Defender ST300-SD Covert Fully Functional Alarm Clock Security DVR with Built-in Color Pinhole Surv

Gives a sharp clear image, but with a range of view so limited that it is difficult to see how it could catch anyone doing anything. It could serve your purpose, but only if you are lucky. The chances of whoever you're hoping to catch doing anything that happens to be perfectly in range of the camera is very low. In the end, it was a waste of money.

This sounds like a neat idea in concept as it provides a means of surveillance in an unobtrusive looking alarm clock form. However its functionality and video capture is somewhat limited so setup and results could be problematic. Please note, no sound is captured in case that is your expectation.

AIMING COULD BE CHALLENGING:

Given there is no display in this device to accurately aim it, you need to hook it up to a display device. In my case the two places, I used it the most were near a TV display. This way I could get an accurate aim. If you can't do this it is your best guess and you might not get what you want.

MOTION DETECTION USAGE:

Since there is no display, setting up the sensitivity of motion detection can only be done when connected. They do this nicely. However I could never get the right mix of sensitivity for the case I was trying to photo graph. I was pointing outside a window and tree movements were being captured by the camera, so it was running as long as it was light. Pretty tedious viewing that video as it ran non-stop. I also found, it is amazing how you can end up pointing out a window when you don't realize it. I had this unit in my foyer and did not notice that it had the kitchen window in view. Alas another non-stop video. When I finally had the sensitivity right, the light quality was too poor for the video.

VIDEO QUALITY:

Video quality not surprisingly is determined by the amount of light on the subject being recorded. When I had this camera pointing out a window in bright sunlight, it did a passable job of capturing what was going on. However as I mention above, then the motion detection was triggered too often by tree movements and light changes, so it is a fine line.

Using this camera indoors, you need to be careful you don't end up with a back-lit situation. I had this camera in my foyer for a bit, to see how well it worked and unbeknowst to me, it was pointing toward a window that determined the brightness of the scene, rendering the rest of the video useless as it was then too dark in other than the window area.

The video quality is horrible in even slightly poor lit areas. . Anyone trying to capture video in all but verty well lit situations would be advised to consider another device. When it is dark, you get nothing. When it is dim, you get a highly pixelated video that is muddy in the middle and you would be hard pressed to tell if there was a cat, dog or alien in the view. I could not tell my 20 pound cat from my 7 pound cat.

VIEWING VIDEO:

This was easy enough and had a fast-forward you could use to rapidly scan your video. However the buttons are a bit unresponsive and you do have a certain amount of trial and error to figure out how it works.

You can also pull out the SD card and put it in your computer to view. Mnd you, you need to re-set it up when you put it back in the device. One time I did this and did not tell it to start recording again, so got nothing for several days until I checked on it next.

USAGE IN WORK AREAS:

If you are pondering buying this and bringing it to work, to surreptitiously record, I would not recommend this, unless you get written permission by your employer. I know of many cases where employees have been fired for recording anything at work without the subject's permission. Both sound and video are issues. Given that this device is clearly appearing to be "just an alarm clock", it is a stealth device.

SUMMARY:

This is a base level recording device. It's usage is limited to only well lit areas. It captures only video, there is no sound capture, so if that is a requirement, this is not the device for you. The motion detection to limit the video quantity taken is touchy. When I got the right mix for the motion detection, it sacrificed video quality, to such a degree to render the device almost unusable. To be honest, I think it is overly pricey for the quality. Even half this cost would be too much considering the video quality. NOTE: I'm stating this based on viewing some inexpensive video cameras my son has purchased to wear when skiing or to put on kites. Mind you they did not have motion detection, but the video was much better.

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I bought this because I had a feeling my cleaning lady was going through my purse, etc.

I proped it up in my bedroom and what do you know? ... I got footage of her going through my purse, my wallet, trying on my clothes (eeewww!!) and stealing my beauty products.

Needless to say we fired her!

I agree with all the pros and cons listed for this item.

Luckily my room is small, and well lit... so I got great footage!

But I can see the drawbacks for those wanting a wider range of area shot and if their area is poorly lit.

I must confess that I never did figure out the freaking sensor. I just did manual recording and had to sift through the footage with no movement on it. Yes that SUCKED... but I assume it's my laziness not their fault. Wish it were easier to set it up though... as I'm not a total retard and have a general knowledge of electronics.

So the bottom line is: it served its purpose, I caught the maid red-handed, and I couldn't work the sensor cause it's a pain in the butt.

Overall, I'm happy I paid $200 for this because who knows how much more she would have taken!

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The MSRP of this device is absolutely shocking. This hidden camera is complete junk that shouldn't be selling for more than $30.

The general picture quality is poor, in low light situations it's downright terrible, the field of vision is much too narrow, and the menu system/operation is overly complicated and unintuitive. It's really surprising just how bad the picture quality is. Most smart phones from 2009 take better video.

Do not buy.

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This product does what it is supposed to do. The motion detection works, and the video was clear enough to have my property manager arrested for burglarizing my apartment, which is why I bought the camera. The only inconvenience is that to review the video, you have to hook the clock up to a telivision, there is no USB hookup. To transfer the files to a computer you have to get a sim-card reader, but they are cheap at Walmart, so no big deal. This product did the job that I needed it to do. If you know there is something going on, and you want to capture it on video, and you know where to point the camera, this is the right product. It will do the job. Leave the lights on because you need good lighting.

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VideoSecu 2 Pack 100 Feet Camera Video Power Extension Cables with 2 of 12V DC 500mA Power Supplies

Good value but make sure to support it well as I made a mistake and the BNC ends were overly strained, causing them to fail. (looked fine but broken wire inside) I had to repair.

price was great compared to local stores, delivery was fast I would definitely use this vendor again

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GE 73311 15-Feet RG6 Video Cable, White

This cable is long and so you don't have to worry about it getting pulled out. It has a quality plug as well.

It is fine for what it is---not the highest quality as you would guess due to the price. It is what it is

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Good quality, have not seen any signal loss. Good for moving your your cable (Internet/tv) providers end point to a different place in the house. It is stiff like every other coaxial cable but once you bend it at an angle it maintains the angle pretty well, suitable for corner runs.

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Very good basic coax cable. The price was excellent and the free shipping I received tagging it on to another order made it worthwhile ordering.

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That's about I can say. It arrived quickly and it works. Much less expensive than at the big box stores.

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U.S. Patrol JB5472 Photo Patrol Security Camera

I purchased two of these. Upon putting the batteries in (yes they were in correctly) the unit got extremely hot and the batteries (brand new, purchased same day) got extremely hot. Before I could get the batteries out the unit was smoking. When I went to return, the Amazon page said the items were not returnable. So I spent over $70 for nothing. Do not purchase these our you will be out money too. Shame on Amazon, Shame on US Patrol.

I plugged it into a USB port and it worked fine.

I inserted new batteries and the unit started to smoke and a burning plastic smell came from the unit.

I'm returning it for a replacement because it would be a good product if it worked.

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I got mine and it has worked fine so far. The property I am watching is in the country ad isolated. The first time I left it there, it's batteries ran out before I got back to download the pictures. It appeared someone had been around but because the batteries failed, I didn't get any pictures. I have always used a 2GB SD card that to make sure I don't loose any pictures. It would have been nice to have a suggested life of the batteries included in the instructions.

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I ordered 2 of these, one worked OK the other had some thing wrong with it. After turning it on it smoked and the batteries got hot, ( yes the batteries were inserted correctly) Both units had wires sticking out the circuit board in the Battery compartment that made one of the batteries hard to insert and remove. For the price if they were made or put together right would be a great buy. The one that worked took really clear and nice pictures. But I feel the quality control sucked. Sorry I really wanted to give this item a very positive review.U.S. Patrol JB5472 Photo Patrol Security Camera I really hope I just had bad luck and got the only 2 bad cameras.

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I placed some brand new batteries into unit. Carefully made sure they were in correctly since some people had reported the unit overheating. I pressed the power button and 4 seconds later smoke was pouring out of the unit! I got slight burns to my fingers trying to pull the batteries out and they were still hot a minute later. The only thing that would do this is a direct short through the batteries. I notice Amazon stopped selling them. Is this why?

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Sanyo VPC-TH1 HD Compact Flash Memory Camcorder w/ 30x Optical Zoom (Silver)

I also bought this camera without doing much research. I was looking for a camcorder that was HD "quality", uses SDHC memory card and for a price around $300. The Sanyo met all the criteria so I purchased it from Amazon.

I also picked up a 16 gb Transcend memory card.

Let's go over the PROS first --

.

++ It is really easy to use. Just point and shoot. Just like using a digital camera, except it's a digital video camera.

++ Having the memory card is so much better than using mini-DV tapes. There is no longer a need to plug the camcorder into your computer fireport or USB port. After I am done shooting, I just pop out the memory card, put it in my memory card reader and copy it onto the hard driver. Doesn't get much better than that!

++ Transferring files are a lot faster than mini-DV tapes. Before, you had to play/record in real time. Due to fact that everything is digital, the transfer is quite fast!

++ Battery life is very good. You can get around 200 minutes of video time. I also like the fact that the battery indicator tells you the approximate MINUTES left. I hate it when they just show a battery symbol and start deducting "spaces/icons" from the battery. I need to know the numerical time value, which this camera provides

++ YouTube uploads are amazingly easy. Just click on the file you want to use, and upload. Make sure you watch in HQ quality on YouTUbe

++ Size is perfect. It's a lot smaller than my mini-DV camcorder, but not too small where it feels like a toy.

++ Build/Construction. I bought the blue version and the blue looks very good. It feels solid in your hands and appear that it could take some abuse. It's not too light and not too heavy. It just feels good in your hands.

++ Quality overall, quality of the video is good for a $300 video camera. You cannot expect true HD quality from this. However, I do have a problem with the focus (see the CONS below)

.

OK here's the CONS

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Focus ---the although the camera has face recogition, there is no way to "lock" onto one person. In other words, if there are 3 or 4 people in the same shot, the camera tends to jump around with the focus between the different faces and it gets annoying during playback. It seems like the camera keeps searching for the right focus. If there is a way to "lock" onto a face, please let me know so I can use that feature.

Indoor quality not good. There seems to be more noise than usual while shooting indoors. Of course, I should have turned on more lights indoors but I am still working on improving my indoor shots.

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Would I buy this camera knowing what I know? Absolutely!! The price is right. If they could fix the focus issue, this camera would have met all my expectations

The specs for this camcorder are exciting; the images, sadly, are not really much better than standard definition images. If you want something to capture video for the web, and that allows you to do more tweaking than you can with simpler camcorders like the Flip Mino, then this would not be a bad choice. Just don't expect it to give you truly high quality images. Also, the onboard memory holds next to nothing, so when buying this camcorder you should factor in the price of at least an 8GB SDHC card to store the video you shoot. Overall, I think this would be a very good camcorder for beginners, since it is easier to work with flash memory than to mess around with tapes, and since practicing with the functions here will prepare one for using a more advanced camcorder when the time comes (and the budget allows). It does look good, and is fairly well designed. For many purposes this would be just the thing.

I shot some footage with this in its "SD" 30fps mode and its "HD" 30fps mode (which uses a lot more memory per minute of video), and played it all back on my 42" SANYO LCD HD television using an HDMI cable. What surprised me was that I could distinguish very little overall difference in quality. There was more contrast in the HD picture, which is important, but otherwise I couldn't tell a difference at least, I couldn't say for sure which video images I preferred. In a situation where my aim was just to capture what's going on, I'd be as happy with a Flip as with this (of course with the Flip there is next to no zooming, so it wouldn't work in every situation). But if the idea was to create a certain "look" or adapt to the needs of a unique situation (e.g. bright lights against darkness, very bright sun or snow, etc.) then it would be nice to have the flexibility of the controls on this one.

Some people think that what really matters in a camcorder is the resolution. 720 pixels or even 1080 pixels sounds a lot better than 480p this one can be set to shoot at 720p, which is, technically, "HD" but, as it turns out, that's just one factor in a much more complex equation. The quality and size of the lens, the quality of the processor, the size of the sensor, are all factors that contribute to the overall character of the picture you can get from a camcorder. What that means is that just because a camcorder is "HD" doesn't mean it will give you the best in quality.

I shot this video comparison you see here at a local nature park, using both the HD and the SD mode of the Sanyo TH1 and also shooting for comparison roughly the same images with my Flip Mino. It's hard to really see all the differences here on the small screen (especially given that I had to compress the video for playback on the web), but I find that even when I play it at best quality on my big screen TV it is hard to say which images I prefer. They all have a fair amount of grain to them, and none even come close to the quality of the images I can get on my Canon VIXIA HF10, but they all look okay and for some uses just fine. The critical point for me is that between the three, even though there were some detectable differences, I couldn't decide which I liked best. (You will note in this video the obvious difference in aspect ratios, since the HD footage is widescreen and is here letterboxed so it will fit in the same size screen as the SD footage; another feature is that in bright sunlight the Flip images are pretty washed out, but they are about equivalent in normal light conditions and even relatively low light conditions).

For the purposes of this test I had all the settings on automatic, and only changed the video capture setting from HD to SD between shots, but it's worth noting that unlike simpler camcorders the TH1 does give you some flexibility with the images, allowing for all the standard adjustments (white balance, exposure, etc.) and the usual settings (sports, snow, fireworks, etc.) and effects (transitions, sepia, b/w, etc.). It has an impressive 30x optical zoom though it's not wise to zoom that far unless you've got it on a tripod because at that focal distance the image stabilization can do nothing for the shakes.

This is advertised as a dual purpose camcorder, meaning it shoots both video and photos, but it is worth noting that the photos are very poor quality not even as good as you get with most cellphones these days (technically, they are shot on a 1.1 MP sensor and blown up to 2.0 MP photos, and while the number of pixels is not the most important thing it is not unimportant and that is pretty low). One other secondary purpose is served by the fact that you can set the camcorder to record only audio, which uses much less memory than shooting video and audio at the same time. So this could also serve as a "dictaphone" or recorder. For that purpose it does well enough and the onboard mike seems to be comparable to other camcorders in its price range. But apart from a possible use as a dictaphone, for all intents and purposes this is a camcorder that ostensibly shoots in HD but is probably best suited for video intended only to be screened on the web or personal computer or where the overall quality of the images is not of utmost importance.

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I bought this camcorder for a "cheap" way to enter the HD world of video capturing. I will wait to get a much better camcorder once I figure out how to get around editing AVCHD (and when I buy a new computer that can handle HD video editing with ease). My main use for this camcorder is capturing orchestral performances, editing it, and uploading the video to YouTube in HD quality. I also like taking video that requires no editing. In summary, this camcorder isn't the best in the world, but isn't the worst in the world.

Things you should be aware of before buying this camcorder:

1) The zoom button seems flimsy. It feels like it'll break any moment.

2) The image stabilizer is not that useful (especially from 15x-30x zoom if shooting with hands). However, the image stability is greatly improved with a tripod (the video is still shaky nonetheless).

3) Not that great in low lighting conditions.

4) In a complete silence environment, you can hear noise when you zoom in or out. Not only that, you can hear other noises made from the camcorder in the audio recording in general. There's no mic input to work around this flaw. But if the environment is NOT in complete silence (like an orchestra playing), you probably won't hear the extraneous noises coming from the camcorder.

Other Observations/Thoughts:

1) I use a Transcend 16GB SDHC that comes with a card reader, and it seems to work out.

2) All videos captured are saved as file type mp4.

3) It uses SDHC, which means it uses the FAT32 filing system, which means the biggest file you can create is 4GB. At the highest video setting, that would be about 1 hour of non-stop recording. I decided to test what would happen if I try to go over 4GB. So I left the camcorder on for about one hour and one minute. Then in the LCD screen, there's a countdown timer in red font indicating that it is running out of time to record. When it reached zero seconds, it auto-saves the recording, and then it starts a new recording. The file (in the SDHC) indicates that it is 3.99GB. However when I try to copy and paste this file to my computer, it won't let me. The file is now useless. So the moral of the story is, if you are using the highest video setting, don't go over 55 minutes of non-stop recording, and you'll be fine.

4) I don't really care about taking pictures on this, so I didn't test that.

5) Regarding the battery: [UPDATE: 4/14/2009] Out of the box the battery says it has 72 minutes left on it. So I started to recharge it. According to the manual, the LED will turn red if it's recharging and turn off if it's finished. Three hours pass and the LED is still red. I was wondering how can this thing charge for so long. So I unplugged it and checked the battery life. It says 207 minutes. I plugged it back in to recharge it again. The LED is off. In summary, it seems that the recharging indicator isn't reliable.

Video Editing/AVCHD section ------------------------------------------

Of course editing video in AVCHD is a different beast altogether. So my review rating is not affected by this.

My Computer Specs:

OS: Windows XP

CPU: AMD Athlon XP +1800

Memory: 2 x 512MB

Video Card: ATI Radeon 8500 LE 128MB

First, here is what I WANT done in the video editing process:

1) If the video doesn't need to be edited, I should be able to upload to YouTube in HD quality

2) If a video DOES need to be edited, there should be a way to "uncompress it" with a lossless technique (like huffYUV), or a way to edit the mp4 file directly with advanced editing techniques, compress it, and output to YouTube, DVD, or Blu-Ray.

Now I will tell you if steps 1) and 2) can be done based on my experience.

Step 1) can be done. Just upload the mp4 file to YouTube (it's in HD quality), and that's it.

Step 2) is rather interesting. Here's what I've done so far.

a) install lame mp3 and ffdshow codecs

b) install and load "pazera free mp4 to avi converter"

c) uncompress the mp4 file to HuffYUV lossless (this will be the intermediate file for editing). This may cause the frame rate to lag (but I'm using a slow computer). Also take note that HuffYUV will produce a big file (about 31 MB/s for me). We do step c) because VirtualDub can't load mp4 files.

d) install and load VirtualDub (or whatever video editor you use that can let you edit HuffYUV), and do your video editing.

e) compress video to ffdshow mpeg4 (fourcc = MP4V) 4000kbit/s: audio to lame mp3 128kbit/s

f) Done (the compressed file doesn't lag for me anymore).

I am still searching for software that can do advanced video editing for AVCHD (or an uncompressed format) since VirtualDub can only do simple editing.

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So I have reviewed quite a few cameras..everything from a Flip, a Vado, a Canon Vixia, and now this Sanyo. My review is more about setting your expectations to a level that will allow this camera a sweet spot in your home. I am probably one of the few that is rating this camera high and that is simply because I know what it is meant for and what it can/cannot do. So here we go:

Box Includes:

Camera

Lens Cap

Hand Strap

AC Adapter

USB Cable (Micro USB)

Composite Analog Video Cable

Documentation

Software for both PC/MAC (LESS SW for MAC then PC).

When you read this review and or evaluate the item description, it is very important to keep in mind that this camera is in the $250-275 range. It is not meant to be a high end High Definition camera.

The camera is about the size of a small paper back book and is very light and comfortable to hold. The battery slides inside of a hidden compartment at the bottom and can be charged by plugging the adapter into the rear end of the camera. Once charged I found that the battery lasted for about 2-3 hours of heavy torture testing. The camera starts up for the first time and a little voice tells you to set the date and time...I dont know about you but I love voice feedback. After initial setup the camera, when powered on, says "Starting, Internal Memory". This makes any gadget a bit more fun.

I love the fact that Sanyo has a 30x optical zoom on this little camcorder, but I am not a fan of the time it takes for the camera to focus in on a subject. It is SLOW at best. That being said, 30x optical is awesome and with the image stabilization features built in the SHAKE is reduced quite a bit, not entirely..but enough. The camera also takes 2mp still shots and has a little flash built in under the lens. It is a nice feature...but lets be honest here..2mp is lower then what newer cell phones provide these days and, to me, completely worthless. Video is captured on the built in 32gb of storage in 720p mode using the h264 codec. Still images are captured at 1600x1200 at 2mp. The images and video can be captured to the inbuilt storage and or you can add a SDHC card to the camera (size is up to you 8-32gb is accepted). The rear of the camera has a very simplistic layout. Two buttons towards the top to select still or video, a rec/play button in the center, a menu button to the right, and a joystick to the left that lets you navigate throughout the various options. The joystick is excellent and works well. On top of the camera you have a rocker panel for wide/telephoto...it is very sensitive and works well..it feels good to the finger.

I seldom use software that is provided by manufacturers as most computers today, pc or mac, have enough built in abilities to manipulate images and video. The OS X platform especially with iPhoto and iMovie works wonders.

I generally like to test camera gear on MAC's since most manufacturers tend to provide more software for Windows based pc's. The MAC is a very graphics oriented platform and thus I like to see if it will recognize and utilize a camera such as this one. Once you connect the micro usb cable to the computer and to the camera, it comes up with a menu of options. Screen Capture, PC Camera, Card Reader etc... With the Sanyo software on your computer you have many more options then without. When you do not use the software you are limited to the Card Reader mode which does allow for iPhoto and Windows based PC's to see this as an actual Camera that you can process images/video from. Works flawlessly.

Image Quality: As I mentioned above, I have used FLIP's HD, Creative' Vado HD, and now this camera. Why am I not mentioning my higher end Vixia...because that camera need not be compared to this particular model. The Flip and Vado are pretty much neck in neck when it comes to video quality and compact size; they work well and the image quality is as good as can be for their lens sizes. The Sanyo one ups them and gives you a better lens with 30x optical zoom which makes this the winner in the compact category. Low light quality is so so...it does need a bit of ambient light around during the dark...even with a little light there is some noise and grain can be seen..its not great but neither are the other two compacts mentioned above. Outdoor video's and indoor daytime videos are comparable if not better then the other two above. The optical zoom does allow for a great variation of shooting and is HIGHLY recommended...(30x optical at this price is truly amazing).

As my title suggests, if your expectations are correct then this camera will work for you. This is not intended to become your household camcorder...at least for me. It is intended, in my opinion, to be the camera that you carry around in place of a Flip or Vado so you have more storage and better optics. Since the camera is shaped like a traditional camcorder it is easier to shoot with and believe me, it still fits in your pocket and or pocket book..but does not have the weight of a brick. That being said, this camera's image quality is comparable to older dvi tape camcorders and it may be what you need for your memories.

I can provide a lot more detail about this camera, but feel it is un-necessary since the above should suffice. I am giving this a 4/5 only because of two negatives:

1. The 2mp still photo feature is worthless.

2. Again, another manufacturer that fails to give us a cheap mini hdmi to hdmi cable.

Other then that this camera will more then likely be a hit for its price category and is something I would recommend you take a look at if it is within your budget.

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I needed a replacement for my seven-year old MiniDV camcorder and this one seemed a good deal. At the store it looked very impressive and the specs were decent. I've had the camcorder for about 10 days and have tried every possible setting and feature available. I believe I can review the camcorder properly now.

The pros:

+ Nice overall design, fits comfortably in the hand, the controls are well placed and easy to access. Every control can be accessed with one hand only.

+ The LCD display is bright and clear and the size is good.

+ The battery life is impressive.

+ The menu is well organized and easy to navigate.

The cons: Unfortunately, the camcorder performance is very weak where it really matters.

+ The auto-focus is probably the biggest problem. It takes a few seconds to focus on the subject and it just doesn't seem to be able to keep focused on anything for more than ten seconds or so. Even still objects would get out of focus quickly if you zoom in/out or shake the camera slightly. It would then take another few seconds to refocus again. I've tried every possible focus setting available, i.e., spot focus, 9-point focus and AF-lock. To add insult to the injury, the manual focus only seems to work prior to pressing the REC button. That means you have to focus on the subject prior to start shooting the video. You can't make adjustments once you start recording. The best solution I found is to let the auto-focus on and then press AF-lock once the camcorder finds the focus. Then you have to do it all over again if the subject moves or if you zoom in/out. Quite honestly, that's way too much work if all you want is to take some quick video shots.

+ Lots of noise even with adequate indoor light. You can somewhat control that by adjusting the ISO settings but it is still far inferior to my old MiniDV camcorder. Forget about relatively low light conditions, the videos are just awfully grainy.

+ I'm no expert but the color saturation doesn't seem right. For example, the reds and greens stand out too much in relation to the other colors. I tried the different setting provided for that but quite frankly I could not notice any difference between these settings.

+ The video motion is not smooth. It looks like a video shot on a cell phone at times. The specs claim 30fps, but it does not look like it at all. Even SD videos @60fps perform poorly as far the video motion is concerned.

I really wanted to like this camcorder and I assure you I've tried really hard to make its performance at least acceptable to me. But the final video quality is just plain bad. You might not notice how bad the videos are until you download them to your computer or watch them on a good size TV (42" or bigger). Every video lacks detail, focus, and it is grainy and full of noise. Just for comparison, I've also tried a Panasonic SDR-S26 and, despite being an SD camcorder, it performed well above the Sanyo VPC-TH1. Mind you, the SDR-S26 is not really regarded as a top performer in the SD world.

Needless to say that I returned the product to the store. Interestingly, the store offered a 50-dollar discount if I was willing to keep the camcorder. I can only guess that many of the other buyers are returning their purchases too. Personally, even a 100-dollar discount would not convince me to keep the camcorder as its poor performance makes it useless to me.

My Violin

• Over 160 lessons featuring basic techniques, rhythm tunes and popular songs
• Over 70 large-format full-motion videos guide kids through playing techniques
• Animated Fingerboard shows correct fingerings as the music plays
• Finger Tracker listens to kids play and shows whether fingers are placed correctly
• Creative interactive games make learning fun and exciting

I just got my copie of "My Violin" today in the mail. After playing with the program for about 3-4 hours, I have to say I LOVE! it. I am 31 years old, and I'm just now begining to learn the violin. I have had no priore contact with reading music or ever playing it before , which is why I picked this program. It was ment to be use for children 6 and up, and my only thought was, "Hey if a 6 year old can learn to play violin off this, then maybe I can as well." The program is truly simple to follow, easy to understand, mixes video and visual componates at EVERY step, and passivly teaches you how to read music and learn rythm. The instructor obviously loves teaching and is very friendly and easy to understand. It is a bit childish in its content, how ever it was designed for children! as an adult beginner i realy recomend this program not only for kids, but anyone who may have a hard time learning. The use of games to help remember the lessons and the use of video help was ingeniouse. This program gets a full set of 5 stars from me. *****

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I bought the guitar version for my 6 year old son, and being the good mother that I am I got the violin version for myself to learn the violin that I received as a graduation gift for college. Cant have the boy doing "lessons" if Mom is ducking, right?

Well, I must say that I am impressed with this software. You do not need to have any background whatsoever in music, which I don't. My son is very enthusiastic, and I have practiced everyday since it arrived. My three year old daughter is now asking for a violin for her birthday.

The animated characters are not annoying at all, and the games are brief, but meaningful. The games are like pop quizes that give you a wake-up call to point out where your short-comings are so you can reveiw if neccessary.

Another feature about the software I like is that you don't need the disc to run it. My husband has gotten a guitar so that he can play with the boy, and we have the software installed on 3 different computers.

Honestly, if you don't play an instrument, but you have always wanted to, you will not be disappointed with this software.

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My daughter (5 1/2) is in love with this program. Though I sit with her for lessons, she's able to easily use the program and understands all of the functions with no confusion. The combination of videos, pictures, and sound clips make this very clear and the pace is good. We did over 2 hours our very first day! Every morning, she rushes out of her room wanting to do her violin lessons--we're now looking at purchasing the piano course as well---I just wish that they had more titles!

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I decided to try my hand at teaching myself violin. I read a lot of internet posts that stated that the violin was very difficult and nearly impossible to teach to yourself. This software makes all those posts absolutely false. The lessons are really easy to follow, the ability to watch a video showing how to play the lesson, than you can see exactly what stings to use and what finger placement. I have moved through the lessons and really feel myself getting better. I would highly recommend this software to anyone wanting to learn the violin. Don't be fooled by the age posted on the box. I am 25 and find this program teaches me in progressive way. One thing I would recommend to go with this is the bow right devise. It helps keep my bow on course and in the right zone. Not having an instuctor to help me means I need all the help I can get keeping the right posture and control. Just my thoughts.

Denon DCM-290 CD/CD-R/RW 5 Disc Changer

• Digital servo laser mechanism
• 24bit/192kHz DACs
• Dual direction carousel rotation
• Optical and coaxial digital outputs
• Headphone jack

I'm being critical herethis is a good-sounding player. My critique would be that the sound isn't balancedit's weighted toward the highs. Not much lows or low mids. Bright-sounding (I'm sensitive to this) but not harsh.

Nice amount of detailI can understand lyrics on some songs that I never could before (our previous changer was a JVC). Changer is less "clunky" sounding than our JVC.

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This player makes my old Sony look like a clumsy tank. I enjoy it except for one problem. Scratched cds won't play. But they play fine on the boom box in the kitchen! I thought that a garage sale boom box wouldn't be able to read cds better than the Denon, but I was wrong.

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As a long time purchaser of Denon products I would not buy another Denon product. I purchased a Denon DCM 290 Cd changer. It stopped working after 13 months. I contacted Denon, they said I could send it to one of their authorized repair places, but it would not be repaired free of charge since it was over the one year warranty period. I just received a call from the repair shop. They told me that the disk table and much of the inside had to be replaced and would cost $258 which is more than the $249 I paid for it new. Unfortunately Denon no longer makes reliable products.

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I haven't been happy with this changer. It's not consistent with Denon's past history as a maker of quality components. The ability to play MP3 CDRW discs is nice. It's also nice to be able to change the other 4 discs while 1 disc continues to play.

However, a few points make this an annoying choice. Firstly, the unit is slow to operate. The disc changing motor is slow. And you cannot cue up multiple "next disc" commands to cycle through the discs, which again makes cycling through your discs slow as you wait for each individual disc.

But even more annoying is that the "Disc Sequential Random Play" operation (listed on page 10 of the manual) doesn't even work! I've spent hours trying to convince Denon's technical support that there's a problem with their firmware, but to no avail. They only insist that it's a problem with my particular unit. This being after they admit that they don't even have a DCM-290 unit at their site to test! Last time I was at Best Buy, I tested the DCM-290 they had on display -guess what? -same problem. Basically, this unit has bug in its software, and Denon refuses to fix it. But of course, Denon cheerfully continues to sell it!

So, if you don't mind a slow changer that won't cue commands, and a player that only performs some of the functions listed in its manual... Well, maybe this is the product for you. But if you're truly looking for a quality CD changer, you're better off looking elsewhere.

The DCM-290 is a solid 5-disk CD changer for a home entertainment center. I have yet to run into problems and I have owned the product for seven months. The rotator tray seems a little flimsy but CDs fits snuggly and has never got caught off track. Remote programming quickly corresponds with the unit control panel for easy and dependable use.

Rio Central Advanced Digital Audio Center

• 40 GB hard drive stores more than 650 CDs or 6,500 individual songs
• Easily transfers music to a Rio portable unit via convenient USB ports in front and back
• Uses integrated CD-RW drive to write standard audio CDs and MP3 data CDs
• Large display, intuitive interface, and advanced search features
• Supports common audio formats like MP3 and WMA, can be upgraded to emerging digital standards

That's what everyone says when they see the box with the big blue screen in it. That's my music library I tell them and then I demonstrate by scrolling through the hundreds of albums it ripped the first day I got it. After about this point I'm uncertain as to whether I lose the person to the Oscilloscope visual that dances to the music or the magnitude of potential this device can have in their own home hi-fi.

It has a warehouse-size 40G computer hard-drive that will store right around 6K good quality tunes (160-192khz). You think 6K isn't allot? How many tracks are on the CD you're playing right now? Now do the math. If you still don't think thats allot, there are several documented procedures for upgrading to 120G.

Networking to your home computer is a bit tricky but can be done by anyone with a little know-how. Now you can get all those MP3s off your silly little Altec Lansings and onto your Pioneers for some real listening. If you can't network, the RADAC will take data CD-Rs as well.

The sound quality coming out of this device is better than most audio equipment these days. Which means they had the high-level audio connoisseur (tube amp, electrostatics, belt-drive turntable, etc.) in mind.

Not THAT into music? The convenience factor is super-high with this device. I've put all my CDs into the closet (for safe keeping -I don't know) and just run the first thing that comes into my head. Graceland by Paul Simon? Sure... and it's playing.

Mixed the perfect driving music by mistake last night? The RADAC can burn you an audio CD for the commute before the coffee pot finishes.

What was that tune the wife was playing the other day? Search by tracks recently played. Forgot you had that album, didn't you?

Parties are a cakewalk. Create a custom play list where you pick all the tracks to be played or select several albums and randomize the tracks or whatever and just let it run. You're out of wine. Never out of music.

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Nice simple device, but $1.5K for this? You can buy two or three nice, small-format computers, *with* the little LCD, that have much more advanced features like a DVD burner, not a CD burner, and gigabit or wireless ethernet, not a 56K modem, USB 2.0, firewire, more format compatibility, more control over output formats, the ability to output to a TV for games, movies, etc., the list goes on.

Rio is lucky I'm feeling generous. The one star is for being able to give it to me in one package. The pricing is atrocious though.

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I have been using the Rio Central for a couple years and have had nothing but success with the system. It works great with my sterio system and produces top quality music. I would definitly recomment the Rio Central.

Panasonic RR-US360 Digital Voice Recorder

After reading other reviews and shopping around I elected to buy a Panasonic RR US360. I am very happy with the ease of use, size, and clarity. However, I will NOT recommend this item to anyone due to the extreme difficulty I have had trying to download the recordings to my Dell D600 using Win 2000. What you do not learn until you have purchased and possibly used the item is that Win 2000 will not recognize the device and you are told to access it via the VoiceStudio software that comes with the item. Great, except it has not worked and doesn't recognize the USB port, much less the device. I have tried contacting Panasonic help and I strongly recommend anyone thinking of purchasing one of these to call them at 1-800-211-7262 and cycle thru the options (1,4,2,7) as given to me by the 'audio technician' to get help with the US360. The minimum wait time I have encountered is 21 minutes, but have yet to get a resolution and having been told I would be called and left my number, after 2 weeks I have yet to be called, have sent in emails via their web, and have not received any response. Panasonic again, absolutely NOT!!!! Call for yourself before buying and save yourself the frustration later.

I am satisfied with the sound of this small voice recorder. However, I cannot install the Voice Studio software onto my computer. I noticed the problem at Circuitcity.com, and thought that was associated with Windows 98. However, I am using Windows ME. I have not had any problems with any other software. Therefore, be aware that this recorder may not work on your computer as well. I am giving a two star rating because 1) the claimed selling point is not working. 2) Panasonic has terrible customer service with this product. No support information on this product on their website. No response to e-mail inquiries. Called them, I was put to wait for 40 minutes and then kicked out. Their customer service let me feel angry.

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Very good quality sound recorder for professional (but non-jounalistic) use: dictation of ones ideas, taking interviews, recording what people say at trade fairs etc...

Takes good enough recordings of very long seminars at low quality settings (up to 8 hours), good meeting recording and interviews at medium setting (4 hours) and excellent recordings at dictation setting. However the latter means only 2h20minutes so you need a portable in the neighbourhood for transferring files so that you can delete and continue recording in this mode. The quality is good without a mic but is even better with a small directional mic that one holds in the direction of the interviewees (especially in noisy environments)

The major weak point is the file transfer soft. Voice Studio recently replaced by Voice Editor is a strange software. One has to stay within the program to transfer files to and from the recorder but also between storage devices. Using simple microsoft copy/pasting of files ruins the whole storage system and audio files become unreadable. So one has to make virtual disk-structures to copy onto backup storage devices. The advantage though is that within the Software one can do a lot with the audio file and if the data is sensitive, a common thief cannot do much with a lost/stolen storage diskette since they will need the panasonic software to listen to the content.

However manipulating the files within the software is easy and has some neat functions if one has to transcribe interviews: dividing of long recordings (so that they become more easy to transcribe or organise in subject classes), gluing two files together, flags in the files etc. Conversion to WAV is possible so one can copy the recordings to CD and play the interviews again on a walkman device.

For non-professionals I find the transmission of audio files to friends via e-mail very awkward: one has to send an replay-exe with the audio files which is a bugger now that everybody has a firewall.

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Practically everything I own is Panasonic rice maker, home entertainment system, vaccum cleaner, clock radios. I have three of their older voice recorders and this RR360. The device is great. What isn't great is their software. It's hideous. It's worse than hideous, it's the worst commercial software I've seen in a long time. It's the only package I know of that consistently bluescreens Windows 2000 Pro. I'd love to update it to the latest version and see if that helps, but when I use the VoiceStudio Help -> Update menu it stupidly tells me that VoiceStudio is not installed on my computer. They do not offer the software for download separately, you can supposedly only upgrade it through their menu. All attempts to contact Panasonic tech support are fruitless. The recorder uses a proprietary format and they don't release specs so you can't use it with Linux, older Windows versions or future Windows versions just the ones out now. Right now I've got a rather important 2 hour meeting stored on it that I can't upload because every time I try it bluescreens the two computers I've got their software installed on. I'm going to have to capture the analog audio as a .wav file.

I'm a huge Panasonic fan, but don't buy this one because they won't let you get to your own data and they won't respond to requests for tech support on it.

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I totally agree with Jeff. In fact, I wish he wrote his review before I purchased the RR-US360! My laptop has Windows XP and I can't download the driver either. Windows doesn't recognize the device and I can't even manually install the driver from the CD. I keep getting:

The specified location does not contain information about your hardware

Customer service is really bad! They keep you on hold for a long time and then don't even help you fix the problem. Ridiculous!

Other than the above, the voice recorder works pretty well.

Astak Pan/Tilt Night Vision IP Network Camera (Black)

I've always been curious about what goes on at home when I'm not there. What do my dogs do all day? Can I watch my new little baby play and maybe take its first steps while I'm at work? This product is one of the simplest electronic products I've ever set-up. All I had to do was plug-in the camera, attach it to my home router and log in to the Astak site. My cameras were up and running.

This product can be used for so many different purposes: to be a video security/surveillance system, check on things at a business or home, or whatever else you can think of doing. Check out the stuff posted on You Tube. People actually caught people robbing their business.

This is what I like about this product:

1. Setup was a breeze

2. Only one wire to plug it into an outlet for power.

3. I can move the cameras around as needed. For example, some days I put it in my garage to watch the dogs while I'm gone. On other days, I have the camera sitting on the dresser in the babies room.

4. They are linked to your internet wirelessly

5. The website and camera functions are very easy to use

6. The image quality is great and the night vision works awesome.

7. I can share my camera with my family anywhere so that they can see whats going on. (Even my Brother-In-Law in the Army)

8. The range of my camera seemed just as good or better than my wireless home phone.

9. Works great with my iPhone to check in via the web.

10. The Yoics software program is very easy to use and easy to see other family members camera on a secure network. ( Many additional features also for remote desktop applications)

11. Directly posts videos to You Tube

12. Email alerts, motion detection, scheduled recording times, etc.

13. 270 degree turning radius with full tilt

14. Audioso you can remotely hear what's going on

15. Remote viewing,sharing, and controlling

This is what I wish the product would do better:

1. Provide me with an iPhone app soon so that I can quickly check-in with one push of a button

2. Have a way for me to zoom into an area to get more clarity.

3. Have a battery back-up

Overall, I think the product is excellent for people that want to see what's going on in places when they are not there and they are not tech savy enough to hook up more difficult systems. I would recommend this for anyone and plan on buying more cameras in the future.

Pros:

Initial setup very easy.

Able to view easily from the web on computer or iPhone.

Email alerts for motion detection works great.

Video capture works well and will automatically upload to You Tube.

Works well on wireless.

Came with a 2GB SD Card (maybe only for Costco purchases).

Night time pictures are decent, better than expected.

Cons:

Initialy could not view from the Mac or PC. See FAQ:

Software on the CD is worthless. Mac version did not work, didn't bother with the PC version. Recommend ignoring the CD.

Software downloaded from for the Mac worked once, then after would never load. Ended up removing it. Recommend ignoring this software as well.

No ability to delete images or videos stored on the SD Card from the camera. You need to remove the SD Card and delete the files from a computer.

When trying to watch a video stored on the SD card, it may crash the browser. You need to save it to your computer first then play the file.

==============================================================

For those interested here's my setup guide:

Mole Camera Setup:

Get started:

-Plug in LAN cable.

-Plug in power.

Register Your Camera:

-Go to:

-Create a new account, it will detect your camera and bring up your camera's home page.

-Note: If Yoics' site is down (unlikely), you can go directy to your camera's home page by typing in the IP address, e.g. 192.168.0.111

Update browser:

-At this point your camera is running, but you may not see a picture.

-Reason is that you need to install an ActiveX Plug-in and/or QuickTime.

-Instructions:

Setup Wireless:

-Attach WiFi antenna.

-From your camera's web site, click the [Advanced] --> [Network] tabs.

-Click the [Search] button and select your router.

-Enter in the security settings for your router.

-Unplug the power to your camera, unplug your LAN cable, plug the power back in. This will reset the camera so that it will now start using WiFi.

Setup Alerts and Remote Storage:

Setup email notification:

-From your camera's web site, click the [Advanced] --> [e-mail] tabs.

-For this you need to have an email account with SMTP. This is so that the camera can send the alert using this email account.

-Enter the your email account settings.

-Typical email settings:

Setup Alarm:

-From your camera's web site, click the [Advanced] --> [Alarm] tabs.

-Check "E-mail Alarm".

-Check "Send with Picture".

-Check "Save Picture on the SD card".

-Check `Save Video on the SD card". Must have this checked to upload to a remote storage.

Setup Remote Storage for Video (optional):

-Create a YouTube or Twitter account. This is if you want to upload your videos on the web so you can view them easier.

-You can make these uploads private so that no one else can view them.

-From your camera's web site, click the [Advanced] --> [Remote Storage] tabs.

-Enter your YouTube and/or Twitter account settings. Select "Private Youtube Upload" if you want to.

-Note: You need to have selected "Save Video on the SD card".

Setup Motion Detection and Schedule:

Setup Motion Detection:

-From your camera's web site, click the [Advanced] --> [Motion detection] tabs.

-Select the areas where you want the camera to detect motion. I just used one window and expanded it to the full screen.

-Select the sensitivity for each window. I set mine to 26. At 45 I was getting too many alerts.

Setup Schedule:

-This is when you want the camera's motion detection to be running. Generally you want to schedule it when you're not home.

-From your camera's web site, click the [Advanced] --> [Schedule] tabs.

-Set the days and times.

Setup Auto Capture (optional):

-This is if you want to pictures to be taken at regular intervals.

-I didn't bother with this.

-From your camera's web site, click the [Advanced] --> [Remote Storage] tabs.

Setup Camera as Virtual Web Server (Optional):

Normally you should be able to access the camera from

However, if you want to remove any dependency on Yoics' server, then you can setup your router to operate the camera as a virtual web server. I did it mainly for fun.

Setup User Access:

-Out of the box, camera authentication is not active, which is ok if you're going to access via Yoics' site. But if you want to access your camera directly then you'll want to enable authentication.

-From your camera's web site, click the [Advanced] --> [User] tabs.

-Check "Enable".

-Enter passwords for Admin, User and Guest.

Find out your camera's IP Address:

-From your camera's web site, click the [System] --> [Device Information] tabs.

-Note the IP Address.

-The default port is 80. Unless you changed it at [Advanced] --> [Network].

Log in to your router's home page:

-Typically:

-Find out what your router's public WAN IP Address is. Finding this information depends on the router, e.g. 111.222.333.444

-Go to the virtual server settings.

-Select the public port you want to use. e.g. 6000.

-Enter the camera's IP Address and port. e.g. 192.168.0.111 port: 80

-Save the settings and you can now access your camera using your IP Address and port. In this example it would be:

Buy Astak Pan/Tilt Night Vision IP Network Camera (Black) Now

I recently purchased this from Costco. I was looking for a wireless IP Camera to use as a baby monitor that could pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) and that I could view it from my computer or Android phone . This camera seemed to fit the bill. Setup was pretty easy and I can barely use Excel; I was able to connect it to my router via wifi fairly easily and could view it on my computer and my phone over the network by typing in the camera's assigned router IP address. While it says it supports all browsers, it works best with Internet Explorer. Unless I'm missing something, I could only get sound when using H.264 streaming using Chrome and Firefox. JPEG streaming would only produce a picture and no sound. I prefer using IE anyway, so it's no biggie to me, but might be to others. Also, there is virtually no delay with PTZ when using IE, but a slight delay with other browsers. PTZ was more delayed and the video choppy when using my Android phone. And since Android does not have a Quicktime plugin for their browser, I didn't have sound. They also have instructions on how to view the camera through dyndns.org if you were away from home without going through their Yoics website. This was the hardest part for me because I didn't know how to open a port on my router. Once I figured that out, it was easy. They say it's less safe, but someone would have to know your IP address and know which one of the 65,000 ports the camera was on. If you are paranoid about someone accessing your camera, you can always set up a security password in order to view the camera. I actually prefer going through dyndns as it's less choppy and it's free. I would recommend not going through their Yoics setup as it's not necessary and is only there so they can get you to sign up for their premium service. The night vision is good, although the edges of the video are a little dark. Motion detection is great; you can set up 4 zones and choose how big each zone is and how sensitive the detection is. Email notification setup was easy and pictures were sent quickly and came in pretty clear. I haven't tried the built-in DVR yet.

Now for the things I don't like about this camera. As I mentioned earlier, I can't get sound when I use my phone's browser, but that's not a big deal. What I really wish you could do with this camera is turn off all the LEDs. Unless you cover up the LEDs, the camera isn't incognito at night. Sometimes our baby wakes up in the middle of the night and stares directly at the camera. Also, the IR lights around the camera used for night vision have a red glow and click when turning on and off; it would have been nice if they did not light up like our Summer Infant baby monitor camera and was quiet. It also gets a little warm to the touch. I would give this camera a 3.5 star if I could, but since I can't, I rounded up. I'm on the fence about returning this camera, but I have not found another one that is wireless and has all these features for about the same price. Turning off the LED lights and having a no-glow infrared would make this 5 stars.

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I just read a news about a guy called police after he got the self phone email alarm from his camera. I think this is exactly what I need for my second house. I started to search on the web for suitable products and the astak camera came out. I bought it, spent about 15 minutes to setup and now it is working like a charm. I got a whole bunch of emails in the first day because I set the sensitivity too high. Now it is working perfectly along with the youtube upload. Great product!"

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This camera delivered as promised with sheer ease of setup. There are cheaper wireless IP cameras out there but guaranteed they can be very frustrating in the setup process. I tried couple of other brands but they all require that you have technical knowledge about network protocol, port forwarding, dynamic DNS, etc. By comparison, the Mole's instruction was easy, non-technical and I was viewing the camera within a few minutes. Works well with the iPhone so that I can view the camera from anywhere.

Prompt tech suport is another plus. Many reviews of products neglect to examine and report on a company's tech support. What takes companies like Apple from good to great is their outstanding tech support.

There are a lot of extra bells and whistles with this camera (video recording, motion activated capture, email alerts when motion is detected, etc.). Since I use this camera as a "granny cam" I haven't had the need for the extras but it's good to know they're there should I need it in the future.

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Seagate SV35 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6-Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive for Video Surveill

Hard drives are darnedest things to evaluate, since they are rather intolerant devices, and they will usually give you little or no warning before they fail (SMART technology not withstanding). I had a specific purpose for this particular hard drive, and that purpose has included massive transfers of video data files of the streaming variety. It worked like a charm right from the start, and it's still working that way. In my humble opinion, Seagate has come a long way in their design features and quality control. I would buy this drive again for myself, and therefore would recommend it to anyone else. Enjoy.

Installed in a HD tivo. Just seemed to work fine.

I need ten more words, so apple, bat, cat, and dog.

Buy Seagate SV35 3TB 7200RPM SATA 6-Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive for Video Surveill Now

We are a CCTV distribution company and we have sold thousands of DVR's and NVR's. These are the only hard drives we will put in our units. Out of the thousands we have purchased, we have had less than 5 fail. We have also purchased WD Green's, Blue's, and Black's, as well as WD's AV-GP. All of those models have failed and I would not recommend any other hard drive other than the SV35 for surveillance. DVR's really put a toll on hard drives with the constant reading and writing, especially if you are recording on motion detection. Dont skimp out on a cheap drive.

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Installed them on a QNAP NAS 569. One failed in January/13 the other one In March/2013. Not recommended, at least for this application.

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I purchased these to replace the failing 1TB drives in a video surveillance system. These were not listed on the "approved" drive list from the vendor, but they installed and functioned flawlessly.

The system has been running with these installed now for a little more than a month and have had no issues. The system writes over the drives as soon as they all fill up, but to date the system has not filled all of the drives (the old capacity was 9TB, now it is 27TB).

The price for these drives on sale was actually cheaper that the replacement 1TB drives.

If anything changes I will update the review.

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PC Wireless 4 Camera DVR Security Surveillance System

The title of this is pc wireless camera system Kinda hard to be wireless when you have to hook up each camera to the receiver that makes it wired Get it right and change the name tired of looking for wireless cameras and these show up

when properly installed work exceptionally good

have a little flicker sometime

great color and able to select from 1-4 cameras with the base control

see very well with little or no light, easily hidden and most of all

you dont have to open the door to see who is there but they dont know they are on camera

no mistaken who is at your door you see them about 50 feet away,

best thing i bought for security for my home and garage

the only thing i dont like about them is the hard wiring of them

i recommend them for anyone that is looking to keep an eye on things and door

its amazing how good they work at your doors, some one knocking at the door late at night, all you have to do is look at the screen and see exactly who it is then decide if you want to open it

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This item has many issues, but i"ll start with the connection. the receiver & cameras dont seem to want to link with one another, out of the 4 camers that come with this item i've only have 2 cameras that have linked with the receiver, and the other 2 have so much static in the video, its impossible to see anything, also, the 2 that are linked in are no better, What a waste, cameras are not far from the receiver and it doesnt work as describted... Saqve your money???

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The title includes the term "DVR", but this product does NOT include a DVR!

It is just 4 cameras and a receiver.

I tried to give it zero stars, but Amazon replies "please rate this item".

I'll give it one star to shut Amazon up.

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This camera system is more for a hobbyist or child, than it is for providing actual security. Not at all what i'd been hoping for when i bought it.

VideoSecu 2 x Outdoor Bullet Security Surveillance Cameras Color CCD IR Zoom CCTV Day Night Vision

Nice and heavy! The video is clear, the zoom allows you to see what you want and its easy to install and set up. The night vision is good for the range that I am using it with, the only thing that I have noticed is the IR reflects off of the clear dome a bit.

I installed two of these at my private school last year and they have been doing fine ever since. Easy to install and worked well out of the box. We've gone through one winter with them so far and no problems.

If you are on a budget and this camera fits your price range, it is a great camera. Obviously if you can pay more, you can get better quality cameras.

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I purchased the pair of cameras to add to my existing cameras. During the day time they were perfect like looking thru a window. At night time there were lines in the picture that were terible. I contacted the seller and was advised to check the power output and that it might be cheap cables and I replied to that message that the cables had been supplied as part of the purchase and I also asked how the sound was supposed to be connected since there were o instructed to go to another link where the information was explained. But I was instructed again to check the voltage at the end of the cables. the cameras, power supply, mic's and the cables were all supplied why do I have to check the power suppy (even thou I did). I have purched several other camer's from Amazon and have never had any problems like this and yes I have had 100' cables before with no trouble. I am very dissapointed with this whole thing with Amazon. I have purchased one more camera and if I have any trouble with this one I will go to another seller of camera's (one where you bid you all know who that is).

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AVerMedia Avertv Combo G2 - MTVCOMG2R (Retail Box)

This is replacing my old Fusion HDTV3 tuner card(ancient but still worked) for two reasons. I wanted the Media Center IR receiver that comes with it, and then just wanted the newer technology(tuner, compatibility with Windows7, etc).

The AVerMedia Avertv Combo G2 is designed for use with Vista and Windows 7 Media Center. However, after Windows recognized a new device, my system wasn't able to install the drivers properly. I prefer when things are just plug n play easy, but it wasn't hard to download and install drivers off the AVerMedia site. I know, I know. There's an installation cd that comes in the box, but I've developed the habit of letting Windows install new drivers and/or taking the latest ones off a manufacturer's site. I get less funky software I never wanted that way. Installed and after Media Center downloaded some of it's own files, the new tuner card was recognized and the set-up went smoothly after that. I plugged both jacks into the cable; I know there's a few stations OTA that Time Warner doesn't carry but my apartment is in a bad area for an antenna.

It performs quite well. All the HD/Digital channels my TV gets are recognized, HD looks great, SD looks MUCH better than it did off of my old card, rivaling the looks of my TV's signal processor, almost. It should be noted that if you plan to use this for OTA, your standard/analog channels may not always be as clean as you want and when/if the signal degrades, so will the picture quality and this has little to do with your tuner card. Likewise, if you are doing OTA digital, your signal may degrade and drop occasionally.

As I said this card is designed for use with MCE, so I can only say that it seems to work seamlessly with MCE. There's one analog and one digital tuner so you can watch one type of channel while recording another type of channel. It does this well. I had several shows preset to record before installing this, forgot about it, and while I was flipping channels, I switched to a digital channel while a show was recording on the digital tuner and I got the message indicating that the digital tuner was in use. This is precisely how it's intended to work and I'm pleased with that. If I really want to watch 1 digital station while recording another, I'll switch over to the TV. Recording and time-shifting works without issue.

The IR daughter board and cable were really no hassle to install and worked fine.

Note: To anyone with a Harmony 300 remote, I was unable to figure out what model to plug in, in order to get all the keys right away, so the Harmony software found me a basic Media Center layout. I ended up using the learning function to fill in the rest of the keys. Small amount of tedium, but it's working perfectly now.

To sum up, I'm happy with my purchase and had a very minimal amount of difficulty in setting this up for use.

Purchased 9/2011 from the Egg $107 at time of purchase

--Pros ---

* Worked in Windows Vista / 7

* More sensitive than the Hauppauge I had

* Free TV, booyah

--Cons ---

* Single tuner, but eh you know that when you buy it.

--Thoughts ---

* I bought this because I had a Hauppauge HVR-2250 and felt like one more tuner would be enough for our ATSC setup.

* Surprised to find out that it picked up more channels than my hauppauge, and better signal on the others. Quickly made this my primary.

* I ended up swapping this for an HD HomeRun because I could put the homerun on the other side of the house much closer to the antenna, which gave it even more channels. However, if I wasn't going the homerun route I would recommend Avermedia because of my performance had better results than the Hauppauge.

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Love what it does connected to rabbit ears to pull in local digital channels. Also works great with the cable.

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AVerMedia Avertv Combo G2 MTVCOMG2R (Retail Box).

Quality of picture is good. The card comes with all you need, such as remote control (has its own mind), cables, and IR blaster.

Remote does what it likes to do, and not what the buttons indicate. Volume button sometimes changes channel, changes volume, or anything else it likes to do. Channel button does many other things in addition to changing channels, but not predictable as to what it is going to do next.

Application crashes often. Windows Vista Home Premium's Media Center did not recognize the card. Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit Professional both work fine with the card.

While recording a program, a red circle flashes on the corner of the screen, if you have OSD set to "on". This red flashing light shows up in the recorded program, and ruins the recording.

We have cable service, and I connected it to the cable from the wall, without a converter box attached. I was able to get a few ATSC (QAM) channels, about 20 channels on FIOS. I have connected my satellite's receiver to the S-video, and it works well.

It takes way too long for the recording to start. It takes up to about 10 seconds for the recording to start, and during this time, audio and video are both frozen. When its application has to be reinstalled, it does not recognize its own previously recorded videos and it cannot find them.

In general, software has way too many problems to be listed, and it is not user friendly.

Playback function is practically useless. During video playback, it displays a very large annoying position finder/marker in the lower part of the screen blocking part of the view, and it is hard to get rid of. As soon as the mouse is touched, this very large rectangular position finder is displayed.

Avertv Combo G2 is too expensive compared to similar products with similar features.

The main reason I chose this over other cards was because the manufacturer added comments and offered solutions to reviews posted by users. I believe that shows care when manufacturer reads users' comments and feedbacks.

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Background:

I tried this card to replace my ATI Theater 650 Pro dual tuner that failed after a heavy electrical storm. I loved my 650 but I am in a weak DTV signal area and I didn't get all of the local channels. Many channels cut out or didn't come up at all. Even before DTV these channels were weak at my home. So I tried this card because AverMedia had decent reviews and it seems to be newer technology.

Installation:

Installation was kind of quirky but not bad Windows 7 64 bit didn't pick it up automatically. So I ran the driver .exe and it loaded, but Windows reported that it did not load properly. However, device manager said it was fine; it did load and it works. I did not install AverMediaCenter as I am used to Windows MediaCenter.

Channel Setup:

I was able to set MediaCenter to access all available DTV channels and also pull in the analog output from my satellite dish box (on separate cables), just as I had done with the 650. Please note that the latest Haupphauge dual tuner cards only have one cable input. How do you combine signals from 2 sources into one cable? I didn't want to mess with that...

Reception:

The DTV reception (through MediaCenter) is at least 1 bar higher than it was with the 650 for every channel, using the same antenna at the same location, same cables, everything. EVERY local channel now comes in crystal clear HD video and sound, including some outlying channels that I never got before. I am delighted with this extra bonus I've been here for 20 years and never gotten reception like this!

What's in the box:

AverMedia sends a ton of extras in the box, including the low profile back piece, "IR expansion piece", S-Video to Composite Video adapter, 1/8" stereo to stereo RCA adapter, plus the remote and IR blaster/sensor. This gives me the flexibility to use the remote, control the satellite box, and record from a variety of sources video camera, VCR, DVD (via S-Video), etc. It does not appear to handle HD inputs from outside devices, however.

The Bottom Line:

This true DUAL tuner card works as well as or better than my ATI Theater 650 Pro in every aspect, it comes with all the parts needed to do everything I want to do, and the reception is the best I've seen in 20 years. 5 stars for sure.

Sharp MDMS722 Portable Minidisc Player/Recorder

• 40-second shock memory and 3-mode digital X-Bass
• Jog-shuttle control delivers quick titling
• Divide, combine, erase, and move editing options
• Remote LCD and microphone input
• Up to 10 hours playback and 8 hours record time

This is the perfect product for those of you looking for a portable recordable audio player but are shocked at the high prices and low memory size of MP3 players. With the new USB to digital optical products out on the market, it has become very easy to digitally transfer your MP3's to minidisc at a low-cost, without having to worry about a loss of quality. The Sharp also has a great analog sound as well.

Although I have graduated to the much higher cost Sony MD-90, this was my first, and to tell you the truth they perform almost as well.

The final reason fof purchasing this machine over an MP3 player is that for the price of 1 Sony MagicGate 64MB Memory Card (holding an hour of music), you can get 60 Multi-recordable Minidiscs (holding close to 70 hours of music) Need I say more?

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I have used the internet extensively to research my mini disc purchased and finally decided on the Sharp MDMS722. The reviews I found at Amazon.com were very helpful to me and I LOVE this player/recorder. It is small, convenient, and the sound is excellent. (except for the headphones) I use a pair of Sony headphones MDR-A17. The jog dial is very easy to use and the instructions are easy to understand. I have a Sony home mini disc recorder at home and the controls of the Sharp are pretty close to these. I have never had any trouble with using and editing the discs between these two players. The 50$ rebate really helped. I read that the Sharp 702? had had some trouble and sure enough, I found several refurbished models at egghead auction. They were selling for as much as I paid for the MDMS722 NEW! Boy, it sure pays to shop around. I'm glad that Amazon has a forum for the consumer to share their real life reviews of products.

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I was a little hesitant to buy a minidisc player, because I already have CD's, and portable CD players are cheaper. However I really enjoy this product. First, it's much more portable than a CD player, it easily fits in my pocket along with my wallet and keys. The discs are tiny and easy to take along as well, and are conveniently stored in cases, so you don't have to worry about them scratching. Secondly, recording features are really cool. The digital/optical line results in near perfect copying of CD's. I've also used a small clip-mike to bootleg concerts (with the artist's permission!), and as long as the sensitivity is turned all the way down, to compensate for the loud noise, the quality is excellent. 2 1/2 hours of mono recording is pretty cool, too.

The other product this competes against is MP3 players. I think Minidisc is better suited for most people, because to listen to different songs you can just put in a new minidisc, you don't have to be near your computer and download new songs. As portable products are made for people on the go, this makes more sense. And of course it's still possible to record your MP3's to minidisc, it just takes more time.

I think the Sharp 722 is the best Minidisc in the price range because of the lengthy battery life and the small, squarish shape. The remote can be useful, and the jogwheel makes functions such as adding and deleting tracks intuitive. It comes with a digital cable, which is a must-buy for other recorders that don't come with one.

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Why would anyone want to buy an mp3 player? I almost did, and I'm glad I didn't! I got the Sharp 722 and it is totally kool! This thing looks like a nuclear reactor, but not even that could make this baby skip. I droped this on the cement while I was walkin home from school and it didn't skip once! The sound is almost exactly the same as what you recorded it from, and I've played in a band for 5 years, so I can really hear it. You can even hook the thing up to a mic, and make your bands ( or whatever) recordings!I've already used it to record concerts from my school band! Sharp gives you everything you need! Much more than other MD. You get a rechargeable battery that basically lasts 4ever, and then if it does run out, You can plug your MD into a wall jack, or if you still want to go, Sharp included a little screw in thing so that the MD opperates on 1 AAA battery! The sound is supurb, and the best thing is, for a $3 cord at Radio Shack, and a couple of Mini Disks, you can save hundreds on CD's. All you have to do is connect your MD to your computer and download free mp3's on to it! Why buy an mp3 player when you can have this for about 1/100 the cost for the music? Sharp also includes a cord so you can record off your VCR, your TV, and I even recorded the remix to Magic Carpet Ride on my Triple Play 2001 Playstation game! Yep, hooked it right up to it! Now, that I have one, everyone else wants it. So get on the band wagon, the more people to get on, the faster prices will lower! Email me with any questions about the player or MiniDisc's. I've set up a site that tells you everything about MiniDiscs and the 722, but Amazon wont let me tell you the link, so just email me for the URL.

I bought the Sharp MD-MS722 minidisc recorder/player the other day. I must say that I am very satisifed. I wanted to download MP3 files from the internet, and transfer them to my minidisc. The cord provided with the minidisc is RCA type, while my computer output jack was 8 mm. I bought a 8 mm to RCA converter for a couple bucks and it works great. I can now transfer files from my computer to the minidisc and vice versa. I've heard others say the sound reproduction is very good, and I agree.

It took me about an hour and a half to learn how to use all the features of it. The layout of the front of the player is a little busy, and may be imposing on someone first trying to use it. But it looks much harder to use than it actually is. You use a "jog dial" (a ring that turns) for a couple different functions. Its a very convenient feature and makes naming tracks a breeze. The use of the other buttons came to me quickly when I used them a time or two.

Another nice thing about this unit is how compact it is. It fits right in my pocket, so I don't have to hold it in my hand if I go for a walk. The headphones provided with the unit are extremely basic. If you're used to a pair that is more comfortable or somewhat nicer, you'll need to get different headphones. A rechargable battery is included with the unit, and can be recharged 300 times, according to the manual. You recharge the battery simply by plugging the player in an electrical outlet. You can extend the play time by adding a AAA battery also. ( )

I would highly recommend this unit. END