Polaroid DVG-1080P High-Definition Digital Video Camera with 2.5-Inch LCD Display

I bought this camcorder mainly because it was the lowest-priced 1080p (full HD) camcorder I had seen. I have a point-and-shoot digital camera with standard-definition video. I also have a DSLR which does not have video, but I don't want to fork out the big bucks for one of the DSLRs with full HD 1080p video. As long as you do not expect really high quality from this camcorder, you will probably be more or less satisfied with the results. Video recording modes include 1080p (30 fps), 720p (30 fps), WVGA (60 fps), VGA (30 fps), and QVGA (30 fps). This camcorder performs well outdoors where the video is clear and sharp. For indoor video recordings, performance starts to drop off noticeably without the window coverings wide open. If you don't have adequate sunlight from outside, even with all the lights turned on, the images begin to get grainy, even if you use the built-in light source which is not very powerful. One nice feature is the 60 fps option at WVGA resolution. The main disadvantage in my opinion is that the image stabilization works at all resolutions except for 1080p and WVGA. I took a few still photos and found the quality to be mediocre, even with adequate lighting, but I am accustomed to the image quality from my DSLR. The menu controls are not intuitive, but I got used to them pretty quickly. All in all, if you're on a budget but would like 1080p video, this would be a nice entry-level option. Do not buy this camcorder if you demand high quality in your video recordings, especially indoors.

Finally, I wanted to comment that I am a Mac user. I have both a 1GHz G4 Power PC iMac running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) as well as a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac running Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). I was initially unable to play the videos via QuickTime on my Power PC iMac, as it said I was missing the video codecs. So I installed a freeware plugin called Perian (w w w dot perian dot org), and it now plays the video although it is choppy because the processor is not fast enough to display the video at that resolution. On my Intel-based iMac, videos at all resolutions play smoothly with QuickTime and Perian.

HD-1080 + OPTICAL Zoom. Compact in size and features (not too much, not too little both are undesirable). Worked fine with PC. Simple switch for HD versus smaller (Web) file size. Audio was solid. Low light could have been better (but I really taxed it). Install CD wasn't readable on one PC, but switched to another and copied CD to a thumb drive. Need their viewer for .avi codec. Good resolution for still photos. Great videos/pics of Amsterdam!

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I purchased this thinking I would use it mainly to record live music at local venues. (not loud punk music or thrash...but jazz, blues and maybe some medium volume classic rock/funk bands). I also wanted to use it with my drumming students. I wasn't expecting high quality audio reproduction at all....(nothing better/worse than a typical camcorder).

That being said....The audio is terrible.....it distorts easily....and anything recorded over 40 decibels is worthless when played back.

Honestly....I've heard better audio quality from CELL PHONE video cameras.

The video is clear and ok....but it get's jumpy sometimes. I attribute that to a low quality product.

All in all....for what I wanted.....it was a complete waste of money.

If you want to film birds outside...or someone reading a book I'm guessing the audio would be ok. But if the bird you are filming is loud...or the book reader subject sneezes you'll probably distort the sound.

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I got this as a gift from my mom from Target over a year ago or so. It was on clearance for $75.

It gets some pretty decent visual quality in good lighting, but in lower light it gets almost unviewable due to darkness and noise. You can set the ISO to auto, 800, or 1600. But, it doesn't change much besides how much grain the picture has. There are few manual controls in general I can change, forcing me to edit the video later to remove as much of the noise as I can and brighten the picture in general to the point you can watch it.

There's also some scene modes: skin, night, backlight, black & white, classic (sepia) & negative. I don't notice any major difference or improvement between the night, skin, and backlight modes (and even tested it by shooting shots of the same things and comparing colors), so it seems pointless to change those unless you like the more artistic modes: classic, black & white and negative.

You can also take still pictures with it at up to 4000x3000 resolution (12MP). The quality will come out as good as it does in video depending on the lighting. However, you cannot seem to put on Image Stabilization (IS) to take pictures... strangely. It's only in the video modes. So, unless you are very steady when you click the shutter button or you have a tripod, your pictures will come out blurry. The camera will not stand up on it's own due to the screen tipping it over, so you'll need a tripod to keep it up.

Most of the controls are set in menus as well except for a light button (the camera has a decent light on the front of it) which seems to boost the noise too, the video button, the picture button and the zoom wheel. (you have to press the "OK" zoom wheel in the center to access the menus) White balance (no manual white balance may I add or any exposure compensation) and IS have to be tweaked before shooting unless it comes out good in auto. The only things that stay in memory is the ISO setting, the camera's sound and the resolution. Otherwise things revert back to the defaults after you turn off the camera... some even after each shot like the auto timer.

The audio is also on the weak side as if it picks up something that is a bit too loud for it, the sound distorts and gets very staticy, sometimes to the point where you can't hear what was spoken. This is very easy to do as well because it doesn't take much to make the sound distort. What I have to do to film as clear as possible, is keep the camera fairly far away from the sound source to lower the sound it picks up, like 2-3 feet away, then boost the volume in my video editor later.

This camera also has no lens cap or any way to get it one. But, the lens is glass and recessed a bit into the camera, so it's unlikely it'll get scratched or damaged unless you're careless with it.

All of the bad points in this camera I talked about make it seem like this camera is bad, but really it's OK for the price. Don't pay more than my mom did. I've seen it for like $130 and for that price you can get a better camera with more manual controls like a compact Canon or Nikon. Just very clunky and inconvenient to use quickly, a bit weak on the audio and lacking in the manual control department. It feels good in your hands to use, feels very sturdy and it gets the job done providing you use it as I described to get the best quality you can. The rotating screen is a big plus when you want to film at an otherwise awkward angle you couldn't do with a stationary screen on the back of it.

The more I use this camera, the more I want to upgrade to something with more manual controls and buttons so I can tweak video and photos without having to sift through menu screens and do it more precisely. But, I think that may be because I've gotten to a more advanced level of filming and photography since I got this camera and outgrew it. Though, I'd recommend this camera to a new video or photo enthusiast that wants an entry-level camera just to see if you'll like it as it's not complicated to use.

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First time I got this camera I was so excited but then I hook it up to my tripod and the screw fell off and still can't find that screw!

Pioneer BDP-120 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

• Virtually Eliminates Power-On Time,
• Giving You Much Quicker Access To All Of Your Spectacular
• Impressive Sound Transmitted Through Built-In High-Definition
• Offer The Full Benefits Of Downloading Additional Content Off The Internet
• Decide To Fully Interact With Your Entertainment

I purchased this player some days ago, while I was upgrading my TV to HD. I chose the BDP-120 for a specific reason: region codes. The consumer-hostile atrocity that some studios force on their customers hits people outside of the US (US = region 1) especially hard. My DVD collectio (almost exclusively region 1) is large, and I live in Switzerland (= region 2). The BDP-120 comes with a code-free DVD player, but *does* enforce regions on the BD. That way, I am able to retain my investment in DVD. NOTE: Make sure your version of the player has the same code-free capability, as I hear that in some countries they do not!

[Amendment, April 2012 after only 30 months (2.5 years) of normal use, the player died on me. This is well below my expected 4 years for such a device. Disappointing.]]

Unpacking

I received my player inside a box that also contained a hefty manual, a remote, 2 AA batteries for the remote, a 1GB USB stick (for firmware updates), an audio-, power-, and video cable. Neither Network (ethernet) not HDMI cable were included in the box (the omission of an HDMI cable is disappointing).

Exterior & Design

The player's outside is made from black plastic which does have a rather cheap feel to it. Unfortunately (it took me two minutes to find out), the shiny plastic parts scratche easily, so handle it with extra care when you slot the player into it's place. Buttons (power, play, etc.) are realized as small horizontal slats inside a horizontal recess, and feel flimsy (for comparison, my Yamaha amp that is roughly in the same price category has all buttons made from metal). The DVD tray is not dampened and gives off a rather cheap grinding sound when extending or retracting. When spinning, the disc is nearly inaudible, which is a great accomplishment, somewhat marred by the sound of what appears to be a fan that starts running inside the player when it gets warm.

Slightly annoying is the fact that the player's width is 42 cm (16.53 inch) instead of the standard 43.5 cm (17 inch). If all your components are from Pioneer that may not be an issue. Since mine are not, the mis-fit is slightly noticeable on top of the Yamaha amp. The silliest, most painfully obvious and plain stupid design flaw, however, is the USB port. Instead of providing an easy access for USB on the front (perhaps behind a panel), the designers chose to put the connector on the back. Yes, on the back, where you'll have next to no access. Well, perhaps an extension cord could help? Maybe -but the manual states clearly: "WARNING: DO NOT USE AN USB EXTENSION CORD". Now this is really, really bad design. Especially in light of the fact that any firmware update is facilitated by USB only (even if you have the player connected to the net). This design misstep is somewhat lessened by another seriously wrong design decision: even though the player provides a USB connector, you cannot play content from that port. Stone-age consumer appliance design. This forces you to burn any image (only JPEG supported) or video to disc, and then put the disc in the player (if you think network streaming via network port: well, not with this player).

The player is adorned with a tiny alphanumeric status LCD and a multitude of colorful LEDs. The LCD is backlit by a garish white light that is plain ugly. Pioneer could have done much better, as I have seen better-looking LCDs on *Thermometers*. Also, while some LED do carry a label (e.g. 'Power', others light up sometimes, even flash, and then, after a short while, turn off mysteriously. What exactly they are for will forever remain a mystery (although not one I'd be inclined to spend time on resolving). All in all I feel that very little thought has gone into this player's exterior design. In a nutshell, it's a black box with a number of randomly placed flashing LEDs. Not impressive at all.

The remote is rather large, deep black, and rests comfortable in the palm of even the largest of hands. The buttons feel a bit rubbery, and there is no audible or tactile feedback one a button engages. However, I would not have expected this from a remote for a device in this price range, and anyway, I'm using a universal remote (the Logitech Harmony 1000). Button labels are clear, but could have used a bit more contrast (on my remote they are colored in a yellowish off-white). Button lay-out is OK, centered around a mock-wheel (four directions and a central enter button). The remote also sports some buttons for controlling a TV, which I find somewhat silly, as they won't help you unless you have a pioneer TV, and if you do, that one comes with buttons for controlling your pioneer BD player). It uses standard AA batteries.

Handling

Not having used a BlueRay player before I was shocked by how long it takes a player to load a single BD. At first I though that the device was defective, but when I looked at other players I saw first hand that the BDP-120 is one of the quicker devices. Still, from turning on the unit over loading a BD and then gaining access to a menu this device averages at about 1.5 minutes (for comparison: my DVD player, a $19 no-label but admirably performing device takes all of 20 seconds from power-up to menu selection -and that includes loading a disc). I'm not sure what the 'Quickstart' feature means in this regard I'd hate to have a player that takes even longer to start up. Also somewhat disconcerting is the fact that the unit takes about 30 seconds to one minute to power down (and beware -simply pulling the plug will encur an additional startup minute the next time you switch it on).

The buttons on the player itself border on being unusable (they are too flimsy, and provide only the basic pause/play/skip/open functionality). With the remote the player, once started up, responds nicely, but still a far cry from instantaneously (as you are used from a DVD). The on-screen displays and messages from the player are rough, ugly, and look like something straight from the debugger the engineeres used, interspersed with some artwork that appears to be lifted from Apple and WinAmp. Still, they work, and that's what they are there for. Switching from and to different modes is easy enough, and the organization of most menus is logical and intuitive.

Although the player supports code free DVD (even though the (german) manual clearly states otherwise, which is disconcerting at best), it crashes regularly when you try to switch from a region 1 (US) DVD to a region 2 (Europe) BD, requiring me to pull the plug, and then wait through a prolonged power-up cycle. This adds insult to the injury of region codes. But at least the player supports my region 1 DVDs (but not region 1 BD).

Features / Image Quality

To me, this is the most important aspect, and the one that saves this player. For the price, the player provides excellent image quality from both BR and DVD over the HDMI port to your HD TV. It will up-scale DVD content, which was to me an unexpected boon. Upscaling a DVD produces great results on my TV (1028p). Up-scaled content is only delivered via the HDMI connector, not via the additional composite video and video sources available at the back of the player. The provided composite video signal is OK, perhaps slightly on the weak side. As mentioned before, the analog connectors (composite video) do not provide upscaled content, but do allow the BR to be played to non-HD devices. However, BR's are nearly indistinguishable from their lesser DVD brethren on analog source (I have the BD and DVD versions of 'Planet Earth), while on HD the difference is plain to see (even though the DVD version gets significantly boosted by the up-scaling).

The player also sports a network port (Ethernet, 100 Base-T). Unfortunately, this network port cannot be used to remote-control the player (as I had hoped). It is primarily there to stream content to the player from the internet (but not your PC). 100 MBit is somewhat on the weak side for this purpose, and accordingly, streaming a HD source to the player can cause stutters (not to mention that you better had invested in a switch or smart hub, or the whole subnet will drop from Gigabit to 100 MBit). Also (at least at my player's firmware level) the network port cannot be used to automatically download firmware updates. For this you use the (included, nice touch!) USB memory stick, onto which you must download the firmware from your PC. Furthermore, many obvious advantages that a network-enabled player could have are not implemented. As I mentioned above, you can't control the player via network, nor can you stream content from your PC to it. You can't query it's status (disk/track playing or status), nor does it automatically load a CD's album and track names from CDDB. Pioneer has a lot to learn in this regard. I currently regard the network feature as severely lacking.

BD-Live... well, I guess it's just me, but for some reason this feature holds little interest for me. It just feels wrong -like a "bolted-on afterthought". Perhaps I just havn't yet found the BD with real good BD-Live links. For now, all I found was wafer-thin content and a ton of advertising. Oh and you must have the memory stick inserted when you use that feature. Nope, there simply is no real added value for me in this.

The player does support the most common disk formats (CD, CDRW, Photo-CD, etc.) but supports a surprisingly limited amount of file formats: Images are limited to JPEG (with a stupid naming scheme to boot), and video files limited to the standard BD set (i.e. no Ogg, QuickTime etc). It does support AVCH, though (but that is no surprise as it is part of the newer BD standard).

If you have a KURO (a Pioneer brand) TV, the player offers a 'KURO-Link'. Supposedly, this feature will allow the player and TV to talk to each other and allow both to select the best (or preferred) setting for each source. I do have a KURO TV (a plasma), but so far have not found any significant advantages. This may be related to the fact that my Plasma has a myriad of different settings, which the BD player knows nothing about. I therefore find myself often re-configuring the TV manually for a specific source (in other words: this feature is badly executed in the player).

Summary

Although I am satisfied with the player's most important feature (image quality), there are many details that unnecessarily diminish this product: cheap exterior finish (Pioneer should have gone the extra mile and add more polish) with a front design bordering on ugly. It is slightly noisy when it gets warm. The omission of an HDMI and ethernet cable in the package is downright cheap. The non-standard width is annoying. Network integration is terrible, and too slow. Position of USB connector is downright stupid. No support for USB-provided media (Memory sticks or hard drives)

On the upside: Good image quality and up-scaling of DVD does add a terrific advantage if you have a HDTV. Performance is good compared to other, even more sluggish players. Supports all popular disk formats. Integration with other Pioneer devices (KURO line).

If you are looking for solid BD/DVD performance and do not care for most of the other niceties (USB playback, solid network integration), you should definitely look at this player.

Buy Pioneer BDP-120 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Now

Just got this from gold box for $169.

Therefore it's cheap compare to other unit of same level

I have the ps3 and this pioneer is not much slower on start up.

As for menu..just press menu and easily set to 720p or 1080p

and auto and HDMI or other output.

Almost all setup are yes/no question type. how hard can it be?

Picture and sound quality is on par with the ps3.

The unit is thin compare to first gen blue ray machine and remote looks clear.

The Disc tray is definately not loose.

It's normal like PC DVD-roms from samsungs or LG or sony etc..

you can't compare this to slot load ps3 stle when you have a tray.

you put a disc in and press a button to get it in...what do you do to

"manipulated" the tray? The default setup was to 480i because for those people that don't have a HDTV..

however, I hook it up to my sony receiver and sony HDTV and it comes right up through HDMI.

A menu is a menu... already has 4 languange and explain to you how to setup all kind of different audio , video setup plus menu settings.

what else do you want?

This is a budget model. it's low price.

if you want more function, pay extra 160 to get the one up model!

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My initial thoughts are this is a Sharp re-badge. Although it is an attractive player, build quality appears poor. The tray rattles when opened and the front panel buttons feel thin and plasticy and like they might break if used frequently. The tray is loose and can be manipulated. The front facade on the tray is very loose and actually feels like it might fall off. Once again, it is an attractive player, but the led chapter readout is pure sharp. it is a dark purple with white lettering. It says BYE when you turn off the player.

The Kuro Link does not work when activated it was outputting 480i to my 5010. It took me three times of playing with the settings to finally get it to output 1080p despite it was set to auto out of the box. You cannot switch output resolution on the fly. The video output resolution button on the remote does not work best I can tell. The remote is slightly different than the 51/320:

DSCN0897.jpg

The menu is set up with four basic selections. The GUI looks very budget and is not the refined GUI i love on the 51/320, though it is probably more straightforward. There are no tweaking menus for nr, brightness, etc. There is not deep color setting, but BD playback did appear as 36 bit on my kuro.

There is no setting to adjust output resolution to 24fps. The display during playback is even worse (no mb/s read-out, no resolution).

Performance:

The cons: BD playback is a bit dull. I prefer the image on the panasonic 55, 320, 51 and oppo. SD DVD upscaling is standard, probably a hair worse than my panasonic 55. Jaggies appear in any closely spaced line and are visible in credits even when stationary. Responsiveness is sluggish and the player sounds like a blender lots of grinding and gearing noises.

The pros: Quickstart works the disc tray opens immediately when you press eject. It has to be right at a second or two. It loads relatively quickly QOS loaded in a respectable 42 seconds. It struggled with POCI taking about 1 min 27 secs to get to the disney splash screen.

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I agree with Andrew. I purchased it on GoldBox at a great price and with my gift certificates, it was very cheap indeed. I am one of those who are too busy to read every single word in the manual so I went directly to the instructions on installing it. It was simple to read and easy to install. Took me longer to move my TV stand than hooking it up to the TV. The only drawback, it came with RCA cable but not the HDMI. When the HDMI cables are selling at $.37 cents at Amazon, why can't Pioneer put one of the cheap HDMI cables in the box. The remote was not complicated that installation process was fast and easy. If you want cheap, easy to install and have the average expectations on picture clarity and sound, this is the unit for you.

I have a pioneer Blu Ray player. It is now 1year 2 moths old and out of warranty. I updated the firmware to watch Avatar and now the machine will not work. I am told by Pioneer support that this is a common problem and can only be fixed by sending the machine back to have the firmware reinstalled by Pioneer. The cost is a minimum of $70 evaluation plus shipping. I cannot recommend this product that is at risk of being broken each time firm ware is updated.

Sony DVP NC655P/B DVD changer

I was looking to replace my trusty 4 years old Panasonic DVD-C220 dvd player. I had wanted to purchase a Tivo or Replaytv unit, but I hated the fact that I had to pay...just to use the unit. And I had also considered a stand-alone DVD recorder. But since my PC already acts like a TIVO, (without any of those nasty service fees) along with a dvd-rw recorder, I decided to look for a unit that plays all these types of discs: CD-R's, CD-R/W's, MP3 files, dvd-rw, and dvd-r discs, and also the VCD's. My Panasonic did read those dvd-rw discs, but sometimes it had trouble reading the discs. And it doesn't even read MP3 files, or those CD-R discs. So instead of spending...or more on a stand alone dvd recorder, or one of those hard disc recorders, I decided to get the Sony DVPNC655PB.

This unit is awesome. Not only does it play those home burned dvd-rw discs, it plays CD-R's, CD-R/W's, and discs encoded in the MP3 format. Sony also lists that it plays the dvd rw discs. Which is another type of rewritable dvd format. The recordable dvd medium currently has 5 competing formats. These include dvd-ram, dvd-r, dvd-rw, dvd r and dvd rw. The dvd recorder that I have utilizes the dvd-rw format. But this is another story. So I will not go into any more detail on this.

This unit comes in two colors, black and silver. I got the black one since the rest of my equipment is black. But they are basically the same unit. The Sony DVPNC655PB is a 5 dvd changer with selectable progressive scan output. The front panel of the unit is sleek and clean. It has all of the necessary buttons on the front of the unit. So in the event that you lose or damage the remote control, you can still pretty much operate any of the functions.

Hook up was uneventful. You would hook it up like any normal dvd player, whether it is the progressive output, S-Video or the regular RCA jacks. I hooked it up via its S-Video jack, since I have yet to purchase a high definition television set. You would need to have a television set that has component inputs in order to utilize the progressive scan output feature. The unit does not have a built in Dolby Digital 5.1 decoder, so you would have to hook it up to a receiver that decodes the 5.1 signals. The back of the unit has one coax output and one digital output. And also sports two analog RCA jacks.

When you first plug in the player, the player goes into the quick setup menu mode, which allows you to tweak the dvd player's picture, sound and other enhancements. Of course you can enter this mode anytime by pressing the button on the remote control. The unit will remember the different settings that you have set for each disc, up to 200 discs. The unit also has a parental lock out feature, but only up to 40 discs.

Upon playback of a dvd, one thing I have noticed about Sony's dvd players is that they have a much softer picture than my Panasonic did. However, this Sony has 3 sharp settings that you can you can set, if you do not like that softness setting. I prefer the sharper setting, so I use the #3 sharpness setting. I guess this is just a personal preference. Otherwise the picture quality is pristine. And so was the audio. The fast forward and fast reverse scan of the player is nice and smooth. No jerky movements when you use this feature.

One major cool factor of this player is that it is able to memorize the point at which you had stopped playing the disc, even if you took out the entire disc. It would resume playback. My old Panasonic did not do this. It would remember the point where you left off, but once you took the disc out, you have to go to the point where you left off manually. Another cool thing is that when you stop the disc, it would display a jacket of the dvd that is currently played. At first I thought that this feature is only available if you are watching a Columbia Tristar dvd, which is of course, owned by Sony Corporation. But as long as the DVD is encoded with this feature, it would work. Otherwise, a plain old SONY DVD PLAYER screen saver just comes on.

The remote control itself is logically laid out, and is easy to use. However, the buttons are somewhat small, and the remote is not backlit. So using the remote in the dark is not going to happen. And also I wish that they had put the arrow keys a little more in the middle of the control panel, instead of towards the end of the remote. This is usually the layout design for Sony remotes. The remote control also controls your television and some receivers.

Normally I would have had issues about buying Sony products, due to the lack of customer service support. But Sony has really out done themselves this time. This is an excellent player, especially at the price that I have bought it at.

Other than these few minor gripes, the Sony DVPNC655PB DVD player is a joy to use. So if you are in the market for a replacement player or a second unit, then the Sony DVPNC655PB is the one to get.

This is my third Sony DVD player (all three are still in use): I got the first as a replacement CD player before DVDs really caught on. Then I wanted a changer once I got into DVDs and got a predecessor to the 655, the 600. I must say the 655 more than exceeded my expectation. This newer model clearly shows how Sony has built on their experiences with past models.

For example, a great feature any family with more than one viewer will love is the memory resume function, which is automatic but it can be disabled. For 50 discs (DVDs, CDs, VCD, etc.) the player will remember where you stopped and resume there the next time you play the disc, even if you have removed and then reinserted the disc in the meantime! You can start a movie, listen to a CD a day later, watch three other movies, and then come back and finish the first one exactly where you left off weeks later! This is a great feature.

Picture quality is outstanding, and there are convenient picture modes, including a user programmable one, to adjust the color, contrast, etc. to suit your viewing material and environment. Optional block noise reduction is also included. The video output easily surpasses that of my other two DVD players.

A final great addition is the navigation feature. One can view thumbnails on the screen of the chapters or titles on a DVD. (It can also be used for slow motion strobe playback.) I think this will be of benefit to those of us who like to find Easter eggs on DVDs, and I have found several on discs many people have! Also, for those who can burn DVDs, navigation will allow you to search the contents of your disc easily, even if you didn't make a chapter menu when you authored the DVD.

One drawback is the remote: it is not as intuitively laid out as the previous ones I have seen from Sony. Why do they keep moving buttons? Who knows, but once I learned where they were on my other remotes I find I need to relearn them for this remote. Also, this remote has a beveled back, which means if it is lying on the table and you go to push a button towards the edge, the remote will probably flip over before you can exert enough force to activate the button. Too bad Sony didn't notice this when they made this design change. I wish they would just ask people who actually use the things, because I knew this would be a problem as soon as I saw the remote!

In case anyone wonders, my player is hooked up to a Sony ES receiver and JBL surround speakers. The sound is awesome, whether playing classical CDs or the latest DTS DVDs, a shade better than many players I have heard. All in all a great unit and a good value!

Buy Sony DVP NC655P/B DVD changer Now

I've had the player for alittle over a week and I love the thing.

I've been through a few DVD players, but this is the cats meow. It has great specs, but more importantly it does what is says. It played all my home brew CDs, MP3s, and VCDs. It played all my store bought DVDs that many players choke on. Also, everything loads pretty fast for a carousel, ie no waiting around. For those of you who have VCDs that are blocky/pixelated, it has a nice BNR feature to help reduce the "Block Noise". The random play is sweet and it even has A-B repeat for musican types who pick out tunes. The picture quality is awesome, and it has several cinema modes to view those movies in. The remote is out of the box compatible w/the Sony HD TV that it's connected to. I like the remote, it's small and the buttons I use are in sensible places. Overall, this DVD player purchase is a keeper that won't have to be shipped back to Japan like it's predecessors! One other little treat I found was that it can display CD-XTra info on screen. I hadn't seen this before even though the CD I discovered this on was from 1999. The onscreen stuff is easy to use, unlike those from Denon.

One minor improvement could be to display CD Text and CD time alternately instead of one or the other. ie. It's nice to see the track info for a bit, but then it nice to see the time remaining too!

Another imporvement would be to display the directory structure on screen for the MP3 Cds.

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I have the Sony 57" Widescreen, rear projection, TV and I've had it for a year now. The picture on this display is wonderful with just a standard DVD player.

Well... I purchased this new DVD player right after Christmas and hooked it up. Took me all of 5 minutes to hook it into my system in place of the old DVD player and get it working. A few minor configuration changes in the settings of the DVD player (after reading the manual) and I was outputting 480p pictures to my HD ready TV and the difference was amazing. My significant other noticed the difference and one of my friends said "You know its a good picture if the 'This movie is rated' screens are noticably clearer."

Simply put, this DVD player is awesome. I put Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Rings in (extended version which is split over two disks) and programmed the player to play disc one and disc two without me having to get up. The lag between discs was around 10 seconds with a Sony Screen Saver like page on the screen but it was a lot nicer than having to get up and change the disks out.

Cheers Sony!

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I purchased this DVD changer expecting that it would be able to shuffle play my MP3 CDs. It didn't, so I spent 30 minutes on the phone with Sony Support before I realized it's not designed to. I e-mailed Crutchfield, and they said every other manufacturer's DVD changers will, but Sony's don't. This seems like a big design flaw to me. Don't purchase this player if you want random play of MP3s.

Nextar MA323-2BL 256 MB Digital MP3 Player with FM Radio (Black)

• Fashionable, wearable, cube-style digital MP3 player in black
• Supports MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WMV, WAV, and ASF formats
• 256 MB flash memory holds 4 hours of MP3 and 8 hours of WMA audio
• Blue, self-emitting OLED display; FM tuner with recording function
• USB 2.0 interface; measures roughly 1 inch square; 90-day warranty

I received this as a gift a few years ago for Christmas and surprisingly it still works. I had no issues with the radio feature, space, navigation. It's just perfect for jogging and really cool. The headsets were super, they are necklace stylethey just help keep this hanging on your neck while jogging. Design is really cool!

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Probably my fault that I didn't return it but it was the heat of the holidays and after furiously searching for a manual, I found that it would probably take more than one stab at charging. Time and attention was limited, so I didn't get around to returning it, I was so busy trying to charge it and thereby giving the Nextar and opportunity to work. It won't. I wanted one of these since they first came out years ago. I was younger and poorer then. But it would appear that they sold me an original for fifty bucks with an ancient battery no longer capable of charging. Yes, it shows up on my PC but that one lifeline to it is the same lifeline as the headphone. In other words, it will draw power but you can't listen to whatever you put on it unless it's hooked up to the PC. Since there's only the one jack, you can't even use another external power source and be able to listen to your music, or your radio. One way or another, I got victimized 'cos even returning it would have been a major exercise in mailing it back and probably in getting reimbursed.

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Less than a year after getting this player, the battery quit. Now it's worthless. The interface was difficult to navigate. Too much money for what you get.

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I got one of these as a Christmas present a few years ago. The capacity wasn't really sufficient for me, but it was free so I couldn't complain. It works just like a flash drive. I ended up changing out what songs I had on it every morning before heading out, and within a couple months, I could no longer connect it to my computer. I can still listen to the songs that are on it, and it will still charge when it's plugged into the USB port, but I can't change what files are on it. The computer doesn't recognize it. I tried it with a different computer and that one won't recognize it either. Also, the screen is so tiny, it become difficult to find a song you want to listen to. And the random function doesn't always work right. I didn't like it enough to begin with to bother contacting the manufacturer.

I liked this product, it came right on time, I gave them away for christmas

its size is amaizing

the bad part of it is that the FM radio part does not work on any of the 3 mp3 players.

Canon FS-CF Portable Compact Flash DTE Recorder, HD Video Recording for Canon HDV and Mini-DV Camco

• Solid State Acquisition to Editing in One Step: By recording to solid state Compact Flash cards, the Focus FS-CF can be used in extreme conditions, including high-shock and high-altitude environments.
• The Direct To Edit Advantage: With the FS-CF Portable Compact Flash DTE Recorder, you will go from acquisition to editing with unparalleled speed, efficiency and reliability.
• Industry Standard File Format Support: The Focus FS-CF brings the most popular DTE file formats to solid state recording. When used with 25Mb/s HDV cameras, the FS-H200 supports QuickTime 1080i50/60 and 720p25/30 recording for Final Cut Pro use as well as M2T 720p/1080i recording.
• Removable Compact Flash Slot: The FS-CF features a CF card slot on its side for insertion of standard Type 1, UDMA, 30MB/s minimum Compact Flash Cards (16GB min.). Compact Flash cards feature a fast interface and very high capacities (currently up to 64GB) at low cost.
• Native QuickTime HDV Support: With the FS-CF, you can record 1080i 50/60 or 720p 30 clips as native QuickTime HDV. The FS-H200 extracts and decodes the audio from the incoming HDV stream, combines it with video stream and wraps is as a QuickTime HDV file.

I love this device. I can now use my Canon XH A1 without tape. In fact, I can even use the record start/stop on the camera and this device detects the presses. My only complaint is that the controls are hard to use if you want to change settings or to delete a clip but I don't do that very often. The record start/stop/pause is what matters most and these functions can be controlled from the device also.

I have been able to edit the videos on Premiere and also play them unedited on Windows.

Toshiba Camileo B10 HD Recording with 2-Inch LCD Screen (Black)

I bought the Camileo B10 for it's ability to take still photos along with video. While I love my Flip Ultra HD, the lack of still photo capability is too limiting. While overall I am pleased with the B10 there are a couple cons which I think potential buyers should consider. First the B10 has a small LED video light built in. While the light is fairly dim, it's better than nothing for recording video in a dimly lit room. As for still photos however, this same LED takes the place of a flash and fails miserably. Next, the B10's shiny finish is somewhat slippery so hold on tight while filming. Bottom line, if you want an all around compact device for "both" quality video and stills, look to the "Dual Camera" Xacti line from Sanyo. On the other hand, the B10 is fine for outdoor use or in brightly lit situations.

I bought a refurbished Camileo B10 from Woot (an Amazon company) because, according to the specs, it could do time-lapse. Imagine my dismay when I discovered that the camera will not operate when it is charging, and there is no way to turn off the battery-guzzling screen. This limits any time-lapse recording to the amount of time that the camera will run before the battery runs out, which turns out to be about 3.5 hours. The camera has been out long enough for Toshiba to fix these two issues, but they have turned a deaf ear to the many complaints that can be found on-line (including the Toshiba website).

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Bought it to video horses in training. The zoom is TERRIBLE! Grainy with any amount of zoom. Powers on and off on its own, causing the battery to run down. I didn't figure out what was happening to the battery until it was too late to return it. Definitely didn't like the slick surface of the camera. Had to use stick on bling to have something to grip. Ended up purchasing a Cisco Ultra Flip. It does a great job with the fast motion of the horses.

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I've had mine 3 days. I've made a side-by-side recording comparison with my Kodak Playsport, which you can find by searching YouTube or try this link: . Copy and paste it.

I put both cameras on a bracket and attached the bracket to a tripod. I recorded simultaneously a busy intersection and then cut segments from each camera's total 15minute recording. I played corresponding short segments from each one after the other, so as to give an A-B comparison.

The Kodak Playsport average bitrate was 11,996 kbps, the Toshiba Camileo 9,401 kbps. The Kodak file was 1.15 GB and the Toshiba, 921.51 mb.

The Kodak resolution was better, but the color and exposure on the Toshiba was superior. The Toshiba LCD was more viewable. The Kodak is waterproof, the Toshiba, not. Both have replaceable batteries and both have HDMI ports. The controls are more convenient on the Toshiba because it has separate video and still-picture buttons. With the Kodak, you must enter the menu system.

I like the Camileo B10! I've not experienced any abnormalities in the operation as have some reviewers. Got my fingers crossed because I just ordered a spare battery for it.

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So far so good. Simple and easy to use. Picture and video clarity are good. Haven't yet played video back on a TV yet, just on computer.

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Mini Vehicle Car HD Camera DVR DV Recorder LED IR Nightvision

• Features 8 IR infrared LED emitters for night vision illumination.
• Works day and night.
• Comes with red laser sight for view angle/video shotting alignment.
• Features a 1/5 color CMOS camera.
• Supports cycled recording.

I have two of the cameras for years and had no trouble so I bought another one ... The things you record as you drive. shipping good...

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It records in two minute intervals and the picture is jerky at best during video recording... I am not a fan

Opteka Gold Plated high speed HDMI to mini-HDMI 6' Cable For Canon EOS 5D Mark III, II, 1D Mark IV,

I like this product! It was exactly like i thought it would be. I would definitely recommend this to others!

Well, there isn't really that much to say about a cable. It does it's job and compared to the Norwegian prices it's extremely cheap. Good product!

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Sony MZ-N420D Psyc Net MD Walkman Digital Music Player

• Store 5 Hours of music on 1 standard MiniDisc
• Record MP3s or CDs at up to 32x speed
• Uses high-tech, affordable MiniDiscs (1 included)
• Up to 56 Hours battery life with 1 AA battery
• The Psyc Net's recording features and bundled software are not compatible with the Mac OS operating system.

First I am a huge Sony Minidisc fan and have used md's for a long time. Entering the mp3 and wma time, I decided to get a net md to play these files. Unfortunetly Sony forgot to give their users an easy way to transfer their files to the net md. Here's why;

First even though the package says it plays mp3's and wma's, it actually means it will convert them to Atrac then store it to the player. Taking too much of your time.

Second it doesn't even convert all wma's or mp's. Most of my files are wma and it didn't even convert 75% of them.

Third the device soemtimes thinks it's full when not and heres the kicker, you must use batteries to to do any tranfers. Most mp3 player uses the power of your computer to do that.

Honestly I have never been so mad at sony. I do still love most of their products but they should have put more effort into this.

Sorry customers, but if you want an easy to use and better quality mp3 player look at anything other than net md. If Sony was smart they would have made the Net MD like a mass storage device and let the customer decide if they want to convert their music to atrac.

I ended up buying a 40gb Creative Labs Zen. Very easy and also lets me store files other than music too.

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I just bought this about a week ago, so take that in stock when you read this review. I plan to update it after I've owned it for longer. BUT here are my thoughts so far.

PROs:

--Over 5 hours of music on one MD

--Sound is very good, even at the highest compression rate it's just barely below CD-quality

--MDs are relatively inexpensive (about $2 apiece)

--Low price compared to most mp3 players

--Bass and treble are adustable

--Transferring music to MD is fairly simple and fast

--MDs can store track information (album name, song name, etc) and display it on the player

--Unit is very small (it fits quite comfortably in my pocket WITH my cell phone)

--HUGE battery life when playing music

--MDs are very easily rewritable

CONS:

--MD has limited memory for storing track information (normally not a problem but if you go much beyond about 80-90 songs it may not store names for all the tracks or albums)

--Actual transferring of songs to MD takes up quite a bit of battery power

--"Shuffle" setting does not shuffle among different groups (albums), but only in one group at a time (probably not a big deal to most people)

--No voice recorder (I don't care, but some people probably do)

--Very small display screen (but I got used to it pretty fast)

--Headphones are crap--use another pair

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A good value. The battery life (1 AA) is incredible. All files (MP3 etc.) must be converted to the Sony file format but the included software does this. There are two programs. "MD Simple Burner" is the easiest and fastest way to get music from your audio CD's burned on a MD(3 to 5 minutes per CD.) "Sonic Stage" will convert various file types (mp3, wav, wma) to the Sony format and transfer it to the MD. There are 3 different transfer modes, SP, LP2 and LP4. SP provides the best quality while LP4 the smallest file. I don't download music from the internet so I can't verify this feature. The Good: It is cheap (mine was $100,) reliable, small, each disk holds 70-80 songs (5 hours of music) in LP4 form, good sound quality, disks cost less than $2, good battery life and has good anti-skip protection. The Bad: Sonic Stage is slow, awkward and unstable, tiny display, confusing manual, other than headphones and a MD, no other accessories are included.

It is smaller and much cheaper than an IPOD and has much longer battery life. I use an inexpensive rechargeable NiMH battery. I use it in my car (a Miata) with a wireless FM transmitter. It is small enough to lock in the console and plays through the radio well.

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I was given this as a gift and especially since it was given to me, I love this thing. It's the poor man's ipod, who wants to spend $200+ when they could get this for like $60-80. It holds up to 50*almost* 80 songs per disk I believe (each of my disks have a different amount-depending on the length of the songs),is skip proof, sound is great, and it's easy to transfer music onto. I find no fault with it. I've had it for over a year and it's held up beautifully, even with being dropped. So personally I think it's a great gadget to have if you can't afford or don't want to splurge on the oh so hyped ipod.

Just the type of quality you would expect from a Sony product. This MiniDisc player is durable, sleek, and gets the job done very nicely. The only complaints I have is with the SonicStage software, but none from the Player itself. My problem with the software is just something that gets on my nerves, the fact that once I convert to LP4, I can't transfer it back to my library. Everything else in this is great, I can fit over 3-5 hours of music, less if I want to keep the full titles of songs, and amazing battery life. I listen to my MD Player about 1-2 hours a day, and have to replace the batter about once ever 1.5-2 months (one AA, how awesome). The MD Player is small, light, and doesn't skip (not that I've experienced) so it is PERFECT for joggers that don't want to risk the harddrive of an MP3 Jukebox. MiniDiscs are really cheap and easy to take in and out, come in cool colors, easy to store, and pretty durable. Also, MiniDisc players can stand more extreme temperatures. The only thing I wish that this had that it doesn't is a backlight, but that would ruin the good battery life.

Zing 572-331 LPEBK1 Large Electronic Belt Bag (Black)

I bought this to hold my multimeter and it works great. It's made out of wetsuit-like material and has a big strip of velcro so the flap is adjustable by about an inch and a half.

I bought my son a TI-84 calculator for school but noticed it not having any case to protect it for daily use. I shopped around and found this here at Amazon. Took some measurements of the calculator and compared to this item. It matched. Ordered it right away. My son loved it and has been using it since the first day he went to 1st year high this year. Awesome product and protects the TI-84 perfectly!

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Supersonic SC-709 Portable MP3/CD Player

• Top Loading CD Player
• Built in AM/FM Radio
• Plays MP3/CD/CD-R/CD-RW
• Records from CD and Radio
• 20 Programmable CD Memories

Needed a CD player that can handle mp3 books on CD for an elderly sight-impaired friend. This was up to the task, affordably.

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I was pleased with this online purchase. I had no idea what to expect, but it came on time, brand new and in great condition. Everything works! I just had to take back a store-bought product from Target right after opening the box (a vintage boom box that didn't work at all). When I got this boom box, I was happy. Great product for the price.

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I was looking for a boombox that would play CD (including MP3), cassette (yes, I still have those!), USB input and AUX input. I bought this purely because it met all my requirements on paper and it looked decent in picture. It all worked, although it looks a bit cheap. Very decent product for the price.

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I couldn't get the CD player to work. When I notified the company, they didn't have technical support, but were great about letting me send it back. The process has been a little slow because their machine that makes their return labels was down. I'm waiting for the return label. Again, they have been very nice to work with and have explained the delay. My rating is based on the fact that I couldn't get the CD to work. The radio works fine. I don't know about the other functions. Since I purchased it primarily to use it to play CDs, I knew I wasn't interested in keeping it without being able to play CDs.

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I bought this for my mother. My father just passed away and he had several burned CDs from his quartet days. Her other CD player would not play them. This plays them and also a Bible CD that was MP3 format. She loves it.

Olympus VN-1800 Digital Voice Recorder

Review for Voice Recorder VN 1800 and VN 900.

Pretty good machine, does basically what I need it to do !

Overall good value and functionality for the price.

Although this is not the perfect device of my dreams with all the features I would like to see

it is a good replacement for my old voice recorder...

I bought the VN 900 with advertised 90 min of recording time.

The fact is on high quality you get 22.5 minutes and that is plenty enough.

Before I had 11 minutes which I never used.

Remember this is a voice recorder to take notes and reminders that you would

otherwise put on sticky notes, not a recorder for whole meetings. If you look

for a recorder for meetings you are in fact better off with a tape recorder.

For taking notes it is great because you can do it while riding a bike, a car, on a plane,

where ever you are and want to take a note, without taking out a note pad and end up

with messy pieces of paper.

Best ideas usually come, when you least expect them so be prepared to take a note.

Record with high quality, I agree.

The use of low sensitivity on the microphone is very useful.

If low sensitiviy is used, it significantly reduces background noise.

With my old recorder I had problems understanding what I said when recording

notes on airplanes or in noisy plant setting. Not so with this unit on low sensitivity.

On high sensitivity the background noise is very disturbing.

If you talk into the mic low is you setting of choice if you want to record a whole

room then high is.

I agree that automatic voice recording does not work and so far never has on

any device I have seen. Just don't use it. If you use the machine for notes,

you won't need it.

Stop button on top is in deed confusing, but the logic is that it is right below the

record button. This takes some getting used to.

I did not find a use for the clip either but it is not in the way so who cares.

I agree that the hold button is somewhat of a nuisance.

However, if the unit is left on long enough it goes into a sleep mode by itself.

Unit works well with rechargable NiMH batteries so that it does not add to

the toxic garbage pile created by used batteries.

One hand operation is not a problem, not a problem to handle while driving.

Possible Improvements:

1. A feature I would like to see is an integrated stop watch.

2. Erasing is a pain because when you push it after the message has played

it erases the next message not the one just played. One has to be careful.

3. I would prefer if the machine stayed on the message just played

instead of jumping to the next one.

4. I would prefer if the unit would always come up with folder A instead of the last

folder that was open.

5. I would prefer to have easier access to the folders instead of having to cycle

one way through them.

6. I would prefer to always see the recorded date and time when on a message

instead of the current time. This makes it easier to know what the message

is and makes it easier to classify them.

7. I would like to just have plain alarm function for a wake-up call but it is okay

as it is, when the alarm sounds I get a message when I silence it.

8. Setting the alarm is the same problem as erasing. If you set the alarm once

the message has played you set it for the next message not for the one

you just heard.

Eberhard.

The new VN1800 from olympus is a very good product! I see it as a next generation compared to my older VN90. The most impressive differences to me are the smaller size and the better sound. There is also a fourth directory and buttons are more intuitive with the jogdial. The size is now about 3 inches versus 4 inches, allowing the VN1800 to hold in a pocket without deforming it or hurting. The sound quality in HQ mode is very crisp allowing to better recognize all kinds of sounds, even mixes of noises, voices and music. It is no longer a struggle to understand voicenotes I took in my car with ambiant city noise.

The consomation is low: i measured about 0.1mA standby, 40mA play (low volume) 30mA rec mode. So batteries must last a while

I also did a test of replacing the batteries within reasonable time (10sec) and thank god the messages were not lost.

The VN1800 will always be with me, attached to my keys with an extendable cord.

Note: sometimes under harsch frictions and pressure the tiny 'hold' button accidentally shifts and the unit starts recording. For this I simply cut off the 3 grooves of the button

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I originally purchased this recorder to take minutes in meetings. In both HQ and SP modes, the quality of recording is very good for this purpose, assuming use of headphones when transcribing. In an outdoor setting, with people seated around a standard size folding table and holding the recorder so that it can be pointed toward the person speaking, the VCVA (voice activation) function was an excellent performer, even with a few people who mumble, and saved having to deal with blocks of silence. In LP mode, the quality of recordings is awful, but still salvageable (laborious task of playing file into computer as a wave file, then performing noise reduction on file) allows use of such files. If the time provided by SP is adequate for your purposes, this is an excellent and cost effective choice.

Read Best Reviews of Olympus VN-1800 Digital Voice Recorder Here

Although this digital voice recorder's (DVR) customerand editorial reviews are accurate, they fail to identify one important flaw!

With a DVR, (unlike audio microcassette recorders) you can NOT rewind over an erroneous word and rerecord it. If you are using the DVR to dictate, you will not be able to back up and restate anything said in error.

This is a major drawback.

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I selected the VN-1800 after looking at many dictating devices on the Internet. I use mine for recording my thoughts and diary entries on the go. It's small enough to fit nicely into my pocket, and the Hold switch never accidentally slides open. It's large enough to rest comfortably and securely on four fingers of one hand, leaving the thumb free to operate the buttons.

HQ mode along with low mic sensitivity catches my voice clearly and holds 45 minutes of dictation, which is plenty for my purposes. I love the S folder, which has a slot for each day of the year. Because it knows the date and time, the recorder automatically points to today's slot for recording. When playing messages, all the messages for a day are played, making it perfect for transferring to a computer via the headphone jack for making mp3 files.

It would seem that manufacturers now think everybody is just itching for voice recorders to play mp3 music files. In my case, though, I already have a 20GB mp3 player, so I couldn't care less about mp3 playback capability. Why pay extra for something you don't want?

The ability to link digitally with my PC is not valuable to me either, because I have to listen to my dictation anyway so that I can categorize it, so the task of making mp3 files on my computer is no burdon.

The player is clean, rugged, and has the features that I want, without extra gimmicks such as mp3 music playback. This brings the price down, which is another nice feature. Sometimes less is more.

Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens

If you have never interfaced with your router's software before (and you are not brave!) than this might not be for you. It is not hard to set up. You plug in its AC adapter and plug it into your router. Follow the instructions and wow.

The picture is wonderful. The motion alarm is fantastic. We placed on of these inside our barn across the street from our home, about 350 feet away. We added an $80. antenna to our router from Hawking, also available on Amazon, and poof! I can now see what all the sqwak is at 2AM in my barn with out walking all the way out there! Wow, wow, wow. The pan and tilt features are really nice. We setup another at our front door, and three "out door" styles around the outside of the property. I don't know how long this black "indoor" will last in the extreme temps and humitity of our barn and front porch, but that is not Foscam's problem. I will update at the end of the winter, or sooner if they die during winter!

4/3/11 Well they made it through the winter. We have been able to review motion detection alarm triggered video clips that were saved on our pc. We have been able to remote pan across the barn to see who is making all the racket and why. It is lovely to know who has been on your porch while you were sleeping! The cameras are wonderful. the there is an antenna you can get on amazon that will extend you wireless cababilities. We view the inside and outside of our barn across the street. These are great.

Where to start...

Well I'll open with.. I'm IMPRESSED! I opted to get the white version of the FI8918W just because it was cheaper than the black version and was identical other than the color. I was first concerned because I got two camera's and the first one was "loose" it seemed (camera from the base). The second seems to be identical so this must just be the way these camera's are. I hooked this up directly to my router as per the instructions and tried to determine a standard ip address without having to use the included software. I wasn't able to so then used the mini-disc on my windows 7 PC. The computer prompted for reboot which I did before I noticed the icon on the desktop. When it rebooted I double clicked the icon and after a brief moment it displayed the ip address of the camera. Note: I'm also using zone alarm and it requested access to 255.255.255.255:10000, which I allowed and it displayed the camera.

When I double clicked the ip address displayed in the software window I was taken to ie which then I put in the user id: admin and for the PW. I don't know if I'm just lucky because I've had so many lessons with my other IP cameras, but this one was very easy (outside trying to figure out why the wireless config wasn't working as expected). One of the other things I was really impressed with was the ease of setting up the wireless. I "scanned" for wireless sources, found mine, clicked it and nearly all the fields were prefilled. I only had to input my security key. Now... The issue I had. I'm currently running 4 different cameras, x2 different Linksys camera's and a trendnet. Those all when setup kept their ip address. This Foscam uses a different one. So after you have it setup I'd recommend re-running their ip software and finding the new ip address after you have removed the cat5 cable. This took me about an hour to figure out.

My camera background:

I started out with x2 Linksys wvc54gca. These were my basis for learning about the IP camera's, the router work required to open the ports and more especially multiple camera's on the same router and how to accomplish that. After moving from the lower 48 to Alaska, we wanted a pan tilt zoom (PTZ) camera and opted for the Linksys WVC210. This camera is a very nice unit, but after getting the new Foscam night PTZ camera, I feel like I wasted a significant amount of money on this one unit, when I believe the Foscam FI8918W is easily a better buy. We also have the Trendnet tv-ip422w and compared to this new Foscam camera, the video is absolutely SUBPAR to the Foscam.

While this is a review about the Foscam FI8918W I want the readers to know and appreciate what this camera does. The Linksys WVC54GCA works perfectly in IE and Firefox (Safari as well). The WVC210 will NOT, repeat NOT work with IE. There is an active X that is required and Cisco must have an issue with Microsoft or something because I cannot force my computer to accept the active X. You can ONLY view this in Fire Fox (FF) or Safari (if I remember correctly), but FF is what we use to view it. These Foscam's work in: IE8, FF and FF on Mac OS-X (Snow Leopard). I haven't tried Safari, but our needs were met in that realm.

Mobile browsing: Both of the Linksys cam's were visible on our iPhone/iTouch. We have now ditched the iPhone (junk) and went with the Samsung captivate (android) and had the same experience. The Trendnet and Foscam units were not viewable on either of our phones. This was an initial HUGE issue, but I've found that on both the itunes and android app store there is an app (android has a free version, apple doesn't) called "IP Cam Viewer" by Robert Chou (android lite version works for free and has a banner at the top). If you use this program use "Add IP" in the settings to add your DNS address you established and go from there. This app also allows "swipe to pan" option.. NICE!!

In setting up, I mentioned that I have multiple camera's. I've resorted to using multiple different port's such as: myipcam,dot,com:1111 and the next is: myipcam,dot,com:1112, and: myipcam,dot,com:1113, etc. You will establish this in your individual camera settings and your router config.

Over all.

I know my setup was based on historical config's I've done with other camera's so I was aware of some of the pitfalls. But I believe these cameras were the easiest to setup. The camera's software/firmware is a little "hokey" and could be improved I believe, but It has everything it needs to have (that I could determine) so I can't fault the firmware (admin) settings/options about that. The actual web GUI (interface) was pretty nice, especially compared to the other camera's I have. I didn't try the multiple setup and accessing them through the internet because one of the two cameras we received will be kept a little more "private" and may have access to part of our bedroom from its location.

The camera is very quiet. I found myself enjoying that with the movement options you can hold down the arrow (on the screen) and the camera will move until you unclick it.

The status LED, which can be turned off, is located on the back. I appreciate that as well.

The only thing I found a little annoying was the IR bulbs are a little too visible. We have one of these in the kids' bedroom and the red glow (obvious) always attracts attention. This is visible even when the IR is turned "off" in the settings.

The package included everything I believe a normal user would require/desire. Camera, base (movable/adjustable which is a nice touch), antenna, screws and anchor, cat5 cable and the power cord.

On the audio, I didn't try/use the included option. I'm sorry that a review of that feature cannot be included. With the amount of camera's we are running we can't support the additional bandwith requirements.

The only problem I experienced was the wireless being a different IP address vs. the wired IP address. I've never experienced this before, but was a simple fix by using the supplied software.

In closing:

I wish I could provide a link so others could see how impressive these CAM's are. But I won't ;) Had I known how great a value these cameras would be I would have purchased at least a couple more, with the possibility of enough to replace / supplement all of our Linksys/Trendnet cam's. I'm leaving for a yearlong military deployment in 10 days so the ease in setup/config was a HUGE help and success on the part of this company. At this point I'd have no issue recommending these to anybody who is looking for an excellent camera. The day time image is excellent, the night vision (as with everything) is less grand, but the IR bulbs completely illuminate our 12x35' room with plenty of light to spare. These camera's are all usable on Win XP (laptop), Win Vista (laptop), Win 7 (PC) (Both with IE 8 and Fire Fox) and Mac OS-X (Snow Leopard) on a Macbook Pro and IMac , ipod Touch and Samsung Captivate (Android) WHEN using the app: ipcam viewer by Robert Chou (free on Android).

I really hope this review helps some other potential buyers as I had a ton of questions, to which few (if any) were answered by other reviews.

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There are a ton of well-written reviews for this camera (also check out the other versions, e.g. FI8918W White, FI8905W) that give an excellent sense of its many strengths, minor weaknesses, as well as tips for setting up IP cameras in general. I won't rehash the basics, but I will give a brief overview of my setup. Then I'll make a comment on security, and finally go through some of the ways you can extend this camera's capabilities. This last section is where the Foscam truly shines, in my opinion. After all, if I just wanted a no-hassle cam/DVR, I could get something more basic (but much more expensive) off the shelf at Costco or through a residential security company.

If you have any questions, just comment on this review. I'm happy to respond.

Setup:

The setup process was very standard for any sort of web-enabled device. It'll take a bit longer if you've never gone through the steps before, but once you do it, you'll know how to set up a whole slew of similar devices (e.g. home webserver, media servers, etc.). There are literally hundreds of great tutorials on all of these topics around the web, so if any step or terminology is confusing, just google it and you'll find a bunch of good links. (i.e. don't get deterred by reviews that say "bad instruction manual" or "bad customer service", since you won't need either if you have the whole internet and the power of google at your fingertips). Anyway, here is the rough outline of the setup process for me:

1. Connected Foscam via LAN cable, checked "DHCP clients" list on router (I have a MacBook Pro and an Airport Extreme router) to get local Foscam IP, and then typed this into my web browser to get to the Foscam web interface. Alternatively, use the little utility included with the Foscam to get to the same place.

2. Added a new login/password, deleted admin login, and set up wifi access in the Foscam settings. Then disconnected from LAN and moved Foscam to the desired location. Plug it back in and now it's working via wireless.

3. Went into my router's settings and assigned a static IP to the Foscam's wifi MAC address (note: this MAC is different from the ethernet MAC). This is done with "DHCP Reservations" on the Airport, but of course the exact label will vary by router. Now the Foscam web interface will always be accessible at the same local address within my home network.

4. To get external access outside of my home network, I went into my router's "Port Forwarding" settings and forwarded some external port to port 80 at the static local IP of the Foscam.

5. Since I have a residential internet provider, my external IP is dynamic, which means it could potentially change. To get around this, signup for a free dyndns account. Then just use the updater client on the Foscam, itself, or one of many others that are available for free for mac, windows, and linux.

Security:

This is a bit confusing since the Foscam advertises "encryption". The part that IS secure is the Foscam's communication to/from your router via wifi. This is very good, and considering how easy it is to snoop traffic over an unprotected or WEP-protected wifi (there are even NYTimes articles describing the basics!), I would consider this a mandatory feature of any IP cam. While this is excellent to have, if you choose to make your Foscam web interface accessible from the outside internet (i.e. you did port forwarding), then this connection is public and completely unencrypted. Firstly, this means you should immediately add a new user in the Foscam settings and then delete the admin login. Even once this step is done, it means that there will be no little "lock" symbol in your browser indicating SSL encryption, and your new login/password and video stream will still be sent in the clear. This doesn't bother everyone, but if it does, you can use a computer on your home network to set up a VPN or SSH tunnel (easier) to make the connection encrypted (or just disable external access completely if you don't need this feature). At any rate, it's good to be aware of this limitation at least.

Enhancing functionality:

Misc information on advanced features There is a lot of useful information about these Foscams, including some more advanced topics, scattered around on various blogs and forums. Here are a couple (I'm sure google will find even more): gadgetvictims dot com, forum dot networkwebcams dot com, networkcamerareviews dot com.

mangocam dot com Free online storage for your cam stream. What's the point of having a security camera if the crooks steal all your computers with the footage!? This site just popped up with a free public beta, so it's definitely worth checking out. Sort of like the built-in FTP/email features taken to a whole new level.

Smartphone apps A neat way to check in on your cams remotely (but see important security note, above). IP Cam Viewer Lite works great for Android, and other reviews mention other apps for iPhone, etc.

ZoneMinder The holy grail for getting the most out of your cam. This is a free and open-source web application for managing your cam feeds. It is sort of like mangocam, but you install it yourself on your own webserver, and it does a whole lot more. For instance, you can define different motion detection "zones" in the image. Maybe zone #1 is the whole image, zone #2 is just a doorway, and zone #3 is a tree that is always moving in the wind. Then you can define all sorts of complex filters, like 1) Record a section of video footage when there is any motion in zone #1, excluding zone #3, or 2) Record a section of video footage when there is any motion in zone #2, but only during work hours on weekdays; then automatically send some still screenshots to my email and upload a movie of the event to some off-site server. Wow...the options are truly endless! With just this program, some $200 linux boxes, and some Foscams, you could start a business setting up surveillance systems for people!

Read Best Reviews of Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens Here

This is a decent IP camera with enough features for most first time users. I was able to configure and use the camera without having to load any of the included software without any trouble, but an average person might have trouble getting every feature working. If you don't know what DNS or FTP means, you are one of these people.

If you are planning on just sitting this on a window sill and pointing it outside as a 24/7 security camera, think again. It works fine in the daytime, but interior reflections on the window glass make it less useful at night. The IR LEDs reflect back off the window and effectively blind the camera.

Image quality is typical of a low-cost CMOS sensor. Color accuracy and saturation is poor, but adequate for most uses.

It also has several shutter speed settings....a 60hz speed for night/low light, a 50hz speed for medium lighting, and a slow shutter speed for outdoor use. While the camera is able to automatically adjust sensor sensitivity a bit to compensate for changes in lighting, it doesn't have an automatic shutter speed setting. This means that if you have the shutter speed set on the "Outdoor" setting, it works great on a sunny day, but at night is far too dark to be useful. You'd have to manually switch shutter speeds every day if you were using it as an unattended security camera. Leaving it on 60hz setting and trying to view an outside scene just results in a white video image...the sunlight totally overwhelms the sensor unless you use the "outdoor" setting.

The motion detection feature is excellent. You can have the camera automatically email you a sequence of still photos everytime it detects motion. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked. You can specify up to 5 individual recipients.

It is also capable of uploading the same still images to an FTP server if you wish to archive them for review later. A date/time stamp on the image would have been a nice addition but isn't a feature.

I did not try the audio features, thus cannot say if they are improved over the old camera. If you are looking to integrate this camera into your DIY home security system, you should purchase the previous model (FI8908W) as this new one doesn't have the RS485 port anymore.

Bottom line, whether you want to use this camera to monitor an interior room, or an outside scene, it's a good entry level camera. Just don't expect it to be able to do both without manually making some adjustments for one or the other.

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I really wanted to love this camera, the feature set appeared to be excellent. The set up was fairly simple to set up a static IP address and I even gave it a higher port number. It did work well in Firefox, Chrome and Safari, but the most advanced features like sound and better quality picture appear to be in Internet Explorer. I even got it to work via my iPhone. The problem I have is the constant freezing upon logging via Internet Explorer on my Windows 7 Laptops. I'm running both 32 bit and 64 bit IE. I looked for solutions and saw users have been experiencing IE issues with the buggy Active X controls since Vista.

I'm on the fence if I should keep this Wireless IP Cam, since the Activex code crashes on both my laptops and freezes them. I'm sick of having to reboot. It's very annoying, but I'm not sure if I really need the audio anyway, I'm more interested in photos and ability to ftp, and email pictures to an account. It's annoying since I even upgraded the firmware to the most current version and tried to follow all the useless instructions of disabling firewalls, disabling antivirus, and allowing all active x controls even whitelisted the IP in a trusted zone. NOTHING WORKED. So far the Active x controls are the only thing broken, besides two IR lamps seem to dim compared to the rest, the ability to pan and tilt are excellent. Image Quality is fair, seems almost better in the dark, but in the dark it's black and white.

Update:

I decided to keep the Camera. I've noticed it seems to go into a "look" mode randomly moving everywhere occasionally, but overall I'm happy with the product. I signed up for the free dynamic dns account, then put the info in my Verizon Fios Router and Foscam settings. I also used my ISP and set up an FTP Account. I also enabled UPnP, which allowed me to set up the port forwarding rules in my Verizon Router. I'm using a higher 4 digit port number ending in zero so I can add additional cams in the future. Other then the remote control with Internet Explorer, I was able to get all the other features to work, including motion detection, emailing via the SMTP settings (used my ISP again), and FTP of any activity out to my account (my hosting ISP is Bluehost which allowed me to configure the FTP and SMTP info very easily).

Let me know if you require any assistance configuring settings, it's convenient to access via Dynamic DNS Address or directly via the IP Address (must add high port to each to connect). The 5 dollar iPhone app is also a nice access option.

If they resolve the Win 7 Active X issues or allow sound via other browsers, I'll raise my review. Also we'll see how the quality holds up over time.

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Spysonic - Hidden Surveillance Camera DVR, Day, Ultra High 550 Color IHOME Radio Clock DVR, up to 3

This item is extremely covert, well built and does not arouse any suspicions. Works like a charm and the images are superb. The company is really supportive in all ways and they go above and beyond to make their customers happy. I would recommend this product to anyone looking to monitor anything that moves. Thanks Spysonic!!!

It takes great video, clear and crisp and accurate

It was worth the price. It is also dependable

Yes I would recommend this product

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LG - All Multi Region Code Free DVD Player with Built-in Video Converter Plays DVDs From Any Countr

I purchased this item believing as described in the description I was buying a multi region dvd player. This is not the fact, what you actually get is a Region 1 coded DVD Player with an unlock code stuck on the outside of the box with instructions on how to unlock the dvd player. No where in the description of the product does it mention anything about you having to use an unlock code. Stay away from this product. It is being advertised wrongly and should have clearly stated that it was a Region 1 DVD Player with and unlock code provided. I could have gone online and found an unlock code for myself. Another problem with this product is that it's remote control switches on my blu ray player. It's tuned to the same frequency. I thought I was getting a good deal but now I'm stuck with an item that not worth the money I paid and I could have saved this money and put it towards a real multi region player.

This is the second one I bought. I've had one for a couple of years, and my daughter loved it, so I gave her one for Christmas this year. She has already been using it. We enjoy British comedies, and some of the lesser known (to Americans)DVD's can only be purchased from the UK making them unusable on American region DVD players. This region free player has great quality, and I love that I can switch between and American and UK regions without any adjustments.

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my main reason for getting this one was because it has the usb divx support. Works well in addition to the dvd player part. A little annoying to fast forward/rewind usb movies. the usb port is in a bad spot i think. had a credit card shaped thumb drive plugged in and somehow it blocked the remote sensor it would seem. had to flip the card upwards.

Read Best Reviews of LG - All Multi Region Code Free DVD Player with Built-in Video Converter Plays DVDs From Any Countr Here

This region-free DVD player is simple to use and works well. The only feature that is somewhat annoying is the long reaction time. For example, after pressing the "open" button, it takes several seconds before you can load or unload the tray. So youneed a little bit of patience. But at that price, I guess one cannot expect more.

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SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black

• Sleek, ultra-thin digital audio/image/video player with 4 GB of flash memory
• Compatible with MP3, WMA, and WMA-DRM10 music files (PlaysForSure)
• FM tuner with record capability and voice recorder; bright 1.8-inch color TFT LCD
• Convert most popular video formats (MPEG-4, WMV, DivX) to play on device
• User-replaceable rechargeable lithium-ion battery for up to 20 hours of life
• It has user-replaceable rechargeable lithium-ion battery for up to 20 hours of life.
• It converts most popular video formats (MPEG-4, WMV, DivX) to play on device.
• It is compatible with MP3, WMA, and WMA-DRM10 music files (PlaysForSure).
• It is sleek, ultra-thin digital audio/image/video player with 4 GB of flash memory.
• It has a FM tuner with record capability and voice recorder and abright 1.8-inch color TFT LCD.

This player is really well thought out. I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about an Ipod nano. The included software is complete and works flawlessly. Best of all, it will play WMA music files, has an included FM radio, has an expansion slot, and plays home videos. Here's what I've learned so far:

1. MUSICYou can drag and drop from windows explorer or you can use Windows Media Player 10. Your choice. Either way works great. Note: The installation CD does not include WMP 10 but no big deal.

2. PHOTOSThe included media app on the install CD is a wonder to behold. It couldn't be easier to use and is rock solid stable. Photos shot horizontally are cropped (like widescreen) but photos that are vertical are shown full screen. I am going to experiment on this but haven't had time just yet since I just bought the Sansa.

3. VIDEOProbably the best feature. The same media app that you use for photos also doubles for videos. Again, unlike some other players that have problems with converting video, this is heaven sent. Just pick out a video and press convert. It converts and then transfers in one step. It works perfectly.

Unlike past Sansa's you have to spend extra for a decent carrying case. Still, if you like felt pouches and lanyards (I Don't), they come included. One minor drawback is that you can only charge using the USB attached to the computer. An AC adapter would have been nice.

One final note. I tried to convert 2 DVD movies that were already on my hard drive. They were in the 550-700mb range. Each time, the video utility started to convert them no problem. However, in each case the utility timed out after 13 minutes 39 seconds. It cancelled the whole thing so not to worry about having 1/2 a movie on your sansa. I am going to fool around with this and see if I can shrink the file size of those 2 movies to around 200-300mb and try again. If I can work around this and am sucessful I'll let you know. Even though trying to watch a feature length movie on a 1.8 inch screen might be a bit much, the screen itself is really crystal clear (better than nano) and TFT not STN. I would highly recommend this player to anyone. Finally, a company that got everything right and it all comes right out of the box.

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The other reviews have already commented on the features and performance, so I'll try to comment on those aspects that haven't gotten much attention.

This is a great player, but I will concentrate on some annoying aspects:

1. When you charge via USB, the display on the device is always on. It doesn't fall asleep or go dim. The device is also nonresponsive in this mode, ie the buttons won't work and you won't be able to play or do anything.

2. If you have a USB wall charger, the display will dim and the buttons will work while charging. But the device must be on, it won't charge via AC if the device is turned off.

3. Playlists can be made on the fly, but you have to play each song you want to add to the playlist in order to bring up the option.

4. Video conversion software only installs on windows XP. It also breaks up larger files into smaller ones, and it's not very intuitive to copy whole DVD's. The quicktime format it uses is proprietary. Also, video files are only recognized in the root folder, so the device won't see files located in subfolders. Videos run at 15 fps.

5. Has the option of choosing MSC or MTP mode. MSC loads the player like a flash drive so you manually drag and drop files. MTP works with wmp 10, and some other third party software to manage your syncing. I prefer MSC, but I switched to MTP because when you unplug the USB cable in MSC mode, the device reboots itself. It does not do this is MSC mode.

This is a great player, but you'll need to spend some time configuring everything to your preferences. The Sandisk firmware has good basic functionality, but if you're used to lots of features for customization, be prepared to work for it with this device. I miss features like "play most recently synchronized" that my old player had. The good news is that these firmware drawbacks may soon be addressed when Rockbox firmware is released. The hardware and build quality of this device is truly excellent, and it will be the best flash player on the market once Rockbox firmware is released for the e200 series.

Read Best Reviews of SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black Here

I've owned a 3rd generation iPod for quite a few years now and decided it was time to upgrade to something newer. The iPod Nano was one of my top choices, but then I found this item and decided to give it a try. It offered much more features (FM radio, voice recording, video, photos) for a lower price. The negative reviews and stories of it breaking soon after purchase made me wary, but I hoped they were just rare occurrences and got one anyways.

1)Music

One of the great features of the Sansa is that it allows you to drag and drop music files right into the drive in MSC mode and it'll find and play it after a restart. No need for iTunes or any other complicated jukebox program. If you would rather use a music program, it can be set to sync with a Windows Media Player library in MTP mode. I did notice that the only way to put user made playlists on the Sansa is to use Media Player and select a pre-made playlist in the sync options.

When browsing through music, the typical options of searching through albums, artists, genre, or songs are available. One problem I found was that browsing through songs in a playlist slightly lags compared to browsing through other options. I like organizing my music in playlists so this bothered me.

While listening, the repeat, shuffle, and equalizer options are only a few clicks away. One problem, however, is that you can't scroll to any place in the song. The available options are pause, skip, fast forward, and rewind. Similarly to the iPod, the scroll wheel becomes the volume control. The difference is that the Sansa resets the volume to 50 every time you turn off the player. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be like that, but hopefully it'll be fixed in a future firmware update.

As for music quality, I was quite impressed with the sound. My music sounded as good if not better than my 3G iPod. For the record, all of my music is in mp3 format of 192 to 320kbps. The included earbuds are okay, I'm not a big fan of earbuds.

2)Radio

The FM radio is a nice feature to have when you're tired with your music and want to hear something fresh. Reception from the Sansa isn't the best, but some stations still sound good if they have a strong signal. The player allows you to create your own presets or it can browse and make some for you. The ability to record radio is a nice addition for those times you want to remember a song you don't know the name to.

3)Video

Watching video on a 1.8" screen might seem pointless, but I very surprised by the quality of video the Sansa produced. I first tried converting a seven minute, DivX encoded music video using the Sansa Media Converter, but the program crashed when loading the file. To remedy this, I first converted the file to MOV using a free encoder then used the Sansa program on the MOV file. The result was a 416x304 DivX file (131mb) to a 160x208 QuickTime movie (118mb). The final file is quite large considering it's about half in resolution and frames per second (29.97 to 15fps) as the original. Nonetheless, the video looked and sounded perfect compared to the original (just quite small). Being able to carry videos with you to watch whenever you want is certainly a cool factor. As with music, one grievance is the inability to scroll to any point in the video. The only controls available during playback are fast forward, rewind, pause, skip, and volume control.

4)Photos

The Media Converter can handle most picture formats and convert them to something friendly with the Sansa. I haven't tried adding photos of my own, but the sample photos look nice.

5)Voice Recording

I tested the voice recording feature during lecture in one of my classes. I sat in the 9th row and the professor was using a mic. However, her voice still sounded muffled in the recording. The recorder does seem to be able to record voices at a close distance fairly well. Another drawback is that the output file is in 16bit wave format. Voice recording is a nice feature, but you shouldn't expect too much from it.

6)Style

The Sansa looks great, even better than the black iPod Nano in my opinion. The mechanical scroll wheel does feel a bit cheap, but I guess I'm just used to using the electrostatic touchpad of an iPod. The buttons are small if you have large hands and they are somewhat hard to press. I have to sometimes use the tip of my nails to press down. It would have been nice if the buttons were raised slightly higher, but it might ruin the Sansa's sleek look. The included pouch looks nice with the player and is certainly better than getting nothing. There is also an included lanyard that can be attached to the player. Finally, the screen is very bright and its colors vivid, even on the lowest brightness settings. Videos and photos look quite good on it despite the screen size.

7)Other Notes

I was able to get about 15 hours of use from my initial charge. It's less than the advertised amount, but came fairly close. Charging the battery does seem to be a bit of a hassle since it must be connected to a computer via USB. It would have been nice if they just included an adapter to let you charge with a wall outlet. Finally, more memory can be added with microSD cards, which is a cheaper alternative to upgrading to a model with more capacity.

Overall, the Sansa is a great audio player with some nice features. There may be some bugs, but hopefully some of them can be fixed in future firmware updates. It may not have the fame of an iPod, but sells itself through its looks and functionality.

PRO:

Price (cheaper than iPod Nano for same amount of storage)

Extras (FM radio, video, photo, voice recording)

Drag and drop to add files

Looks great

More memory can be added

CONS:

Hard to press buttons

Lag when browsing playlist

No included wall charger

Volume resets to 50 every time it's turned off

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First let me get my Ipod bashing out of the way. The 4GB Ipod Nano that The Sansa e260 competes with costs $230. That should be enough of a reason to buy this amazing player for nearly half that amount (I paid $130).

My second biggest gripe with the Ipod is the batteries. They are not user-servicable, and in a couple of years when they die (as they all do) you will have to ship your Nano to Apple and pay them to replace it. The Sansa has a user replaceable battery kit for around $13.

Also, the Nano doesn't play video. The Sansa e200 series will convert and play many different kinds of video files. I just loaded 2 full length features and a full season of my favorite TV show and still had enough room fo about 15 CDs. That should be enough to keep me distracted on a long road trip i have planned.

Lastly, if you have an Ipod, you have to use iTunes to load your music. Personally, i hate to be forced into using proprietary software in order to use a device. The Sansa lets you drag and drop files directly onto the device in Windows explorer. You have the option to use Windows Media Player if you want to set up Playlists, etc.

Other features that the Sansa has that the Ipod doesn't even offer are the radio tuner with 25 presets and autoscan (which works perfectly), a voice and radio recorder (great for important meetings or just a grocery list).

There are a couple of small cons with the Sansa e200 players. The wheel is mechanical and isn't sealed well, and I can see it eventually getting lint, dust, etc. in it if you don't buy a separate case. I have not had this problem, I just see this as a possible future problem.

Also, you can't use the device while it is plugged in to your computer. You can, however, use the device while it is plugged into an AC or car adaptor, so you can simply buy a cheap multi-adapter (with both a car and AC plug) and problem solved.

Even if you purchase the most expensive case and plug adapter on the market, you will still end up spending much less than you would have spent on a Nano.

In conclusion, if you like to throw money away on expensive players with virtually no features, by all means, get the Nano. If you are a conscientious shopper who would rather have a player loaded with features and $100 in your pocket, go with the Sansa.

Some of the reviews I read left me wondering if this was the right player for me. I found a consumer review on-line where they ran through the features and actually demonstrated how the thing works. That did it for me. After that, I knew that I had to have it.

I haven't had to be concerned with the technical issues, as it has done everything except convert video clips that I have taken with my camera. I found some other software that will convert it and allow me to load it onto the player.

Here's why I gave it a five:

1. Voice recording I use the voice recording to record meetings at work. The sound is crystal clear, better than any tape recorder I have used in the past. Also, using the lanyard and dropping it down the front of my shirt, nobody else realizes that the meetings are being recorded. It's a great opportunity for black mail!

2. I was looking for something that would allow me to record radio broadcasts I've tried it with music and it sounds every bit as good as the station did the first time. I mostly use it for talk radio and it works great. Radio reception is awesome. I record the radio at work in an office setting. Reception is even passable in the elevator!

3. MP3s I am very pleased here. I was worried that play-lists would be a problem and that having the player randomly select music would also be a problem. That was based on other reviews that I saw here. I am sorry, but those people must be idiots. You can upload the music using Windows Media Player, dragging and dropping play-lists. The player keeps the play-list and automatically groups your music. You can select the play-list and it will shuffle just that play-list (if you activate the shuffle function). You can also play music by song, album, artist, and genre. Or you can play them all. It's all very simple and works well.

4. Pictures I am a photo-nut. I love to take pictures of my kids, landscapes, and sunsets. The photos are pretty small, but the detail that the screen allows makes the images very sharp. You can definitely fit more pictures in here than you ever could in your wallet. The photos are all converted to *.bmp files using the software that came with the player, but it is very easy to add photos. You have to rotate all of your photos so they are taller rather than wider to maximize the size of the image on the screen, but it is not difficult at all.

5. Memory I have uploaded 100s of songs, a handful of short video clips and commercials I found online, 147 photos, and a handful of recordings. I have used just over half of the memory on this thing.

Here are things that I wish you could do with it:

1. Switch out the battery sure you can, but you need to buy another special battery and I have not seen an external charger. This is a relatively minor thing. It will last a full day (from sunrise past sunset) and recharges in about an hour. It has not been a big drawback for me.

2. Delete songs directly off the player without hooking up to your computer I ended up with a number of albums of my daughter's intermingled with my music and had to keep fast-forwarding over those songs. They were mixed in with my work music, so I had to tolerate it for a full day. Again, not a huge issue.

3. Despite the fact that I have been very careful with the player, it does have some small scratches on its front, one of them on the display. I can't imagine that this isn't a problem with other players too. Again, it's not the end of the world.

Things that I was surprised by:

1. There's a record button on the side. That makes it easy to record radio programs when you are taken away from listening unexpectedly.

2. Play-lists are easy to create.

3. It is easy to set the player to shuffle and/or repeat

4. The size is really much smaller than it appears in photos

5. The sound quality when recording (voice and radio)

6. You can reset the player by merely holding down the power button for about a minute. I did have it lock up on me when I was getting ready to record a meeting, but figured that out just in time.

All and all, I would say this is a wonderful player and would (and have) highly recommended it to my friends. I hope this helps sway you to make the purchase. I was having second thoughts when I read some of these reviews, but those must have been posted by idiots. Sorry, but it's true.