JVC GR-AXM17U Compact VHS Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom

We bought one of these a few weeks ago and were quite disappointed. The battery only lasted about 7-8 minutes, and YES, I refreshed and fully charged it and did everything I was supposed to. I don't know if it was a bad battery or if someone had used up it's life and returned it, but I have yet to get a response from the company about it. The picture quality was very grainy as well. It is a cheap camcorder, but in my opinion you don't get even get $200 worth out of this one. I took it back and bought a Sony TRV 280 for a little more and it is AWESOME! Long battery life and great picture quality. Well worth the extra $50!

It was not clear that the item was reconditioned and did not come with any instructions, battery or lens cover.

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The product I received worked very good and the service was great. All the help I received was very good. I will buy again.

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Q-See QS558-852-1 8 Channel Full D1 Security Surveillance DVR System with 8 High-Resolution Cameras

The Q-See QS558 DVR is a quality home or small business security tool that will work well for you if you know its limitations. I have tested and installed numerous CCTV DVRs and found this one has quite a few bells and whistles for the price point. See details below or the PROS/CONS list for more. (See my photos under this product for more info too.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PROS:

* Full D1 resolution on all cameras

* 240fps for full video on all cameras

* Pentaplex multi-streaming capabilities

* iPhone and Android apps available

* Full administrative functions/configuration available via web browser

* HDMI, BNC, and VGA ports

* Can record audio as well

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

* Motion detection, alarm trigger, or scheduled recording

* Windows 8 and IE 10 compatible

* Small form factor case can be discreetly hidden

CONS:

* Internet Explorer users must have admin rights on computer

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

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

This is my first video surveillance system so I can't really compare it to others. However, for the price I think it was a pretty good deal. For the most part I like the entire system... I think the cameras are adequate for this price range, the DVR interface (both directly connected via monitor as well as through an IE browser) seems to be pretty nice and user-friendly.

My only complaint (and it is kind of a big one): At some point I noticed that the DVR had gone from recording only during motion (the way I configured it) to recording virtually 24/7 on all connected channels. After trying some of my own troubleshooting, I finally emailed Q-See support to try and figure out what was going on. Overall their support is okay, but as with many products, don't expect real help with highly technical problems. I'd consider myself very knowledgeable with gadgets like these and I don't generally ask for help unless I've exhausted everything I could think of which is typically way beyond first level support. The first responses to my query were to be expected: Check your settings, reboot, reset to defaults, etc. Eventually they did find the problem but it was not what I wanted to hear. The problem turned out to be due to having the recording quality set to D1 as opposed to CIF.

One reason I chose this model is because it can record in full D1 resolution, but unfortunately this apparently "breaks" the motion detection option which causes it to record all the time. The problem with that is 1) It makes it much harder to spot "events" when reviewing recorded footage, 2) It wastes considerably more HDD space resulting in previous recordings getting overwritten much sooner than they needed to be and 3) IMO, more wear and tear on the HDD.

When I told them that I wanted D1 resolution *and* motion recording, they said that they can only forward my findings to their programmers and *if* they can reproduce it (and *if* they can fix it), then they will release a firmware update. While I wouldn't expect it this soon, for those interested, it is 3/18/2013 so any firmware update that may fix it would be released after this date.

So overall I like the system but for now I am stuck recording at a lower resolution than I would like only because motion recording doesn't work at full D1.

Hopefully they will fix it with an update soon.

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This is my third surveillance system. My first was a Q-See 8 channel with 4 cameras. It works fabulously. The second system I bought was a Swann, and compared to the Q-See, it doesn't measure up. So, needing a third system for the property I manage, I am getting another Q-See.

Q-See DVR is top quality. It's very easy to record, search for events, and backup just specific sections of a recording to a flash drive.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that this system's DVR has some features that I hadn't even thought about before I bought it. In addition to the usual BNC to RCA cable, the ethernet port and cable, vga port and 2 usb ports, it also has HDMI output plus an HDMI cable, and an ESATA port for connecting an external SATA HDD.

Also, the indicator lights on the front are a pleasant pale green, which is so much better than that glaringly bright blue that DVRs normally have. This makes a big difference to me since I keep one system in my bedroom. Normally, I cover the front lights with tape, but with this one I don't have to.

Fortunately I had a camera scanning the entrance to our community and was able to catch a man breaking and entering a truck parked near the entrance. The tenant hadn't locked his truck so the thief was able to grab the tenant's stereo system from the truck and run. Luckily, I was able to show the police the entire event on camera and handed the officer the recording on a flash drive. The theft occured just after dusk, so the infrared night vision was on, and still, the quality was good enough for the police to identify the thief.

Here's a tip I'd like to pass along:

We have a large property with 4 separate buildings. I'd been struggling to figure out how to run cable to put up cameras all over the property. I even contacted ADT to get an estimate. It was astounding what they wanted to charge!!! Over $20,000.00 to put up just 6 cameras and monitor them!! GEEZ!

I finally realized that all I need to do is to set up separate systems in each building's utility closet, drill 1 hole in the wall to run the cables to the roof and 'voila!' DONE! No trenches to dig, no long cables to run underground and under concrete sidewalks!!

The reason this works is because I discovered that just about the only time I review the video is after the fact. You can just about NEVER watch a crime in real time. So, far better to have video surveillance everywhere and be able to provide the police with the recordings.

In my opinion, Q-See is the best system around, and I'm sticking with this brand. Customer service has been excellent, too. I only needed to call them once for a little advice when I first started, then everything is really easy so I don't need to call anymore.

UPDATE!!

One big caution: I learned the hard way that the DVR is preset to motion sensor ON. This is the first CCTV DVR I ever purchased from Q-SEE that was set like this. I had thought that something was wrong with the hard drive, that it was not recording right.

When I reviewed all of the settings, I found out about the motion sensor setting and realized why my recordings had blank spots. Once I set it to Motion Sensor OFF, everything is working fine.

I don't like to use motion sensor. However, if you do prefer to use it, I still recommend that you check the settings and make sure they are set the way you like it. This system is very versatile, so you can do lots with it!

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I purchased this QS558 DVR a week ago, based on a balanced approach between cost and other user reviews. I have it set to record only upon motion detection. After a week of use on D1 quality, the major problem is the "advanced motion detection" capability:

When in D1 quality mode, even though no motion is happening in the field of view of the camera(s), the DVR still records...non-stop....

So at this point you might be thinking 'Oh silly, maybe you just have the sensitivity too high and something triggers DVR to record (like a bird, shadows, etc..etc...). Well let me elaborate further:

In normal view, there is a little red guy/red dot that appears in the lower left corner of the camera(s) when motion is detected and recording starts. This way you can tell if the system is recording/not-recording. I noticed these symbols on the screen even though nothing was moving in the frame of view of the camera. So I investigated further....

In the settings section, under the AREA column, you can mask areas of the camera view where you don't want motion detection to be seen/activated. When setting this feature, the entire camera view is shown on the display, overlaid with GREEN boxes/grid. When the boxes are green, no motion is detected. When some boxes turn RED, then those boxes detected motion. Under normal operation, when something moves, the boxes enclosing that movement turn RED, whereas the others stay GREEEN.

My problem is that sometimes the entire screen is filled with RED boxes, even though nothing is moving on the screen (shadows, wind/trees, etc...). This in turn records on the hard drive, until it no longer "sees motion" aka the boxes are green and the sensitivity level is matched. Adjusting the sensitivity doesn't fix this...it just seems to get randomly STUCK in this mode, where it records non-stop for no reason. Even though there is no motion detected, all the boxes are red, therefore triggering non-stop recording.

When it does work properly, it detects motion (based on the sensitivity level you set) and starts recording for the amount of time you set it. If no motion is detected, it does not record...seems straightforward enough.

I just don't understand what is going on... I have the latest firmware/updates uploaded on the DVR. I tried a reset (load default settings), power cycles, played with sensitivity levels. I lowered the recording quality to CIF and that seemed to help, but then what's the point of advertising this DVR as full D1 with advanced motion detection when it doesn't work properly on D1 ??

UPDATE #1: April 2, 2013: I contacted Q-See technical support and they are giving me the basic troubleshooting steps (sensitivity level, firmware, etc...). The only way the DVR records properly during motion is if you put the system in CIF quality mode. Obviously there is a problem between D1 quality and motion detection. I hope they will release a firmware update SOON!!! I also posted another picture to show you the motion detection software when the DVR is in CIF mode and D1 mode...

UPDATE #2: April 2, 2013: Q-See told me that their Software Development team is aware of this issue and are trying to come up with a fix. Hopefully they will have a firmware update out in a few weeks...

UPDATE #3: April 4, 2013: While Q-see is working on this issue, I tried to play around with some settings, see if perhaps something might help (besides CIF quality mode). I noticed that when in D1 mode and the DVR is set to auto-maintain every day (from the Maintenance section), it records in D1 only when motion is detected. But, occasionally, it records non-stop, even though no motion is detected. This has nothing to do with sensitivity level because all the motion detection boxes/grid on the screen go RED when the problem starts. This D1 -motion detection problem is highly inconsistent and random... I am worried that Q-See will no be able to properly re-create this problem and they will claim that it's just my imagination, improper sensitivity level, etc..etc..etc... :(

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This system has the potential to be very good. Cameras have great IR range and resolution, but like several other people reviewing this I quickly discovered that the DVR will randomly switch from motion recording to continuous recording when using D1 resolution. Have been working with tech support for weeks on this to no avail. They even sent me another unit and it did exactly the same thing. Obviously a flaw in the DVR or firmware. Latest firmware does not fix the problem. If you are looking at this system specifically for the ability to do motion recording at full resolution in real time (30 fps), I would have to say look at a different company. If you can live with CIF resolution the system works fine, but that defeats paying the extra cost for real time D1. Hopefully I and everyone else having this issue will get it resolved or I will definitely be done with this company.

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Riptunes 4GB MP3 Player - Red

• Riptunes 4GB MP3 Player - Red

I use 2 of these RIPTUNES 4GB players with one for working out, walks, bed, etc.. and the other for studying. I also use a CREATIVE 8 GB for larger volume music files.

These RIPTUNES devices are small and handy for casual use. They do crash on me from time to time and I had to reset them quite often when I first got them but I've learned their capabilities and gear their use to what they do best and I haven't lost any files yet.

So far, they've been great for rotating a small library of MP3 tunes every month or so and they work great for several audio lecture series I use them for. In fact I'm leaning toward keeping the lecture series on them (long term) and picking up a few more for new lectures.

It's not an IPAD, tablet or large volume storage disc but it works great for a $30 4GB MP3 player. You can forget using it as an e-reader. Sure, the utility works fine but how many words can you fit on a 1.25" screen.

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I bought two of these MP3 for my twin boys for Christmas and neither one will work correctly. As long as I have if plugged into the computer it operates. As soon as I remove the players from the power cords it goes blank and wont come on. I tried to get a refund on my money but the store I bought it from wont refund my money. I HIGHLY recommend you do not buy this product. You will be disappointed.

Samsung DVD-M201 DVD Player

• Dolby Digital and DTS output
• Coaxial and optical digital-audio outputs
• Component and S-video outputs
• Onscreen display
• CD-R-compatible dual-laser diode pickup

This player, though the price is attractive, and support DD and DTS output.. have to work with a good reciever to bring out the sound that it support, since the player itself have no means of decoding the signals of the DVDs. Therefore buy it if u must as a basic player and nothing more.

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you would think for the price it doesn't skip but it does!

Belkin F9D601FC08 6-Outlet High Grade Metal Surge Protector, 700 Joules, 8 Feet Cord

I didn't buy this here on Amazon, just at my local Home Depot. Its seems like quality construction, metal around the sides and top; the bottom is plastic though. Long extension cord (8ft), good for extending an outlet and adding 6 more. Has lights for ground and if its protected; the switch is also lit. 4 of the 6 outlets are close together, the other 2 are far apart, makes room for those large boxy AC adapters. Its likely you will have to replace this surge protector after it stops a surge. I recently ran too much current through it and it broke.

I thought I should add detailed specs (for those who like them):

Electrical rating: 120v/15A/60Hz/1800W

Max dissipation energy: 1080J (although the front says 700J)

H-N, H-G, N-G: 360J

Max spike current: 72000A

H-N, H-G, N-G: 24000A

UL clamping voltage (3-line): 400v

Response time:

Bell+Howell Take2HD T200-BK Camcorder with HD Recording, 1x Optical Zoom and 2-Inch LCD Screen (Bla

This was such a great price I had to try this camera out. I had problems with it from the time I took it out of the box. The power switch was very unresponsive and even worse was the record button. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't and it was very frustrating when trying to film to not have it respond. Now I will say the few videos I took were wonderful and the others that I missed because I couldn't get it to record at all would have been good, too! After about 10 days the power button just quit. It wouldn't power on at all. It wasn't the battery or anything else, the little button was just stuck in the down position and it wouldn't release -or turn on.

I contacted Amazon and they were VERY responsive and I got a full refund -after taking the camera to the post office and paying the expense to ship it back. SO I was out the camera and the cost of shipping. My Flip arrived yesterday! Should have gone with the camera I really wanted and that had tons of great reviews.

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Philips DVD740VR DVD-VCR Combo

• Space-saving DVD/VCR combination with front-panel AV input for camcorder or game console
• Plays DVD-Video, MP3 CD, CD-R, CD-RW, audio CD, and VHS tapes
• 4-head stereo hi-fi VCR with SQPB (S-VHS playback at VHS resolution)
• High-quality DVD component-video output, Digital Zoom during DVD playback
• Coaxial digital-audio output passes Dolby Digital, DTS surround sound; 3D sound simulates surround through 2 channels

Attractive Black front panel. Easy to set up, worked first time right out of box ! Video and audio quality good for a mid priced unit. Quiet DVD and Tape. Labels for lights and buttons on front of unit difficult to read in dim/under shelf location. Remote is on the small side. Some remote button labels in blue difficult to read in low light, not back lit. Still pleased with the purchase and give 4 stars. Worth the price

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This is the way to go. Phillips has made a great little machine here. The controls aren't as straight forward as a stand alone machine, but 5 minutes with the manual will take care of that. Its quite simple to use once you get the hang of it. So far no problem. DVD and VHS playback are great. VHS recording is good quality. I'm not dissapointed at all. If you don't have either a dvd or vcr stand alone or if you're looking to replace both at the same time I'd recomend this model. I'm sure there are higher quality playback and record features on some stand alones but I haven't had any qualms here. Also this is something of a space saver. If I had to do it over again I wouldn't hesitate picking this model again.

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I found this unit to have a very good picture quality in the VCR mode. In the DVD mode is not was as good as I thought it would be. It may be in the Quality of the DVD movies I tried. I do have it hooked up with the S-vidio cable to the TV. Hope to hear more form others that know more about this high-teck stuff. Thanks John

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I would at all costs stay away from any product made by Phillips. I bought a dvd/vcr combo, it broke, I shipped it to them for repair, they charged me shipping and then sent back another broken unit. They then refused to take it back at their expense, even though they had shipped a broken unit (The first time the dvd didn't work, the unit they shipped to me had a defective vcr). Their customer service people have no authority to help you, and neither does their management. Repeated attempts to move up the ladder were ignored (i.e. being constantly told they weren't available, they never returned phone calls even after telling me they would, etc.). Beware of any Phillips product.

I bought this model a year ago and love it! It's easy to use, easy to see and beautiful, and have had zero problems with it.

I bought a different brand for another room and have only used it 3 times since. That was about 9 months ago.

Guess which one I'm going to be buying again so I can get rid of the other? ;-)

Panasonic Pro AG-DVX100BP(S) 3-CCD MiniDV Proline Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

I was torn between Sony and Panasonic (the Canons seemed to have many recurring complaints especially with the decks), and after reading several reviews became gradually partial to the Panasonic, before ever having used one, based on customer loyalty and consistently glowing testimonials.

Well I've never used the comparable Sony's, JVC's, or the Canon XL2 (some limited experience with the GL2), but as best I can tell without personal comparison this camera does in fact deserve all the great reviews.

The image quality is excellent and in many cases looks about as good as broadcast TV video (nonHD), and the camera allows a tremendous amount of image control--manual focus ring, aperture (iris), gain adjustment, shutter speed, zebra control for overexposure, white AND black balance adjusting, daylight filters, etc. The electronic viewfinder can even be focused via simple diopter. There are six preprogrammed, but customizable, settings for image control so the user can simply dial in whatever setting they need based on the shooting/lighting conditions. So, for example, you shoot occasionally under weak flourescents lights--you adjust the white balance and the gain and the detail level accordingly, save it as a particular "scene file"; whenever you return to that same location or a similar shooting environment, you can click over to the saved settings in an instant and start recording. The first four are factory set for video 60 frames; the last two are 24 fps for a more film-like quality, which this camera handles beautifully.

What actually sold me on the camera, in terms of hardware, were the two XLR jacks--comparably priced models didn't seem to offer this. The XLR jacks allow the user to attach professional shotgun mics and bypass the mediocre factory one, taking fuller advantage of 16bit 48khz stereo recording. I use a fairly inexpensive AZDEN mic and the improvement in sound quality is tremendous. If you were willing to invest in finer mics the audio quality would be better still. Having two XLR inputs means that in addition to recording live audio (like a mic) you can also mix in input from another pre-recorded source--all in the camera!

The lens by Leica is also impressive--it is a bit wide and is not interchangeable (although I believe there is an adaptive telephoto for $$$). I prefer shooting wide but if you have need a wide selection of lenses or don't enjoy the look of wide angle look to Canon.

The drawbacks are minor--the camera is rather cumbersome--and would certainly be tiresome for handheld use as it isn't designed for shoulder-mounted use. I shoot almost exclusively indoors with a tripod and so neither of these issues are relevant for me. Also irrelevant for me are reviews I've read which have indicated lackluster battery performance--again shooting indoors I always have it plugged in and thus haven't noticed any battery problems. The little menu joystick control button used to toggle the menu screens, as well as the VCR playback options, can be frustrating when you're tired, but that is an extremely trivial concern really.

This camera is expensive, even in the $1500+ prosumer class it tends more to professional range, but I feel it is a great value considering what a fine piece of equipment it is and the wealth of features it offers. It is much much more than enough camera for the consumer and probably a little more than I need actually--I've used mine for a few months and I'm still learning how to wring better and better shooting from it. Once you've used it for a while it becomes clear why this particular model maintains a devoted following. If I have to replace this camera--provided I can afford to--the next camera would definitely be a Panasonic and probably be its big HD brother the HVX.

The DVX 100b is cheaper than the XL2 but you get more features. Aside from the compact and built in XLR ports, you get an optional flip out view finder which the XL2 doesn't offer. If you are looking for a non HD camera i would suggest going with a camera that has an optional 24p because you'll be getting your money's worth and it is a awesome feature to have...

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I bought my first DVX100b around May-June 07, and my second this April of 08. Impressed enough to buy a second one.

But really this camera is a well rounded DV camera. Its about as good as you can get with out going HD.

The shots are solid as well as the quality of image. It does not take much to learn the controls, yet in no way is it consumer level technology. Between the white balance controls, the light gain levels, and the 3 filter settings this camera can adapt to a wide range of settings. The color and clarity of the image is brilliant but where the DVX100 really impressed me was in low light conditions. I am a wedding videographer and I was terrified of the reception because theres usually very little lighting and the footage looks black. The DVX100b can keep a good quality image while in very low lighted settings.

The only problem I really had was when I first used it, it was difficult to keep a steady shot. Still with practice over time it becomes easy to hold and have a steady shot.

Above all this camera is freindly for those who have never used a pro camera before, and customizable enough to fit even the best of professional videographers. I recommend this camera to any videographer out there, I especially recommend this camera for those that are beginning and need a camera that can hold you together until you get your style down.

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This is my 4th DVX100 (all still in operation BTW) and I like the updated features and the new tape loading mechanism. The quality is superb and the handling balance is what I've become accustom to with this camera. This camera is still viable for any work performed today and should be a very usable camera even when HD penetrates more i the market, If you are making a decision on a dependable pro video camera with durable features, this is the one to choose hands down!

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I'm not going to rant on & on about all the features & how they compare to ALL the other models, you will go NUTS trying to keep each models pros & cons straight in your head & get dizzy after a while!! LOL I know I did!

After TOO much research, I broke down & finally bought this camera & let me tell you, we have been nothing but pleased in that decision! One of the key deciding factors, besides the most 'BANG" for the buck, was ALL the online user help groups with very active forums & myriads of artcles & info to ANY question that a new user could EVER need! We have had it for a year & we have yet to call Panasonic with ANY questions, as they are readily answered by a quick post or search on the dvx user forums! I am currently looking for a good fluid head for our camera as my son wants to film hunts this year & bought a tree arm, but the 503 Mafrotto, is proving to be elusive,as it has been discontinued , but happens to be the one my son "NEEDS" wouldn't you know!! LOL

Anyways, I highly recommend this for the new (or experienced!)

"PRO" filmaker, It's been a 100% POSITIVE experience for us! Hope this helps...

BTW, I know HD is the new wave of the future & the ultimate way we will eventually switch over to, but not until the prices come WAAAAYYY down!

Panasonic DMR-E80H Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder with Hard Drive , Silver

• Built-in 80 GB hard drive
• Hybrid VBR (variable bit rate) technology lets you record up to 6 hours on a single-sided DVD-RAM disc
• Time Slip lets you watch from the beginning a program whose recording is still in progress
• Progressive-scan video output for film-like images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs
• Plays DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, music CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and MP3 CDs

First of all, kudos must go to Panasonic for insisting on sticking to the far superior DVD-RAM technology for re-recordable discs since the discs physical surfaces are fully protected and the data is apparently better organized.

I have to say that I absolutely love this device!

Record to HDD, then burn what you want to keep to DVD-R or the far superior DVD-RAM, and finally erase what programs you don't need.

The only limitation is that the DVD-RAM's will only play back on Panasonic DVD players, however, the DVD-R recordings in my experience will play on all modern DVD Players.

The remote control has been fully perfected as opposed to the one they had for this model's 40 GB predecessor which was a horror show.

I liked the look and design of the earlier 40 GB unit a little better and it also had a few more plug in ports for memory sticks and the like, but this one is far more functional in terms of button location, ease of use, and the remote control.

Realistically, you have to use SP or XP speed for best visual clarity so the 106 hours of storage it claims to record at EP speed is not something you'd really be using.

However, with the HDD to DVD-R or DVD-RAM transfer capability (It does this at higher-speed rather then playback speed) you can record, transfer, and wipe.

The next model should have more drive space but this will do nicely for most of us for now.

I will never record to VHS EVER again!

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This is a great recorder, the HD space of a Tivo (but no channel guide, bummer), together with the DVD-R/RAM disk read/write capability of the panasonic recordersa perfect match.

Correction for the posted specs:

the E80H model (w/ hard drive) does NOT have a digital Firewire input, and does NOT have coax digital audio out (optical only.)

The E60S (no hard drive) and the older HS2 model (smaller harddrive, more $$) have firewire input.

This player does play MP3s, and will actually also play DVD-Audio disks (but I think only in stereo , not 6channel sound.)

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DMR-E80H Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder with Hard Drive , Silver Here

This is a dual review, for the Panasonic DVD-R Recorder DMR-E80H and the Toshiba sd-h400. Hopefully it can help those deciding between the two. I had done the research and was on my way to collect the Panasonic when the video store I had called told me they were just unloading the new Toshibas. It was a hundred plus less than the Panasonic and included TIVO. My fiscal side took over and I figured I'd give it whirl. I have an extended digital cable box and the Sony KP57WV700 57" HDTV that I was going to interface this with, pretty straightforward system.

Here is the simple layout of what I wanted to do: 1. cable in to digital cable box, out via component cables [red, green, blue] to HDTV [this produces the best signal and HD channel output on the TV]. 2. cable in to Toshiba/Panasonic for recording basic cable Ch. 1-98. 3. Video [composite?] out from digital cable box to Toshiba/Panasonic to record HDTV or whatever channel is on, on the digital cable box.

First off neither the Toshiba or Panasonic boxes has component in, so they couldn't receive the best signal from the component out on the digital cable box.

The Toshiba touts and comes with Tivo basic, which gets you 3 days advance programming via their guide, chasing playback, etc. This was the first experience I had had with a Tivo product. The setup for the Toshiba took a long time [multiple phone calls and data manipulation], and compounding things it was required that a phone line be utilised for the connection. A bad thing if you don't have a jack around, so I had to string one across hallways in ungainly fashion. Not good. I should say, you can buy a wireless USB adapter if you want, or a USB Ethernet connector to get your updates if you want.

Second hit against the Toshiba/Tivo, and this is what bothered me the most: they do not allow recording / timer recording from a second video input source unless you upgrade to the Tivo Plus service. This bit of info is nestled in the middle of the manual during extended setup. So for my set up which had cable signal in via RF and composite video in from the digital cable box, it meant I couldn't record as line in from the digital cable box.

Finally, the recording quality of the Toshiba ranged between three levels, taking their appropriate chunk of the HD. The Panasonic offered more flexibility here with more levels and their times. Tivo also is constantly writing to the HD to maintain their `manipulate live tv' functionality.

The DVD playback output between the two was comparable, you can choose between progressive and interlaced if you have a TV that supports it.

So I took the Toshiba back and got the Panasonic which I should have done I the first place. It has a much more professional finish, there are no fourth grader designed graphics/buttons on it like the Tivo. The Panasonic allowed me to hook up three more video inputs and record against them and do timer recordings on them. Bingo. The picture quality is very close to source using the second to top recording mode which gets you 36 hours of record time, 104 for EP, 74 for the next, and 18 for the top of the line. The Panasonic also has the time slip functions that let you watch a prior recorded item from the HD if you're currently recording, and it lets you watch the beginning of a recorded item *while* it's recording. Nice if you show up for the program 10 mins. late. It also records to DVD-RAM and DVD-R if you want to dub your VHS tapes or something you watch on broadcast TV, but that's a secondary feature to me so I didn't get too into it.

And so, for my setup, the Panasonic was the superior choice I should have exercised the first go around. Be alert to the limitations of the Toshiba if interested in it. I'm definitely enjoying the functions and features of the new Panasonic and can recommend it highly.

Want Panasonic DMR-E80H Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder with Hard Drive , Silver Discount?

I've written some tips based on the reviews here and the problems that I've had. I hesitate to write them, because it makes the Panasonic DMR-E80GH seem so complicated. It's true that it is more complicated than a plain DVD-player, but it does so much more!

1.) The Panasonic DMR-E80H has a hard drive similar to a computer. So it helps to treat it like you would a computer. Get a high quality surge protector and plug the DVD player into it. If you turn the DVD-player off or unplug it, wait a minute or so before you turn it back on or plug it back in. You want to allow the hard drive to power all the way down before you ask it to power back up. I unplug it (and all my home entertainment equipment) during thunderstorms, just like I do my computer. Sometimes the DVD player needs to finish what it is doing before it will respond to a new command from the remote or a button on the machine.

2.) There are two important buttons: HDD (hard drive) and DVD. Whichever one is active will be lit (on the DVD player). So, if you press a button on the remote and you don't get the expected response, check to see which one is lit. For example, if DVD is lit, then pressing 'stop' then 'enter' won't stop a program from recording to the hard drive. So you have to push HDD first, and then 'stop' then 'enter'.

3.) Consider keeping the old DVD player hooked up for children.

4.) For DVD-Audio, the default setting is typically stereo 2.0, and you must go into the set up menu of the DVD *disc* to change to 5.1 or DTS.

5.) For playing some DVD-Rs, I've had to go into the DVD *player* set-up menu and select 'disc', then 'DVD-video mode', then select 'on'.

What I like:

Panasonic DMR-E80H has a higher quality picture than our previous two DVD players, one of which was progressive scan. The recording quality is much better than TiVo. I like the fact that it has several inputs. I have inputs from my vcr, two cable boxes, and TiVo. I love the editing functions (which TiVo lacks). When my brother-in-law was Iraq, he wanted news programs. I recorded a news show every day, edited out what he wasn't interested in, and mailed him the discs. He loved it!

I've used the cheapest DVD-R's that I could find locally (not on the internet). They work fine. I recorded a program related to work and passed it out to everyone at work. The discs played on everyone's DVD player. We've had no problems with compatibility (yet).

If you push play twice, it plays at 1 1/3 speed. It still plays the speech, which we can generally understand. This is great for watching something when we're in a hurry. Unfortunately, this only works in HDD mode, not on DVD's.

What I don't like:

It doesn't change the channel on the cable box like TiVo does. Once I wanted to record a program and I pushed the record button. Well, about 10 minutes later, it stopped recording the show to record a previously programmed show. It doesn't warn you (like TiVo does).

I highly recommend this DVD-recorder. I love it.

I had been waiting for DVD-recorder/HDD combo to come out for over 2 years. I had been following the market in Japan since DMR-HS1 and when HS2 came out, I almost bought it. The only thing that held me back was the 40GB HDD that some people seemed to be saying wasn't enough.

So when this DMR80E came out in Japan, I couldn't wait for it to come out here. And as soon as I found out it was out, I ordered it and have had it for 3 weeks.

This was exactly what I had been waiting for!

We record shows regularly and had been using VCR which was really irritating me for the following reasons:

searching for the right location in tape

tapes not long enough (I even used those 10hr tapes

but when I'm out of town that wasn't enough to

hold all the shows)

rewinding (imagine how long it takes to rewind that 10hr tape)

need to worry about overwriting

can't figure out what's in the tape unless i play it back.

All these problems are solved with the HDD.

I guess Tivo/Replay is the same and I did consider buying one previously, but I just couldn't agree to the subscription based business model. I know which shows I want to record, so why pay monthly fee (or ont time lifetime fee) for the service? And how many times would the thing really record shows I like that didn't know about??? Besides I have enough stuff shows to watch regularly that I don't need the machine to tell me about other shows.

Anyway, the DVD-RAM/R is handy for shows that you want to keep around. You shouldn't leave stuff on the HDD if you don't want to lose them. So the other reviewer concerned about the warnings should not be because ANY HDD based electronics has potential data failure against power outage.

Regarding DVD-R compatibility warning, I think that can also be said true for any DVD-R drives because some older DVD drives don't read DVD-R disks properly. Most recent models should be ok, but I think there's always that risk. Oh, be sure to turn on the DVD-R compatible mode when recording if you want to play it back on other players.

One note is that if you want to record stuff from HDD to DVD without re-encoding (ie loss of quality), you need to use the fast copy mode. You had to turn on the DVD-R compatibility mode in order to do this.

JVC Everio GZMG21 20GB HDD Digital Media Camcorder with 32x Optical Zoom

I moved up from a MiniDV camcorder to this one because of the hard-drive recording. It was a *great* purchasing decision. My personal favorite features:

Plug it into your computer, drag and drop the clips to your computer, rename them from .MOD to .MPG, and then author a DVD. NO CONVERSION NECESSARY! Records AC-3 audio.

Easy manual control

Intuitive navigation of the menu structure (MG21 has a 'stick' control while the MG20 did not)

16:9 recording! Fills up my HDTV.

32x OPTICAL zoom

~5 hours of recording time even in the highest quality setting

Downsides:

Quality out of the box is not so good, BUT with a few adjustments it is much better

How I get good low-light/indoors video (do the following steps indoors with the camera in capture mode):

1) Disable the "Gain Up" feature (major contributor to the grainy low-light video)

2) Turn on "Manual" mode (via AUTO button)

3) Go to the manual control menu (down on the 'stick')

4) Set AE to '+2'

5) Highlight 'MWB' in the WB menu, point the camera at a sheet of paper (position the camera so the sheet of paper fills the view of the camera) and press and hold the middle of the 'stick' until 'MWB' stops blinking (about 5-10 seconds).

6) Set S.sp. to 1/60

7) Press down on the 'stick' to exit the manual control menu

After doing this, my indoors video quality is MUCH better (no more noise/grainy video). The settings will be saved, even if the battery is removed or depleted; they will return even if you switch to AUTO mode then back to MANUAL.

I am really happy with this camcorder.

I chose JVC everio of course because of its ability to write video files on hard drive and then easily copy them to my PC ( don't forget to change .MOD extension to MPG to play it in any player. Also you may need MPEG-2 codec which you can find on internet). No tapes, disks, etc. Just calculate how much you will spend on these items of the past. I think they still exist just because of companies getting money for this on the regular basis. If you have a tape camera you are busted for all your life to feed producer of DV cassettes... But this is all just thoughts.

About the camera you can read a lot of reviews for other models which are almost exactly the same and get a lot of useful information. I just chose the cheapest model which is totally enough for my needs. Summary is that this camera is very convenient, battery life is less than 1 hour, video quality during the day is good, during the night is no quality at all and in low light you should play a little bit with the settings. I've read other reviews and just want to repeat this: try GAIN UP setting or follow this advise of one reviewer:

I came of a way to improve its indoors performance

significantly, use "M" mode with white balance set to

"Cloudy" and shutter speed set to 1/50 (in extreme

conditions 1/30)

The camera store these settings, so you just need to

set these once and switch to "M" whenever shooting indoors.

I think JVC should give more hints to people, not everyone can guess such things.

So 5 stars for the idea minus 1 star for battery, bad manual and average video quality.

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I recently purchased this product and have been very happy with the performance. It is very small and light and the recording quality is really good. I especially like the ability to record segments directly to the hard drive. It is very easy to delete the bad takes and just get the good stuff. The quality in dark places or at night is not very good (except for close-up subjects), but considering the size of the camera I am fine with limiting recording the well lit places.

I would highly recommend this purchase, especially for getting good video of kids or friends.

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I got this camera as a graduation gift, yet i had to pitch in 200 of my own, which was completely fine for me..

I use this very often, and my band does touring and I record everything that goes on, and make videos out of the clips.

The hard disk drive is very helpful, because all I need to do is plug into a power source, and I can record out whole show!!!

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THO TO TURN DEMO MODE OFF BEFORE RECORDING WITH THE CAMERA ON A TRIPOD WHEN IT IS STILL, my camera kept shutting off during out last show, and our show tonight will record smoothly..

I use this for documenting pretty much anything that happens, and I love it, cool features like "old reel-type film", black and white, strobe, sepia, and it shoots in 16X9 which is a cool feature to have, because I produce the videos in that format.

I love this camera and would definately tell everybody to buy this camera for any use.

the only negative thing is nightime recording isn't that great, so have an external light source... or don't record at night ;)

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This is a great product. I love the design, size, hard drive (no tapes!), 32X optical zoom, added convenience of an SD card, as well as excellent video quality. The format that it records videos on can be easily changed by changing the extension of the file. Downloads to PC without issues and easy to setup and watch recorded videos on TV. Now the Auto settings are not the best for indoor/low light conditions so try using it under Manual recording mode setting the AE to +3, the WB to Halogen, and the Shutter Speed (S.Sp) to 1/60 or in extreme conditions to 1/30. These settings worked really well for me and I am really happy with it. Also disbale the "Gain Up" feature which is makes video quality bad. I recommend to get a 5-hour spare battery is only like $25-35 online and worth every penny. I have not used the software that came with it though.

TiVo Premiere TCD746320 (Black) with Product Lifetime Service (No Monthly Fees) and 3-YR Warranty,

this box is the $99 box on tivo's site...and the lifetime is 499. That is 600 total. Even at best buy this is 600.

This is a rip off.

However, if this was for the XL listed at 299 + 499 lifetime = 800....then this is a deal.

buyer beware, ripoff prices

This is my first TiVo and it came with the lifetime service. It basically pays for itself after a few years. This box works like a champ. It comes with Pandora, which allows me to make my own radio stations, Love It!!! This box has some really great options, like season ticket that allows you to continually record your favorite show, season after season without having to reprogram the next season. It is really easy to set up the box and remote and TiVo has really great customer service if you need any help.

The only problem I have had has come from the cable company (Advanced Cable) and they are a contractor for Comcast. If you can believe this, I have had to wait two weeks for a cable card to get installed. And even then, they are not sure they will have them. A cable company that doesn't have cable cards in stock?? When I called Comcast directly to find out how this could be, they had to call Advance Cable and confirm this was true!! It is embarrassing to even talk about, but this could happen to anyone evidently. I just moved here, maybe they don't watch much cable here in Santa Fe, NM. So, in the meantime, I have to watch basic cable without the premium channels on my tv that has the TiVo box until the card comes that will allow me to watch the premium channels on cable.

On the positive side, this gives me more time to learn the different functions of the TiVo and listen to my newly created Pandora stations. You can order movies through Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Blockbuster on Demand, Browse YouTube, CinemaNow, rent international and independent films through Jaman. This is not just your everyday DVR, you customize this machine to your lifestyle. Chances are, when my year is up with Comcast for premium channels, I will go to basic cable and use Netflix or one of the many other options for entertainment. This will save a ton of money and I can order the movies directly on my TiVo instantly! Oh, Hulu is also coming to TiVo. Once everyone realizes the freedom they can have with a TiVo instead of using a cable companies DVR, your options are just so much greater and more personalized!

I only paid 549.00 for this TIVO with lifetime.

Buy TiVo Premiere TCD746320 (Black) with Product Lifetime Service (No Monthly Fees) and 3-YR Warranty, Now

My goal in purchasing the TiVo Premiere was to drastically cut what I spend on monthly cable television, and second, to increase flexibility in viewing. I watch little television, but it is a treat to be able to watch what I choose, when I choose. The TiVo has helped me meet my goals. My monthly bill is down to the amount I pay for the cable card rental, which is $8 monthly at present.

TiVo Central is where I select my movies and programs (also have monthly Netflix rental) It is vastly, and I mean, very much improved over the Comcast DVR I had been using. I am very, very satisfied with the switch I made.

I had extreme difficulty installing and sychronizing the TiVo to my systems. I made a couple trips to buy the correct wireless network adaptor, chiefly because I did not know whether my modem was an "N" or the older "B, G" I made so many calls for tech assistance I lost count, and found most of my difficulty happened when an employee at Comcast Tech Assistance incorrectly initialized the air card early on, meaning I was not receiving high definition signals. Once solved, I managed, after about 5 days to get the TiVo functioning correctly. Since, I've thoroughly enjoyed my viewing options, and LOVE the lower monthly fees. Livetime TiVo cost was about $500, and since I will pay it off in two months, I think I am saving approximately $100 a month in cable costs. Sign me "Satisfied in Salem"

Read Best Reviews of TiVo Premiere TCD746320 (Black) with Product Lifetime Service (No Monthly Fees) and 3-YR Warranty, Here

You're tired of the cable or satellite provider screwing you, right? Then don't let this Tivo vendor screw you too. On Tivo's website you can buy this for $640+tax with free shipping. That is the normal price. They often times have discounts making the price more attractive. Don't be swindled by this offer.

The product itself is worth it, I'm just rating this offer.

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Panasonic DVD-LV50 5-Inch Portable DVD Player

• 5-inch widescreen LCD with 4:3/16:9 zoom screen selector and Freestyle design for greater positioning flexibility
• DVD-RAM, DVD-R video playback; MP3, CD-R, CD-RW audio compatibility
• 2.5 hours of playback on internal battery (no bulky attachments)
• Optical digital-audio output passes Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel audio (for use with compatible AV receivers)
• Hi-Speed Smooth Scan scans as high as 200x (you can scan a two-hour movie forward or backward in just 40 seconds)

This unit was designed with the traveller in mind. Here are some of the excellent features I've observed:

1) LCD display can swivel out forward and lean almost flat against the unit great for cramped viewing quarters like economy class on an airplane.

2) Can simulate Dolby Digital and DTS effects in your regular headphones. The effect is breathtaking it's like having a surround sound home theater in your headphones. Action movies never sounded so good.

3) Comes with battery model CGR-H603 which lasted for 2 hours and 26 minutes in my test with the LCD set to factory default brightness and the audio level set to 6 (very loud). You can reduce the brightness to increase the battery life.

4) An optional extended life battery is available (CGR-H601) which in the same test lasted for a whopping 4 hours and 30 minutes. That's a combined 7 hours of battery life great for those longer flights.

5) When the battery dies in the middle of a movie, simply pop in another charged battery and the player will automatically continue the movie from the point where the first battery died. Very convenient.

6) Lightweight! This unit is very light and portable.

7) The 5 inch screen is very easy to watch. The size is not a limiting factor as you quickly get lost in the movie and even forget you're viewing a small screen.

8) This player supports 16:9 letterbox (widescreen) and 4:3 boxed modes.

9) Comes with a full featured remote control.

10) This unit can be hooked up to a TV or home theater receiver with the included RCA/Composite cable.

11) Options include car lighter adapter, cassette adapter, optical cables and more.

Overall, this is the best portable DVD player I have ever been exposed to. It's quality built and small enough for serious travel. ....

Buy Panasonic DVD-LV50 5-Inch Portable DVD Player Now

I bought this DVD for my family this Christmas. It was the best buy of the season. It has already paid for itself in entertain-

ment hours. The picture is GREAT. The sound is wonderful. We have taken it on the road with us and hooked it up to the t.v. in the hotel room. There have been times when we have used this instead of our home DVD. The only thing I have not tried is the battery.

I read all the reviews on this item and others. Everything I read in the reviews were right on target. I am glad I bought this DVD. Price did play a role in my purchase. I wanted to spend around 300 400.00 dollars. I did not look at too many DVD's that were higher. But for the money I am very happy.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DVD-LV50 5-Inch Portable DVD Player Here

When I bought this I was not looking for a DVD player. I have two children ages 8 and 9 who get bored during road trips.

When I saw this little unit playing at Circuit City, I could not believe the clarity of the picture. The fact that it attaches to any TV and works as a portable DVD player is amazing. I love it and so do my children. With the purchase, came a mail-in offer for a free carrying case and earphones, panasonic has done it again. I would highly recommend this unit to anybody who appreciates quality !!! IT'S THE BEST !!!

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I travel a lot and this little device has helped me to retain my sanity.

The screen quality is good, and I've been able to connect the device to my parents wide-screen TV using the accompanying A/V cable. No problems.

The battery could last a little longer (around 2 hours) but that can be solved by picking up the extended life battery (Panasonic CGR-H601A/B Rechargable Battery Pack for Portable DVD Players).

This model does not have a memory stick slot, as do other higher end models. But it does handle MP3 CDs just fine.

The only real complaint I have is that the sound system can sometimes not be loud enough on an airplane--the sound of the engines overrides the sound from the movie making it hard to hear some softer sounds or dialogue. Noise cancelling headphones go a long way to correct this shortcoming.

Having pressed my nose against enough windows admiring these portable DVD players over the last few years, I saw the DVD-LV50 in a store one day and fell in love. I just had to have one, and when my PS2 started having problems playing certain discs, that and falling prices -were the excuses I needed.

At first I was struck by a few negatives about the DVD-LV50. Contrary to what some stores say, it only has a single monaural speaker, which seems cheap and ill-advised in a unit retailing for six big ones and packing state-of-the-art audio processing.

I also think Panasonic should have included the larger rechargeable battery pack that runs for 3½ hours rather than the pack included that runs for two hours. Most folks will probably want to pop for a spare battery, and at only twenty dollars more than the two-hour pack, the bigger battery is probably the better choice.

But it's easy to overlook these quibbles when you see the picture on the DVD-LV50.

This is flat out the best image I think I've ever seen on a screen of ANY size. (In fairness, I don't believe I've seen HDTV, or if I have I didn't notice it.) Sharp, bright, with pure vivid colors and deep blacks, the picture quality is so good it's right off the chart. The picture really is almost three-dimensional, and the fact that it is appearing on a pint-sized player like this is rather astonishing.

Other owners who said you won't notice the diminutive size aren't kidding. The picture is that enticing. Plug in a pair of earbud headphones, and the DVD-LV50 makes a great companion when you're dining alone. Though I haven't yet traveled with the player, I'm sure it would save the day on a train or airplane as well, if you have enough battery power or access to an AC outlet.

One of the other significant pluses of the DVD-LV50 is its "free-floating" screen. Rather than being hinged to the back of the player as on most portables, the screen here rides on an articulated arm that hinges to the player. This gives you more flexibility adjusting the height and angle of the screen to optimize the picture.

Otherwise the player seems to work like gangbusters, tracking every problem disc I can throw at it with nary a glitch or hiccup. One little detail that's very slick is the way the screen fades to black when you turn the power off nice! Slow motion is also very smooth guys know how important this feature is!

In conclusion, the DVD-LV50 is quite a technological achievement, if a mite pricey. The day the price comes down ..., however, these players will simply fly off the shelves.

Memorex 4.7GB 8x Printable DVD+R (100-Pack Spindle)

I have had a lot of luck with Memorex DVD+R in the past but unfortunately my luck ran out with this 100 pack. Memorex discs are made by several different companies. Some disc manufacturers are known for quality and some are known for putting out useless garbage. The Memorex 4.7GB 8x Printable DVD+R (100-Pack Spindle) that I received was made by CMC, a company well known for it's garbage. I thought about returning the spindle right away but I thought I would try them to see how well they worked. Well, their reputation of making garbage is well deserved. So far I have gone through 30 of the 100 discs and have had 25 coasters that did not pass Nero's verify disc process and produced lots of errors in Nero's scan disc. It didn't help to burn these at a slower 4x, they were still garbage. The last spindle of Memorex printable DVD+R that I purchased right here on Amazon was the 4x 100 pack. They turned out to be made by MCC, a company well known for its quality. I didn't have any problems with them at all. Some of the Memorex non-printable discs I have purchased were made by Ritek, a company with a decent reputation. I had very few problems with them as well. So if you're looking for some DVD+R printable media I'd have to recommend avoiding this 8x and sticking with the 4x Memorex for now. Hopefully Memorex will go back to using quality manufactures to making their products for them.

I wish I had seen the other review before ordering this. He was right on the money! Unfortunately I used these DVD+R's to make some Christmas gifts and already gave them out. I have had such good luck w/ Memorex CD and DVD products in the past I guess I just started taking it for granted. I'm sure I'll have friends calling me in the next week or two asking why the DVD's don't work for them. Maybe I'll just point them to this product on Amazon's site and wish them a Merry Christmas. I'll probably order the 4x pack today and try to get them back out between Christmas and New Years day.

A statement well made, stick with the 4x DVD+R from memorex. I have gone through many of them and have had no problems. I have a HP300i 4x internal burner and a LiteOn external 12x burner and neither have had any media related issues w/ the Memorex 4x products.

Hope this helps!

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All the previous reviews need to be updated. CMC Mag's 8X or speedier media have improved significantly since the 4X. As long as your burner is not one of those 1st or 2nd generation (AKA 2.4X or 4X) burners which do not have the writing strategy for the faster media like the 8X (requires firmware update); then you should have no problem with the new CMC media. Anyway, it is still not worth 70 cents a piece, maybe 50 cents.

In general, the quality of newer media starts from 8X is much better for all manufacturers, but I still don't want to touch Optidisc, Princo, and An32 media code discs.

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Like other poor victims that bought this 100 dvds like me, I had a good experience before with Memorex DVD-R 4x not printable surface, so I thought WOW memorex DVD+R in 8x !! but I waste my money, I got it and try 2 DVD in 8x and it give a lot of errors in my dvd player, so I have to burn them in 4x to make them work in my dvd player...SO DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY IN THIS PRODUCT....SOUNDS GOOD IN THE BOX BEFORE YOU TRY IT !!!!

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DON'T DO IT!!!!

THINK AGAIN!!!!

In truth I insult good garbage. These discs are worse.

Over the past year I used over 500 4x printables, and in thaqt time I had 1 Coaster. 7 out of 7 with these. Discs always gave disc dirty error in player. Defects in the media itself. Visible to the naked eye on 3 of them.

Returned the rest of the spindle for a refund.

If you need your media to work the first time, you cannot trust Memorex.

Sony HDR-TG5V High Definition Handycam Camcorder with Built-in GPS Receiver and 10x Optical Zoom

Are you looking for the absolute best quality video & sound available including astonishing low light performance? Then look elsewhere. Are you looking for a camera that you'll actually carry which is also fast & simple to use while capturing very good HD video and acceptable stills? Then stop looking, you've found it. For my money, a camera that gets used is way better than a studio quality hulk that sits in the closet. This thing will fit in pants or jacket pockets. It's a camera my wife will use!

Talk about simplicity, the TG5V has exactly 4 mechanical controls if you include the switch that turns the camera on when you open the LCD. The other three are all located on the back and controlled by your thumb. Zoom ring, video start stop button, still photo button. That's it! Almost all funtions can be set once on the touchscreen menu and then forgotten. But, you can set up a custom menu with your six favorites on a menu that is accessible with one touch of the screen. Very slick and a good thing because the menu is extensive with 14 sub-sections. I set the whole thing up and configured the custom menu without ever opening the manual so I'd rate the new Sony menu design a success.

Video is excellent in HD and still OK in SD. Low light is not the camera's forte but a well lit room is no problem. Batteries last only about 90 min so you'll want a spare. I also bought the wide angle lens and I think most people are going to want that for indoor shots. This camera has a narrower than usual field of vision.

I bought the spare battery & charger kit to free me from carrying the stand and ac/dc converter block. Lastly, I bought the Sony brown leather case with magnetic closure. It's very nice and protects the camera well but I think most of the time I'll carry the TG5V in my pocket in the drawstring bag that came with my Nikon flash. It's perfectly sized and adds almost zero bulk. The wide angle lens has it's own zip leather case. The case velcros onto the camera handstrap and the lens has a separate leash that also clips onto the camera strap. Excellent overall system design.

Edit: Forgot to mention the GPS function. It seems sort of goofy to me but it lets you search for files by location by pointing at the touchscreen. I may grow to like it but for me anyway, it is far from the main reason I wanted this video camera. And it just occurred to me that you may be able to extend battery life by shutting off the GPS reciever.

So why didn't I save $350 bucks and buy the older TG1? The TG5V is about 7% lighter and 10% smaller in volume, has 16GB memory built in, Sony made the touch screen menu system much more usable, and they improved the looks. And then of course there's the GPS thingy?????

Edit 11/07/2009 : Someone left a comment pointing out that when Sony added a bunch of improvements to the TG5V they also took something away. True and a bit strange for a consumer electronics company to remove features. Sony offered 5.1 audio recording on the original TG1V. The new TG5V on the other hand makes do with 2 channel stereo recording. I can think of several reasons why it should have been stereo to begin with but I can't figure out why, once they had 5.1 audio implemented they'd remove it.

So why go with stereo? A lot of customers don't own home theaters with 5.1 surround sound systems. Those who do will likely play back their video on a computer where multi-channel audio doesn't add much "wow". Or they'll burn their memories to a DVD and send it to grandma and aunt Susie who again, don't have a home theater. Or they'll post it on YouTube for others to watch .....you guessed it, on a computer. Also let's face it, this camera is tiny without an input for an external microphone. How good can a tiny 1/8th inch built in mike do separating 5 channels of audio with directional cues?

Do I miss the 5.1 channel audio? Not at all. I view it as an acceptable tradeoff for the worlds smallest high quality video camera that is actually going to get used because of its portability.

Why did Sony jettison a feature they had already designed into the product? No idea. Cost? I doubt it, this camera is marketed to well heeled consumers and the cost difference was probably a few bucks. Maybe they also decided it was a useless feature for the target buyer. Or, maybe their AVCHD codec was having problems with 5.1 audio. It remains a mystery.

This is a fantastic camera. The video and camera controls are easy to use and the zoom is easy to control. It fits very nicely in my pants pocket. The only deficiency is that the documentation for Macintosh OS use is very poor, and actually misleads you to think that the camera is not Macintosh compatible (I was angry when I read the single page on the Sony website, which implied that only photos taken on the memory stick could be used on a Macintosh). Fortunately, I thought I would try to hook it up via the USB to my MacBook Pro anyways. iPhoto automatically launches when the HDR-TG5V is USB connected, and I was able to download the photos the same as with any other camera. The GPS tags worked perfectly. After quitting iPhoto, I ran iMovie 09 and to my delight, it automatically recognized the movies for download. For GPS users, make sure to turn on the camera when you reach a new location and make sure it has had time to triangulate a location (when the three dots becomes a set of bars). If you don't wait for this, the photos are not linked to that location. The other downside is that it lacks night vision, but it does allow for manual focusing and even automatic optimization of focus on faces. Overall, a very handy and convenient camera with excellent movie resolution and good photo resolution.

Buy Sony HDR-TG5V High Definition Handycam Camcorder with Built-in GPS Receiver and 10x Optical Zoom Now

I have an older hdr-fx1, but wanted a small pocket video camera.

This camera video is not as good as the full size, but is very nice in 1080i. It is not a 1080p camera, so saying it is "full HD" to me is really not true. The GPS tagging works, as well as using a standard DVD burner to make disks that have to be read on a BD reader. Curiously, if you use a Sony BD burner, which I also have, the video is fine, but none of the menus are burned into the standard DVD disk. I have a fast XP computer, and you will need that to burn the AVCHD disks.

The sound got hollow and very strange when the background was a waterfall, and also at other times with background sound.

This camera eats batteries, so have 2 or a charger with you.

Video is good, but for this price, is a 720p Vado, Flip or Kodak a better deal? Except for the GPS, the older model has 5.1 surround and is cheaper.

Overall, it is small and a good camera, but pricey.

Read Best Reviews of Sony HDR-TG5V High Definition Handycam Camcorder with Built-in GPS Receiver and 10x Optical Zoom Here

I am crazy about Sony gadgets, saw this cute little HD camcoder, though it is priced little high I bought it.

Ease of use There are no too many buttons to operate. It is simple and handy.

Battery Life Though the specs say the battery can last for 2 hours of video, you loose battery when you replay videos or review pictures. Overall I felt it is better to carry a 2nd spare battery when you are going out

Video in good light Simply superb

Video in low light gets grainy, you might start thinking if it is really a HD cam or not.

Audio crystal clear. Though 5.1 dolby has been removed, 2.1 sounds great

GPS I had been to India for vacation and there were no maps for major cities

Overall:

I rate this as a great handy HD camcoder + still camera in good light but not so good in bad light. I hope Sony rectifies these things in their future releases.

Want Sony HDR-TG5V High Definition Handycam Camcorder with Built-in GPS Receiver and 10x Optical Zoom Discount?

PROS

I bought mine for $1500 so the price now is a huge plus!!

pocket size

good enough battery

STABLE picture

BEAUTIFUL 1080p in good light

GPS

Audio is surprisingly good. Compared to the flip cameras, that is.

works GREAT in Sony Vegas Pro

well made strong metal (titanium apparently)

media files created play well on my three media players popcorn, wdtv and asus

CONS

poor low light (but it's tiny so why complain!)

gps takes a while to get running (again, no biggie)

no external mic (not a biggie unless you are recording interviews, lectures)

I use it for family recordings and sometimes hour-long lectures. I have two Kodak Zi8 and Zi10 (Playtouch). The image stabilization is worth the extra bulkiness. Shakey flip-style recordings are NOT good memory keepers.

if you are editing, thank GOODNESS Vegas 11 handles it out of the box. No point complaining about "oh no it doesn't play on my PC" it's AVCHD, so the responsibility is on you to have a decent machine.

The price now is amazing. Just wish it had external mic capability!

******* UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2012

Ok so now it's been nearly a year. The machine is a little battered (i did drop it on a rock on the beach) but still great BUT -the display screen no longer stands perpendicular meaning when I am filming I need to prop it up with one finger (i think a spring is broken inside) NO BIGGIE! Picture and performance still great. I compare to other small cameras which are more modern and this is still a great machine. I would say it is aging gracefully :-) as it is not completely plastic I think it has a lot of life left in it. Unusually, this camera gets a LOT of regular, weeekly use (most get used during vacations only) so I really cannot complain.

TO MY KNOWLEDGE THERE IS NO TRUE POCKET CAMERA WHICH GIVES THIS QUALITY !!!

If know of one please let me know!

JVC SR-HD1250US Blu-Ray Disc and HDD Recorder

I will try to give anyone interested in this unit some important informa to consider. It did not work for me at all, but it might work for you. To begin the unit is marketed by JVC but I do not think it is their original product. The unit comes in a basic box with no company advertising on it. It does say JVC on the unit but on the menu screens during operation make no reference to JVC at all. It looks very much like the TASCAM Blu-Ray recorder and I would guess it is the repackaged same unit.

First the unit will record to BD-R and BD-rewritable formats as well as DVD-R and RW (not DVD+R or RAM). It will read from +R discs. It is copy protected so if you think you can duplicate store bought DVDs and BDs, you can put that thought to rest....you cannot. All material must go through the HDD first. There is no direct recording to blank media. This is not a bad thing as you can do editing when the title is on the HDD. The unit has several recording modes for High Def and Standard Def. It has NO flexible bitrate modes so you must use the standard modes. For example, for HD recording it offers modes of 2 hours / 4 hours or 6 hours on a 25g disc. The times modes are the same for SD. You can do direct dubbing from a disc to HDD as long as it is copy protected. This means you can dub your TV recordings of CSI to the HDD. It will re-encode the material at the mode selected, for instance SP for 2 hours (SD). This would be a very good thing if you had commericals recorded and you wanted to remove them and then dub the edited title to another disc. You can do those kinds of edits. If your original recording had chapter marks they will appear in the same spots on the HDD dub so you can remove them and input them where you want, or delete portions of the recording, give it a title and select a thumbnail image that will appear on the final menu. These things are pretty nice options.

This is where my problem with the machine came into play. First it has no COMPONENT INPUT, so for me recording HD could only be done from a HD video camera, which I do not own. My cable TV HD box has only a component output but no HD-DV output, which is what this unit requires for HD dubbing, so I could not dub recorded HD to this machine. I could have lived with that.

On page 28 of the manual it gives recoding lengths for each recording mode and how they apply to each recording format. For example, if you record a title in the SP mode, which is 2 hour on standard definition 4.7g DVD-R it would translate to 10.5 hours on a 25g BD-R. To any reasonable person this would imply that this machine could actually put standard defintion on a BD-R? It cannot. If you record in standard definition you must dub it to a DVD-R or RW. It cannot be dubbed to BD-R. So why tell the buyer that you can get 10.5 hours of standard definition on a BD-R disc, when this machine cannot do it. I do not know, I tried to ask JVC and got no response.

This is what happens if you try. I wanted to take all 14 Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone and put them on 2 BD-Rs in standard definition. Using page 28 as a guide, I did my math and they would fit easily with an hour to spare on each disc. This would be using the SP mode for standard definition. First I had to dub them from the original discs which I recorded off TCM. I had one disc per movie recorded at approximately 7.2 mb/s which is a high birate and would be re-encoded to the SP level of 5.0 but this would mean very little actual loss of image quality. The encode in real time. I did all 14. I should have done one and tested it. It would have saved me 20 hours.

The actual dubbing process went smoothly and all 14 titles were nicely stored on the HDD. I did have to pick the thumbnail images for each and input titles, which is horribly difficult on this machine compared to DVD recorders from Panasonic and Pioneer. After completing this, I inserted my first blank BD-R, only to see the message, disc is incompatible. I had purchased 20 GIGABLOCK discs on Ebay as they were the only ones I could find that said they would work with this unit....they do not. I went to Bestbuy and bought a three pack of Verbatim at $15. The machine recognized that disc and formated it. So stay away from cheap discs in this unit. I followed the dubbing from HDD to BD-R instructions and when the unit detected that a BD-R was inside, I got the message, titles will be dubbed in HD qualty only. I could not change this. I thought well let us try. I selected the first title to be dubbed and received a message that read "some titles cannot be dubbed). This is all it said, just some titles canot be dubbed. This message does not appear anywhere in the manual. No matter what title I selected no standard definition title could be dubbed to a BD-R disc. I put in a standard DVD-R and it would have dubbed it with no problem. I checked in the manual under record mode convertion thinking that I could somehow tell it to do what I needed done, afterall the page 28 graph, said a BD-R could hold 10.5 hours of SD on a disc. But I found that only HD titles on the HDD can be converted down to SD, so you can take a high definition title and put it on DVD-R but it is re-encoded in the mode to fit on the disc.

So that is it for me on the unit, I hope it helps people make a decision. It was a horrible mistake for me, but luckily I had a 15 day return policy to protect me, so I am only out shipping cost. If your HD cable box has a HD-DV output or you want to put your HD videos from your camera on disc, this unit may be very good for you. It just did not work for me. A word of warning even on some of that, as I understand it, many HD broadcasts have copy protection built it which allows only one copy of the material. For this unit that would likely be the transfer to the HDD, it then may not allow dubbing to disc, unless it was converted to SD.

IMPORTANT...if you buy this item and you ship it to use in Canada forget about the warranty (1 year parts and labour)!!!

Interface is not easy to use with multiple steps to get to some of the important functions etc...very important, missing to show the minutes of the titles you want to dub or the total you selected.

I dubbed on one Blu-Ray and after that cannot do it anymore...think I need to repair it already after 6 months (used only few times for dubbing on DVD-R).

Customer Service is the worse I have dealt with (both JVC Canada and USA)...very difficult to reach the right people/department and it feels nobody knows much and nobody gets back to you with answers.

Buy JVC SR-HD1250US Blu-Ray Disc and HDD Recorder Now

I videotape depositions and need to record directly from my camera via firewire to a standalone JVC DVD recorder. This recorder will not allow me to go directly to a SD DVD disk via firewire as an older model JVC SRMV45U/55U would. The older model controlled the start/stop function of my camera and this model does not. You have to firewire into the HDD and then dub to a DVD. Therefore I returned this recorder as it just did not meet my needs.

Read Best Reviews of JVC SR-HD1250US Blu-Ray Disc and HDD Recorder Here

In having this product for 1 week now, I am very pleased with the results. It does everything I wanted it to do. I would recommend this to friends.

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Tascam DP-02CF Portastudio Compact Flash Multitrack Recorder

• Two XLR mic/line inputs with phantom power for condenser microphones
• Eight-track recording at uncompressed 44.1k/16-bit audio quality
• Portastudio-based interface with volume fader, pan, effect send, high and low EQ controls per channel
• EQ frequency button to access high and low EQ shelf frequencies
• USB 2.0 interface for transferring tracks, mixes and backup files to a computer

I purchased the DP-02CF expecting a Multi-Track Recorder, much like the 10 or so Recorders I've owned over the past 25 years past from Tascam. However, even though the new Digital technology is wonderful, things here are not quite what they appear to be in this case...

First, even though you are using a CF Card and you can use up to an 8 gig card [which is great] you are limited to .wav format in FAT 32 which burns 1/2 a gig of space off the top, and limits the length/size of your files per song. Plus the usual FAT 32 file corruption issues which can sneak up on you in a hurry, trust me. Also, be careful, very very careful when buying a card for this deck. The approved media list has a big list of cards that made me cringe, several of the 8 gig options cost lest than $30 on Amazon, Gasp! I mean, you get what you pay for and if you're using ANYTHING less than a Sandisk Extreme 3, you're going to end up cussing out the unit and tascam within 2 weeks! Trust me on this one...

Second, where do I begin?

When you setup a recording and start adding tracks, each time you playback and listen to what you recorded, you are required to go back and reassign everything from scratch, including track sends! Nice huh... This doesn't sound like much at first, but after you use the unit for a while it becomes a time consuming adventure in frustration.

Next, the Deal Killer...

This unit should be described as a very limited Mixer, with a 2 track recorder with bounce down capabilities slapped on the top. This is not a multi-track recorder like any I've ever owned before or even a decent mixer, since NO EFFECT SEND is available during recording! You heard me right, you can't even add compression to a vocal as you record, but more on this later.

So, I was expecting PRE and POST eq [as almost every other deck I've owned from Tascam in the past] but alas even though there is nice eq, effect sends and controls, they are all POST. In fact in Record mode you only have 2 tracks, dry to the card that's it. Only in POST final mix-down to a DVD, or whatever you make your master on [No bounce-down eq/effect capabilities either since EVERYTHING IS POST HERE!] Like I said, this makes this unit a mixer with a recorder slapped on, not a full featured recorder as it appears to be. I mean if your 15 and this is your first recorder for band demos, great! Otherwise you will be sadly disappointed.

This means if you plan on using the eq, and effecting your signals during bouncing down, NONE of the adjustments you make during mixdown will record to the track, it's just a mixer kids! So, if your vocal stack of 4 tracks needs a little hi end added during bounce, or if the bass guitar/guitar/keyboard mixdown needs a little extra push, or you need to do anything during the mix-down process getting to your final 8 tracks, tough luck! Only in the final mixdown to another device, can you use any of the eq/effects. This is why the unit is so inexpensive, and why it's useless for anything other than live 2 track demos and practicing bounce down, so that later when you buy a real recorder you'll know what to do.

This is the reason why I was in shock when my unit arrived. Just remember when looking for a multi-track, always ask up front if your deck has PRE and POST options for eq/effects. I should have asked, oh well...

Here's another example of the frustration.... Let's say your recording live and you want to add in some compression to the vocal track as it's live going into the deck. Tough luck! You can't use the effect send to add your $1000 compresser/limiter and Exciter. How about adding a little eq to the bass guitar from the line in, same deal tough luck! NOTHING can be added to the instruments as they go in, or as they are bounced down, it is ONLY during final mix-down TO ANOTHER DEVICE that you can you add anything!

One last time, everything on this mixer [aka multi-track] is post. You might as well buy a nice mixer, and a zoom, you'll have more options and a better final mix. Plus, you won't have to worry about your CF card corrupting from the Fat32 formatting after spending 3 days recording and bouncing down tracks.

If they had only been honest in the description of this unit [and it's NOT Amazon's fault, they just list the factory description which is totally misleading] then I could have avoided wasting a week trying to find out why I couldn't save any of my mixdown settings.

Buy Tascam DP-02CF Portastudio Compact Flash Multitrack Recorder Now

After having the fortunate opportunity to play with both the Tascam DP-02CF and the Fostex MR-8 MKII in a local music supply store I was very impressed at how much easier the Tascam DP-02CF was to operate than the Fostex MR-8MKII. For roughly the same price (and the advice of the sales clerk) I opted for the Tascam over the Fostex.

The user-interface is as friendly as Mr. Rogers on laughing gas, after using the device for ten minutes I was recording vocals and guitar tracks. The unit has a recording limit of two tracks at a time so this might not be the appropriate tool for professional use. However, for small-time/home use it is perfect.

It is very apparent that Tascam has designed this unit with the outmost simplicity in mind. I can tell after using other high-end 8-track recorders the DP-02CF was made recording tracks quickly and with no technical hassles. This is really convenient for amateur musicians who are just getting started in recording and editing music.

For a limited time (so I'm told) Tascam is including a 1GB flash card with the unit so buyers can start recording as soon as the recorder is plugged in. One thing I will mention is the lack of USB cable. In order to drag and drop music files from the unit to your PC or Mac you will need to purchase a separate USB cable (like the kind that printers use) because it is not included with the DP-02CF. Something to keep in mind if you are buying online or in stores.

The quality of the sound is as close to CD-like as I've ever heard with using an digital 8-track recorder of this caliber and in this price range.

Note: For a limited time some units have been mislabeled with the Tascam "Portastudio" logo reading "Portastud" (sounds like a blow-up doll for women) and some websites are offering discounts because of this misspelling. I am one of the proud owners of the "Portastud" models!

TASCAM DP-02CF Digital Portastudio Specifications:

Recording:

Recording Medium: Compact Flash memory card

Recording Resolution: 44.1 kHz/16-bit

Number of Recording Tracks: 8 tracks plus Stereo Master track

Number of Simultaneous Recording Tracks: 2 tracks

Frequency Response: 20 Hz 20 kHz (+1/-3dB)

Signal to Noise Ratio: >85dB (A-weighting, 22kHz LPF)

T.H.D.: 0.02% (1kHz, 10dBV, 22kHz LPF, master fader at nominal)

I/O:

Analog In (INPUT A/B)

Connector: XLR-3-31 type (Pin2:hot) and 1/4" TRS phone

Nominal/Max Input Level: -8 dBu/+8 dBu

Input Impedance: 2.4k ohms, >10k ohms on guitar input

Phantom Power: 48V (on/off selectable)

Line Output:

Connector: 2x unbalanced RCA jacks

Nominal/Max Output Level: -10dBV/+6 dBV

Output Impedance: 1k ohm

Effect Send:

Connector: 1/4" phone (unbalanced)

Nominal/Max Output Level: -10dBV/+6 dBV

Output Impedance: 1k ohm

Digital Out:

Connector: Optical (TOSLINK) digital audio output

Data format: S/PDIF

Headphones (PHONE 1, 2)

Connector: 1/4" stereo phone jack

Max. Output: 25mW + 25mW (@32 ohm)

Physical:

Dimensions (w x h x d): 16.4" x 2.6" x 11.8"

Weight: 4.1 lbs.

Power Requirement: 12V, 2.5A (TASCAM PS-1225 power adaptor)

TASCAM DP-02CF Digital Portastudio Features:

Two XLR mic/line inputs with phantom power for condenser microphones

Eight-track recording at uncompressed 44.1k/16-bit audio quality

Portastudio-based interface with volume fader, pan, effect send, high and low EQ controls per channel

EQ frequency button to access high and low EQ shelf frequencies

USB 2.0 interface for transferring tracks, mixes, and backup files to a computer

Dedicated stereo master track for mixdown

Internal metronome and bar/beat display for song position

Headphone output

Stereo line outputs on RCA analog and S/PDIF optical digital connectors

1GB Compact Flash card included with enough room for a dozen songs or more

1GB Compact Flash card included as a launch promotion

Read Best Reviews of Tascam DP-02CF Portastudio Compact Flash Multitrack Recorder Here

Yep, this recorder is pretty easy to use, and handy, and fun and all that, but it has one bug that drives me nuts. In the heat of recording, when you are doing multiple takes, it's easy to hit the stop and play keys too quickly in succession. When that happens, the unit freezes up and you cannot play back, or record, or save data, or do anything at all. Your only option is to pull out the power cord and start over. You will have lost everything that wasn't saved before the freeze.

This is a piss off, and probably something the Tascam engineers can't or won't fix anytime soon. Caveat emptor, fellow artistes. Other than that, it is a pretty nifty unit.

Also, make sure you clear editing history fairly often (you'll see what I mean), or the unit thinks you've run out of storage space. I think this is a RAM and not a flash card problem, but the 1GB compact flash card won't hold that much in any case. Get a bigger one (or three.) They're getting cheaper all the time.

Want Tascam DP-02CF Portastudio Compact Flash Multitrack Recorder Discount?

Amendment to review: I should mention that you should familiarize yourself with the features of the DP-02 before buying this. It's about $150 more, but I think, in retrospect, it would have been a better choice for me. You'll have to lay out $100 or so for a decent-sized Flash card, anyway. Why not just get the built-in disk drive plus the other extra features? If I could, I'd trade mine in for the DP-02.

original review:

I've had this unit for a few weeks now. I like it. It's relatively easy to use. In my opinion, it's much easier to use than any software I have used, mainly because you don't have to deal with compatibility issues with sound cards, etc.

I found it a bit confusing at first, trying to figure out how to get a song from the main partition into the FAT partition from where you can then copy it to your computer. Not a big deal, though. My main complaint is the lack of accessories.

They don't bother to include a USB cable, and it's one of those unusual USB cables with a different fitting that you're unlikely to have sitting around from a digital camera or MP3 player. I had to pay $35 for one at Best Buy after searching around the house for it for several days. (I could hardly believe they wouldn't have automatically included it with the unit, so I assumed I must have set it somewhere when I opened the package and forgotten about it.)

Also, the 1G Flash card gives you hardly any space to work with. The main review says it has room for a dozen songs or more. This is not true. I started running out of space after playing around with only four very short demos (anywhere from 45 seconds to 2 1/2 minutes), most of which did not use all eight tracks.

I think you need a 4G card minimum. That's going to cost you upwards of $75 extra, in addition to the $35 to pay for a USB cable. So be ready to invest $110 more, at the very least, to make this unit usable. (In reality, an 8G or 16G card would probably be more appropriate if you want to have a decent amount of space for your recordings. These are not cheap at all. I priced 4G cards in the $70-$80 range at Best Buy, and those larger cards are sure to be quite a bit more.)

Again, though, it's a great unit. So, if you don't mind laying out a bit of extra money for accessories, it's definitely worth the price. (Cheaper in real dollars than the original Tascam 4-tracks were back in the 80s. Imagine how much cheaper if you take inflation into account!)

I have owned the Tascam DP-02CF for ONE WEEK. So my opinions are from a new user's point of view. Previously, I had been using my old Tascam 424 4-track recorder. Now with the DP-02CF, I GET TWICE THE TRACKS, with 5 TIMES THE TECHNOLOGY all for about HALF THE PRICE! Hard to beat that deal!

COMMENTS ON ISSUES

1) No you don't get any special effects on this machine.

But I read that the effects on the DP02 were bad anyway so no loss there. Besides, as a guitarist, you should already own an effects processor before owning this machine. (It just seems like the logical order to do things).

I like that this machine HAS NO BELLS OR WHISTLES. That's just more stuff to confuse you with. I bought this to do recording not to get lost in a wave of features and technology.

2) No, it is not the end all for recording.

It is just the opposite. This is a basic machine. I don't plan on making professional CD's from it just acid tapes or whatever. However, I'll bet a really skilled person could make professional quality recordings from this machine.

3) Yes, the manual is poorly written.

And you CANNOT just start recording "right out of the box." If so, then you are either a genius or you probably owned one of these machines before.

Is it my imagination or are some things not even written in the proper order?

Like, shouldn't the details for Formatting the CF Card come at the beginning rather than on Page 39?

And it can be confusing as they talk about something but you are not sure what it applies to until later! (e.g. For AUTO-PUNCH: the "In-and-Out Marks" are explained on page 30. But Auto-Punch is later explained on Page 33).

However, you can start recording fairly quick and learn the key features as you go along. There will be a little learning curve if you are new to this (as I was). But hey, I HAVE RECORDED 3 SONGS IN MY FIRST WEEK!

4) The 1G Card holds about 8 minutes of music using just 4 tracks.

I don't know why they say "holds dozens of songs." That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen. One key thing: ERASE YOUR HISTORY once you have finished the song. Otherwise, you won't even get 5 minutes.

5) Annoying Trait It Can Lock Up So Save Often!

THIS IS FOR UNSKILLED MUSICIANS LIKE ME WHO DO 50 TAKES PER TRACK.

If you keep messing up and keep hitting Stop-Rewind-Record really fast, the machine locks up and you have to unplug it losing everything IF you did not Save it.

SOLUTION: I finally learned after my 10th Lock Up to use the Location Mark so that you just hit the "Insert" button and it takes you back. IT IS SOOOOO MUCH NICER to record with this feature. So the LOCK UP PROBLEM HAS BEEN RESOLVED.

FINAL THOUGHTS

A good machine for the price. And it looks better at home than in the picture. It is also a little bigger and heavier than I thought. By this I am implying that it does indeed seem like a well built machine. A Solid Machine for Beginning-Intermediate users.