had purchased the 32GB P2 card to go with my 16GB card because of how fast it unloads. My ave. with a full 16GB card was 5 mins.

Really consider the cost when considering this camera. It might save you some time and money.

I would recommend this camera to a friend.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic Pro AG-HVX200A 3CCD P2/DVCPRO 1080i High Definition Camcorder with 13x Optical Zoom Here

The HVX remains among the best choices for prosumer HD camcorders. Previous reviewer was right to advise buyers to consider the cost. Realizing the full potential of the HVX will require at least another $2k worth of purchases, depending on what you intend to do with it. Plan to buy at least a couple P2 cards or a Firestore, an 82mm UV filter, the HVX book by Barry Green, a solid tripod, and a good case before getting started. The quality is excellent for the price, but it is overkill for most consumers.

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Smaller components, such as the headphone jack, IEEE1394 jack, etc will fail on you and repairs will cost you hundreds of dollars. I purchased one of these cameras in august of 2009 only to have both the headphone jack and IEEE 1394 port fail only days out of the one-year warranty expiration period.

Do NOT buy this camera because for what your paying (an extremely expensive $3,000+ price tag) you would expect a much more quality product. **These various ports and jacks failing are a known issue with these cameras. See the panasonic forums and other websites**

ContourHD 1080p Helmet Camera

Update 9-16-2010 This is no longer their top of the line cam the new one is based on this camera but includes a GPS and tags your images with location. You'll need their viewer to see the map movement as the video plays.

Update: 7-2010

Tonights episode of Dirty Jobs showed this camera strapped to a head strap for the host, Mike Rowe, who was 408 feet above the cement floor decending & window cleaning in Hawaii. Troy chickened out on the first 100 feet so alot of the contour HD footage made it into the show. By the 300 foot balcony they got troy on the ropes but his hair got snagged in the safely line and had to get his second "shearing" on Dirty Jobs it was also filmed on contour HD cams 300' above hawaii. The quality was as good as the cable company could deliver in their 6:1 re-compression of HD. A full HD viewfinderless camera has value when you must get the shot.

using a sandisk 16GB microSD card and the maximum detail [1080P] + best quality I could get 3 hr, 6 minutes of video recorded with battery leftover. If you use the lower resolution setting the battery may be the limiting factor I have not tried that yet.

I bought this to produce a bluray disc of a police helicopter team, using a gyro stabilized canon professional camera in back and wanting a 2nd angle up front. This comes with an adhesive patch that sticks to the side of the pilot's helmet to give a 135 degree wide field of view. The integrated rails on both sides permit the ultimate flexibility in mounting the camera, and second options for this cam are car mounts, etc.

The quality is GREAT. The lens is the downfall there is some pincushion effect due to the inexpensive lens and wide angle. I'll deal with it for the price and the shots you can get with it, plus I can trim out the distortion in post editing.

One note the output is .mov which is fine for macs, but for pc's you will need to transcode if you run premiere pro cs4 from adobe as it does not import .mov natively. Perhaps that is a good time to clip the edges where the bent picture is most noticable.

Another factor to like is the simplicity. With gloved hands you slide the top forward to record and back to stop, with a beep to start and and double beep to stop it's very hard to mess up except for your horizon, which is why there are detents and lasers.

Detents and lasers?

Yes, there are detents in the event you mount it on the right and left hand side of a helmet or rotate it in a mount. The 2 lasers can be turned on to tell you what is level with resepect to the imager. This is helpful when you rotate it but you must manually keep track of the bottom of the screen (below the laser points ) as you rotate it, otherwise your output will be upside down.

For the price, you simply can not beat it. Buy a 16 GB sandisk micro-sd card to go with it Sandisk 16GB Microsd Card Note that they have a low packaging option which the card is inside a plastic carrier and inside an ESD bag but no box or other trash with it that goes in the landfill smart packaging.

One of the other great applications for this is taking HD video where you otherwise would NOT take your $3K camera the beach the water park etc. You won't get the absolute best quality but you will get 1080 p hd that is playable on macs or pcs in native players!

Another great use is for children. It's easy to use, inexpensive, and highdef. For the kids who are beyond the toy grade cameras but not ready for a professional unit, this fills the gap. Adults will love its simplicity. On or Off no fancy buttons to press, and everything complex is set while attached to the computer.

Finally there is my use have a 2nd angle view for use with NLE systems. You can now do a/b video fades by time syncing the output from this camera with your primary cam. Be sure to expose something that will sync the two that gets recorded on both at the start of shootng.

I'm only deducting a star becuase of the pincushion effect of the lens. I realize for this price you are not getting an HD lens, and I realize that HD will show any defects, but a few more dollars in the lens would have made this 5 stars it is oh so close. Be sure to pick up extra memory and batteries if you plan to use it at maximum definition because it makes some big files fast.

I bought this camera primarily to be used for motorsports (autocross, track days, time attack, etc.) but took it on my recent ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado. I'll update the review once motorsport season comes around.

With the GoPro HD and ContourHD 1080p coming out around he same time for the same price point I did a lot of research on both. I was already biased against the GoPro having owned the original Hero Cam Wide.

Mounting

--------

The quick sliding of the GoPro is pretty simple, but the parts that you have to screw and unscrew are difficult. The screws were hard to tighten and it's too easy to lose the screw and/or nut. I also managed to break one of the mounts by dropping it a bit too easy to break in my opinion. Getting the correct angle by stringing the screw mounts together was a challenge as well.

I like the ContourHD mount a lot more. It just slides on and off and locks into place. While skiing, I was able to slide it off and hand it to my friend so he could take video of me. Using the included goggle mount, the video was pretty steady as long as my ski goggles were on snug. Never worried about it sliding off.

If I were to have gone with the GoPro, I would have to get a ski helmet. It would not be as easy to switch and I feel it looks and feels obtrusive if sticking out to the side, top, or front. The ContourHD, when goggle mounted, sits slimly along my head not far out so that it feels like an antler. And since the goggle mount sits flush, I always know that what I am looking at (or at least slightly to the left or right) will be what is filmed. This would not be true of a camera that is chest-strap mounted or sticking farther out to the side.

Pointing the camera up/down was difficult at first but became easy to work with.

Viewing angle

I found the GoPro to be too wide. I love having a wide angle lens for point of view sports video, but the GoPro Hero Cam Wide just seemed so wide that it would be distorted (to reiterate, I have not tried the GoPro HD). The ContourHD was wide enough to have a large field of vision, but not so wide that things looked distorted. I've also tried the Kodak Zi8 camera which I feel has a great viewing angle for youtube type videos but not great for POV sports videos.

Video quality

I was really impressed with the quality. Everything was really smooth with no artifacts. Any higher video quality and I don't think they could have kept this price point. It does have a rolling shutter, so I would occasionally get the jello effect if constantly over uneven snow. But I believe this is true of most cameras in this segment. The only cameras that won't do this, as far as I know, are some point and shoot cameras or camcorders which usually don't offer the same helmet cam functionality.

The colors and lighting seemed okay. Hard to tell as I was skiing and everything is white, but nothing seemed "off". I went night skiing in Keystone Colorado and the video didn't turn out that great there. I doubt any camera would be different though given the poor lighting conditions.

Audio quality

Not great. All I heard on my skiing videos was wind noise. I don't see any other way around this though and I don't think the competition does either. I'm just going to add music. When I'm still and talking though, the audio comes out clear.

Operation

The thing I like the most is how simple it is to use. Hold down the power button to turn it on/off and slide the switch forward to record. The display on my GoPro wasn't useful and I was never really sure it was recording. When helmet-mounted, you can still feel the switch on the ContourHD is moved forward. Also, when it's on, the slider reveals a big red sticker that says "REC" in big letters. With the GoPro, you have to look at the tiny display which can be really difficult to do when the camera is strapped to your head and you have all your gear on. And while the slider switch on the ContourHD can be difficult to turn on with heavy winter gloves on, it is near impossible to press the GoPro's tiny buttons.

I also really liked the beeping system. 1 beep lets you know when the camera is turned on or recording. 2 beeps lets you know when the camera is off or stopped recording. This is really useful when helmet mounted since you can't see the camera and it's usually close to your ear. This beep system helped as well when my battery died or the camera automatically shut off due to inactivity. I forgot to turn it off once and I heard 2 beeps while on the chair lift. Even though I skipped this in the manual, I knew that it turned off by itself.

The camera allows you to switch between 2 modes. I chose 1080p @ 30fps and 720p @ 60fps. It would be nice to switch between all modes without having to preset them in the computer, but realistically, I usually won't need more than 1 mode in a given day.

The on off button is small, and since I'm constantly worried about running out of battery, I always turn off the camera when not recording. Maybe they could just make this one button (anytime it's on, it's recording and anytime it's off, it's not recording)? It also takes some time holding it down to turn on/off. 1 or 2 seconds less would be adequate.

There is no display on the camera or a viewfinder. Again, displays aren't really as useful as tactile buttons when mounted to your head. Other POV cameras don't have a display either for simplicity. Camcorders, flip cameras, and the Kodak Zi8 have displays but they aren't meant for the same type of things the ContourHD is. The lasers to orient viewing angle are a great compromise. And I like that you can rotate the lens. I can see this being useful if you need to mount the camera sideways or upside down.

Construction

The ContourHD feels very sturdy (anodized aluminum). It's water-resistant(not waterproof) and still worked even when I fell in the snow. The GoPro does have the added benefit of the waterproof case not only in terms of water damage but impact damage as well. I'd hate to drop my ContourHD on concrete or scratch the lens with a flying rock. If this is an issue for you, consider the new, somewhat pricey, waterproof case. For my uses though, this is not a deal breaker.

The mounting mechanism seems sturdy as well and the plastic mounts feel high quality. Again, I was able to break a GoPro mount.

The ContourHD isn't shaped like a traditional camera like the GoPro is and I feel this is more condusive to helmet mounting and POV sports videos.

The record switch provides good resistance, but I accidentally opened the back cover of the camera when I switched it on. The camera was still safe though.

The Hi/Lo switch, On/Off switch, battery door cover, and microSD slot are all behind the back cover. The back cover is easy to open and is tethered. The tab holding the battery in seems flimsy, but really isn't.

The camera is light enough that it wasn't too noticeable when goggle-strap mounted.

Battery

The included battery lasts a fair amount of time, but depending on what you do, consider picking up a second battery. I didn't time the battery usage, but I left the house with a fully charged battery and was able to finish an almost full day of skiing without it loosing charge. Keep in mind that I would turn off the camera when not in use. Also consider the cold temperature in which I was using it (25 35 degrees).

Personaly, I prefer proprietary batteries to AA's and such because they seem to last longer and are easily rechargeable in the camera. I had problems with the GoPro Hero Cam Wide's batteries. The camera seemed to turn off after a while if it didn't have the right battery. The GoPro HD has a proprietary battery now.

The camera does a good job of turning itself off when it is not in use. I forgot to turn it off and after several minutes of not recording, it turned itself off and gave me 2 beeps to let me know it did so. The camera also gave me several beeps when it turned off due to the battery being drained. I was able to switch to my back up battery with little interuption to what I was doing.

Memory

I bought a 16GB microSD card so that I can take many hours of high quality video. I would have prefered regular SD since I already have several of those cards, but I'm sure this contributes to the ContourHD's small size.

Computer interface

I didn't use this too much. I like to transfer my video's on my own. On trips, I just back up the video's on my netbook which doesn't really have the processing power to edit such high quality videos. The interface seems nice though and I was able to switch settings easily with my netbook. I would have preferred to switch some of the settings on the camera without a computer, but I think this would overcomplicate it.

Overall

I'm really happy with my purchase. It made skiing with my buddies a bit more fun. I would ski with the goggle mount and we would stick together. If I saw a jump or terrain park coming up, I would watch my friends and get the action on video just by looking at them! I've taken video of them before with my point-and-shoot camera but that's harder to do when not mounted.

First person view without anyone else around is good for my own memories, but not really exciting enough to share. Small jumps don't really look like jumps. I don't do the terrain park but I'd imagine grinding rails or big jumps would look amazing in first person.

The quality is great. All my friends were impressed. I really didn't worry about operating it or having enough memory or battery. I was worried about shaky video at first or dropping it in the snow, but after my 1st (of 4) days skiing with it, I stopped worrying. I had a fall on my second day and not only did the camera survive, but it made for a pretty funny POV video.

I'm really looking forward to using this for motorsports. It should be easy to switch angles on my car (front view, wheel view, rear view, etc.) given the simplicity of the mounts. And I won't ever have to worry if it recorded like I did with my GoPro or other cameras I used with a traditional on/off button.

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This is a video of a couple of laps around the John Rose Oval shot at 10 PM under artificial lighting. I thought that the images were good with expected wide angle distortion.

I purchased this camera to record my speed skating at the John Rose Oval in Roseville, Minnesota. Most of my skating sessions are from 9:20 to 10:25 PM. The lighting is similar to a baseball or football field. I had some concerns about reviews that said that this camera was not that good in low light conditions but the images looked good to me.

In terms of ease of use, I don't think you can really beat this camera. The instruction manual is microscopic and you are up to speed on the available controls within a very short period of time. One of the frequent criticisms of the camera is wind noise coming through in the video. It turns out that you can preset the sound level with the software that comes with the camera as a download off the MicroSD card.

I had the most trouble figuring out the mounting system because it was not obvious that it was stuck together with velcro and I did not know how much pressure to exert to pull it apart. I also did not have any goggles that seemed to work, but used an old belt that I cut down and strapped outside of my cap.

After shooting the first video, the playback on the editing software did not go as smoothly as using other software that I had on my computer. The downloads to Facebook and YouTube went very well.

All things considered this is a high value camera that produces quality video. In my case I am using it at night in cold weather and it performs flawlessly.

Read Best Reviews of ContourHD 1080p Helmet Camera Here

Great camera for the money. Have used the camera a few times on my 06 cbr 600rr and the video couldn't be clearer or smoother. The product seems very durable as i've already dropped it once onto the pavement and no damage only a small scratch on body. I was worried that the mount might fall off at high speeds on the highway but not the case at allvery secure on my helmet. Easy to start recording and stop recording. High upload speed on my macbook probut when I was trying to upload on my friends much slower dellthe computer just could not handle the high quality video and the video came out REALLY choppyunwatchable even. So make sure you have a computer that can handle 1080 videos. Also the program they include to upload and edit the videos(I believe it's called easy edit) is completely useless when editing 1080 videos as the video plays VERY choppy and VERY grainy when using the software I use imovie and it works very well. One complaint about the camera which im sure everyone knows about is the wind noise. Anything above 35 mph and you get lots of wind noise. I put some tape over the mic hole and it helped a little but still WAY too much windnoise. I'm gonna try to put one of those foam things that go over earbud headphones over the mic hole and see if that does anyything. They need to have the option of an external mic. But, other than the wind noise which affects ALL similar camera's this is definetly a great helmet cam.

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I have been shooting first person action videos ever since I got my hands on my first sony handycam video 8 back in the 90's. Fast forward 15 years and numerous video cameras later, I bought a compact Vholdr Contour 1080p after testing and comparing all wearable HD video cameras presently available at our local stores here in Southern Calironia. The need was brought from the fact that I had to get rid of my habit of using my bulky, yet trusty, Nikon D90 DSLR when both photos and HD videos when I go snowboardng, longboarding and mountain biking hehehe... :p

Pros:

Fluid HD Video on 720p at 60 frames per second is the main feature that I love about this product. 1080p at 30 frames per second is just an extra bonus / icing on the cake for me.

Lens view angle is perfect. Wide and not annoyingly distorted compared to the GoPro.

Easy, simple & practical controls on board the camera

Size, weight, design & build are of the best materials and make given its price.

Mounting accessories are solid and secure.

Cons:

Sound quality is mediocre. I dub in a soundtrack on all my action videos anyway.

Exposure and resolution setting tweaks can only be adjusted through a computer device.

It would be nice if it was an on board adjustable feature.

Kit does not come with a wall charger (charge through computer USB)

Kit does not come with a protective case/pouch for storage.

Camera does not have a standard screw hole for tripod/monopod mounting (Universal mount sold separately)

Easy Share software is ok, but to be honest, iMovie is a better and simpler way for Mac users to share/edit videos.

Overall, I recommend this device to those who enjoy capturing first person perspective action oriented sport/activity videos. The Vholdr Contour 1080p is indeed the industry standard to date.

RCA DRC6338 8-Inch Portable DVD Player

• Built-In Stereo Speakers
• Built-In 3-Hour Rechargeable Battery
• Car & Ac Power Adapters
• A/V & Headphone Output Jacks

This unit has served my family well for over two years.

It has been dropped, kicked, vomited upon, covered in milk, slammed shut and open and still chugs along.

I get the occasional "invalid disc" error, but what should one expect with DVDs that are treated like flying discs (aka Frisbee ©) by toddlers and 4 year olds. A simple open and shut remedies the problem 9 out of 10 times.

The AC adaptor cord became frayed and inoperable, but this was due to operator abuse moving it to and fro from autos, and houses, and boats, and planes (no trains yet). This was easily remedied by my local Radio Shack © geek.

The battery still holds a charge for an hour or so after two years of a beat down by Dr. Destructo and her sidekick.

For the price offered and for my intended use (abuse by little ones) it is a fantastic buy and highly recommended. If you seek audiophile sound and video perfection the term "RCA" should never enter your keyboard.

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This product worked for one year almost to the day. My daughter used it practically every day and during those times, we were very pleased with the product. Still, I expected a few years use. I noticed other reviewers had the same problem I did with the machine unable to recognize the DVD format. I, too, paid over $100. Thank God for Amazon. From now on I'll do the research before purchasing any item.

Read Best Reviews of RCA DRC6338 8-Inch Portable DVD Player Here

Received this dvd player as a Christmas gift in 2008. By June 2009 (six months later), it stopped reading older discs, giving me a "No valid disc" error. By September 2009, wouldn't even read brand new ones. Save yourself the trouble and go with a different brand.

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I'm in the same boat with others...it failed to work after only 6 months. I had no problem with getting customer service by just calling the phone number on the warranty card and they took my Target credit card statement as a receipt when I lost the original. But now I have to ship it Buffalo NY to get it repaired or replaced, with a 3-4 week turn around. Annoying. Will not purchase RCA again if I can avoid it.

If you're like me, you've owned half a dozen dvd players that stopped working reliably. I have never had trouble with this player failing to read a disk. I don't use it every day, and almost never run the player without it being plugged in. So, that might be the difference. The screen is only 8" x 4", and the sound is not very loud, but it has a head phone jack, and I have been happy with it.

Contour Wearable Camcorder (Black)

Questions I often get~ Where have you been? You don't have one of these yet?

I know show me some footage you say! You must check the site for some great videos people have made from just quick clips some with no editing at all to full on short movies. I recommend that because there is not enough room to describe how cool this wireless and very light camera is to use but I'll try! I'm a customer not an employee... and "i am pc!"

Camera is so light and versatile I've used a basic piece of Velcro strapped to my cap visor during golf, stuck it to my bike frame, velcro'd to my motorcycle kickstand, strapped it to ski pole to check a wasp nest, and of course it serves great as a plain ol' helmet cam too.

Someone even stuck it to an RC Plane. Even on their dog for a dog cam view. yup! Set yourself free!! no wires means you will not have to worry about much except wiping out while catching your buddies on film.

With the flick of the glovable slider on/off switch and audible sounds and aiming lasers you are able to basically use it with your eyes closed or even place it where you can't see it during filming. Its got a supermic as well it will pickup a pin dropping ;o) All which can be adjusted when you edit/censor your movies even add music.

The build quality is very durable and can take impact. Trust me ;o)and the adhesive with supplied mount is semi permanent you may have to use a crowbar to take it off but you do not have to worry even at well ~ unsafe speeds. Basically you can be creative on where you place this camera knowing it will film for over an hour+ of footage at a time. Battery life will last about 3gb or more of video on a good charge.

Package comes with microSD card but Sandisk premier 2gb card is best to use with this unit. This battery should be charged by separate charger which seems to super charge the battery, usb charge by a pc is not going to help you get out there filming quick enough. Specially, when you need 2 batteries for a full day of mtn.biking, or Snowboarding so you still have juiceafter you warm up and stop wiping out. The packaged items that come with camera is a good starter kit with a mount, cam, sd card, battery you have software(which VholdR updates with cool new features every so often) which assists you in producing your video to the VholdR.com site for sharing. Yes, they have a producer hub for you to share your videos.

Oh yah, the desktop software also supports _mac now. of course "I AM PC!"

My VholdR carry along always ready ALLDAY bag contains: 2 batteries and 3 2gb sd cards since camera software does not yet support larger sd cards. Which really is not a problem because 2gb cards are cheap. Cabela's #2 scope cover for lens, extra stick on mount(never know where you might be)

Quality of video for this unit is not HD but captures quality STABLE videos when moving fast. At slow captures like walking or filming a party its just like any other camera. Some lighting issues may occur depending on where you are filming at high speed, i.e. Night time, shadow/bright light changes.

640x480 is still a fine size which uses less space on SDcard, it sure would be nice to be able to toggle resolution WHEN larger SDHC card support is there.

My VholdR has been thru rain, mud, dirt and has so far over 4months has been such an enjoyable experience i can easily recommend to others.

VholdR receives additional "way cool marks" for providing Desktop Software to help with managing movie uploads. Software updates and firmware updates prove they are not just a camera maker. Oh did i mention a cool site to share your movies for free?

Overall experience is that this is not just a camera so two swollen thumbs and two purple toes up for this gem of a camera from me!

Ok enough typing... check for yourself get out there and shoot its almost snow season get your angles dialed. Where you been?

my best examples would be ~ thatsMOCKFOO on VholdR website btw, i have no idea who that nut is!

~ go get some videos people!VholdR Wearable Camcorder (Black)

My only negatives are,

* 2gb max microsd support(not a big deal) after cutting up videos i find smaller clips are easier to manage anyways.

* When the battery dies if you are still in ON mode your video is not closed so the last video clip could be corrupt. So I changed my habit until that is figured out.

* Making shorter clips is easier to manage I've found. Just accept turning it off then on about an hour into video or gauge your battery life like a gas tank. You can check how much battery and sd card is left by pressing the button btw.

* Lighting changes from super dark shadows transition to super bright sections of trail may take a short while for focus depending on where camera is mounted. Not many cameras can handle this anyways.

These are minor negatives but prevent a 5 from me.

Still a super camera for a such a light wireless and reasonably priced for good action video camera that i won't mind thrashing a bit filming in the elements. This is a rugged camera which you can capture action in ways you may not with your bulky thousand dollar HD camera. Like strapping it to your snowboard or your motorcycle kickstand, or how about your mountain bike pedal? Escape from the paradigm of the helmet cam.

well, this camera is amazing.

my first action camera was the atc2k, which i still own.

i loved it since it was small, durable and i could make videos from the coolest angles.

this camera is pretty much the same, with a few improvements and a few drawbacks compares to the atc2k. it all depends on what you want to do with it.

1. size and weight great. small, light. perfect for what it needs to do.

2. controls i like the big record button. quick. comfortable. perfect for those "i gotta get this shot" moments.

3. lasers and rotating lens AMAZING! i love this! one of the most annoying things in the atc2k is the fact that you cant rotate the lens, and need to edit the video and flip it after you are done. the lasers help you align the camera. cooool!

4. mount much easier than the atc2k, but the drawback is you cant put it on your handlebar or your arm. only a helmet or a flat surface.

5. comes with a memory card. sweet!

a few other missing things that would make this product a 5 star:

1. waterproof. resistance means nothing.

2. option to change video quality and such

3. a screen to replace the confusing LEDs that tell you the battery status and memory card status.

so if you want to take videos of crazy rides on your bike this is the one for you! perfect!

anything more "all around" get the atc2k but remember that all around things always have drawbacks.

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The Quick Take: It's pricey compared to the competition, in some cases twice as expensive. Video quality is OK, not outstanding and not HD. It is not waterproof but can get splashed on with no ill effects. Memory has a 2GB limitation (other cameras have 32GB capability!). Battery life is not exceptional and uses a proprietary lithium ion battery. vHoldr software is not that useful and is buggy on the Mac platform. My 13 year old nephew though it was awesome, I thought it was OK but way too expensive for what it offers.

The vHoldr is one of a number of video cameras in the "sports cam" or "helmet cam" genre. It is intended to be used in action situations, such as extreme sports, where capturing video using a conventional video camera or video capability of a point and shoot camera would be difficult if not impossible.

The vHolder box contains the camera, a 2GB microSD card, a 15-inch USB cable (which may be OK for laptop use but is far too short to be useful with a Tower computer that's on the floor), Lithium Ion battery, helmet mount with leash and manual. The vHoldr software for PC is included on the microSD card and is also available from the vholdr website. A Mac version is finally available.

Some people strap the camera to their dog to get a first person point of view. Other people use them to capture video of various activities such as skydiving, motocross, bicycling, snowboarding, etc. The usage of a camera like this is limited only by your imagination.

The vHoldr is a fairly compact design, measuring about 3 3/4 inches long and about, 1 1/4 inch wide and about 2 1/8 inch tall. The casing is made of aluminum with plastic side rails which are used for mounting the camera onto a variety of pricey optional mounts, such as a handlebar mount, or the included helmet mount. The camera has a fixed focus lens and a 90-degree field of view (which is great.)

There is a simple control system consisting of a large sliding recording on/off switch on the top and a small push button on the rear of the unit to power it on and off. The sliding switch could be made easier to use if it had a ribbed area to create a more grippy surface. Its quite likely you might have gloves on your hands and the ribbing would provide a better tactile experience when turning recording on/off.

The rear (back) of the vHoldr slides up and then down and out to reveal the microSD slot, Lithium Ion battery compartment with plastic locking arm and USB port. The battery locking arm if of questionable durability and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it snaps off one of these days.

There are three LED's that provide various indications: power on, charging state (only visible when rear door is open) and memory usage. The LED's change color between red, yellow and green. For many color blind individuals, discerning the color change of the LED's will be impossible thereby limiting their usefulness.

There is also an LED at the front of the vHoldr that, when lit, indicates that power is on. The vHoldr also incorporates two laser indicator lights to help you orient the camera by adjusting the lens orientation and mount positioning during the power on sequence.

Video is captured at a resolution of 640x480 and the quality is acceptable in moderate to bright light outdoor situations. In low light the quality diminishes greatly. There is no image stabilization so depending on the method of mounting the camera, you may not be happy with the constant jerky movement of the video. However since the field of view is so large, essentially a wide angle lens, the jerky effect is less than it would be otherwise.

The microphone is extremely prone to picking up wind noise making it mostly useless for situations where wind will be an issue. Covering the microphone hole (located on the bottom of the vHoldr) with tape is an option but doesn't help much.

The software provided is abysmal. It provides no way to export the video except to "share" it on the vHoldr website and only once it is shared, are you able to email a video somewhere. If you don't really want to share a video, you're out of luck. Of course, you can pull the video file right off the memory card but on a Mac, you can't view the video in Quicktime since the codec used by vHoldr is not compatible with QuickTime at the time of this review. On a Mac, you can use the Open Source software VLC to view the videos produced by the vHoldr. On my MacBook with 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, I had constant problems with the vHoldr Desktop software crashing, freezing up and generally misbehaving.

The bottom line is that this camera captures video of average quality. It's not HD. It performs pretty well in lower light situations. There is no way to format your memory card in the camera. In fact, you can't really format the card unless you purchase a microSD adapter and a separate card reader that hooks up to your USB on your computer. In addition, for people with large hands, getting at the microSD slot to insert or remove the card is quite a challenge in dexterity. You can't download video to your computer if the vHoldr battery is depleted even though the USB cable provides power to the camera. The Camera must be "ON" and connected to your computer to enable downloading. It's ridiculous because if you've just spent several hours capturing video, you're probably going to have a dead battery and you then have to curb your enthusiasm for watching the video until your camera can charge the battery enough for you to transfer it to your computer. And vHoldr does not even provide a wall plug USB power adapter so you have to let your computer USB charge your camera.

I feel this camera is overpriced and does not present a good value particularly when you factor in the exorbitantly priced mounts and adhesive pads. There are similar products, notably the ATC5k Oregon Scientific ATC 5K Waterproof Action Cam Flash Memory Video Recorder with 1.5-Inch Color LCD Screen, Still Image and Web Cam Capabilities (Blue), the ATC3K Oregon Scientific ATC 3K Waterproof Action Cam Flash Memory Video Recorder with Web Cam Capabilities (Black), both by Oregon Scientific and the Tachyon XC (which takes up to 32GB memory cards and comes with a remote control) by Tachyon Inc., that cost half as much as the vHoldr while providing similar video quality. By the way, forget about getting spontaneous videos quickly because the vHoldr takes a full 23 seconds to boot up before it is ready to capture any video.

Pros:

Aluminum casing is durable but scratches

Captured video is adequate.

Decent low light performance

Very wide angle of view

Cons:

Expensive

Extremely short USB cable

No image stabilization

Difficult to access microSD card

Not waterproof

Expensive accessories such as additional mounts

Memory capacity is limited to a 2GB card.

No built in way to erase or reformat memory card

Microphone is subject to extreme wind noise during movement.

Takes 23 seconds to power on and boot

Power adapter is not included

Other cameras to consider

ATC5K by Oregon Scientific

Tachyon XC by Tachyon Incorporated

UPDATE 1/2/2009

I felt compelled to update my review because my satisfaction with this camcorder has diminished from what I wrote. Two main issues are the ability to easily or conveniently mount the camera to anything and the other issue is the difficulty formatting the memory card. Formatting the memory card cannot be done in the camcorder. It must be removed and mounted via a USB memroy card reader to your computer. Yeah...if you don't have one you'll have to buy one. Big hassle. And concerning the mounting of the camcorder; because of it's odd shape with the "rail" system, it is extremely difficult to fashion any sort of homemade mounting solution. About the only thing I've been able to come up with so far is to attach a piece of velcro to the cylinder of the camcorder and attach it to the matching velcro on whatever you want to attach it to, It's not totally secure and can wiggle a bit but at least it gives you a bit of flexibility other than buying their expensive, single use mounting discs. I would honestly have to rate this only 2 stars at this point.

UPDATE 7/10/2009

OK, vHoldr has now introduced a new model thus this model has been reduced in price to $129. I still would not buy it since it has so many issues which I've already documented. But many people will find it attractive at the new price point. It does provide a pretty good value now at $129.

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I have strapped VholdR on my dog, using tape, in order to demonstrate the camcorder in action. The video is shaky, especially when Savannah runs, but I think the results are brilliant. Obviously the results would be better if taken by a person on a bike, skateboard, ski etc. to eliminate shaking while walking. I think VholdR is a fun gadget and I will be inventing new ways to use it. However it is not a replacement for a regular camcorder.

Software would not install properly on my Vista, but it is not necessary, as files can be uploaded directly via USB. To those who are frustrated with charging via PC, you can get an USB charger adapter for faster charging.

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One word comes to mind ... WOW!

This is a very well thought out unit. There are some CONs which I will get into later in this review, however I wish to focus more on the PROs. This little gem is small, light and very easy to use. The laser aiming gave me a perfectly pointed and level video, right out of the box. I purchased this to record what I was doing while in a Kart in the hopes of helping my driving capabilities. Only after one use, I am now seeing and hearing (for the first time) mistakes or lack there of, through every turn and down every straight-away. I also used it as a hand held video recorder to capture some of the action of another heat from the sidelines; a bit cumbersome but still very useable.

I must say I have no experience with other types of helmet cams, but unless you want wires to route, remote recorder and batteries to hide or a bulky looking box sticking out of the top of your head, I think this might be the perfect solution to capture the action. I do wish it had the capability of a remote microphone so as to be able to make comments during the video recording. You can yell with a full face helmet and not hear it on the video.

When I was first "getting to know" the cam, I found references to wind noise problems (in my case it does not cause problems) but the cure is to place a piece of tape over the microphone. This would not usually be a problem, but where is the microphone?!? I could not find anything that even remotely looks like a mic and could not find anything in the user guide or online to point out where it might be hiding (just in case).

If you decide to download the video via the USB port, be prepaired to go and get a cup of coffee or beer ... it takes almost as long to down load through the camera USB as it did to take the video. Use a reader to transfer the videos, much faster (only a few seconds for 20 minutes of video).

The vHoldr Desktop is a nice piece of software for viewing and very limited editing but if you want to do anything even remotely creative or burn to DVD you will need to get some extra software that converts .AVI correctly. Windows Media player does not (in my case) even show the video correctly.

In any event, if you decide to get one, you will probably need a few extras ... BUT ... Enjoy it! It is fun!!

*********

PROs: very light and unobtrusive, close to 2 hours of video on 2 GB storage. Battery 2.5 hours, but memory and battery both replacable at the track, or the slope, in just a few seconds.

CONs: resolution could be higher, memory not capable of more than 2 GB, not remote microphone capable, online problem support limited to news groups and some Q&A's, supplied video editing software great to watch but could use improvement. AVI format causes problems sharing video with friends.

T-9 Russian English Electronic Translator.

MY GIRLFRIEND IS FROM UKRAINE, DIFFICULT COMMUNICATION AS SHE SPEAKS BASIC ENGLISH, WITH THIS DICTIONARY WE CAN "SPEAK" FLUENT AS WE CAN WRITE BOTH LANGUAGES

My Russian fiancee just arrived into the USA. The translator was a great tool to have when taking her to restaurants and also at home and while traveling. Thank you Irina for your fast delivery. It would be almost impossible to communicate without it. Thanks again!!!

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It takes a little bit of time to get use to it. Translation is a little bit off sometimes. However it still does a good job translating words and sentences. Even if it doesn't translate 100% correctly you still will be able to understand. It does translate accurately most common words or sentences.

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With Russian and English each having a very different alphabet it would be impossible for the average person learn the two langauges. The translater dies it for you.

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I ordered the T-9 model because the T-11 was out of stock. However some must have come in because I received the T-11. Based on what I read in some of the T-9 reviews, the t-11 has corrected some of the negatives commented on in those reviews. The speaker must be better because it's now very understandable. The keyboard has the Cyrillic alphabet is printed beside the keys. The screen is apparently larger too. I love it. It has many built in phrases and searches them as you type so you can select one if it meets your needs. It will translate on the fly any phrases you enter that it doesn't have preloaded. I couldn't be happier with this small wonder. I'm sure it will be very helpful during our month in Russia. The controls are so intuitive that I've never read the instructions.

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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Splitter IPTV RF Broadband 6-Way HomePNA Tested & Certified for applications on U-Verse Networks

I have not had any problems with this so far, I bought and installed it about 6 months ago. I have all 6 outputs in use

I had one of these splitters it was installed by an AT&T technician. It stopped working for some reason, which is surprising considering the simplicity of a splitter... but it had lasted for about 3 years.

I tried a couple of splitters from a local big-box home improvement store, and they worked, sort of. Watching TV was fine, but using the DVR controls on some of the receivers was not reliable.

I bought this for about the same price as one of the 1:4 splitters and it has worked perfectly from the first day. I would not hesitate to use this splitter in a U-Verse network.

It comes with a couple of screws for mounting and the splitters feels like a quality component.

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