Gemini VINYL2MP3 Belt Drive USB Turntable

THis product was very great!I also liked the fast shipping.When I got my Gemini Vinyl 2 Mp3 Dj Turntable from the UPS center.I was so happy I jumped for joy! Thanks,

VideoSecu Color CCD Dome IR Security Camera Outdoor Night Vision Wide Angle 20 Infrared LEDs for CC

Unlike other "Night Vision" cameras I've purchased or evaluated this one actually gives night vision that is good enough for home security purposes. In fact the night vision clarity and range are both very impressive. The only performance negative is that the camera has a narrow field of vision which of course does contribute to the excellent night vision range. My camera arrived with (2) circuit board mounting screws missing and one mounting tab severely deformed. One of the screws was rattling around inside the camera. I disassembled the camera, fixed the mounting ear & installed the one mounting screw. The camera works fine (the missing 4th mounting screw really isn't necessary). For home security it would be nice if the camera included a microphone like many of the cheaper home security camera do. However all of the cheaper cameras I've tested are virtually worthless for night vision. Typically the useful night vision range with the cheaper cameras is about 1/4 the range they claim. This camera really delivers the night vision it advertises.

I liked the camera housing. Sturdy and cast aluminium. The wide angle lens is good. It's very clear in the daylight. The very first night I had installed the camera the IR illuminator led's failed about 20 min. after the sun went down. I can not recommend this camera if you want reliable night vision. I'm going to try another brand.

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Archos 5 Sleek Premium Weather Proof Grey Neoprene Carrying Case - For ORIGINAL and ANDROID 32 / 60

If you're looking for a case to protect your Archos when it gets thrown in a bag or a coat pocket then this case is for you. The zipper is much better than the velcro used in a bunch of other cases (velcro wears out faster and has that loud, annoying sound). This case is very well constructed.

The Archos 5 is simply not a player that you just walk around with in your pants pocket. It's a bit too big for that. Mine either sits on my desk at work, in the car mount, or on the mini-dock at home. This case works great for transporting it between those locations because I don't have to worry about dropping it or having anything penetrate the neoprene. It's pretty thick neoprene and provides a bit of cushion.

I would give 5 stars, but the case is a little bit larger than I expected. I thought the Archos was going to fit snugly inside, instead there's a lot of room for it to move around. This may be a good thing for people that want to put their ear buds in the case with the player.

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Onkyo BD-SP809 Blu-Ray Disc Player - Black

• THX Certified
• Supports Blu-ray 3D Playback
• 2 HDMI Outputs for 3D, 1080p, Deep Color, Color, and CEC
• 1080p Up scaling of Standard Video Sources (1080i, 720p, and 480i/p) with Qdeo Technology by Marvell
• Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus Decoding

The brand Onkyo has been around almost as long as some of the other great Japanese Hi-Fi companies (Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood,etc). they have a great reputation as builders of fine quality stereo gear, as far back as the 1970s.

I havent had alot of experience with all their current product line, but checked out some of their AV multi-channel receivers, and WOW, they are built beautifully...I was very impressed,everything weighs like, 70 lbs, the cases are metal, well sheilded, the face plates are heavy machined aluminum, etc...Im happy to see that there is still HIGH QUALITY stuff being built out there, when most mass market brand equipment you see at Best But is just lightweight, cheap, plasticky CRAP. I am a vintage stereo/ hi-fi collector, and was determined when I went shopping to find a Blu-Ray player that had the quality look and feel of a high-end stereo product.

i have some very cool vintage Pioneer, Kenwood,Dual Turntables,that kind of cool, OLD SCHOOL gear...and this stuff is made like a tank...its from the 70s, before the motto became "Lets build everything as cheaply as possible" and most of the DVD or BluRay players, or low priced receivers you see out there are CRAP...they feel like cheap, plasticky junk.They work OK (or NOT LOL), but they just dont look like they fit in with a nice stereo or High End Home Theater system.

If you care about this, and have a high quality stereo /home theatre system, and want a BluRay player that matches the SOLID old school feel of VINTAGE quality gear, or high quality MODERN home theater gear, then this player will probably appeal to you. Its built like a friggin TANK! It has a nice, THICK, black, adonized aluminum face plate, and the whole unit feels like its very well designed and the build quality is fantastic! The whole case is solid metal, and according to most reviews Ive read, the unit is very well damped, and immune to external vibration. it also features a very advanced D to A converter.

Quality wise, Its like an AUDI or Mercedes...or a Lexus...it just feels RIGHT! Its like when you slam the door on a lightweight, crappy cheap car door, and the whole car rattles. Well, there are plenty of DVD/Blu Ray players the mass market stuff you see at Best Buy, Im sure you know what Im talking about! This piece feels like high end VINTAGE stereo gear, heavy and beautiful to look at, and it feels nice, even the controls, everything, has that mmm....nice!....feel to it.

So far, Ive found it works beautifully, both with streaming ( Netflix, etc) as well as playing BluRays and DVDs. The picture is gorgeous, with rich vibrant colors, and the sound is also excellent!

One thing Ive found, none of the higher price,better quality players are "WI-FI ready", you have to pop an extra 60 to 80 bucks for a "wireless bridge" which is just a little box, like a ROKU box size, that basically connects the internet in your house, to the BluRay player. You just plug it into the BluRay player with an ethernet cable, and thats pretty much it: youre ready to GO!

I know some people think this is kind of a pain in the ass...When I first realized NONE of the better quality players have this feature, I was confused...but now, I get it. The cheap players have it built in. My LG BD 590 has WiFi built in, and I actually think that is a real nice player for the money (Theyre still out there, brand new, even though discontinued, for like, 200-230.00 bucks on Amazon.) But this Onkyo player is a whole different thing. Its like comparing a Kia to a BMW! Any of the top players, by Oppo, Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, or Onkyo, DONT have the WI-Fi "built in", so you have to decide if buying the wireless bridge is worth it. At first, I was pissed off, then I said, Ok, WTF, and bought it and hooked it up, and Im very pleased!

People complain that feature for feature, this player doesnt have every single bell and every single whistle it could...so, I suggest compare each player, and then decide what features you really need...for me, again, priority is i wanted a nice, SOLIDLY BUILT quality player, that plays DVDs, CDs, and Blu Rays effortlessly and brilliantly, and with the addition of the necessary WIRELESS BRIDGE, BAM! This player plays virtually anything you can throw at it. So, i would say, this player is DEFINITELY worth checking out! Good Luck, you guys! Sincerely,Bbopman

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I'm not technical. Hooking it up was a breeze to my Onkyo receiver. Yes i overpaid but i bought it for reliability so this should last a long time. Good construction.

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It plays Blurays and CDs so I guess it plays DVDs as well. Twin HDMIs are a real boon, with one output going to the surround sound receiver and the other direct to the 60-inch plasma TV. A sturdy unit in a big case, not sure whether the latter is genuinely necessary or used to justify the price tag. Am going to experiment on the quality of CD playback using the analogue outputs and some high quality hifi interconnects, see if that improves the audio or whether, as I suspect, the Klipsch Reference 42-II front speakers are the audio "bottleneck". Major boon, apart from the dual HDMIs, over the Panasonic it's replacing is the removal of the infernal Pansonic's "touchpad" remote. Someone in Panasonic's parking lot is reported to have committed ritual hare-kiri (sp) over that one....

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Now, I'm not going to buy a Blu-ray player knowing it lacks certain features ahead of time and then bash it for lacking them in a review as that would be stupid.

Since my Samsung television has wireless streaming and does it extremely well all that's required of my Blu-ray player is to have excellent built quality/workmanship, upconvert DVD as best as possible and of course playback Blu-rays. The Onkyo Blu-ray player comes thru with flying colors on two of the three.

The Qdeo processor lives up to its reputation with Blu-ray playback but there's nothing special with DVD playback and at this price it should be exceptional at upconverting DVD. I'm reluctantly returning this player and giving the oppo 93 a try.

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I like Onkyo's new receivers and I have two of their recent ones so I actually am a fan of Onkyo. But, after the fiasco today with this player I had to return it. It wouldn't play the first DVD I put and then it wouldn't eject the disc when I pressed eject a few times. I mean, come on, really? So, I unplugged it, and plugged it back in and then it would eject.

The DVD I put in is standard and plays on all other DVD players I ever had. So, you can't blame the disc. Disc was carefully placed in and did not get stuck. Basically, the unit is a lemon pure and simple.

Memorex MB005 Digital Voice Recorders

Voice Recorders allow you to capture ideas wherever you are and then do something about them instead of forgetting! I have done this for over 5 years now and this is the best machine I have seen out of many I have owned. It has the best mix of everything I would want.

Practicality: One of the few machines with intuitive controls where your thumb is! Size: Perfect for palm and pocket. Weight: Light! Small, easily available batteries too! Memory: 32 mins is ample for many, many ideas.

Features: All the things you would want and none that you wouldn't. It replaces my need for one pocketable machine and another larger one with more memory and features. Manual: Simple, short, understandable. Functionality: Excellent LCD with comprehensive information.

Cons? I don't like things that beep! It does.

Why not five stars? Hey, things can always get better!

If you are looking for a machine that will allow you to always be on the ball and never let inspiration get away, then this is the machine for you.

Still not convinced? Next time someone (attractive!) offers you their phone number, pull this out instead of the old pen (if you have one!) and paper. It's very cute and you look very savvy!

this is the first micro/digital I've purchased. Level of quality is about low to average, but the price is right. The on/off switch could be easier to engage/disengage and the other buttons require a good amount of pressure too, but depending on where you keep it, that may be a plus if you don't want it to do things accidentally.

Size/weight is perfect, mostly one hand operations. VOX works well, although the on/off resets to the (VOX) off position every time you turn the unit off. Another nice feature is the intro.scan, but you have to turn on the function and it also resets itself (to off) every time you turn the unit off. It will take about 20 minutes to learn all the functions.

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good things:its lightweight, -----thin,---------capable of recording many short or long messages.-------volume control has good range of levels.-------read-out has large numbers and handy information------- easy to use and understand -------external mic can be added-------plug for device to hook up to phone and record telephone conversations.--- -------------------------------negative things: sound quality is awful. Long messages sound worse than short ones-----

buttons are too small for big fingers, or for others who have long finger nails.-----Does not come with a case of any kind, in my opinion requires a thin, fabric, or anything type case to avoid small scratches and scuff marks that appear so easily, I got an edge scuffed just getting it out of the package!----

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Truly poor sound quality, inconvenient controls and low-end materials made this a regrettable choice.

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Truly poor sound quality, inconvenient controls and low-end materials made this a regrettable choice.

GPX KC218S Under Cabinet CD Player with AM/FM Stereo Radio and Digital Readout (Silver)

• Slim drawer-load programmable CD/CDR/CDRW player
• AM/FM radio with blue backlit LCD display and rotary tuning
• Adjustable kitchen timer
• Dual front-firing speakers
• Battery back-up remembers time during power outage (uses 3-"AAA" batteries, not included)

I love the fact that it is nice and compact but there is a lot of static and it is somewhat difficult to change from one function to another.The station finding dial has to be played with alot before you can get the station you want. Probably would have purchased a little more expensive radio if I had known. But it does serve it's purpose.

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I bought this as a gift for my mom. I have an older version of this product at home and I have had no problems with it so I was confident it would be a great present for my mom. When she used it the first time the CD player made a constant humming sound that could easily be heard over the music. So....I sent it back and a new one was sent...it was the same. I know there are lemons for all products but I didn't expect there to be 2 in a row. I do not recommend this product.

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I bought this for signficantly less at ALDI, but that doesn't make up for the fact that it is a piece of junk. The first one I got made a rapid thump/thump/thump sound when I played a CD. It seemed to be worse on higher tracks. I exchanged it, and the new one did the same thing. I see here that this is actually a common problem with these units. The radio is OK, but unless you turn up the volume to drown out the CD motor, the CD playing is pointless.

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the gpx under cabinet radio that i purchased didnt work properly, the cd player broke the second i went to use it. the sound was harible and the preset buttons didnt work. i do not recomend this.

YIKES! I've heard distortion guitar effects pedals that had less background hiss than this thing. Too bad I found that out AFTER I drilled four 1/4" holes in my cabinet. THREE CHEERS FOR WOOD FILLER!

This thing is a stinker. If CD players sounded like this in the 80s people would have stuck with cassette tapes. GPX how can you even put out something like this with a serious face? This is not some new technology... it's a CD PLAYER!

The good news is that it yanks out faster than it went in. GPX should reimburse me for my gas and time for selling such a pitiful excuse for a CD player.

SAMSUNG SPH A640 SPRINT BLACK CAMERA CELL PHONE

I purchased the A640 when I renewed my Sprint Plan last July. From day 1, there were little annoying things about the phone: Way too easy to bump the speaker phone button when you are just holding it, no actual Bluetooth ("extra" pay service), REALLY short standby time, etc.

The kicker was when the thing started shutting off with no warning. First it would happen occasionally, then frequently, then it got to the point where as soon as I powered up the phone it went black and I could no longer make ANY calls.

So, with 4 month old phone in hand, I tried to get a replacement. My Sprint retailer in town is not OWNED by Sprint, so it has only a 90 replacement policy, oh and they don't sell that model of phone anymore.

I called Sprint and they said that I needed to take it to a Sprint repair center (the nearest one is 160 mile round trip on icy rural roads), where they would see if they could fix it. I called the repair center and they told me it would be $55 and if they couldn't fix it, it would have to go back to the manufacturer (Samsung). I called Samsung, the current wait for phone replacement on the A640 is 8-10 WEEKS.

So my options are: 1) pay $55 and probably lose my phone for 2-3 months but continue to pay for service (total $150), 2) replace the phone at full price ($200), 3) cancel my Sprint contract and pay the early termination fee of $175. This is all over a 4 MONTH OLD PHONE!!!!

I finally found a Sprint sales store only 80 miles away round trip who was willing to swap the phone for $35. After telling this story, the associate replied, "I am not surprised, I have had 3 of these things returned already for the power issues".

The take home lesson? DON'T BUY THIS PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I chose this phone because I wanted an easy-to-use, basic phone without a mp3 player and all that.

I haven't experienced any of the problems that the other people here have. I experienced the echo problem with another phone, but it was a problem with the network at that location, not the phone. Re the inside screen not turning off in power-save mode, I just tried it and it does turn off when I close the phone, just as it is supposed to. In fact I can see the screen go on when it hits a certain angle when opening. I think that person had a bad switch in the hinge.

So.

The good:

It is small, or at least small enough. It doesn't feel bulky in the pocket like my old Sanyo did.

The black shiny finish is part of the case and won't scratch off, unlike the silver paint on so many other phones.

It sounds fine, but not as good as my old Sanyo. Sometimes I could wish it went louder.

Reception is fine. I drive all over Denver and I have never had a dropped call.

It has speakerphone. It doesn't have a separate speaker on the outside, it just turns up the volume on the earpiece speaker. So I thought it would sound terrible, but it turns out it works okay.

It looks cool, or at least the high-schoolers I teach tell me so.

It is cheap. I got it for $29 when I renewed my plan.

The bad:

There is no silence button. When I attend a meeting or go to a movie, I have to open it up and hit the volume down button about 8 times. A single button that just turned off all the sound would be much better.

The keypad is a little difficult to use. It feels nearly like a flat surface, with very slight grooves to distinguish one button from another. Further, the buttons are not arranged in straight rows; the middle buttons, i.e., the 2, the 5, the 8, and the 0, are dropped slightly. These two things mean it is basically impossible to use the phone without looking. That isn't unique to this phone, of course. What I usually do is put a tiny drop of super glue on at least the "talk" and "end" buttons, so I can feel them and press them without looking.

When you go to the contact list and hit the first letter of the name you want, there is a delay before the screen shows you the names. It isn't a long delay, but it is there.

The voice command capability is versatile, but it means you have to tell it what you want to do, i.e., you have to say "Voice dial." That is the only voice command I would ever want it to do, but you have to tell it that every time. Also it doesn't work very well. I believe the software for that is not actually in the phone. It is either something like a java applet downloaded to phone on the fly, or it is done centrally on some server. The good thing about that is you don't have to (and you cannot) train the phone to recognize your particular voice. The bad thing is that the voice recognition doesn't work very well, especially with unusual names, of which I have lots.

The top and bottom feel nearly identical, so it is easy to open it upside down. If this problem keeps bugging me, I may file some notches on one side of the case, or do something else to let me feel which side is up.

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I got my A460 for several days. It looks good and feels comfortable in hand. It has all the features listed in the website. Voice call quality generally is good. I can hear the other party clearly and other peoples have no complains about my voice. The speakerphone works nice in quiet environment. In noise environment or if both party speak simutaniously echo builds up occasionally , but it's OK most of the time.

I almost loved my new toy when I discoved a few drawbacks (careless design/buggy software?).

1. In the power-save mode, both the external LCD and the internal (main) LCD are activated by pushing a button or an incoming call when the phone is flipped. While the external LCD will eventurally turn off automatically, the internal LCD STAYS ON FOR EVER! This can be verified (unless I got a bad unit) by looking into the slit between the main LCD and the keypad in a dark environment. So the power of the battery is used for the unneccessary illumination of the internal LCD which nobody can see since the phone is flipped. Call this Power-save ???

2. Ok, get back on power-normal mode. When charging the phone, again, both the external LCD and the internal (main) LCD are lit even when the phone is flipped. People like me usually put the phone on charging before going to bed and remove the charging cable in the morning. That means the LCDs are on THE WHOLE NIGHT when nobody is looking at it. Not only it makes no sence to me to let them on when nobody is using it, but also I suspect that the lifetime of the LCD will be greatly reduced.

3. A minor point. When using the phone with a earbud, you have to hold the quick button in the mic for about 5-8 seconds to active the phone and start a voice service. A little too long for me. 2-3 secondes should be better.

I would rate this phone 5 stars if Samsung or Sprint releases an upgraded software to fix the above mentioned problems soon, especially no. 1 and 2. But for now, 3 stars is the highest that I can give.

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I changed phones when adding my mother to my account. At first, I liked this phone, but the more and more I use it, I wish I would have kept my other phone. One bothersome thing: when I receive a call, the phone displays the wrong time displays the time of the last call received or made. You have to turn the phone on and off to clear the memory or something. Another problem: one does not have the ability to tailor the hot keys on this phone as you can with other models. I'm stuck with this phone until I reach my anniversary date and can trade it in. :(

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This phone lasted only 3 weeks before it would no longer power on. Even before that I wasn't crazy about the phone. I didn't like the location of the speaker phone button. I was always hitting it by accident and locking the keys shouldn't be required in my mind.

Sylvania SDVD9000 Portable DVD Player

• 9 Inch LCD screen, portable DVD player
• Plays DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, VCD, S-VCD, CD, MP3, MPEG4, WMA, JPEG
• SD, MMC Card reader, USB port to play all your digital media files
• Built-in rechargeable battery, stereo speakers
• Includes CAR BAG, stereo earphones, remote control, stereo audio output, AC and car adapter, user manual

the video player has good picture quality,and the size makes it just right for travel. battery life is adequate for a couple of movies.

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Recently purchased this and I have been truly enjoying this. I am a truck driver and so when I shut down for the night I just open this up and watch the dvds my son burns for me. Great screen size I got different headphones that were a bit better of a fit for me. But i really enjoy this.

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I was really happy with this device, but about three months after I bought it, it just stopped working and would not read any disc. I assumed it would have a warranty...and it did 90 days:( We just missed it!

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Discs play very noisy...choppy video.....would not recommend at all. Would say to buy a more expensive or higher rated player.

It's been over a year since my purchase and I use it maybe 10 hours a week with no problems. When not using, I keep in a sealed plastic bag to protect electronics from dust. Before loading a DVD or CD, I inspect the surface for dust and use a clean paint brush to remove any particles on the data side of DVD/CD. People who report DVD player failure is likely unaware dust & particle contaminants on DVDs or CDs will cause premature wear and damage on the laser that reads the data. It also causes the scratches you see that are prevalent in used DVD movie rentals. Owners manual & manufacturers of DVD movies don't tell you because they want you to buy a new DVD player (or DVD movie) when your old one quits working or don't play right. When moisture in the air gets inside the electronics of DVD players, they cause premature failure and assume you'll buy a new one, which is why DVD player's owners manual don't say "keep in plastic cover to protect from moisture in air." I play mine over 10 hours a week and have owned it for over a year. Protecting from dust & moisture is why mine had lasted so long. Kkid14701 claims the sound is distorted and video not clear; I get the same problems when I buy bootleg pirated DVD movies. As for inferior speakers, you'll need POWERED external speakers like the ones hooked up to your desktop PC for better sound quality; or headphones with inline volume control to boost the volume. I tried headphones with no inline volume control and it was lacking, even with the player's volume knob fully turned up. Kyle_Jones claims "sudden-death" on his player. Maybe he's unaware someone (his teenage kids?) had dropped it without telling him? FYI most electronics are very fragile & easily damaged from shock resulting from a fall. This player will also recognize MP3 audio in DVD formats, which is how audio 1950s radio drama (complete collection) is sold.

Sony DCR-HC62 1MP MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom

A big part of the reason I bought this camera was for its smooth interval recording (time-lapse) feature. Strangely, Sony's higher end high definition camera HDR-SR5 does not have this feature. I have been quite satisfied with this feature's flexibility and user-friendliness. For some reason, the smooth interval recording has a 12 hour time limit, so if you want to do time lapses longer than 12 hours you have to stop the recording a couple times a day and re-start it and it will go for another 12 hours.

For regular video usage it's a good camera. The 2000x digital zoom, if you haven't guessed, is comically useless (not that I expected anything more). The tele-macro capabilities are pretty impressive.

As others have mentioned, it does not come with a firewire (IEEE 1394) cable that is required if you want to download video to your computer. I knew that before buying it and picked up a standard 4-Pin/6-Pin FireWire cable from Amazon through a third party seller (Phoenixgold) for under $ plus shipping, so not a big deal. I could see how that would have been annoying had I been unaware that this cable was not included.

P.S.

The "audio sample in an outdoor environment" clip was shot with an Opteka .43x fisheye converter not included with the camera. Also, the audio was significanly compressed after I uploaded the video so it's not quite what you would hear straight out of the camera.

Edit:

I added a low-light performance test video to youtube (search for "Sony DCR-HC62 low light test"). There is also a higher quality version of that video at http:// albums.phanfare.com/4434655/2011492#imageID=43138119.

Although this is my first camcorder, i am very impressed with this model. For $300, you get a lot, night shot plus, image stabilize, 25x zoom, many available accessories that will make your productions profession looking. The video quality is really good, along with audio, the colors are true and the camcorder focuses well. The battery they give you lasts a while, but i would recommend the FH70, it lasts a lot longer. Overall i am pleased with my purchase, it got here on standard shipping in 2 days, thanks amazon!

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We wanted a compact, easy to use camera with a reasonable optical zoom and this camera is just that. No bells and whistles (no audio inputs, no manual controls) but easy, nice pictures, and most important it's small. You must get a longer-life battery.

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The video quality is great as is the audio. I use this camcorder for blogging and drum videos and it has not disappointed. Importing footage via firewire (sold separately for 10 bucks on Amazon) is seamless via Windows Vista.

Other than a minimal battery life that comes with the camcorder, it's great.

Cheers

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Great value! If you want great picture quality just less than HD, miniDV is the format. Think again about your priorities before buying a non-HD DVD or HDD camcorder as MPEG formats are lesser than miniDV in pic qty besides their other limitations.

*** The dcr hc-52 is widely available in stores. But look at hc-62 specs(much better resolution) and spend $50 more to get a much better product.

Put a filter over, yr lens will benefit a lot.

Tascam DR100 Portable Digital Recorder

• Four microphones - Stereo Cardioid and Omni Condenser Mics
• MP3 and WAVE file Recording and Playback
• XLR Mic Inputs with Phantom Power
• 3.5mm Line Inputs and Outputs
• Low Cut Filter, Analog Limiter and Auto Gain Control

I purchased the DR100 to record classical musicians on-location as a smaller and lighter replacement for a much larger hard disk recorder and a pair of external mic preamps. I was hoping that the built-in XLR inputs and +48 V phantom power would be all I'd need for quality 2-channel recordings. After some live recordings of professional musicians as well as a bit of bench testing, I have mixed feelings about the unit.

The good: Using the stereo line input, the DR100 is capable of creating very clean, low noise, low distortion recordings. The DR100 uses Asahi Kasei delta-sigma "Audio4Pro" digital converters which are excellent sounding and have a very low inherent noise spectrum and a S/N ratio of better than 100 dB. The Tascam v1.10 firmware upgrade allows for 96kHz-24bit recording using those converters and the resulting .wav files are superb. The recorder can use SDHC cards up to 32GB, with single files of up to 2GB, so long recordings are no problem. The line input matches any nominal -10 dBv preamp or mixer output. The menus are easy to navigate and the file structure is straightforward. The fast USB2 interface makes it easy to transfer WAV files to any DAW. When backlit, the LCD display is quite readable and the peak signal LED is fast and bright. The peak LED lights at -2dB and the bargraph meters cover a range of -49dB to -1dB where the device clips. The display never reads "0dB".

The "not-so-good": Having built-in, phantom powered preamps was one of the reasons I choose the DR100 over the many other available flash-memory recorders. I own a 24-channel, 96k-24 bit "portable" rack HD system as well as a laptop-based 8-channel recorder and wanted a high quality, but small and light system for 2-track recordings that could be used with high-end external mics. The DR-100's built-in unidirectional mics are probably OK for "snapshot" recordings, but are not acceptable for any serious professional use. During my initial testing using both an external small mixer and external mic preamps, (going in through the 3.5 mm line input) the DR100 worked very well. However, the internal mic preamps are not all that great. Although the V1.10 firmware update does provide for 24 bit, 96kHz sampling as well as 44.1kHz and 48kHz, it does not allow for 88.2 kHz recording, which generally is a better choice for final conversion to 44.1/16 bit for publication on CDs. Tascam should seriously consider adding 88.2kHz sampling, even if it means dropping 48kHz.

The preamp gain is adequate for most any modern condenser microphone and many, but not all dynamic mics. At higher gain settings the preamps do have a fairly high internal noise, which becomes audible when the preamp is switched to the "H" (high) setting and the recording level control is advanced into a usable range. This is when the unit is used for classical music recording with a fairly wide dynamic range of 40-50 dB. For compressed pop, and rock recording this is a non-issue. However, I've encountered a much more serious problem (for my use). So far, I've had problems when using the DR100's internal +48V phantom power with several sets of widely available phantom powered mics. I connected a pair medium-output (-70dBV/Pa) ribbon mics and was not surprised that the DR100 did not have enough gain. I then tried a set of "active ribbons" (with phantom powered internal amplifiers and found that everything worked fine if only one mic was connected, but connecting both mics caused a very audible (-30dB) high-pitched buzzing noise in both inputs. This only occurred when running on the fully charged internal Li-ion battery. When running on the PS-520 external power supply/charger, the noise disappeared, even with both mics connected. To me this indicates a weak +48V phantom supply. I tried another set of mics, a pair of very popular small diaphragm omni condensers and even running on the external power supply I had serious noise generated when both mics were drawing current from the DR100's phantom power source.

Please note that all of the mics I tried all work fine using any of my Mackie, SECK, Yamaha, True and Presonus mixers and preamps with absolutely no problems.

Bottom line: I'm keeping the Tascam, but will be carrying a couple of external mic pres or a small mixer with it.

For reference, I did document the recording levels at various gain settings using the internal mic pres.

The signal source was a balanced mic simulator signal generator. Output -41.5dB, one channel driven, phantom power OFF, limiter OFF. Signal = 700 Hz sine wave.

Levels listed are the indicated recording levels on the LCD display:

1. Coarse Gain Switch set to "L"

Gain dial setting vs (LCD displayed recording level)

dial 10 (-42 dB)

dial 9 (-42 dB)

dial 8 (-44 dB)

dial 7 (-47 dB)

2. Coarse Gain Switch set to "M"

dial 10 (-20 dB)

dial 9 (-20 dB)

dial 8 (-21 dB)

dial 7 (-24 dB)

dial 6 (-30 dB)

dial 5 (-34 dB)

dial 4 (-40 dB)

dial 3 (-45 dB)

3. Coarse Gain Switch set to "H"

dial 7.5 (-1 dB) clipping

dial 7 (-3 dB)

dial 6.5 (-6 dB)

dial 6 (-8 dB)

dial 5 (-12 dB)

dial 4 (-17 dB)

dial 3 (-22 dB)

dial 2 (-27 dB)

dial 1 (-29 dB)

dial 0 (-29 dB)

As noted above, the actual usable range of the attenuator dials is from "1" to "9" representing a maximum range of 29 dB. Changing the dial settings between "0" and "1" , and between "9" and "10" has no effect at all.

For actual acoustic recordings using a pair of sensitive, high output external cardioid mics, recording classical music with a peak acoustic level hitting around 85 dB SPL, I needed to set the coarse switch to "H" and the attenuator to "7.5" to get good recordings that peaked at around -4 dB or -3 dB on the DR 100 meters.

Other than the "wimpy" phantom power supply, I do like this recorder. It's capable of making fine, professional level recordings as long as you are aware of its limitations.

Buy Tascam DR100 Portable Digital Recorder Now

Edit 6-2010 Be sure to check the selling price this is becomming a great value compared to other digital recorders.

Tascam has always been at the forefront of technology with their first compact flash rackmount digital recorder. Although its style was more along the lines of a touring case, it made a clear leap that said digital recording is the way of the future and audio journalists should take note. Complete with adjustable gain, xlr jacks, and VU meters its only real setback was the oversize formfactor and the power consumption.

Later came Tascam's redesigned user interface with the ipod like wheel. The DR-1 and DR-07 were certainly optimized for specific uses such as acoustical guitar, and both included built in exceptional quality stereo microphones. The DR1 included a lithium ion rechargable battery while the DR-07 ran on AA cells.

With the introduction of the DR-100 Tascam answers almost everyone's needs. 96 kbps recording is now standard, as are xlr inputs (mic level only I'm bothered by not having line level XLR because you can gain 20+ dB of s/n in recording line level signals using a quality mic preamp. This is why all home audio hookups eg, dvd, cd, bluray, etc, are done at line level and not mic see switchable line/mic xlr recorders like the marantz pmd661Marantz PMD661 Handheld SD Recorder MP3/WAV 96 kHz/24-Bit or the slightly noiser but quad channel in mic mode only, and inexpensive, zoom h4n Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder) and two battery types, both lithium ion and AA. You get to specify which battery is "primary" and which is "backup" to get through long recordings. That feature alone can save you on an overtime job where you need 8 hours of battery power without interruption. The XLR mics have a switchable filter for environmental noise and also a switchable 48 VDC phantom power. The reason I am bummed about no line level XLR is the extra noise of the recorder's mic amps vs connecting it to a recording board XLR line output. and while it does have a line level in, it is only an unbalanced TRS 3.5 mm jack, same for the line out. Most recording boards are not going to have unbalanced 3.5 mm stereo plugs, favoring dual XLRs, and occasionally 4 pin stereo XLRs though I seldom encounter that pinout as much as I used to. Being a differential input, XLR cuts noise over a single ended input.

Sad note here on such a great machine if you have a mixture of microphones, both TRS 3.5mm mono or stereo and XLR mics you will only be able to use the XLR mics with this recorder. While you can buy transformers to convert unbalanced TRS mics to XLR format, that increases the size and decreases the quality somewhat. I would have rather had a 3.5mm mic level input for existing mics I own and used the XLR jacks for switchable mic/line in/out. If all your mics are XLR this will not be a problem, but the first time you need to run an old 3.5mm mic with this recorder you will be into adapters.

Memory comes with a 2GB SD card and can be used with up to a 32GB SDHC c4 card if you want to record for a week. Tascam has been reasonably generous with cases and microphone options, but seems to omit the DC power supply to run the unit off battery or to charge the li-ion cell. Figure another $25 for the charger and you are set to go. I see what they are doing keeping the street price around $300 for this model by omitting the power supply, but hey guys, realistically everyone needs a power suppy. Steps up (linked above) include power supplies, and the zoom has a nice case.

The last bit on the -100 model because it does support so many asked for features the package has grown just a bit. It's still exceptionally smaller than their rackmount recorder! Feature wise, it has grown considerably and is half the price now.

The only real competition for the Tascam dr100 is the Marantz PMD661 which was recently announced. [Edit old review PMD661 is replacing 660 w/ nicer case and old 660 remote control is fully compatible with the 661, with a much nicer display] I've compared the PMD's internal mics and they do not stand up to the tascam you'll be using remote mics for music on the PMD661 although its speech pickup with automatic leveling is one of the best on the market. On the other hand the PMD661 DOES have line level XLR jacks which means you can pop it on the end of the mixing board and run with it. The PMD661 also has half the runtime of the tascam dual battery design. If tascam hadn't used the 3.5mm TRS jack for line in (they have a higher self-noise level compared to XLR especially if rotated-you pickup scratchy sounds) I'd say beyond a doubt stick with this unit, but if you work the mixing board, or have axcess to the mixdown outputs, the PMD661 will make better 8 hour recordings with 20dB (min) better signal to noise. The PMD-661 has a low power mode that in making a long recording with the LED Vu meter turned off, LED signal lights turned off, and only the OLED display shrunk to the bottom line will last 11 Hr straight through before it shuts down, it just needs to be told it is using NiMH cells and operated in the 661's low power mode.

If you sit in the audience or front stage the Tascam will be best, if you sit in the booth the Marantz will be best.

Read Best Reviews of Tascam DR100 Portable Digital Recorder Here

It's too soon to give a full review (as I've used it less than a dozen times), but so far, so good! I haven't had any problems with it, and it seems fairly easy to use. I need to become a bit more familiar with some of the controls and build my savvy on the usage of the mics, settings, etc. However, to me it was a a great purchase. I did a lot of research and I have no complaints! Purchase a power adaptor and a larger SD card (I bought at 16gb), which you'll eventually need if you plan to use this device while traveling and time will pass in-between file downloads. Another thing it's well-built! I dropped it (wihle in it's soft, protective case that comes along wtih the purchase), and not a single ding. Not flimsy at all, so it'll take me a long way. I only wish it had some sort of carrying case/pouch with a shoulder/body strap. While "on location", I need it to be recording and not forced to carry it as it is a bit bulky in-hand. I'll come back with more info as my experiences grow.

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I have used digital audio recorders for years, from $17,000 Sony DAT machines, through the Zoom H4 and then a Sony PCM-M10. This little wonder has them all beat for sound quality, ease of use and versatility. The built-in Uni mics are quiet, have good freq. response, and give a very realistic stereo image. Like the Zoom H4 & H4N the XLR mic inputs with 48V phantom power are a great addition, but unlike the Zooms the DR-100 XLR inputs are not designed to accept line levels. This is my only complaint with this recorder. The line input (and the output, also) are unbalanced stereo 3.5mm connectors rated at -10 dBV (-7.78 dBu)(consumer level), while professional line level is +4dBu (1.78 dBV). Not a good match. I found I had to use the XLR mic inputs set at the lowest sensitivity to match up with my field mixer's output (Azden FMX-42), but run the risk of higher noise levels by going through the recorders mic preamps. I could use a pad to match to the line inputs, but then would be unbalanced and can't use a long run. I use it mostly for double system sound with my DSLR for video.

Despite these drawbacks, I highly recommend this unit for field recording, especially nature sounds with the built-in mics. (I have not tested the omni mics don't really have a use for them). The wireless (IR) remote is really handy. Put the recorder on a boom pole, run a long line to your cans, and you can poke it into locations where you can't go while using the remote to control it (as long as you have line-of-sight to the IR pickup). I got a great recording of newborn robin chicks high in a tree without disturbing their feeding. It also has a wired adapter cradle for the remote for shorter distances. The dual battery setup is also a nice touch.

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The Tascam DR-100 is an impressive unit. I'm a independent filmmaker and needed a portable solution for recording audio seperate from the camera. I use a DSLR, and given the limitations they have with audio (AGC, etc), it became clear that if I wanted to achieve clear sound, I'd have to look towards a portable recorder for a solution. The DR-100 is an outstanding heaven-send.

I've been buying the Tascam brand since I was a teenager analog cassette 4 tracks, Dat recorders, reel-to-reel machines, you name it. I've never been disappointed by this company once, so choosing Tascam among the options in portable recorders was a no-brainer for me.

The uni mics on the record are pretty stellar for being so small, and they really do deliver a truly stereoscopic audio presentation. While the omni mics should would well for room interviews and note taking, they're not anything I'd personally want to choose as a recording source for things more important. The XLR inputs are solid and robust, the line in boasts an attenuation of -10 db, and the menu system within the unit is easy to navigate.

Great recordings, flat out. My preferred method is to use an external microphone for more control over the recording, but in a jam, I'd be confident switching over to the uni-mics without a problem.

If you're an indie filmmaker experiencing the sudden realization that DSLR's just don't deliver in the audio department, I highly suggest the DR-100.

Toshiba SD-6915 5-Disc Progressive-Scan DVD Player

• 5-disc carousel plays DVD, Video CD, DVD-Audio, SACD, DVD-R, Audio CD, and CD-R/RW (MP3 and WMA playback) 
• Progressive-scan player ensures high-resolution picture and gives you less flicker and fewer motion artifacts; 3:2 pulldown for more filmlike images
• ColorStream Pro component video output; composite and S-video connections
• Multichannel Dolby Digital decoding; Dolby Digital/DTS compatible; optical/coaxial digital audio outputs
• Measures 17 x 2.8 x 16 inches (W x H x D)

I've owned this player for a week now, and it's terribly buggy.

It won't turn on if it's set to output in progressive scan. It has annoying 1/4 second audio drops if you watch a DTS movie. It's response time to buttons pushed on the panel or remote is miserable. The ergonomics of the remote is horrible. It's picture isn't that good: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=&manufacturer=1&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0#ToshibaSD-6915

It'd be nice to have a working SACD/DVD-A/DVD-V changer, but this aint it.

Buy Toshiba SD-6915 5-Disc Progressive-Scan DVD Player Now

Toshiba really created a more than lacklustre unit here. Just try to get it to play one CD then move on to the next one. When you play a disc, at the end it just stops. You MUST change to the next disc by pressing a button on the unit or the remote. The tech support admits that the unit was not designed to move from disc to disc except manually. You can do random play and get it to move from one disc to another, but that is the only way. In addition, you MUST have this unit connected to a TV at all times in order for anything to make sense. The cursor buttons do double duty, so for some functions you must press the menu button before pausing or stopping a CD in play. I would NOT recommend this to anyone. Just buy a single disc player, and you are better off.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba SD-6915 5-Disc Progressive-Scan DVD Player Here

The piss poor remote layout and user interface is why everyone else is complaining about this DVD-player. Toshiba engineers must have got bored with the older layout and decided to improve it by using submenu to control things. I previous owned a Toshiba sd-740 and I love the picture images and ease of use of the remote. Issues of the layout is the small IR range of the remote, to get it to work you got to point at it straight and level toward the right side of the machine front panel. To bookmark a chapter, find a chapter, you got to hit the submenu and go from there, how inconvenient not to be place simple commends on the remote. To forward and slow backward you have to press and hold down the next and back chapter buttons respectively. What happened to the other length of the movies options display?

Other issues:

The 5 discs unit here is twice as deep as a single player unit. You have to manually disc skip instead of each tray having its own distinguish buttons. Like the other reviewer stated the disc stop per the end of each disc, not automatically changing.

Images quality:

The DVD images are just as good as other consumer level player made by Toshiba. I can't really compare this player images to other images from $200 plus DVD-players. But I can say the color saturation and smoother progressive scan is a lot better then Panasonic or JVC consumer-level DVD players priced similarly. The sound quality is fine if you hock it up to a good receiver. DTS sound find also. Must have a HDTV ready set to use progessive scan.

I say avoid this player since most people will find it too frustrating to use, but if you use it to just watch movies without fiddling around the images quality is fine. I give it a 4.5-stars there.

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I bought this DVD player 1 year ago and the laser tracking went out, meaning that no disc can be read CD or DVD. This is the main component to a DVD player and to repair it costs more than it would to purchase a new machine. I called Toshiba to complain as I believe anything of quality should last more than 1 year. The would not replace the item or even cover the cost of repair. I will not purchase Toshiba again.

I initially bought this player specifically for my Buffy/Angel addiction. Big mistake it won't access the scripts on some seasons via the chapter skip keys, and the lack of shuttle keys on the remote doesn't offer the usual alternative. This will matter to people who watch any dvd series proiduced by TCFHE, as their in-house production values continue to fall.

That was just the start of what's wrong with this player. It won't play my homemade VCDs or DVDs (which all of my other players handled without trouble until they crapped out). It has no resume feature, and many times the carosel returns to disc 1 after shutting off. The carosel loads backwards, from disc 5 to disc 1, which is annoying when trying to retrieve discs to put away.

On the plus side, it does play mp3 data discs which aren't finalized.

JVC CU-VD40 Share Station DVD Burner for HD Everio Camcorders

This unit PROBABLY doesn't do what you think it does. If you read the website and the box, it looks like you can shoot wonderful HD movies, push a button and voila! a DVD pops out and you can SHARE it with friends and family. Notice it is called the "Share Station"! NOT the unit spits out a DVD that "cannot be played on normal DVD players" (page 47 of the manual). This unit is simply an ARCHIVAL unit. It takes whats in your camera and backs it up to a DVD. Thats it. Call JVC and verify it.

The sharestation is probably the worst piece of equipment I have ever purchased. Worked when it wanted to the first couple of months, now it doesn't work at all. I have always liked JVC products but after this dreadful experience, I am gonna have to think long and hard before I buy ANYTHING from JVC. This item will not recognize ANY disc, even the ones I made with it

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I recently bought a JVC sharestation, to go along with the JVC Everio camera I just bought. You are supposed to be able to connect the camera to the sharestation, and start burning DVD's. Sounds great! Every disk I have used creates the error message "Incompatible disk". I am not alone, only now I find out that hundreds of other people are also unable to use the device that they just paid $200 or more for. JVC is not acknowledging the problem. I don't know how JVC can get away with this!

Read Best Reviews of JVC CU-VD40 Share Station DVD Burner for HD Everio Camcorders Here

I purchased the camera and the share station. I took family video and tried to burn to a dvd. The DVD provided by JVD wouldn't work. It kept saying 'incompatable disc' so I purchased the DVD-R by Sony (recommended in their manual) and it still says 'incompatable disc'. I called the JVD Help Center and they said...you have to send it to the factory. No help at all....just send it in. Don't buy this piece of junk.

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Well, I read many poor reviews on the internet about the product, and the reviewer is correct, this is an archival unit only, and won't generate a DVD that can be played on anything other than the JVC ShareStation. Unfortunately, I had already purchased a $1600 JVC camcorder which I could not return due to it having 5 hours of footage of my new baby (which I can't get off of it) on its HDD. So, I went ahead and purchased with these limitations in mind.

Unfortunately, when the unit arrived, it was defective. Won't recogonize any disc of any type. Even the disc supplied by JVC in the packaging showed up as "incompatible disc."

If you have already purchased the camcorder, you may also be stuck purchasing this unit; however, if you have not yet purchased a camcorder, I would strongly consider another brand.

See ya!

Sony PEGA-VR100K Video Recorder Compatible with Clie PEG-UX, TG, NZ, and NX series

I bought this system when there were no reviews based on:

o Trusting the Sony brand name.

o Impulse Buy after getting a Clie

As to every device, there are pros and cons. Problem is when the cons >> Pros.

Pros:

o System is small, Light Weight.

o Can be placed vertical or horizontal.

o Accepts MS & MS Pro (30 min for every 128 megs approx. at high quality)

o Can record at various quality levels for memory efficincy.

o Line-in and Line-out + RF in.

Cons:

o System ONLY RECORDS, it does not play what you recorded, so playing recordings on a big screen TV is out of the question.

o No remote provided, which means you have to get up every time you want to start or stop a recording. Placing the system in a small space between your TV and DVD player adds the disadvantage of awkward button pressing.

o Way too expensive. for the price of 2 I can get a top quality DVD recorder.

o Recordings do not play on a PC.

Sony always does this,come up with a great product (Clie) and flood the market with prototype add-ons that are discontinued due to 'lack of sales'. I hope this trend doesn't last long.

First off, some of these people who offer reviews need to stick to beta and 8 tracks. In reference to a previous review, of course it doesn't playback, its a freakin recorder. Second, just because it lacks a remote doesn't make it bad (get up and start the record process yourself!!!!!!!!!) I digress though, I purchased one of these so I could watch movies on long plane rides from DC to LA via my Clie UX-50. I load up a 1 or 2 gig memory stick with about a half a dozen movies and I am in a happy minature video coma for hours. Of course I have to initially deflect all the curious questions about the UX-50. Ughh. The bottom line is that this is a great product that does EXACTLY what it is designed to do.... record video to memory sticks for later viewing on other memory stick compatible products. Sure its expensive, but its cutting edge, well designed and its a Sony product. If you havn't noticed, Sony products are not cheap. You get what you pay for.

Buy Sony PEGA-VR100K Video Recorder Compatible with Clie PEG-UX, TG, NZ, and NX series Now

I love this unit. You can choose to record at, basically, 3 quality levels. The sound and picture are great on my Sony UX-50. Many will consider it an expensive toy, but the quality is fantastic and I enjoy it. For the person that has everything...

Read Best Reviews of Sony PEGA-VR100K Video Recorder Compatible with Clie PEG-UX, TG, NZ, and NX series Here

Hdvr-150 Car Accident Camera Video Recorder Dvr

• Unique rear view mirror design + adjustable camera lens + wide viewing angle, easy installation, blend in perfectly with car interior, no windshield mounting required
• Run automatically, automatic on / off when engines on / off
• Loop recording + built-in 2.4" TFT LCD + Instant playback + Audio recording
• Design and made in Taiwan, nice and stable quality.

This 2-in-1 product with the anti-glare rearview mirror and in-car camera is a neat package with a very solid casing. It clamps on your original mirror like any other after-market mirrors and stays firmly in place.

The controls are simple and the manual that comes with it are well written and clear.

The lens can be adjusted over a wide range to suit adjustments to the mirror's viewing angle.

The 2.4" LCD is sharp and aids in the lens adjustment. It can be switched off when not needed.

The only con is the huge filesize for the recording which is about 800 to 900MB for 5 mins of footage.

A 4GB SD card was included though it wasn't stated in the orders and for that size, it can hold only about 20 mins of footage before the first video file is recycled. It can take a SD card up to 32GB size but I have yet to try it.

The videos are sharp and in the expected quality range of a HD720p camera.

One point to note is that the device's weight (about 320g) may be too much for some car's rearview mirror arm/linkage and it may vibrate or even sag if the arm/linkage was loose in the first place.

So prior to buying you might want to assess your rearview mirror's suitability.

Also thumbs-up to the seller for including a personal thank you note and a quick start-up guide.

Highly recommended for those looking for a simple and good quality in-car camera without paying extras for frills like GPS, G-sensor, or night-surveillance mode etc if you don't need them.

Buy Hdvr-150 Car Accident Camera Video Recorder Dvr Now

Read Best Reviews of Hdvr-150 Car Accident Camera Video Recorder Dvr Here

Built solid, buttons feel good, all in all good quality, on complaints.

The power cable is long enough to reach from the mirror, along the head liner, down the A-pillar, under the glove box, along the center console and into the arm rest where there is a plug. There is about a foot of cable to spare after that (installed on a 2008 Acura TL-S).

The power cable DOES unplug from the mirror itself, so you can take it out of the car if you want or move it to another if you can find another power cable. This is a great feature that is not touched upon in the product description.

The SD card ejects from the top, easy to get to.

The camera is off center so your mirror will mount further to the right to sit flush. Mine sits far enough that the passenger sun visor can only go straight down now, not further towards the windscreen.

My mirror is kind of oval so it doesnt fit perfect, kind of a bummer.

The menu is easy to navigate, I got in and set microphone to off and resolution to high. There is a still shoot feature that seems like a waste.

The camera itself has a movable lens so you can fine tune the angle etc without moving the mirror.

So far I'm pretty happy with it, I hope it lasts. The Video is nice but for the most part don't expect to see the plate numbers of other cars.

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BE ADVISED. The video was reduced from 720p to 480p due to Amazon file size constraints.

Here's my first video review. Hope it helps you to decide which DVR is best for you. Most of my comments are written here and not in the video. You'll see many more on YouTube. For this review, I had to reduce the resolution to 720x480 pixels because Amazon limits the video file to 100 mb maximum. The original 1280x720 p video was over 380 mb.

Pros:

-Factory look. Sturdy and sleek.

-Since it looks factory, no one can tell it's a DVR and they wont break into the car to steal it.

-Automatically records and stops. (this depends if the cigarette lighter is switched, turns on when key is inserted)

-Can turn recording off/on at anytime.

-Turn onscreen display off/on at anytime.

-Options to set resolution, on screen display, time, date, etc..

Cons:

-Needs slightly wider adjustment to compensate for rear view mirror use. What I mean by this is if I set the mirror to view the rear window (which is normal), the partial left side of the car is cut. This is even when the camera lens is pointed the the outermost left part. The workaround: I have to move the mirror to point to the left a bit. However, this alters my rear view. Now I dont see the entire rear window but the partial right rear window as well.

-1080p resolution not useable. Im estimating it's about 10-15 fps. Its almost like a slideshow. I dont recommend it because if there was an accident, those critical frames in that fraction of that second may not be recorded at all.

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I thought of getting a dash cam when I saw all of the Russian meteor videos, but wanted a camera that wouldn't attract attention to itself. This seemed like the perfect solution--you really can't tell my car has a camera unless you really look for it.

Since this camera was designed for right-hand drive vehicles, the lens doesn't swivel quite as far left as I'd like it to. It goes far enough left though, in my opinion. It was packaged with an 8GB SD card, which was a nice start. It arrived set for English and included a quick start guide. The clock was not quite set correctly, despite what others have reported on their purchases, but it didn't bother me. Once you get the hang of moving through the menus on this device, it makes sense.

It was a challenge to get it to sit correctly on my mirror, since my existing mirror is somewhat weak. My car mirror would sort of lock and aim onto one "sweet spot" where it would hold, so I adjusted the camera accordingly by sliding the bottom grips toward me a bit, aiming the mirror side of the camera upward. The rubber grippers hold pretty well. This solution helped me to keep the camera's mirror aimed properly rearward. It was about 90 degrees here yesterday and caused my car's mirror to sag down...this is a unique issue in my particular car. I'll have to figure a workaround to tighten the mirror's ball joint in my case...

The power cable hides very well in my headliner and pillar trim. The cable is just narrow enough to fit and hide.

I wanted a camera that will just run automatically, and this one does exactly that. I don't even have to think about it when I get in the car--it just starts rolling when the car turns on (my cigarette outlet switches on and off with the ignition). I picked up a 32GB SD class 10 card for it. It holds about 2 1/2 hours of video in 720 mode. I keep the included 8GB card in the glove box as a backup.

I wish the camera had GoPro-like sharpness. It's hard to make out license plates on the video unless the lighting conditions are right and the license plate is within 20 feet of the front of my car.

I suppose if I see reckless driving or am a victim of a hit-and-run, I'll just speak the offender's license plate number so the camera's microphone can pick it up. The audio can be enabled or disabled with this camera, but I leave the audio recording on for this reason.

I always record at 720p because I heard that 1080i is only 15 frames per second. I have not tried 1080 mode yet.

This camera has a parking mode (records on internal battery power for one minute if vibration is detected while the car is parked), which I haven't used very much. I don't know whether or not the lights come on when parking mode activates--I would hope that the camera stays dark if it rolls on someone messing with my car. Flashing lights on the "rear view mirror" in an empty car would be a "steal me" signal.

I love the clandestine nature of this camera. It's the MAIN REASON I bought it. If I have a confrontation/collision on the road, I want no one to know I have a camera before the police show up. Also, since it's not noticeable, I'm not worried about it attracting thieves while the car is unattended.

If this camera had GoPro-like video, I would have paid $250 for it, maybe more. It's not super sharp video, but I definitely think it is worth the going price. If it can clear my liability on one traffic accident, it'll more than pay for itself.

Also, it's fun to load the videos into editing software and make it roll in super-fast motion!

You can also stamp a number onto the video, such as your own license plate number. On my video I choose to only stamp the last three digits of my plate number (in case I get a viral video, my full license plate number isn't all over the place!).

My uploaded video was shot in 720p mode. I removed the audio and showed different lighting conditions. Keep in mind that the video seen on this review will be slightly degraded from the original video quality. Amazon seems to compress these videos. The white car in the very first shot has a readable license plate, as well as the white car in the very last shot, along with the silver crossover SUV to its right.

I've owned it for several weeks, and so far it's operating very well.

JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black)

It's been a number of years since I had a camcorder. It was a tape unit, and after the initial infatuation with the new toy, I found that I never used it. Recording was a chore (juggling tapes and batteries), uploading was tedious, and the quality wasn't all that good. For quick ad hoc recordings, my various digital still cameras could grab a few seconds of good-enough video. The camcorder disappeared from my life.

A few years later, things have really changed. I received the Everio GZ-HM200, snapped in a couple of 8GB SD cards, charged the battery, and I was ready to go. We took a day trip to Mount Rainier; the weather was perfect, and I took a lot of video of photogenic glaciers and waterfalls.

When I got home, I wanted to upload the video into my computer. The Everio comes with software for Windows PCs, and Mac users are hardly mentioned in the documentation. I had searched the various on-line discussions of Mac video, and there were many cautionary tales about compatibility issues with the Everios. I anticipated problems.

I was wrong. I connected the USB cable to my Mac Mini, started iMovie (part of iLife '09), and opened up the camcorder. The USB menu opened, and I chose the "Upload" option. iMovie detected the camera, asked me a few questions (video quality, destination, whether to check for stabilization issues), and then imported the video clips. It was trivially easy just the way I like it.

The Everio has a "Snapshot" mode to take still images, and I had tried it out. This meant that while I was working with iMovie, iPhoto also started up and offered to import the photos I'd taken. My verdict: it's OK for casual 1x use, but no substitute for a real digital camera. The problem is that the Everio's autostabilization mode only works for video, not for still images. This meant that a couple of 20x zoomed images, while impressively magnified, were hopelessly blurred. I'll stick with my Panasonic DMC-TZ4 for the still shots.

The JVC Everio is a tremendous little camera: compact, easy, light, and producing excellent HD video. (Yes, my Mac Mini feels a little underpowered for working with this.) The dual slot SD card design is excellent; the camera will automatically switch from one card to the next during recording, and you can swap cards on the fly. In XP mode (17 Mbps VBR 1920x1080) 16GB is good for 2 hours of recording, which feels about right. (You can crank it up to 24 Mbps, which will give you 1 hr. 20 min., or drop down to 5Mbps, at which point you can run for over 7 hours!) No more media juggling.....

There are tons of additional features in this camera, and sometime I may try them out. But for the basic job of plug-and-play HD video, this is hard to beat.

Recomended.

If I was able to give it a half of a star I would rate it as 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Let me start by saying I am not a techie kind of person, so I am writing this review as the average user. The JVC Everio GZ-HM200 is so small it fits in the palm of your hand. I currently own the Sony DCR-DVD305 1MP DVD Handycam Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom so I am use to tapping the LCD screen to select my options. This unit offers laser touch operation for easy menu selection and playback by using a touch sensor bar that runs vertically on the side of the LCD screen. I caught myself trying to still tap the LCD screen but after a little while of playing with it I broke myself from the habit. The dual SD memory cards is terrific idea. No more mini dvds to carry around. Recording automatically continues over the two SD cards so no need to be swapping the cards. You can even set to have your video recordings to go to one card and still images on another. I decided to use 8GB and a 4GB SD cards which will give me a total of approximately one and half hours of recording in XP (Avg. 17Mbps) mode. Powering up the camcorder could not be any easier just open the LCD screen. The LCD screen is crystal clear and playback on the camera for review and deleting is controlled by a touch of one button. The LCD screen also rotates 360 degree. The camcorder takes BEAUTIFUL still images. Vivid colors and what impressed me the most is the perfect focusing of the images. The face detection is a great feature that can recognize up too 16 faces that adjusts the focus and exposure for sharper images. The zoom power is incredible and focuses automatically. Battery life is approximately 1.5 hours of continuous use. Check out the customer images to see how wonderful the images came out. Using the zoom in video recording was not so great. The stability of the video was shaky, but I was also on a rocking boat so it might work better on a tripod.

Now to the not so great functions. The Everio MediaBrowser software is so-so. The easy to search calendar is really neat but playback of videos is choppy and just terrible. I decided to use another program, Corel Ulead VideoStudio 11.5 Plus. With this program the video was not choppy and it was easier to preview and edit. For the next test I connected the camcorder via a IOGear Series 2000 Mini-HDMI to HDMI Cable, which is not supplied, to my HDTV and playback was perfect. Since I have a DVD recorder, I also dubbed the video to my DVD recorder and the video was clear and perfect with no jumping or skipping. JVC does offer a AVCHD recorder, JVC CU-VD50 Share Station DVD Burner for Everio Camcorders to burn and play your AVCHD discs but it is quite costly but it might make things easier.

I have inserted a video clip so you can see for yourself how the video comes out.

These are the steps I had to take to do it since you can only upload avi, flv, mov, mpg and wmv files on Amazon. The JVC Enverio saves in mts format.

1. Connect camcorder to PC

2. Choose export to Library

3. Open Enverio MediaBrowser and drag video file to export to iTunes.

4. Start Export, once complete open iTunes (50 second video took 13 minutes).

5. Now you can view it in your iTunes, but iTunes plays mp4 format so next step is to format the video to a savable/playable wmv format to upload on Amazon. Unless you have a program that changes mp4 to another format, this option is was quite useless for me unless I am viewing the videos on my iPod.

Now I attempted to change the format with my own program and this is all I had to do.

1. I opened my video editor program Corel Ulead VideoStudio 11.5 Plus [OLD VERSION]

2. Clicked on one button to convert video to wmv file format. It saved the file automatically (it took only 5 minutes to convert) and I was done and ready to upload on Amazon. So as you can see, using another video editor program makes things much easier and takes less time.

However, uploading to youtube is quite simple. You just need to set the camcorder to upload in the USB setting, open your youtube account and upload the video file directly from the drive your camcorder is connected from on your PC. Since youtube allows pretty much every kind of video format available, uploading the mts file was painless.

So as you can see, the Enverio MediaBrowser is somewhat useless and you are better off using another video editing program to convert and save your files to a format you can use easily.

Overall this camcorder is pretty neat, easy to use for video recording and still images. The small size of it makes it so convenient to carry and take with you anywhere. I purchased the JVC CB-V77U Soft Digital Camcorder Case (Black Blue) that was a perfect size to carry the camcorder and AC adapter. Just invest in a more user-friendly video editing conversion program.

Here are some additional links for items to consider:

More battery power-

1.5 hours JVC BN-VF808US 730-mAh Rechargeable Data Battery for JVC MiniDV and Everio Camcorders

3 hours JVC BN-VF815US 1460-mAh Rechargeable Data Battery for JVC MiniDV and Everio Camcorders

4.5 hours JVC BN-VF823U 2190-mAh Rechargeable Data Battery for JVC MiniDV and Everio Camcorders

Battery charger car adapter-

JVC BN-VF808, BN-VF815, BN-VF823 Replacement Battery Charger (Incl. Car and European Plug Adapters)

Battery charger kit-

JVC AA-VF8US Battery Charger for BN-VF8 Batteries

Buy JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black) Now

The JVC Everio GZ-HM200 is a very compact and feature rich HD Camcorder that performs well in most shooting conditions. I was very surprised by the small size and impressed with the range of options squeezed into the camera. This is a consumer grade camcorder, lacking some features that would appeal to the prosumer population. Here are my observations:

Pros -

* Great Video Image Quality Especially in UXP and XP Modes (except in low light see "Cons", below)

* Good Still Image Quality Surprising good JPG pictures can be taken even while shooting video, but sometimes a little jittery

* Accurate Face Recognition Helps keep people in focus (it was funny to see it recognize faces in paintings at a museum)

* Good Remote Control Includes Remote Control, a very handy feature

* Very Small Size The small size makes it easy to bring along as it can realistically be slipped into a pocket.

* Built in Light Very bright light can be set to "auto" and can save some shoots that would otherwise be lost or unusable due to poor lighting

* Dual SDHC Card Support The ability to save video to SDHC cards is great, coming from miniDV tapes this is a huge advantage since the footage doesn't have to be re-captured into the computer

* Quick Startup The camera is ready to record almost instantly after opening the LCD display

* Good User Interface The "Laser Touch" interface is simply cool and, more importantly, easy to use

* Easy Upload to YouTube The "One Touch" upload works very well

Cons -

* Weak Image Stabilization The digital Image Stabilization does make some difference, but the lack of mass of this small camera makes it harder to keep steady (especially at higher zoom levels)

* Poor Low Light Quality Video and stills shot in low light are very noisy, the built in light helps to some degree

* Slow Auto Focus Auto Focus can be sluggish when zooming

* Lack of Accessory Shoe Can not use standard video accessories like external light or microphone

* Lack of Microphone Input Jack No external microphone jack

* Weak Software The included software for video and still images is ok for clip management, but not useful for any real editing or project use

* Lack of HDMI Cable This was a huge surprise and disappointment. The camera has a mini HDMI port, but does not include a HDMI cable for connecting to HD equipment (does include composite video and audio cables)

I also picked up the following accessories (see my reviews) -

* 16gb SDHC Cards Transcend 16 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC6E [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]

* Protective Lens Filter Tiffen 30.5MM UV Protector Filter

* Longer Life Battery JVC BN-VF815US 1460-mAh Rechargeable Data Battery for JVC MiniDV and Everio Camcorders

* HDMI Cable Mediabridge 5ft Mini-HDMI to HDMI Version 1.3b Category 2 1080p Blu-Ray

Overall, the pros outweigh the cons with this excellent camcorder and the small size makes it really convenient to take anywhere.

Recommended!

CFH

Read Best Reviews of JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black) Here

This video is test footage at a lake. As you may know water ripples are a true test of a HD camcorder and this one passes!

Want JVC Everio GZ-HM200 Dual SD High-Def Camcorder (Black) Discount?

I got this from a large discount club whose name starts with a 'C'. I paid $399.99 + $28 sales tax for a special bundle that included a free 4GB class 6 card and a free carrying case as well. My review is based keeping in mind this price point. If you can get this camcorder for under $450, it is worth it. Otherwise look at other models/manufacturers.

Now on to the review...

First impressions: This camcorder is tiny. Coming from a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, it seemed to be real small to me. The ergonomics are ok though and I did not have any major issues with accessing any of the features or usage. I did have a hard time initially where I was pressing the menu items on the LCD screen itself, not realizing that you need to scroll on the 'laser touch' bar on the side of the LCD screen to select a menu item and then press the OK button to activate it.

Build quality: 3.5/5. No major complaints, though I would have liked to see more metal and less plastic.

Video quality in clear daylight: 4/5 (Very good). I shot test videos in XP mode which is the 2nd highest quality. Scenes included a farmers market with lots of colors red tomatoes, yellow flowers, greens, etc and a few minutes of video in a park with lake and trees. Overall very pleased with the results and reds and yellows really came out nice and brilliant. The water on the lake came out nice and blue just like I saw it with naked eyes. Direct playback on my 46" Sony Bravia using the supplied component cable resulted in an image that could almost match the HDTV broadcasts. The zoom is quite fast and effective, though note the issue below.

Hint: 1) You need to set the signal format to output 1080i as the factory setting is 480p. Otherwise you will get poor playback quality. 2) While the zoom is great, you will want to invest in a tripod as the small size of the camera means that even small movements at high zoom result in unstable images.

Video quality indoors: 2.5/5 (borderline). A bit disappointing as the indoor video was quite grainy, even though I had some natural light coming in. For my own purpose, I am not too concerned as I have primarily bought this camcorder for outdoor use. If you plan to do a lot indoor shooting (birthday parties, for example), you need to either supplement indoor light or buy another (expensive) camcorder. This camcorder does have a built in light that can be activated, but it does not make a great deal of difference. Again, keep in mind the price point you need to shell out $700 or more to get a camcorder with decent indoor capability.

Audio quality: 3/5 (Adequate): Human voices were captured quite nicely and the wind cut function worked well. The microphone was sensitive enough to pick up distant music in the park.

Software: 3/5 (Adequate): I had no problems playing videos using Windows Vista Ultimate. Nero Vision was able to recognize the .mts files produced by this camcorder without any issues.

Battery life: 3.5/5 (Fair): No worse than what I have seen with other camcorders. I was able to stretch to almost 100 minutes of combined shooting + playback. For my own use, I do not see a need for an extra battery as I rarely shoot more than 60 minutes of video in one go. I do carry a charger/inverter in my car when going on road trips so I can charge the battery while on road.

Digital still quality: Nothing of note here except to say that you need to get a dedicated still camera if you are serious about photography. For those not so special moments, this camcorder may be used to snap a few pictures.

Manual: This is a bit skimpy and does not cover all of the menus and their uses. I wish JVC would rewrite the manual to include explanations of all the menus and features.

Other thoughts: This camcorder has dual SD card slots which is really useful. The built-in lens cover looks a bit fragile so I suggest a getting a good carrying case.

Bottom line: Nice camcorder for the value conscious customer who realizes that no matter how much you spend, things are going to get obsolete in 1-2 years anyway.

Buy this camera if:

You shoot primarily outdoors in good daylight

Need a small and light device with reasonably good video quality

Can get it for $450 or less

Do not buy this camera if:

Indoor video quality is of primary concern (spend $800 or more on a much better camcorder in this case)

Need a bit more crisper HD video here you need to spend over $1,000 on a camcorder with a bigger sensor.

Sharp VLAH50U Hi8 Viewcam Camcorder

A few weeks ago I was shopping around for a a new camcorder to replace my sony video recorder from 1985. Since it had been so long since I had done any shopping I carefully weighed my options. Hi8 creates an almost 40% clearer and sharper image than regular 8mm. I don't have the equipment to connect my pc to a dv camcorder.After careful consideration and a few visits to my closest electronics shop I realized that this product was the easiest, most affordable Hi8 and I love using it. I would recommend this to anyone on a budget that has a desire to create quality video with ease and precision.

This is my first camcorder. At this price I had no choice but to finally break down and buy one. The camcorder is small and lightweight. Instructions are simple. After charging the battery I was shooting right away. The picture quality is outstanding, the auto focus works great. The zoom is great too, providing you don't zoom in too fast...it takes a second or two to catch up to you. I love how easily it connects to my TV set for easy viewing on a big screen. I'm getting ready to go on vacation and looking forward to taking some great footage without lugging around something big and heavy.

Buy Sharp VLAH50U Hi8 Viewcam Camcorder Now

This camera is a great buy, I love it!!! It's easy to use and the picture quality is awesome.

Read Best Reviews of Sharp VLAH50U Hi8 Viewcam Camcorder Here

I actually got this camcorder 2 1/2 years ago as my first camcorder in anticipation of the coming birth of our first child. It offered a lot of great features for the price, and I thought the 3" viewscreen right on the camcorder was a big improvement over viewfinders and pop-out screens.

And lo and behold, when we got it, it worked exactly as we thought and we got some great memories.

But then the lens cap broke. And it started to jam tapes regularly. And put dots and speckles into some recordings. And after 3 months of use my battery wouldn't recharge anymore. I brought it in for a repair and a replacement lens cap/battery, but 9 months later all 3 problems happened again.

The first repair was under warranty, I paid for the 2nd one. But last month was really it. My sister, who lives 400 miles away from me, had twins around the same time our son was born and we went up to visit them for their 2nd birthday. My wife took (or I should say tried to take) an hour of video of me playing with all 3 boys and another 2 hours of video of all of us going to the zoo together. Well, you know what, nothing came out, because THE TAPE WAS JAMMED AGAIN! Only this time, the camcorder did not give me any message warning me of this during her attempted recording, so we thought all was fine.

So today, 2 weeks before our 2nd child is due, I threw in the towel and bought a Samsung DV camcorder. Cest la vie....I have 2 Sharp TV's that work great (one is almost 20 years old!) so I don't know if I simply got a "lemon" or if their camcorder standards are just lax compared to their other electronics.

Want Sharp VLAH50U Hi8 Viewcam Camcorder Discount?

I loved the large color 3" LCD screen it rotates 360 degrees for shooting at any angle. Overall it is a simple and elegant camera with impressive durability and quality of workmanship. Controls are well thought out and easy to understand. Image quality is great in all but the very lowest of light. A 10+