EasyCAP USB 2.0 Audio/Video Capture/Surveillance Dongle

With all the negative comments about this product I wanted to give it a fair chance. I am writing this review because as a fellow online purchaser, product feedback is very important in making your purchase decisions. I almost did not buy this product because of the negative reviews but for $15 I figured it would be worth the risk and now I am glad I bought it. I have made a couple DVDs so far and it has been trial and error but I am getting better each time. This product works and so far is working great. The hardest part is learning to use the software that comes in the package with the Easycap. Just a few steps to get you going... Put the disc in prior to inserting the easy cap. When it autoruns then click on the install driver option. (There are more in depth directions that come with the product but they were in broken English so I'm trying to help with that.) The directions say to tell it not to search the internet then continue on and eventually you will get to a screen that says it has not passed windows logo testing. The directions say to click "continue anyway". Once the drivers are installed then plug in the device. Complete the install new hardware wizard and then it will probably show another device which is the sound and it should install itself. After everything is finished, then on the disc menu click install video studio. Install that and you are ready to go. Plug in your other device (VCR, gaming system, camcorder etc.)Start up the program and click on videostudio editor, it will load up and then click on the capture tab. Then click on the video capture button. (Be patient here this might take a little bit to load stuff in but it won't show it loading it also might mute your system while the sound is integrating.) There is a format line. The default is AVI, I believe, but you will want to set it to MPEG for DVDs and also so you don't take up all of your hard drive (since AVI files are about 1 Gigabyte per minute of video one hour of video would take up a huge chunk of your hard drive. I know this because I used up my entire hard drive on a couple of videos :-) PLEASE NOTE: there is a little gear that says options. Click it then click "video and audio capture property settings..." MAKE SURE: that under the source tab the TV system says NTSC instead of the default PAL that comes up. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS YOU MAY NOT SEE ANYTHING COME UP ON THE SCREEN AND MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CAPTURE OR BURN VIDEO ONTO DVD. Also under capture tab I clicked the customize button and put 720 X 480 frame size because if you don't when it burns to DVD it will have to convert it anyways. I also put the speed/quality slider bar all the way over to quality because I'm burning family videos and I could care less how long it takes as long as the quality is best. (Adjust this as you see fit). Next step is to click on capture video and when done click stop capture. You will notice the video is displayed in a little square in the top right corner. You can click this and view it. When you are done recording and ready to make a disc click the share button at the top and add media as you see fit. You can also edit menus and backgrounds later on. Also notice there are tabs at the bottom left that allow you to change the TV ratio (I use 16:9) and tabs for settings. There is much more to be said about the program but I have not used all the features and this is only to help you get going so you can enjoy your product. I hope this review has been useful and as I said this is a great product for the price. I have had the product for about a week and I have been working on transferring my family videos to DVD and so far it has been great!

This product is great but not perfect it has better quality then a DAzzle but only after i change some settings in the capture area heres how i did it

1. click capture video but don't capture.

2. click video type.

3. click mpeg.

4. click options, then click the 'SECOND' option.

5. click capture up in the tabs of the options.

6. move the quality meter all the way up to 100%.

7. then click advance.

8. make the quality DVD then scroll to the bottom then click 720 by 620 NTSC or the PAL option right below it if your in Europe.

9. the click display area and make it 16.9 then make the bit rate constant bit rate.

10. keep the audio were it is expect if the bit rate is under or above 224kbps then make it 224kbps to remove static.

11. now download a media encoder because MPEG isn't compatible with alot of programs.

13. Now record i bet the quality will be 999999999X better!

14. now click this review was helpful.

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I recently bought one of these and I think I may know why so many people are having issues with getting theirs working. Many of the EasyCAP DC60s being distributed are cheap, poor-quality (and often broken) fakes. I purchased one of these video adapters as a belated birthday present for my son. The item I bought was listed as "new", but when he opened the package, he found that the CD that contained the software for the installation and operation of the adapter was a Mitsubishi brand blank disk with said software burned onto it. My son assumed that I had simply bought him a used EasyCAP, that the previous owner had lost the original CD and that he had burned a replacement CD before selling it back. After installing the software and plugging in the video adapter, my son found that his computer did not recognize that any drivers for the device had been installed. After researching drivers and fixes to the problem, my son eventually found the website of Shenzhen Forward Video, the supposed official manufacturer of the EasyCAP DC60+. Shenzhen Forward Video has given a statement () claiming that someone has been poorly reproducing and distributing EasyCAP products. In addition to that, it appears as though Shenzhen Forward Video never made an EasyCAP DC60 in the first place; the only model listed on their website with "DC60" in the name is their DC60+, of which production has been discontinued.

I am not the only person to have come to the conclusion that they were sold an imitation. During his search for a solution to the drivers problem, my son found a website () where someone else who had unwittingly bought two broken EasyCAPs and managed to get his hands on a third, working model posted photos comparing the real thing to the reproductions.

If you're looking to buy a video adapter, I would suggest that you stay clear of the "EasyCAP" brand altogether because you may not get what you paid for.

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Great on Xbox 360 just make sure you have all your formats correct and it gets the job done. i dont know why it has so many poor reviews i believe you have to know somewhat about computers before you jump to video editing and capturing this device isnt hard to use at all but you have to know more about computers then sending emails and going on youtube to use it at your full desire.

Check Quality Modern Warfare 2

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Hello All:

I have a security DVR which gives me direct AVI extracts out of its USB port, but without audio. So my project was to find a way to video capture extracts from the DVR. I bought this EasyCap. Had to make several passes with the WinXP driver install routines until all of EasyCap's drivers installed. Then I installed their video capture software. I was able to get sound but only got fuzz in the video display panel. Then tried Win XPs Movie Maker. Same thing albeit more frustrating. Movie Maker would lock up after each attempt. Next, I went out on a video capture software hunt and tried several other products which had trial downloads. No luck and I was almost at my wits end. My last stop happened to be nchsoftware, who offer the Debut video capture software. And the basic version is free.

Unbelieveably, after a little bit of fudging, the video feed from my dvr showed up in the Debut display on my pc. This amazing software lets you record in any of multiple formats: vcd, avi, mp4, etc. There are a couple of quirks, not so huge though. One is that in the 'tools' options to adjust the device I have to keep changing the video input format to NTSC_M each time I launch Debut. Culprit is EasyCap which keeps defaulting to PAL_B. Not sure why PAL_B was chosen as default while marketing to the US. Secondly, while recording I can see the green audio bar moving in the Debut display panel but cannot hear the audio.

After I 'stop' the recording session and replay the newly created file from 'recordings' on the menu I have both video and sound in the file.

Hope this information will help you too. Saved my day. And I recommend a robust donation to nch software for the free version of Debut. Alternately, buy the Debut Plus to support the company. They have a huge line of other video related products.

Hope this info helps you and good luck.

Ahmed

USA

American Audio Pocket Record SD Digital Recorder

• Portable High Quality Digital Audio Recorder
• Specially Designed For Voice & Audio Recording
• Stereo built-in condenser microphones
• Support high quality 44 KHz WAV and MP3 recording formats
• Stereo audio inputs

I agree completely with the other reviewer Siena. This device works very inconsistently and can not be relied on for any recording. I would have said cannot be relied on for "serious recording" but that should be assumed. This device simply can not be relied on for anything. You don't know when it is going to engage and work and when it is not going to engage. There's supposed to be a way to "pause" recordering but what it does is shut off the device. Because it is digital, this means you have to reboot which takes at least 12 or so seconds and by this time you have missed what you want to resume recordering. This is only one example of what's wrong with the device. It sometimes changes tracks on its own and you lose your place where you were recording. When you do get it to work, the play back volume is extremely low. You could not play it back to a group in a room because anyone more than five feet away wouldn't hear it, even if it you turn it all the way up to a setting on the device of "20." And after doing so, the device defaults to a lower volume setting of "16." You get higher volume with a handheld microcassete recorder. Unlike Siena, I found an 800 number in their instruction booklet labeled "customer support." This is anything but "support." When I said that I was having problems understanding the operation the person who answered kept on repeating to "read the instructions." I said I did, but it still seemingly did not always work. He said they were not there to teach how to operate the thing but only to "troubleshoot problems." He said they didn't have time to help with the operation, "only troubleshoot!" I said I was indeed having such problems but he kept repeating to "read the instructions we only troubleshoot." The instruction booklet is very poor. It is full of typos, is not paginated but in many places refers to other pages by page number and you don't know what the heck they are refering to. This is indeed junk. Do not buy it. It appears that this device is made in America. Figures! No wonder we're losing the trade wars.

UPDATE: I bought an Olympus VN-5200PC recorder. I recommend it. It does all of the things that the Muscians Gear recorder claims to do. And it does them easily and consistently. It has a pause button for both recordering and playback. The instructions are simple and only took me a few hours to understand and operate. The instruction booklet is easy to understand, has charts showing the menu options and explains what they do. There is a website that explains things even more fully. There's an 800 number for customer support, but I haven't had to use it. And all of this for one-third the price of the Muscians Gear recorder. The Olympus is made in China, the Muscians Gear in the U.S. As I said, no wonder we're losing the trade wars.

FURTURE UPDATE: February 27, 2010. I have to give another update. I put the American Audio recorder aside for a while since using my Olympus VN-5200PC. But then I thought, why not try it again. It's worse! The screen now reads on all folders and all files "FULL." I can't even record on it! I went thru all of the intructions to delete, but nothing works. Stay away from this product and anything else made by this company that calls itself, American Audio!

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I bought this once. It was so inconsistent in playback and sometimes

it worked and sometimes it didn't. I tried emailing the manufacturer

who has a fancy website. American Audio. Email kept getting returned.

Then I called them. It was a long distance call since they don't have

an 800 number. When a support guy answered he said he didn't know about

that product and someone who did would call me back. They never did.

Luckily I can return it to the distributor I bought it from.

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May 2013 update:

I just bought a second back up unit and it works just as well as the original. I strongy suspect the negative reviews may have problems caused by slower storage cards or even user error. Keep in mind that this works best with WAV files. If you want to record MP3s, I'd buy something else.

I sold my fancier Tascam unit after getting larger unit. But I am keeping this unit, as it really does a great job with the included mics. I recently recorded a vocalist backed up by a 2000 pipe organ and once again the unit performed admirably.

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I bought one of these about 5 years ago, and at the time there were not that many to choose from. I did make a recording of a 2,000 pipe organ in a large church. The CD is only sold in the gift shop, but more than 500 copies have sold with no complaints and portions were aired On a nationally syndicated radio show devoted to organ enthusiasts.

One of the benefits of this unit is that it has two built in microphones of fair quality and two additional microphones on long cords that plug in the top of the unit. It is also possible to use all four microphones at one time.

I used the two external mics that come with it for the CD material and the nice analog volume controls to adjust them.

One big CON is the terrible manual. I had a hard time switching from MP3 to WAV formats, even after trying to find out how in the manual. I FINALLY figured out the problem I was having with the WAV vs MP3 setting. The display shows the setting (MP3/WAV) of the sound file being VIEWED on the screen, not how the NEXT file will be recorded! SO, for example, if you make one recording as an MP3 and then set the next one as a WAV, the display will still show "MP3" and not change to WAV until it displays the file recorded as a WAV file. Not the best way of doing it, in my opinion.

Those who have had inconsistent results and corrupted files may have used too slow an SD card. You need at least a class 4 card to maintain the write speed. Again, today you can do better, but it sure got the job done for me. For radio news work, podcasting and even some casual music recording, the easy to adjust manual knobs and the external microphones are a real bonus. I'm debating buying a second one just for the mics!

I think you need to be a bit of an enthusiast to really enjoy this unit. If you simply want to push a button and make a recording as simply as possible then newer models from other companies may be a better bet.

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I still can't figure this machine out because of its inconsistency. I wish I had seen the other reviews. Don't buy it.

Save 65% Off

I have read all of the other reviews. I have used mine extensively for over two years. I can't review the pause function during recording because I never pause during recordings. I have recorded symphony orchestras, church choirs and orchestras and get excellent results, on the level of the zoom H2. Mine came with exterior condenser microphones that are excellent, producing good fidelity and clarity. I self record my own music performance. I have never lost a file and the recorder has never jumped to other tracks. My advice to others is to do all of your file management of your SD card in the recorder itself. While I take the SD card out and put it in my computer to upload, and the computer window wants to "fix files", never do that with your SD card. Never delete files from your SD card using your computer. Delete all your files using the recorder.

Yes, other recorders may be better. Nothing in the $50-$100 price range compares to this product, however.

Western Digital 80 GB SATA internal hard drive with cool and quiet operation

These drives now run at a 300 mb transfer rate so a jumper on pins 5 & 6 are needed for SATA 150 users. Other than that they run great and are quiet.

A very fast & quiet hard drive! Don't forget to put pins on jumpers 5 & 6 ! I had to, To get my board to read the drive! Other than that No problems, Super fast, Very quiet and a low price! A drive that is worth buying!

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This drive is a SATA-300 hard drive. They (2) replaced IDE drives and the speed is unbelievable. They are noticeably faster and much quieter. As a note, this drive is a 300 SATA drive, so a 300 controller is preferred although not necessary. If the drive is attached to a 150 controller, it will not spin up unless jumpered to a speed of 150. Conversion from IDE to SATA (this is a Windows machine) requires the SATA drivers to be loaded to Windows before the drive is copied.

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This disk replaced a failing Western Digital drive of the same capacity that was failing. The Dell system ran significantly faster with the new drive vs. the old drive.

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Using item for security system DVR without any problems so far. I was able to format and plugin and its perfect.

TiVo Premiere TCD746320 (Black) with Product Lifetime Service, Expanded 317-Hour HD Recording Capac

no monthly fee , like using with just dig tv over air and internet connection with netflix etc.. extra space nice ,, looking to buy another,, also can send to other tv's via rf through another dvd vcr recorder...

Dotz DCS750AN Cord Straps - Multicolor

I purchased these colorful "Dotz DCS750AN Cord Straps Multicolor" to mark some thicker computer cables. They are doing the job perfectly!

The item is very colorful! The tags fit in well, and they are reusable like advertised. Be gentle with them though, I've had one break now because I pulled the stem a little tight while bunching up some cables.

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Cerevo LiveShell PRO - USTREAM, LiveStream, YouTube Compatible Professional Grade Live HD Video Bro

The quality is better than the first version but it still has issues with wireless streaming to providers like uStream, Elite Live Broadcasting and livestream. It works good when streaming from a LAN and the h264 with aac is a plus but I'd rather stick with streaming from my pc until they correct that issue.

Lorex LW2003PK2 Live Snap Video Baby Monitor with Two Cameras

Lorex LW2003 LIVE 'snap' Video Baby Monitor

Since the video review is not very detailed, I want to add a few more comments. First, I absolutely recommend this monitor. I've listed some specific strengths and weaknesses below.

What I liked:

1. Good range. In my two story house I got decent coverage throughout. The signal was a little weak when I stretched it to its furthest possible range, but I never lost the picture.

2. On the small screen the picture is crisp, with good color. You will never have to wonder what you're seeing. Look carefully at the image on the video I took of the outdoors and you'll see a crisp blue autumn sky with colorful foliage.

3. I think the portability is a key feature. The monitor can be removed from its base and slipped into a pocket as you move around your house. Very nice!

4. You can add cameras, all of which show up on the monitor. You can then select which camera you want to "zoom" to on the screen. Hopefully you won't be monitoring four babies at once, but the capability is there.

What I would like to see improved:

1. Customer service! I always try to test this during a review, since it tends to be the "Achilles Heel" of modern commerce. I first let the customer service rep (Asian, but very understandable) know I was writing a review and had a specific problem I needed solved (see below). It became clear immediately that the rep was not familiar with the product. After about 20 minutes he admitted he could not solve my problem, but he promised I would receive a return call or email within a couple of hours. After ten days I have heard nothing. Unacceptable!

2. The monitor is promoted as a camera which can take snapshots of your baby, and the advertisements feature beautifully lit photos of babies. This is bogus. The camera has a whopping .3 megapixels. This is perfectly fine for the small monitor screen, but trying to use it as a camera to photograph your baby will result in a blurry, pixelated photo if you try to even print it 4x6. It puzzles me that Lorex even included a microSD card and adapter for you to transfer your pictures to a computer. You wouldn't really try to photograph your beautiful baby with a .3 MP camera, would you? Which brings me to another point . . .

3. The reason I called customer service was the image from the camera when I took a snapshot was not only rotated (easily fixed) but reversed. For instance, any printing would look backwards. I'm not sure if this is peculiar to the sample I received, but it's annoying to be sure. Yes you can fix this in a photo editor, but you shouldn't have to. I have no idea what's going on, and neither did customer service. The image is fine on the monitor screen, and the problem only shows up when you transfer a picture, which you are unlikely to do anyway given the poor resolution.

So let's sum up: I really like the Lorex Baby Monitor and I would definitely buy it. I take off one star for the failure of customer service to respond to my problem and the misleading pictures which imply the monitor can be used to take good quality pictures. If you purchase it with the idea that you are only monitoring your baby (pets, etc) and not capturing lifetime memories, you'll be very happy.

We have owned this monitor for about 48 hours now and wanted to provide our first impressions quickly.

First, we have previously owned a Summer Infant video baby monitor with our first child two years ago. We were not happy with it. The sound wasn't great and the video eventually went out on it after about a year of use. With our second kid we decided to get another video baby monitor and looked for one that supported more than one camera. Let's just say that there isn't a high quality video baby monitor out there that I have found. I'll start with the pros.

Pros:

Video quality is as good as its peers. It won't wow you, but it serves its purpose. At night it has pretty good range and is more than adequate.

Little interference. We have cell phones, wi-fi, cordless phones, an audio baby monitor and many other wireless devices and we have not had any interference.

Range. Pretty good. We had the camera at the front of the house and were able to get a signal at the back. It was probably 35 feet away and had 4 5 walls in between.

Usability. The buttons are laid out well and intuitive. We like the form factor kind of like an old school candy-bar-style cell phone.

Two-way communication. It works when you can get the 'up' button to work (see cons).

Cons:

Build quality is subpar. The plastic is kind of cheap. The buttons are not responsive. The menu button and the up/talk button take multiple attempts to activate. It is as if the plastic buttons do not align properly. It can take 4-5 attempts to activate the menu at times. Very annoying. When scrolling through the menu the down button works perfectly but the up button works erratically. Often I just end up scrolling through the entire list using the down button. The other buttons, 1-4, left/right, power don't seem to have a problem so it may just be this particular unit. It makes me wonder if we will get a full year of use out of the monitor before it goes belly up, though.

VOX does not work. The monitor has a setting called VOX that only turns the monitor on after it detects a noise. It doesn't work on ours. We have power save off as the instructions indicate. We have put it in an empty room (i.e. quiet) and turned on the VOX to its lowest sensitivity (highest noise required to activate) and it just cycles on almost immediately after turning off. It just cycles on/off continuously. When setting it to its highest sensitivity we see no difference. We have turned VOX off and just use the power save feature (video turns off after a preset amount of time).

Audio. It is ok. Without VOX there is a constant light hum since the audio is always on. It doesn't get super loud either (not a big deal for us). No interference in the audio is a plus, though. The speaker is placed on the back of the unit. When you don't have the receiver in the cradle, the speaker can be muffled when you set it down. It will not stand up on end, so you either set the monitor down on the speaker or on the lcd screen.

Cradle. The cradle is a little annoying. The cradle has a male end of a mini-usb that the unit plugs into to charge. The slot the unit slides into on the cradle isn't really tight so it takes a little finesse to get the mini-usb to line up on the unit. Not a big deal but isn't as easy as we would like when checking out the monitor late at night.

The monitor is ok. Not great. I wish there was a high quality video monitor out there. I would definitely pay up for one instead of going through a new one every year.

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So far I like this baby video monitor.

The video quality is great

Night vision works well

It works even with my WiFi 802.11g, 2.4 GHz cordless phone, 2.4 GHz wireless speakers and a microwave oven.

Battery life is good. I've had the receiver on for 5 hours and the battery indicator is down to 33%. This is with VOX and Power Save both off.

I dropped this 2x on our (hard) floor and it still works (phew).

I expecially like the 2-way communication. I don't use it a lot to talk to our baby. I found it to be useful when my wife is with our baby and needs to tell me something. Not only can I hear her through the handheld monitor but I could reply! It's like having a video walkie-talkie.

Uses a micro-USB (I think) connector for power. This is the same connector used by some electronics (like my old Garmin nuvi 350, my Logitech Harmony 550 remote, etc). If you want an extra charger in another room you could likely use one you already have that came with another product.

The camera has a rechargeable internal battery. I find this convenient when I want to temporarily move the camera (i.e., to keep an eye on our baby when in her swing) without fussing about power cords. I don't know how long the battery lasts as I only use it like this for a few tens of minutes.

Wish list:

Support multiple handheld receivers (so more than one parent can monitor the baby). I have not seen any digital video baby monitors support this.

It would be nice if the camera can be mounted on a tripod to make it more portable (i.e., bring it to my home office when bring the baby's bassinet there, etc).

I wish the handheld had a flip-out stand so I can prop it up while away from the charging base. This would be nice to have but not that critical for me.

What I don't like:

The plastic looks and feels cheap

The silver logo (not red and black as shown in product pictures) looks even cheaper -sort of like it was just spray painted on it (like an engineering project or a cheap Chinese knockoff... heck those even look better sometimes). I know this is less important than the technical features but still, appearance does matter. The monitor gives off a cheap vibe in my opinion.

Volume on the handheld monitor is kinda low

A crib mounting bracket would be nice to have. I considered mounting the camera on the wall but it was too far from our baby (and she does not typically face the wall!). Instead, I strapped it onto the crib myself but will have to move it once the child gets older and can reach it.

What I hate:

Sales and customer service is a joke! I have never seen live sales chat active and I've been checking for a month or longer. I sent an e-mail to customer support and nobody replied. I also left a voice mail for sales support and again no reply. [update 11/22/2011: Now tech support seems to be more responsive. I inquired about a replacement charging dock and received a prompt reply]

Recommended?

Sure! I still recommend the product but all bets are off if you need technical support.

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I felt that I had done the research and that I made a good choice. I should have known that with all wireless technologies there are weaknesses. This unit operates on the 2.4-2.6 Ghz band the same as all the wireless routers and phones in my neighborhood. Lorex also stated that going through walls would be different for each application, This was the case for me, I am in the next room and only have drywall and doors but the signal was weak. It was so bad that I would only have intermittent reception at best. The video was clear when it did work but the audio was choppy.My old fisher price monitor was clearer. When I called Lorex, all they had to offer was to move the camera around which made no difference. Since this is a safety monitoring device I had to opt to return it and to do more research on video monitors. I also noticed people mentioned in other reviews about the speaker being on the back. This is a problem when you set it down because you can only face it that way when out of the charging craddle.

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After our second daughter was born September 14th, 2010 we decided to purchase a video monitor. After several hours of reading reviews and researching online I decided to go with the Lorex LW2003. The primary factor in deciding to go with the LW2003 were the good reviews of its predecessor, and the many features the product description touted, primarily the distance it advertised from the base unit.

Upon un-boxing it I felt as though I had made the correct choice. It appeared to be well built and the design just seemed better than our neighbors several year older Summer "night and day." The screen size was certainly much larger at 2.4 inches and the display unit was more like a cell phone than the larger unit of the Summer night and day. Upon turning it on I discovered that the underside of the glass covering the screen either had a piece of something in it or the screen had dead pixels. It was difficult to tell which, but I think it was probably something under the glass. I could have lived with the display issue and had planned on it. However what I could not deal with was that the advertised 450 ft of distance capped out at closer to 15 feet out our back door, approximately 30 feet from the unit. I realize that the 450 ft is labeled as (clear-line-of-sight) notwithstanding this my neighbor's much older, and much less expensive Summer "night and day" unit gets reception from several hundred feet away, across the street, through two houses and into our kitchen. Juxtaposing the performance of that unit with my newer Lorex2003 is very discouraging, particularly because the Lorex advertises a greater distance, and yet just a few feet beyond our back porch the monitor display reads, "searching for base unit." I can only assume that the wireless technology utilized for its "interference free digital signal" does not transmit nearly as strong of a signal.

If distance outside your house is not important this may be an ok unit for you. For my family with a new born and an active 3 year old who likes to play in the back yard it is not sufficient. For us it is nice to be able to step out of the house and have our monitor with us in case the baby wakes up while we are watching our older daughter play. This unit does not allow us to do that, while others, namely the Summer unit discussed above clearly does.

So I boxed it up today and I will be dropping it off at a UPS drop off tomorrow. I am thankful for Amazons return policy, but I won't be purchasing another Lorex. It looked like a good design, but when it comes to electronics function is always more important than form in my book. I will probably go with a Summer unit, or maybe the phillips unit.

Toshiba DR430 DVD Player/Recorder - 1 Disc(s) - Dolby Digital Virtual Surround DTS

The DVD recorder is easy to use. Picture quality of recording is excellent. I'm very pleased with the product. I would .

I love this product. Will recommend it to everyone. The dual recording mode makes it easy to record on DVD-R and DVD+R. Wish I had this product sooner.

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Did not know until receiving the unit that it needed an external tuner.

I could not find one anywhere that would work and no techs could suggest any.

I have kept the unit and am using it as a dvd player only.

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Geniatech iGrabber One Touch Video Grabber For MAC and PC, Push Button Recording

I bought this item in order to digitize some old VHS tapes of our wedding, some Hi-8 home videos of our travels, and some exercise tapes my wife wants to play from her laptop instead of a VCR. The item is very basic but provides the necessary connections to hook up our VCR to import the video footage. One of the interesting features is that it can automatically detect and work with just about any video format such as NTSC, PAL and SECAM, which is great if you have videos in more than one format. Here is the breakdown of my own experience with this product:

PACKAGING:

Professional package containing the iGrabber device, instructions, and a software installation CD-ROM. The instructions had a lot of screenshots and not much text information available for each step, but was sufficient enough for me.

INSTALLATION:

Big Problem: The software does not readily install on a Macintosh because the vendor improperly packaged the installation program instead some error (-1) appears and the installation fails.

The Solution: Locate the Installer Package and choose Show Package Contents (right-click to see this option), you will see another package inside it with the same name pop up in a new window. Double click on that inner package item and all works as it should. The company should fix the Package within a Package problem as the average user won't figure out how to get it to install.

PERFORMANCE:

The iGrabber performed very admirably for a product at any price. I am able to import VHS and 8mm Camera video at full resolution and full frame rate with no problems. The software does sometimes have a hiccup starting the second or later recording but is resolved by restarting the application. I can accept that in a $30 product. When the software is running, you can see the video and hear the audio in the application window. Simply press the button on the iGrabber to instantly initiate the video capture process and click your mouse in a special window that pops up to stop the recording when done. When capturing video, you may not hear the audio and the preview window will not update in realtime anymore this is normal and won't affect the quality of the video you are capturing. You can choose the video/audio format for compression, the directory location for automatic file creation, the resolution of the video being captured, and you can tweak tint, contrast, brightness, white and black levels, too. All the various settings are remembered each time you use the program.

** IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that your hard drive be able to keep up with the video/audio stream or the audio WILL get out of sync badly because of hanging, jerky video output. My internal drive was an SSD that had slow write performance and was not able to keep up with the 6Mbps H.264 file being created. I used the external drive I use for Time Machine backups and had perfect performance and no audio sync issues when using that fast media to create the MP4/H.264/AIC video files on. **

This software does not have any way to crop the video you are capturing, therefore, I recommend that you capture the video at full size and frame rate using the Apple Intermediate Codec (uses between 15-20Mbps, and then use another software program to edit, crop, and otherwise transcode into the format you want for the highest quality final project files. Wondershare Video to iPod (or Video Converter for Mac) is a good suite I use for just that purpose that was developed for Mac OS X.

OVERALL:

For the price, you can't beat this product. It could use some polishing and some bug fixing, however, it is very usable in its current form. It exposes numerous codecs for compressing the video and audio. I recommend H.264, MPEG 4, or the Apple Intermediate Codec for the video and uncompressed 16-bit, 48kHz audio. Slow or fragmented Hard Drives or SSD's with slow write speed will cause problems with this product where the audio gets out of sync and the video is not smooth, so make sure your system is fast enough to handle the data stream. There are many settings you will have to explore and tinker with on your own as the documentation is extremely limited and lacking and from other reviews, support is nearly non-existent. The user interface and menus are fairly intuitive.

This came with a CD that does not include the correct drivers for a Mac (and yes, I have TWO Macs that are supposedly compatible with the software). Actually, I don't know that, because the CD won't even open.

After scouring online for the MyGica website (do NOT search iGrabber, search "MyGica"), I finally found the drivers--they hide it very well. Click the link "Video Capture" on the Left Hand side of the screen, and you will see a download for Mac.

The other problem is that once I installed the software and was asked for a serial number, the serial number to use was NOT the one they said to enter on their website! I was sweating bullets, repeatedly entering a serial number from the CD sleeve that did not work (I didn't want to have to pay postage to send it back AND a restocking fee).

Finally, I tried the serial number they said NOT to use and it worked! Jeesh!

In response to a comment --->>>***AGAIN. Do NOT follow their directions. Try any of the serial numbers you see on all the packaging. One of them will work.

Finally, if you have a Mac with a built-in camera, once you hook up the VCR and open iGrabber, go to the top menu, click on "Digitizers," and select "iGrabber."

Supposedly (after extensive research on the web), setting your Video Setting to capture as JPEG is the most reasonable capture option. And warning--test the Sound!! Increase your Gain (under the Sound (Audio) Settings) if the sound is coming out too low from your computer.

Do not expect amazing Hi-Def results from the video you've captured--not gonna happen. Artifacts will appear on the bottom of the digitized video, and I don't know if that happens with every digitizer out there or not.

It would have been REALLY NICE if the company had included a manual that was actually helpful. Why did I have to figure out all this stuff from trial and error?

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I needed to transfer some old Hi-8 video and VHS to my computer. I found this and thought I'd give it a try as it was the least expensive of the options I had found. Set up took under 3 minutes. There is no manual, just a read me file (where obviously English was not a first language) but it is pretty self explanatory.

So far I have digitized one 2 hour tape from an old Sony Hi-8 (circa 1996). The video on the screen during the transfer is VERY shaky and grainy but when you're done and play it back the video is just fine. I had no issues with quality or sound on the one tape I transferred. I did not adjust ANY of the settings in the software.

Then I imported the video to iMovie and it all seems to be working fine and the quality appears to be the same as the original. (Maybe a tad bit better). I also ran other small programs (iCal, Firefox) during the transfer with no apparent issues. I'm running 10.5.8 on a 2.66GHz iMac with 2GB RAM, so nothing fancy.

It does exactly what it is supposed to do at a great price.

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I received the unit earlier than expected. The packaging was great and the item was as expected, until I attempted to install. The installation DVD would not work on my mac due to an error that told me the install DVD was damaged. The Windows drivers are included and worked fine after what seemed to be a lengthy install. After searching through the very poor manual that was included, and all of the installation files, I had to exhaustively search online for the mac driver only to find it under a completely different manufacturer name. The product now works but only after finding the correct drivers. Support for this product is non existent, so if you have trouble, you need to go search for the mygica website, not the name igrabber as expected.

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I was fixing to spend more than $100 on a USB video capture device for mac. I'm very glad I did more research and ran into the iGrabber for Mac. For the price it did so much more than I expected. It performs well and let's you choose your video and audio settings before you record. I simply recorded what I wanted, then I uploaded it into iMovie to edit, and turned my VHS cassettes into DVDs.

Excellent device at an excellent price.

Rode Boompole Microphone Boom Arm

• Lightweight aluminium constructionLength Collapsed: 2.8 feet (855 mm)Length Extended: 10.6 feet (3232.5 mm)
• New ultra smooth extension and retraction system
• Easy to use locking mechanism
• Precision balanced
• Compatible with NTG1, NTG2, NTG3, NT4, NT5, NT55 and M3 microphones

Online information about this boompole is inadequate, so I thought I would write a quick first impression review.

I just purchased the Rode Mini Boompole as a handy little boom for run and gun audio. It will mainly be used with my new Tascam DR-100 portable digital recorder and external XLR mics, mostly Rode NT-4 stereo and a Sennheiser MKH 40.

My other pole is a Gitzo, but not carbon fiber. So I am working with cheap gear, not the fancier booms that full time production audio guys use.

The Rode Mini Boompole is made from aluminum tubing. It arrived with evidence of residual manufacturing oil. I wiped it down with no bad effects. I'd characterize build quality as better than a lot of indy filmmaker gear, which features a lot of improvisational engineering dollies made with skateboard wheels and such. Machine work on locking collets is good looking and everything works well. When you disassemble the pole, as I did in an attempt to load a mic cable internally, the machine work in thread cutting is not as polished. But it is completely acceptable in a $100 item that works very well.

The Rode Mini Boompole appears large enough to feed an XLR connector internally, but this turns out not to be the case. The pole's throat is slightly too small, which appears to be a design oversight. Still, the smallest extension on the mic end of the pole is much larger than my Gitzo, which is barely large enough to thread a permanent cable before the XLR connector is affixed.

The Rode Mini Boompole does have machined channels at both ends where a permanent internal cable could be installed if desired. It also comes with velcro straps used to secure a cable externally, which is what I did when mounting my Rode NT-4 stereo mic.

I like the dense open cell hand grip material covering the entire first section of the pole. The rubber end at the base is a bit under engineered, if someone is going to rest the pole end on the ground during breaks in production. Just a flat disk of rubber less than a quarter inch. I would expect something a little more rugged and robust.

So far, I have only used the boompole in a noisy environment (high school football). Even without a suspension mount on the Rode NT-4 stereo mic, I did not notice any handling noise, even though I was listening and testing a bit. Likewise, using the supplied velcro straps to secure the mic cable externally did not seem to cause problems.

My initial reaction about weight was a bit of concern, but this turned out to be no problem, even with the largish Rode NT-4 mounted using an internal 9-volt battery in lieu of phantom power off the recorder.

In general, I enjoyed using this boompole. My application is fairly casual, no long tiresome booming. For quick sound grabbing, this is a nice addition to my kit at very low cost. I'm happy with the purchase, and would recommend it to others.

=====

UPDATE

I've had the boom a couple of years, and I like it better now than when I first got it. Why? Totally new application running a boom camera. Running a Sony DSC-HX9V attached to the Rode Boom makes for spectacular shots rivaling crazy expensive cranes and jibs. But the entire setup is super lightweight. I bought my HX9V at Amazon.

For this application, I recommend the full length 10' Rode Boom Pole.

A couple of key accessories make this work:

Giottos MH1004-320 Mini Tripod Ball Head. This is a tiny ball head that is all you need to connect the HX9V to the Rode Boom.

The trickier part is monitoring. The HX9V outputs video via HDMI while recording, so monitoring is simply a matter of rigging a monitor to the boom pole.

I have a SmallHD DP6 monitor which I attached to the Rode Boom using a Manfrotto Magic Arm and a Manfrotto Super Clamp. This adds considerable bulk and weight, really too much for extended use and also the bulk really makes it difficult to move through crowds without bumping into people.

However, the spectacular lens and image stabilization of the HX9V make for very compelling video. So much so, I am going to purchase a SmallHD DP4 EVF monitor for this rig. The Manfrotto mounting hardware has to go, however. I was not able to find anything through normal channels, so I started looking through bicycle specialty retailers for handlebar mounts. I've decided on a product called "RAM Mounts Roll Bar Mount Kit." It looks very compact, is sized correctly to grip the Rode Boom Pole with a band, it has two articulated ball joints, and a tripod screw that should be perfect for the SmallHD DP4. Plus, I'm hoping the whole device will be rugged and strong since it is designed for jarring off road mountain biking.

A package of Bongo Ties, available from Amazon, used for cable management of the HDMI cable, completes the package.

Nothing is perfect, and it would be great to have remote control of the HX9V, especially start / stop recording. That's the only major downside of this rig the fact that you have to haul the camera down to start or stop recording, which adds a bunch of garbage footage to the beginning and end of every shot. Still, I like it.

One other thing to keep an eye on is EV compensation. The HX9V does not have manual exposure control, which may sway some people to choose the NEX-5n or NEX-7, and the camera tends to overexpose 1/3 to 2/3rds of a stop. I spend too much time checking EV compensation while shooting; I need to figure out how to lock down this setting.

FWIW I actually think the inexpensive HX9V is a better choice for this application than an NEX-5n or NEX-7, which are much more expensive cameras. I plan to buy an NEX-7 soon as it becomes available, but with other applications in mind. Riding the boom pole, the small sensor of the HX9V offers more insurance of sharp focus. Plus the HX9V 1080p 60fps video is spectacular slo mo, apparently the same as the NEX, though I yet have the NEX-7 and have not tested.

The HX9V is spectacular as a pole camera, and also as a handheld steadicam, frankly, another application for which I bought a $12 pistol grip from Amazon. Surprisingly, the audio from the built-in stereo mic is decent also, especially considering the pole cam is frequently used to get in very close quarters shooting where it would not be possible for a cameraman to normally be. One suggestion on audio add a packet of Rycote Micro Windjammers to your kit to block wind noise. I had to fudge mine about a bit, cutting the adhesive patches to fit the stereo mic on the HX9V, but I think the end result is going to be good, though I have not yet tested outdoors.

One final thing: be sure to get a spare battery or two for the HX9V because this is an addictive way to shoot. The HX9V batteries can only be charged in camera, so you cannot charge while you shoot. Because the camera cannot be remote controlled, I tend to overshoot, and the batteries do not last terribly long. If I were a wedding videographer, I'd take at least 3 batteries to every shoot.

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I like rode stuff because you get more than what you pay for. This pole would be fine on a pro shoot, and for about 200 less than a comparatively priced pole from a pro company. Save your money for a good mic, and get this less expensive pole.

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The Rode full size boom pole is an outstanding value in boompoles. I have used the Rode pole on several shoots and I found it easily performed the equal of boompoles costing 2 to 3 times as much.

the cushioned grip end is a nice feature. The joins lock tightly with no play. Both ends of the pole have a removable piece that will allow an XLR fitting to pass down the inside of the pole, so it would be possible to put a coiled XLR mic cable inside. I used it with a Rode NTG-2 and Rode SM3 shockmount.

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Product came as described, it's very lightweight even extended to the full 10 feet with a shotgun mic attached. The shipping started out a little slow because it wasn't shipped right away , but it arrived the first day of the estimated arrival date, so no complaints.

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Worth every penny. I would have rated it 5 stars but the rubber endcap falls off easily and I have trouble keeping each joint tightened.

New Zagall DVR-200 Dual Lens Camera Car DVR that record two scene

Although the features of the camera are attractive, its quality is quite modest. My camera (which I bought from a different seller) came with a dead battery. Its battery is not standard so you cant find it in the market. The manual says there is a motion detection feature but actually there is no such feature. Without that feature, the camera is useless to me. Accordingly, the price is quite exaggerated.

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PHILIPS 1080i UPCONVERTING - MULTI REGION CODEFREE DVD PLAYER with HDMI, DiVX UlTRA, USB DIRECT. Th

• Plays all PAL/NTSCDVDS from any country on any american TV.
• DivX Ultra 6, Mpeg 4 video , HDMI, 1080i Upsampling
• USB Connect, plays flash drive files, Ultra Slim Design
• Composite and component inputs cables supplied are only for composite no optical out just digital coax
• Movies: DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, (S)VCD, DivX, Enjoy enhanced DivX 6 features with DivX Ultra player

I have had a Philips DVP5960 for about 3 years. I bought it to be able to watch European DVD's, and was happy with it except for very slow tray opening/closing. That is, until I recently tried to play a new Region 2 DVD, and got "region error" (on an "all region" player). The manual was unhelpful in solving the problem, but the following "hack" worked like a charm to reset the machine to the all region setting:

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This is not a multi-regional player. It claims to be zone free but I am unable to play zone 2 DVD's without a converter that costs more than the player. The company upgraded this to one that does play region-free. Don't waste your money though a good DVD player if you don't want to watch Zone 2.

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To be brief, I felt this machine does what it is supposed to. Play DVDs decently. The player does at times have a hard time playing DVDs that are old or scratchy and these will stick. If your DVDs are relatively clean and you want good sound quality, check this out. Phillips does make decent TVs and DVD players and though not major top of the line, will be a decent addition to any teenager's bedroom or mom's kitchen. And it's small, and can slide in anywhere. The remote was a bit of a problem in that the batteries were not connecting to the connectors properly and one has to really slap it around but that's probably my lemon. It has an upconverter button and a USB port.

Memorex MB002 Digital Voice Recorder

I wanted a basic memo voice recorder to give as a gift. This was the cheapest one I could find that had a decent amount of features. But, it somewhat shows how cheap it is...

The size of this recorder (according to the specs) appears to be about the same as other competing units, but it is actually a little bigger than it should be. If it was about an inch shorter, it would fit better in your hand. The recording quality is a little scratchy, but my main complaint is that it doesn't play loud enough to hear it without turning up the volume so much that its audio quality is very scratchy.

Another problem is it makes clicking sounds through the speaker when buttons are pressed or options are changed. I would only recommend this recorder for very limited voice memo activities and when you are looking for a cheaper device.

I had bought this unit somewhere else, and the next day it went right back. VOX did not work as described, and the sound quality was worse than the worst worn-out micro tape unit I have ever had the displeasure to listen to. In the electronics world, the word "digital" implies pristine, crisp sound, yet this unit not only plays back as if you spoke through a folded towel, it also swallows entire syllables. Makes me shy away from other Memorex products. I'm amazed they even put such a stinker on the market.

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The price was right. It performs well with one hand and yes it is a little scratchy sounding at full volume, but I put it up to my ear anyway so that others around me can't hear. I just hope it lasts for at least 1 year. That was the lifespan of my last (radioshack brand) voice recorder. By the way, the size is about right. It's not so small that it gets lost in your pocket yet not so large that it won't fit along with your keys and a pack of gum.

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I am using this recorder and I find it very convenient tool for recording contact information while talking to people. Its size and weight makes it a very handy and attractive gadget.

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Okay this is a "value" priced digital recorder. It does largely perform as advertised. The problem is that if you really need a digital recorder, than you will need a better model than this. Otherwise you will find you use this a few times and than it sits in a drawer. Save your bucks and buy something you really need.

VEC TRX-20 3.5MM Direct Connect Telephone Record Device (ADAPTER ONLY)

This interface plugs into the same jack as the headset and not the main line. At first this was confusing. However, once I figured that out all went well. The sound quality was as good as the phone receiver and it was easy to use with my laptop computer. For the cost, this was an unbeatable solution to the problem of recording meetings in an efficent and easy way.

I had a need to record interviews taking place via phone for some academic research that I'm conducting. This is an excellent solution, and very easy to use. I work at a university, on the university's digital phone system. Because this plugs in at the handset, it can be used, I would presume, on any network, digital or analog. It can't be used with a cell phone that I can see, but for traditional phones, you could not beat this item.

I am currently recording conversations on an Olympus DS-30 Digital Voice Recorder Olympus DS-30 Digital Voice Recorder. Of course, consult local and state laws regarding required disclosure the legality of recording phone conversations.

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Did the job it's suppose to while other cheaper ones from ebay failed.

Was worth the extra I think mostly because if fit the rj11 jacks better.

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I received this an hour back and tested by recording 3 calls (2 with a Sony Digital Voice Recorder, and 1 on my laptop through windows sound recorder). The recording is absolutely clear and crisp and it does the job well. The device is very small (smaller than it looks in the picture shown).

The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is while recording playback, when Speaker pause I hear a background hissing sound. This hissing becomes very dim when someone is talking but it becomes louder during pauses. If you play in low volume its not that audible. Overall a good product.

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We liked our first coupler so much we ordered two more! Again, it took less than a week to receive the products. We're using them to record audio in Microsoft Office Live Meeting from Phillips phones and via Plantronics wireless headsets into Dell computers. We're also using them to record into Camtasia Studio 2.0 (the free version). They work fine out of the box. The person with the coupler on their phone is louder than others, but all quality is very acceptable (just like via the telephone only). We are working on the settings within the computer to lower the "coupler person's" voice highs and lows. The device also works fine when recording into Audacity freeware. I like them, too, because they are easy to hook-up. Easy for even a "non-techie" person like me to use.

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Sangean America WR-3 Digital AM/FM/CD/SD/USB MP3 Table Top Radio (Black)

After much deliberation, and as much research as the Internet would afford me, I decided to buy this radio and try it firsthand. As always, I felt safer buying from Amazon because of their fair return policy and outstanding reputation. I knew I was going into this somewhat blindly because there are precious few reviews of this piece anywhere online, and even fewer by real folks like me.

Anyway, I got the product yesterday and test drove it in depth last night. Its first impression is an excellent one. The substantial heft and gorgeous "piano" finish would probably sell a ton of these radios if they were more readily available in stores. Set up was expectedly simple, and the user's manual wasn't needed until later on. Personally, I liked the metal, telescoping antenna mounted on the rear of the unit (where, by the way, you'll find a clean array of additional I/O plugs and the "3-D" sound selector. From every angle, this is a beautiful radio.

The first thing I did after plugging it in, was check a few local FM stations. They all came in very well, which was no surprise given Sangean's radio heritage. Be certain of one thing about this unit: it is a radio first, and then a CD player, audio file player, etc. The RDS feature was a novelty, but not as intuitive or lavish as I was hoping for. I'm not entirely familiar with what RDS normally provides on most equipment, though, and I don't fault this unit for anything in that respect.

It wasn't until I put in the first CD (a standard "red book" audio CD) that I experienced that all-too-familiar consumer electronics letdown. It didn't play. The unit acknowledged that it read the CD and recognized how many tracks were on it, etc. But I could not get it to play any of it. The CD was not suspect; in fact, I deliberately started with a CD that was playable on every piece of CD equipment I've owned. Subsequent discs, however, did work, and apparently with no further problems.

It was while I was waiting for the first CD to play that I removed a promotional sticker the factory had stuck on the front of the unit (advertising what types of media it can play). Where every other manufacturer I've seen has used a static-cling or no-residue adhesive to make sure the sticker comes off cleanly, such was not the case on this radio. The sticker came off with much effort and left behind quite a bit of very stubborn adhesive. This might've been negligible had this radio not been so beautifully finished, and the sticker not been put in so prominent a spot on the front. While this had no bearing on the player's performance, this was pretty disappointing to me.

In playing with the sound options--the part of this unit I had the most interest in and curiosity about--I ultimately realized that even the fine design and speaker capabilities of this radio/CD player are limited by the direction of the speakers and bass firing. In a very specific listening zone, this sounds pretty good. And by specific I mean, I found that directly facing the speakers from a distance of about 6 feet, with some peripheral area to either side, was ideal. Step much further outside this cone of sound, and the overall listening experience is compromised significantly (though the 3-D sound effect lessens the degradation a bit). This is more a limitation imposed by the direction of the speakers, and not by the design or components. But it's reason enough in my opinion to consider a radio/CD player with detachable speakers, unless you're using this on a nightstand or a very small room.

The USB and SD card input options are really fun novelties, and I wish more manufacturers would get hip to this simple technology. But in the end, when you have a unit that already plays MP3 CDs, these additional formats aren't as needed.

In the end, after only a day, I'm sending it back for a refund because of the fickle CD player issue. I'd rather not take my chances on this one. In a nutshell:

Pros:

-product feel and look

-simple set-up and easily moved

-excellent radio capability

-clean inputs and outputs on the back

-telescoping FM antenna

-full function remote

-SD card and USB drive options

Cons:

-Small "ideal listening zone"

-Unnecessarily bright display

Too bad these aren't in your local store where you can play around with them in advance. Hope this helps.

Originally I had been eyeing the Tivoli radio brand because of their tuning sensitivity. I listen to late night AM radio and unfortunately most radio manufacturers produce poor quality radio receivers nowadays; from what I read on HD radio it didn't sound that beneficial to me, signals are said to cover less territory. I also wanted a CD player which meant the Tivoli would come in three pieces too large for my night stand and I assumed it would not play MP3's because the literature made no mention. To top it off I felt the Tivoli was too expensive so I searched for other makes and found the Sangean. Surprisingly, I could find only one professional and one personal review which made me cautious why so little mention/notice? I am also leery of professional reviews as many times they won't say anything negative about a product due to advertising relationships.

After reading the reviews and specs, and finding a refurbished unit, I took the risk and made the purchased. What a pleasant surprise. The radio has a nice gloss black finish and is heavy, actually nicer than the pictures. Sound quality was better than expected even to my audiophile ears. I download favorite Internet radio MP3 interviews and load them to a USB thumb drive which plugs into the front of the Sangean. Control is mostly made from a thin card-like remote control. I highly recommend the item.

ImprovementsSome notes on what I thought could be changed or didn't like but is true with most table top radios these days: blue lit display will dim but is still too bright, wish it had the option to turn off altogether. I think the USB slot should be in the rear of the radio so the cable or drive isn't hanging out front. I don't particularly like being dependant on the remote control, just in case it gets lost. It would be nice to have controls all on the unit. No battery back-up for presets and clock. If you lose power, guess what? You lose clock time, radio presets, and the clock alarm. So, if you set the alarm, lose power in the middle of the night, you might be late for work. Not too smart. Needs a battery backup. One other comment Sangean makes an interesting wireless Internet radio. I would have been tempted to purchase that if it had all the other features of the WR-3. Why not combine Internet radio with AM/FM CD USB?

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I bought this radio for my kitchen, which is a high traffic, high use area. It has great sound but the features are the real sell. I was frustrated because most everything out there was focused on the iPod which I will never own. Also, most of the CD players will play mp3s but not wma format. My collection of thousands of songs are wma. This radio plays mp3 and wma formats from 3 different sources (USB drive, SD card or CD). It also has an aux jack so I can plug my (non-iPod) player in. Now, my kids and I can each have our own music on whatever media we like and just plug it in. On top of all this, it has RDS (Radio Data System) that tells you the names of songs and groups from radio stations that participate. I have always loved this feature on my car radio.

Now for the downside. All the functionality is on the remote. All you can do from the radio is power and volume. I would have liked a little more functionality available on the radio. Also, there does not seem to be a way to make it so the RDS display is the default. I have to hit the mode button when I switch to a station that supplies RDS. This radio is a little pricey but well worth it and much less expensive than the Bose Wave radio that has nowhere near the features.

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My wife and I recently decided to rearrange our living room. Part of the problem was a large entertainment center full of audio components and flanked by two large floor speakers that dominated a complete wall. This made it tough to arrange things how we wanted. The solution was to lose the entertainment center, upgrade to a wall-mounted flat screen television and replace the stack of component audio gear with something simple, self-contained and compact. I had originally planned to replace this "mission control" audio gear with a Bose Wave radio, having marveled at the nice sound from one owned by a friend some years ago. Upon researching the available choices among the competition, I discovered the Sangean WR-3. I suspect Sangean is virtually unknown to most folks. Sangean has long manufactured portable shortwave radios with which I'm well familiar. I also purchased a Sangean WFT-1 wifi internet radio last year and was very impressed with the quality of this product. This afternoon, I received my new WR-3 from Amazon and quickly unpacked and set it up for a test run. This product is quick and intuitive to setup and didn't require any help from the owner's manual. I was completely astounded by the "presence" of sound from this relatively small box. The only similar product I had to compare it to is a friend's Bose Wave radio. Both have fine sounding full audio, but the Sangean has a "3D" switch on the rear panel that when enabled, made a profound difference in stereo separation. It's uncanny how the sound of this product emulates that of a much larger system with much larger speakers. The Sangean WR-3 has separate bass & treble controls which are lacking on my friend's Wave radio. Bass response is strong but not "boomy" and obnoxious. The WR-3 is quite loud at full volume too and has a complete lack of distortion. So, are there competing products that sound better? There may well be, but the WR-3 must certainly rank among the best. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in the way it sounds. Indeed I suspect most users will be just as astounded as I.

The other thing that struck me is the obvious look and feel of a quality product. It's quite an attractive piece with it's highly polished black plastic case and fabric-covered speakers. The display is bright and automatically dims itself after a short time after the last button is pressed. Still, the blue illuminated ring around the volume control and the display backlight remain on even when the radio is off. "Off" therefore may be more accurately described as "standby". For those intending to use the WR-3 as an alarm clock/radio, the constant display illumination may be an issue. Another quirk is that the RDS function of FM reception must be manually enabled by a button press on the remote before it displays artist/song, etc. The included telescopic FM whip antenna works well in my suburban home and I found the tuner to be quite sensitive and selective. AM reception sounds great as well. This model is one of the few that features a real internal ferrite loop antenna for the AM (MW) band. The ferrite MW antenna design performs far better than the plastic-frame wire loop external antenna supplied with nearly all competitor's radios. In fact, the provided antennas became one of the key features that prompted my choice of the WR-3 over the competition. The downside of a built-in ferrite AM antenna is that they are quite directional and may require that the entire radio be rotated for best reception of weaker AM stations depending on the direction from which the signal arrives relative to the radio. For me, this was only a problem with very weak AM stations located well beyond a reasonable listening distance. It's simply much cleaner to have the antennas built into the case than to have unsightly external antennas and their connecting wires. The telescopic FM antenna provided with the WR-3 may be extended just enough to offer good reception in metro areas and may be rotated to hide it if desired. Fully extended, the telescopic whip enabled good reception of normally weak stations well beyond their intended listening area. The FM telescopic antenna provided simply screws onto the 75-ohm type-F connector on the back panel, so a much more substantial external antenna may be used for rural area users in tough reception areas. The tuner itself is most certainly well designed and capable of good performance of weak signals with a suitable antenna. CD performance is excellent with a motorized disc transport mechanism that operates just like an automobile CD player. The WR-3 features an auxiliary audio input jack mounted where it belongs on the rear panel. I connected the auxiliary input to my Sangean WFT-1 wifi internet radio with excellent performance. The combined package is still compact and quite an entertainment package! The 1/8" (3.5mm) auxiliary jack may be driven by audio from a myriad of sources such as a multi-CD changer, portable audio player, etc. A press of a button on the included remote control selects the auxiliary input and the volume is adjusted normally with the large front-panel volume control or by the remote. Incidentally, nearly all functions and features of the WR-3 are controlled by the remote control. The radio itself has controls only for power on/off, volume and CD eject. This may be an issue with some users but appears most of the competing models are designed similarly. The thin-profile remote control included with the WR-3 is comprehensive with all control buttons intuitively layed out.

Overall, the WR-3 is a well-made, visually attractive product that features outstanding sound. It's a great option for those like me who prefer a simple self-contained audio system that compares favorably with the average component system yet doesn't take over the room. There are some very nice competing products from the likes of Bose, Polk Audio, Cambridge Soundworks, Tivoli, Yamaha, etc but the Sangean WR-3 compares very favorably yet is among the lowest priced. It includes some design elements of the best competing models the provided antennas being one most noteworthy. It will be interesting to see if Sangean offers a future version that integrates wifi internet radio reception with AM/FM & CD audio into a single unit. In my opinion, the WR-3 leads the pack where value is a fundamental criterion.

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No problem with reception or sound quality, those were excellent as other reviewer's have stated. The remote as noted by others is required to do anything at all, and if anything the flimsy feel is worse than others have stated. Worse yet is that one large volume knob in front of the unit, this thing overall is built like a tank, but that knob in front feels like it will break off very quickly.

We still would have kept it even with these flaws, but the video display went to all exclamation marks after only about a week or so of use, seems to me like it burned out because it was very bright, abnormally bright from an electronics design point of view. Something voltage or current wise is not calibrated correctly there, I suspect.

It's like, they were 88% done making a really great product, and cheapened out on the last few details, and compromised the whole thing. We sent ours back for a refund, and Amazon return policy is NOT that easy, major pain shipping back because the original box they used to ship to me fell apart.

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Zmodo 8 Channel Security Surveillance CCTV H.264 DVR - Smart View No Hard Drive

it looks pretty good so far. i have only had it hooked up for a day but if it keeps ticking like it is now i will be very very pleased with the product. i have had trouble in the past with similar products not lasting but mere months but hopefully this will do the job and work for at least 3 years for me. it has a lot of features i found surprising and at this time i am very happy with this product. as soon as i get my pan and tilt cameras in and hook them up i will know if that feature works correctly. looking forward to testing that out.

show the perfect clear picture the price was just right the remote could have been better but i can live with that.

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I ordered this unit to record and view my security cameras over my network. It looked like a good price and arrived quickly. After setting the unit up it rebooted over and over every 4 to 5 minutes. Even worse for me it's network access is through Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer only. No access from Linux or Mac.

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I have tried five time ,I have not been able to talk anyone yet ,as soon as I solve my problem i will let you .

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As soon as I go the system going, after installing the hard drive, I though the quality was excellent but after about an hour, the pictures started being blurry and became very static almost unrecognizable images and moving very fast. So, I decided to return the product. My suggestion, pay little extra for something like Lorex Edge or Samsung. My last Lorex lasted me more that 3 years with out any problem. SO, DON'T BUY. Sorry Zmodo..

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy!

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

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

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

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

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

2. Close tray.

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

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

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

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

7. Press ENTER again to save the setting.

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

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

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

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

MPEG FW 300.B.20.A

MPEG HW DB-B2-V01

SERVO FW CB36260

SERVO HW D07V1.1_

VEND HYOP300U

VENDVER 208.F

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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