Showing posts with label digital recorder olympus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label digital recorder olympus. Show all posts

Monday, November 3, 2014

Disney HS700D High School Musical DVD Player

Disney HS700D High School Musical DVD Player
  • DVD video and CD audio Compatible
  • Supports CD, CDR, CDRW, Picture CD, DVDR, DVDRW
  • Dolby Digital (AC3) audio output
  • On-screen display
  • Parental controls

You might want to consider other players over this one.

I bought this, and the matching tv.

The first player, the knob fell off less than a few weeks into play. I got a replacement. But less than a month into use, it began asking for parental passwords for all DVDs, even ones rated G. Then captions began popping up unless you told the DVD not to show them. There seems to be no way to turn off the parental password now. :(

The frustration isn't worth it. Get a name brand for long term use. For short term, if it's just for kid use, it might be worth it for them.

The matching TV is still going strong. But my portable DVD player lasts five times longer than this one.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Polaroid PRDVDPRW15S DVD+RW 4.7GB 120-Minute 4x Rewritable DVD Disc, 15-Pack Spindle

Polaroid PRDVDPRW15S DVD+RW 4.7GB 120-Minute 4x Rewritable DVD Disc, 15-Pack SpindleBought these dvds sinced their price was so good but now I know why! They shouldn't even be giving them away! I would say that at least 30-40% of them couldn't be recorded on & had to throw them away! Cheap is cheap & better to spend more & get good quality!

They were defective & shouldn't have been sold!

The Polaroid Re-writers work on my three DVD's I record a program and look at the program and erase the disk. I would watch program on a non re-writers and couldn't use it again for more recording. I watch a lot movies and TV show.

Buy Polaroid PRDVDPRW15S DVD+RW 4.7GB 120-Minute 4x Rewritable DVD Disc, 15-Pack Spindle Now

I want to write a fair review on this Polaroid DVD+R. It is actually works, I have already used many disc to burn.

Make sure when you burn, you select the burn speed of 4x and it will works!

This DVD+R you can burn in 2.4x and 4x speed.

I first was hesitated so I burn in 2.4x and it didn't play in my JVC DVD player. Then I try burn again select burn speed 4x and this time it works! It play fine on both my JVC and Sony DVD player.

Yes, this item is cheap, that is why the highest speed you can burn is 4x. But since I am short on money, so I choose this. It was worth the money I pay for, I don't have any complaints. This Polaroid DVD+R actually works, trust me. If you looking for something cheap, buy it.

Read Best Reviews of Polaroid PRDVDPRW15S DVD+RW 4.7GB 120-Minute 4x Rewritable DVD Disc, 15-Pack Spindle Here

I ordered it because POLAROID is a well know Name and Brand and has been around for many years so I figured that they would be of good quality.

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Roku SoundBridge M500 Network Music System

Roku SoundBridge M500 Network Music System
  • Wireless digital music receiver for streaming music from a PC or Mac to any home stereo or surround sound system
  • Native support for Apple iTunes and Rendezvous, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Player 10, and Rhapsody
  • Compatible with Windows Media DRM 10 music services, including Napster, MusicMatch, and Walmart.com
  • Easy-to-read 40-character, 2-line LCD display shows artist and title info; built-in WiFi card slot (card included) and Ethernet interfaces
  • Ultra-fast 400 MHz Blackfin DSP; measures 10 inches wide by 2.37 inches in diameter; 1-year warranty

Roku's Soundbridge units don't work with all routers, so before you think wireless music is within your sites, do your homework. To Roku's credit, they offer a list of, and rate compatability factors for, most of the common routers consumers are using at home. CHECK THIS LIST CAREFULLY before you buy this product or you might end up with some expensive audio equipment that only works if you go WIRED. Also, Roku has a nice discussion board forum on their site, and you can get a realistic idea about issues concerning the pros and cons of their products. If you do buy something that doesn't work, they do offer a 30 day-no-questions-asked return policy. Bottom line is CHECK OUT THEIR SITE b4 u buy anywhere else.

Buy Roku SoundBridge M500 Network Music System Now

Received this unit last night. Had it set up in minutes! Instructions were simple, configured to my wi-fi with encryption, no problem. Found my computer, no problem, didn't find my napster library added the folder with my music to the shared folder, then worked no problem. Internet radio station no problem. It will drive headphones directly if you want, has volume control on remote. Would be great driving computer speakers. Even shows time and date when off.

With napster it is really great. I can load up my computer with thousands of tunes and then put the M500 anywhere in the house and have access to all the tunes. One of the few devices that can do this with "rented" music.

I highly recommend this device.

The 500 has all the features of the bigger brothers but not the slicker display. However the LCD is plenty readable. The VU meters are a bit slow (not a big deal). It comes with the Wi-Fi card (which you install used to be an option I guess) so it is really ready to go out of the box. If you have napster, rapsody, yahoo music or a lot of your CD's ripped to MP3, WMA or AAC than you should consider this.

What you can't do (maybe true of all "streaming" devices) is fast forward or rewind inside a track. This can be problematic with long tracks if you want to hear a section again.

Finally I have napster to go and an Iriver player. On the Iriver the gaps between tracks are long while the player loads the next track, this can be annoying on classical or spoken word works. The Soundbridge doesn't have this problem. I think because the computer can stream the next track faster than the portable Iriver could. (this is a DRM WMA issue, for the Iriver and not an issue with MP3's).

Read Best Reviews of Roku SoundBridge M500 Network Music System Here

Within 20 seconds of plugging it in I was playing music from my iTunes music library on my Powerbook. Simply could not have been any easier. Excellent sound quality. Streams internet radio stations (including any in the iTunes Radio tuner and tons more) -it more than replaces XM or Sirius anywhere you have internet access.

Minor downsides: Remote could be designed better, and would be nice if it used 802.11g instead of b (since tests have shown that one "b" device slows down the whole "g" network), but these are minor complaints in relation to how well the SoundBridge works and how easy it is to use.

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Finally bought after several weeks on research. It works well; easy to connect to ITunes and Rhapsody (my two favorite music servers).

Just a few notes

1) The manual is a bit hard to follow especially concerning wireless connectivity.

2) Will not stream Itune files ripped using Apple lossless really big deal for me since I use lossless as my default.

3) 802.11b instead of g no big deal to me; my network performance is mostly gated by the speed of my DSL connection.

The biggest problem is setting it up. If all works well when you first plug it in great. Else be prepared to search through the tech support documents and the user forums.

Everything the other reviewers claim is true.

It was easy to set up, was found instantly by my wireless router and is reliable and responsive. It is served music by my PC's Windows Media Player and Media Connect which you must download if you're using WMP 10.0. If you're using WMP 11.0 the music server is already built in.

The unit will show up as an icon in your 'My Network Places' window and by right clicking it (the icon) you can Invoke' a web page to configure your settings, see what you're playing and cut, copy and paste Internet Radio Station urls of your choice.

Yahoo also has a cute (did I say that?) little Widget to control the Roku from the Server PC or any other PC that's on your network....and with album artwork too...So if you're in one room with the Widget and the Roku is in another, you can advance, replay, pause and adjust the volume from the PC that you're at!

Music is such a large part of my life and this little gem teamed with either MusicMatch, Yahoo Unlimited Music or my own 'ripped' library give me complete control over my music listening needs.

Do not pass go, do not consider any other music client...I promise that the Roku of any numeric ilk will do exactly what you want.

If need be, please eMail me for further info about this or any other item that I've reviewed.

Peace Out,

Warren

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Zoom H2n Portable Digital Recorder with Carrying Case and D-SLR Audio for Video Recording Kit

Zoom H2n Portable Digital Recorder with Carrying Case and D-SLR Audio for Video Recording KitZoom H2n Portable Digital Recorder with Carrying Case.

This is an excellent portable digital recorder. The sound quality is excellent and it is easy to use. I highly recommend this unit for anyone interested in a convenient digital recorder.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Supersonic SC-703 Portable CD Player with Cassette Recorder & AM/FM Radio

Supersonic SC-703 Portable CD Player with Cassette Recorder & AM/FM Radio
  • Top Loading Single CD Player/Single Cassette Tape Recorder
  • Built-In AM/FM Radio
  • Detachable High Performance Twin Stereo Surround Speakers
  • Built-In Front Panel Microphone for One-Touch Recording Feature
  • Full 90 Day Manufacturer's Warranty

Starting with the cons, why does any radio made today have analog tuning? Have these things been laying around in a basement for 20 years? May very well be since the manual includes schematics. When was the last time you saw schematics in an owner manual?

And as a quibble, why no equalizer? It has a bass boost, which works fine, but the Surround Sound feature eludes me. May be bad ears, but I don't hear a difference.

On the plus side it's compact and has the features I wanted: radio, CD, cassette player. The speakers come off and I keep them under the TV table. The sound quality is good enough, though not great (about that equalizer). Lastly, you can lock the speakers in place, throw in a few batteries and you're good to go.

Bottom line, it seems overpriced for what you get, but it's worth 3 stars.

Buy Supersonic SC-703 Portable CD Player with Cassette Recorder & AM/FM Radio Now

This product was advertised on Amazon as originally $200. It definitely seemed too good to be true that a $200 product was selling for $55 and it was. When I received the item, I found it to be lightweight which means portable however it also means that the speakers weren't the beefy, high-quality speakers I was hoping for in what was advertised as a 13lb machine. The sound was poor. On any song I played, I found the sound to be distinctly too heavy on the low range and lacking any good high range. I didn't test the 'bass boost' because it was completely pointless considering the preset EQ. There was no way to change the EQ either. The CD player would pause if the surface it was on was bumped to hard. The left speaker on my unit also only played at half-volume. This may have simply be a defect in my unit and for it I got a full refund. On the bright side, the unit was light and the detachable speakers were definitely a convenient feature. The interface seemed easy enough but I only tried out the basic play modes. I'm spending the extra $70 and buying a Sony Xplode, I suggest anyone interested in this machine do similar.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Ematic 4 GB Video MP3 Player with 2.4-Inch Screen, Built-in 5MP Digital Video Camera, FM Radio, TV

Ematic 4 GB Video MP3 Player with 2.4-Inch Screen, Built-in 5MP Digital Video Camera, FM Radio, TV Out, and Speaker
  • 4 GB capacity for storage of up to 1,150 songs, 3,500 photos, or 10 hours of video; expandable to 12 GB via MicroSD card
  • Up to 8 hours of music playback or 4 hours video playback on a single charge
  • 2.4-inch color TFT LCD display with 320 x 240 (QVGA) pixel resolution
  • Supports MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, FLAC, and APE audio files; AVI, MP4, RM, RMVB, and FLV video files; JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, and TIFF images; TXT text files
  • One-year limited warranty

I bought this camera for my 10 year old son. He loves it. It was easy enough for him to use all of its features, and it takes good pictures. It is lightweight and small enough to take anywhere, and it is pretty sturdy, because my son is a very rough and tumble tween. Almost a year later and it is still in perfect operating condition.

Buy Ematic 4 GB Video MP3 Player with 2.4-Inch Screen, Built-in 5MP Digital Video Camera, FM Radio, TV Now

Very nice , the camera is ok but has no flash, audio speaker is quite poor but enough to listen at night in a quiet place, easy to use but hard to master....The TV output is a great function ..

Read Best Reviews of Ematic 4 GB Video MP3 Player with 2.4-Inch Screen, Built-in 5MP Digital Video Camera, FM Radio, TV Here

I purchased two of these for my teen aged children. They both were excited about the features offered and the music storage. They were, in my oppinion, a little on the delicate side, but I am very hard on portable electronics. The kids, for whom they were bought, enjoy them still.

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I loved this product when I bought it. The price, combined with the features made it seem like the perfect gift for my 10-year-old music and photo lover. After playing with it for a bit, I still liked it, but there are enough buttons that I actually had to read the owners manual to figure out how to navigate through it. However, after a quick tutorial, my boy was able to use both the camera and the music player fairly smoothly.

Sadly, four days after Christmas, the screen has cracked, and while it still works, it's difficult to see. I know it's not the manufacturers fault that my boy managed to break it so quickly, but he is fairly good with electronics, so this tells me that it's not as durable as a more expensive player might be. Of course, it's not as expensive as the more expensive player either:)

So I don't regret the purchase, but I would for sure put the silicone cover on it, and handle it gently.

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I bought this for our 11 year old. He wanted video capabilities and this seemed like a good low-cost player. But, after 90 days we have a white screen. As far as I know he has not dropped it or anything but who knows. Anyway, if you see this for less than $30 may buy it but backup your music! It will break at some point.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

VideoSecu 2 Pack 150 Feet Video Power BNC RCA Cables Security Camera Wires Cords for CCTV DVR Surve

VideoSecu 2 Pack 150 Feet Video Power BNC RCA Cables Security Camera Wires Cords for CCTV DVR Surveillance System with bonus Connectors 1Q8I'm not sure if it's the quality of the cables or the length of them but the cameras I used these on have very noticable worse quality then the 60' ones that came with my system. If you can get by with 100' go with those and maybe it won't be bad but my logic was they were only a couple of dollars more then the 100' ones so I bought them but wish I had gotten the 100'. I'm not about to change them out now but for you future buyers, you need to know. The longer the cable, the worse the signal. Wish I had known before just how bad the signal would be. I compared a 25', 60' and 150' cable and it's very noticable. The 25' ones are much clearer.

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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Intocircuit® Power Castle Series PC26000 26000mAh Multi-Voltage 5V/12V/16V/19V Laptop Smartphone T

Intocircuit® Power Castle Series PC26000 26000mAh Multi-Voltage 5V/12V/16V/19V Laptop Smartphone Tablet Huge Capacity Power Bank Charger for HP, Dell, Toshiba, Acer, Samsung, Sony, Gateway latops; Google Nexus 7 Tablets; Digital Cameras, DV Recorders; 12V Western Digital Seagate FreeAgent Hard Drive; iPad mini, iPhone 5, iPad, iPod; Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300, Galaxy Note 2; HTC Sensation, One X V One X V S, EVO 4G, Thunderbolt; Nokia Lumia 920 900 N9; Motorola Razr Atrix Droid; LG OptimusIMHO this is a five 5 stars product.

I've been looking for a chic, huge capacity yet portable battery for a while. And Intocircuit Power Castle fits my taste. When I take it out from my computer bag, my clients would be amazed by its look. It fits my taste, actually it does fit my image. Its high-end beautiful appearance indicates good quality at first sight. More importantly, it's not pricy at all compared with those 20000mah ones.

With this power bank, now I don't have to look around for a power outlet in restaurants. I like its huge capacity—26000mAh.This one charges my HP CQ60 in about 1.5 hours (mine is a 6 cell). It allows me to comfortably talk with my clients for several hours with the laptop on.

I like that it has all-in-one compatibility, able to charge my laptop, my phone and my Ipad, so that I don't have to carry too many chargers for different devices. It's really a clever design, by just adjusting the voltage for different the electronics I want to charge.

It's said that this Intocircuit power bank is used with Li-Polymer battery cell. Its safety and reliability is one of the reasons I chose to buy it. No wonder it recharges so efficiently and doesn't lose its mAh overnight. I bought some other brand of power bank before. Totally a different experience. So I think it's important to look what kind of battery cell a power bank uses before you buy one.

It can be recharged by DC power, totally convenient. I should give it one more star.

I've introduced this power bank to a lot of friends and clients. I think if I were their agent, I could make a lot of money out of it, LOL... It improves my life. Thanks for bringing in such a quality product.



This is an excellent charger/power supply that can deliver external power to charge or operate a wide variety of devices.

Pros:

-Arrives excellently packaged in a two-layer carton. The charger itself is in the top layer. The bottom layer has three compartments holding the AC adapter, the USB charging connecting connectors and the DC charging connectors.

-Charging connectors by the score...literally. This charger includes 20 charging connectors. 11 are various 5V form factors for power output from from the USB port. 9 more are connectors for taking power from the user-switchable 12V/16V/19V DC output port.

-LONG battery life. I'm sure other reviewers have the technical skills to address the loading and performance in technical terms. While I don't possess that kung fu, I tested this in the real world by using it as the power source for a laptop. This device delivered over six hours of usable power to a laptop as I used it for normal office productivity tasks, web browsing and playing music through the speakers. Add that to the laptop's own battery life, and you're going to be juiced up for all but the longest flights.

-Looks good; brushed dark aluminum case.

Con:

-Marginally useful user manual. For example, it claims the LED lights will glow steady red when the charger has completed its own AC charging. They do not: they stay green.

Neutral:

-Weight. This weighs 1 pound, 9 ounces. So you'll be doing some risk/gain assessments before tossing this in a bag:-)

Overall, delivers what it's supposed to with great results.

Note: This item was provided at no cost for review purposes.

Buy Intocircuit® Power Castle Series PC26000 26000mAh Multi-Voltage 5V/12V/16V/19V Laptop Smartphone T Now

My work keeps me travelling extensively especially in airports and on airplanes. I always hated having to find an open outlet in the terminal somewhere and being tethered to that outlet while awaiting my next plane. Now I don't have to anymore because I take my recharging station with me. This sleek aluminum unit fits easily into my backpack or briefcase and allows me to easily recharge my iPhone 5, laptop or my iPad 3 while I am anywhere including in the air. The unit quality is excellent and it came with all of the cords and adaptors that I could possibly need including a carrying bag. You can easily charge your phone or iPad multiple times over before this external battery needs to be recharged. Overall it was an excellent purchase and has certainly given me the freedom that I need to stay connected while traveling.

Read Best Reviews of Intocircuit® Power Castle Series PC26000 26000mAh Multi-Voltage 5V/12V/16V/19V Laptop Smartphone T Here

It claims to have a 26000mah battery in it, my laptop has a 3060mah battery. Strictly math that should be a bit more then 7 full laptop charges, accounting for Inefficiencies and room for error Id be happy with 2 full laptop charges, I however get 1 full charge with maybe 30min worth to spare there after.

However I am traveling abroad and I needed it and it otherwise works!

Ps, donot switch voltages (I was trying to use 16v instead of my laptops 19v on a full battery to just power not charge, anyway I bumped it & in the way it fell the voltage switch got bumped to 19v (my laptops normal) but the change in voltage freaked my ultrabook out requiring the main and cmos batteries to get pulled and reseated before it would work again)

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Myself and family, as well as our friends, spend a lot of time doing outdoor activities. Living in very northern Minnesota, someone is always heading out with family for a weekend at a cabin, out for a hunting trip with the guys, or packing for some other kind of fishing or camping trip elsewhere. Living way up here, we're already quite a ways out from the larger cities. So when people head out even further, there is no typically electricity to hook into. If the cabins have any kind of power at all, it's a fuel run generator for running heat or lights. There's no outlets to plug anything in to. Often times there may not even be a cabin where everyone is headed out to, and we are all just bringing small RV's or pull-behind travel trailer. The camps sites rarely have any kind of electrical hookups.

However we do all still have cell phones, GPS devices and tablets we would like to charge up while were there. While the small, more portable battery packs are nice, once the power has been depleted from them, we can't recharge them until we all get back home. That's where this huge battery pack turns into a lifesaver. Everyone can recharge all their devices over the entire weekend and there's still battery life left when we get home. It could easily charge up netbooks, large tablets and even small laptops. But what we really love this huge battery pack for being able to recharge over and over again, our cell phones, GPS devices and the electronics of everyone who's out on the trip with us. My daughter can charge her Kindle Fire, I can charge my iPad mini and iPhone, my husband can charge his old flip-phone (using the charging base that came with the phone that converts to a USB charging connection) and his handheld GPS device, and we still have power left to charge digital cameras, mini video recorders or anyone else's cell phones that need charging too. With this beast of a battery pack, no wall outlets is no problem.

I've also started keeping this pack charged all the time, in case of an emergency where the power goes out. In our small town, we've had incidences even recently where the power has been out for hours, and times in the past few years where (because of bad weather) we lost it for days. Even at work, there would be no power. By having this pack charged and always ready, we have a way to keep our phones charged (we don't even have land-line phones anymore) and we can take it with us to work and let our co-workers recharge their phones should they need to. All it takes is one bad storm to knock out the power, to make this battery pack worth having on hand. It's so large and holds so much power, you'll find there's a million uses for it.

It's large, about the size of a a 7 inch tablet, only thicker. It weights as much as a book, and the brushed metal casing is very sharp looking. While we use this when we're in the great-outdoors, it has got the looks for use in the office, on a business trip or anywhere else. It comes with a TON of different adapter tips and cables for charging just about every device you can think of. It also has a USB port so you can use your own chargers that have a USB connection on one end. The battery pack has a voltage switch, so you can switch between the voltages when charging up devices like laptops. This is needed so you're not overpowering or under-powering it, which can cause damage. It's so large, it even has it's own wall adapter for recharging it, that resembles ones that come with small notebook computers. It's one mighty power bank, and so far, it's handled everything I've thrown at it!

A sample unit was provided for reviewing purposes.

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Monday, January 27, 2014

Sony ICD-ST25 Portable Digital Voice Recorder

Sony ICD-ST25 Portable Digital Voice RecorderButtons are very small, so large handed/fingered people might have trouble with them. Nice sound quality on SP (7 hr); LP (15 hr) is the usual MP3 on low resolution warble, ST is pretty good, but creates pretty bulky mono-sounding files, unless you're using external stereo mics, or a stereo line-in. 5 user folders for sorting can do Add or Overwrite, but takes about 2-3 clicks to change the mode. Display normally stays on, but it's like a digital watch with a backlight. Sound output is quite audible for a little wafer speaker.

Bought as a replacement for a micro-cassette, and used for vocal presentation preparation, so I like the scan/review features and the variable speed playback. Vocal-Up does a modest job of basically compressing the input to equalize amplitude (think of it as auto-gain).

Delicate refers to the overall feel in that it's pretty much all plastic, and I'm worried about dropping it and having a lot of damage from a fall. But that's what one gets for the price, and the size (which is like a couple of matchboxes stacked vertically).

Works great for voice recording. Records hours of lectures.

Upload to computer works great and you can scroll anywhere into the recording to listen to segments. As you scroll just look at the time to decide what part to review. Battery life is good. The buttons work ok for me.

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I've used mine for classes, just asked permission from professors. The voice quality is great even from the back rows. Sometimes, I used external mic to boost the voice. When I listened with accompanied ear bud, it's like noise cancellation one, I heard like the professors were talking into my ears! I used SP (standard) mode... just enough for a 3-hours class.

The control buttons are not great but acceptable for voice quality and easy to use. You can see how much more memory or battery power left.

This recorder costs about an IT or business text book so I'm happy for mine. For my experiences, this is very helpful for evening classes, when I was sleepy and unable to catch up everything. The greatest time was in my philosphy class, the professor talked too much and I needed them for writing assignments. Just be sure to save files in your PC and you'll appreciate them when the professors assigned take home exams

;-).

I also recommend to use rechargeable AAAs. Happy recording!

ps. I don't recommend for bandle, such as with Dragon software. That software needs to be trained with voices (several hours) to transcribe what you recorded. If you're planning to transcribe your lectrues, you'll need your professors' voices to train that softare. How can you get your professors?

Read Best Reviews of Sony ICD-ST25 Portable Digital Voice Recorder Here

I returned this, after really trying hard to like it. I have large hands, and, the buttons were so small I kept hitting the wrong ones. Further, you have to delicately push back and forth one switch to go from function to function; I don't mean up and down length-wise, but, perpendicular to the layout of the switch, which is extremely counter-intuitive. Also, I could not accept having to toggle through several menu windows just to allow me to erase part of what I was dictating. I really wanted to simply use this like an old fashioned microcassette: forward, backward, erase mistakes and dictate over, but, also have the luxury of voice recognition. It flat-out did not work. Try something else!

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Usually Sony comes up with great products, but this one is a bit shaky.

There are so many controls, so many abbreviations for what they do, that it's a bit overwhelming, even after owning this thing for a few months. I'm use to having the major buttons be record, play, rewind, fast forward, next file. On this unit, there is this incredibly complex big button that controls a dozen functions, some of them you will never need. Not only do you have to fumble around sliding this thing forward, backwards, up, down, and in, but you have to know what the crytic abbreviation that pops up on the LCD screen means. Then there are a few other tiny switches and buttons all over the unit you have to remember how to use, again with little heiroglyphics that suggest it's function. I guess I should have played with one of these units before I bought it -I bought it based on it's features, most of which I will never use.

If the team of engineers who built this device got to redesign the iPOD, there would add about twenty stainless steel switches, knobs, buttons and connectors and call it the "Apple YTD-TU652 Portable Digital Music Playing Device"... now would you think that would be a successful product?

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Friday, January 3, 2014

CIB K808AV500G8753-8403 8CH Network Security Surveillance KIT w/ Eight CCD Ca...

CIB K808AV500G8753-8403 8CH Network Security Surveillance KIT w/ Eight CCD Ca...The product is very good and support from USA Security has been excellent. I basically wanted cameras to film the wildlife around my cabin (bears, racoons, cougars). I do not get a lot of people out where I am at, so I was not too concerned about facial recognition.

First off, it came as advertised. Plus everything worked. I had to run longer lines than the 65' that came with the system. I found that cat5 with baluns works very well for at least 300 feet.

The setup was easy. I am running things on a Mac and found that the software that came with the system did not work. However, support at USA Security emailed me the Mac program. The support was very fast and very friendly. They put up with some very lame questions since this is my first experience with CCTV.

The cameras come from China so they of course come with mounting screws that are not worth a darn. I cannot understand why the Chinese will make a decent product and then add some junk to it. So toss out the mounting screws and use some decent ones. The actual camera mounts are sturdy enough. The manufacturer just saved one tenth of a penny by including mounting screws that are worthless.

Using the system is a breeze. My wife and I can playback at will at the same time from our laptops while the system continues to record. That is really cool! I have not tried the telephone feature.

I did not want to place the unit in my living quarters so I bought a Logitech 310 wireless mouse Logitech Wireless Mouse M310 (Silver) to control the DVR. The mouse works great going through at least one wall. The system does come with a remote and a mouse but I wanted a more hidden installation.

The motion detectors are very sensitive (good!) and are easily programmed in the DVR. You can easily control what part of the camera view will trigger an alarm. This makes it very easy to eliminate false alarms from foliage moving. The 500 gig hard drive gives ample room for recording since all eight cameras are always recording. You can even customize the resolution of the recording from each camera.

Anyway, my wife and I are very happy with the system and are glad we ordered the eight camera system rather than the four camera system.

Little bit hard to configure... and some problems with CIB.

1. The very cheap Remote Control one button doesnt work!

2. The 8 High Resolution Sony Camera (4Domes 4 Bullets) The Bullet Camera gives you a High Resolution image but the 4 Domes it only gives CIF Resolution) NOT GOOD!

3. The manual is not very clear in many things... so have to learn how to configure DVR by your self!

4. Client Service is not good... about one month ago I ask them for help for some configurations, still haven't contact me about it!!! NOT GOOD!

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Thursday, January 2, 2014

Yamaha BD-S667 Blu-ray Disc Player

Yamaha BD-S667 Blu-ray Disc Player
  • HDMI 1.3 BD Live with Bonus View
  • HD Audio full decoding
  • USB input for your music and photos
  • DLNA compatible for home networking support
  • Netflix compatibility lets you use your Netflix account via the player

Positives

The player is nicely designed and looks better than most others around this price.

Its startup time is a minute faster than the previous Yamaha model, and about 30 seconds faster than most of its competition. It took 1 min 13 secs to start playing Batman Begins. Only the Sonys are faster, at 1:06 for the Sony bdp-470 and 570. The LG bd-570 and Onkyo dv-bd507 were 30 seconds slower, and the Panasonic dmp-bd85 couldn't read the disc.

Startup time for an audio CD was fine, at 11 secs. All the other Blu-ray players in the store took a few seconds longer.

It's pretty quiet when it's playing. You only hear it rarely, during certain sections of a Blu-Ray movie when it makes a light high pitched spinning noise that passes after a minute or so.

Negatives

It can't resume regular DVDs after power-off. The player auto-powers off after about 10 minutes, and when you power back on it starts a DVD from the beginning again. Blu-Ray discs have a known problem with not being able to resume playback when they are launched within the Java environment, but regular DVDs should be able to resume.

My unit consistently crashed when asked to eject certain Blu-Ray discs (eg. Batman Begins). You can restart it by holding down the power button for 3 seconds, and wait for it to allow you to eject the disc.

When powering on, you have to wait a while for the controls to become responsive. Many players are like this, but the unit could let you know when you can use it.

Overall

Movies and CDs look and sound great. It's intuitive to use. The firmware was easy to update with the USB port. It lacks quite a few features available in others (3D, BD-Live RAM, and Wifi), and it feels like a "first generation" player because of a few bugs and because the resume feature has not yet been implemented. I would suggest checking out Oppo's player instead.

Buy Yamaha BD-S667 Blu-ray Disc Player Now

Unfortunately, JVC never released a direct successor to the XV BP1. Instead, the released the low budget profile 1.1 XV BP11 destined for closeout pricing at Sam's Club. Nearly 16 months after the JVC's release, I think I have found its successor, but strangely enough it's hidden behind a Yamaha label.

Prior Yamaha blu ray players (1065, 1900) were Sharp-based players that lacked any real redeeming quality save an opportunity for Yamaha receiver owners to have some commonality in their rack. Upon reading the press releases of the 667, a few things caught my eye that worrying quick start feature was dropped and the inclusion of dlna made me wonder whose format the player was based. It did not appear to be Sharp-based (unlike the new Pioneer releases) and also lacked the usual Funai or LG look and layout that is generally easy to spot.

The 667 arrived Thursday afternoon and I have been pushing this unit through an abnormally high number of tests. Its GUI, OSD, and setup menu were very familiar in that they struck me as very similar to my Oppo 83 and 80. The initial setup and overlain setup menu were different in look and lacked a number of options the Oppos have, but had an overwhelming Oppo-esque familiarity to them.

The center-mounted disc drive is a bit pokey, opening in 10-12 seconds (very similar to the Oppp 83 EAP first-run drives), but load times were very fast and were only outpaced by the newest Samsung models. Upon checking synthetic deinterlacing tests, I knew we had found the very competent Mediatek chipset. In fact, its synthetic deinterlacing tests for film cadence matched the Oppo BDP-80 identically. Unfortunately, its video deinterlacing was not quite up to par with the Oppo BDP-80.

Real world DVD testing revealed a very competent player that could not quite match the Pioneer BDP-320's sharpness or the Oppo's accuracy in avoiding aliasing, but was damn close. The player's biggest deficiency is a lack of fine tuned noise reduction to bring a more detailed edge to the image. That said, the player is very versatile and offers the same smooth, accurate image other mediatek chipped players produce. The player offers a zoom function for dvds that is effective and similar to that offered in the Oppo 80, but a bit different in its gradients.

In respects of analogue audio, the 667 offers only stereo outputs that are adequate, but not inspiring in my testing. Moreover, it does not offer SACD or DVD-A playback like the Oppo (or even the Sony 470 for the former), but it does offer DLNA connectivity and Netflix streaming.

So why is this the next JVC XV-BP1? While its $329 MSRP is a bit stiff, it is currently heavily discounted and available for $250 in its second week of release. Should price pressure continue and it sells below $200, this might become my recommended entry-level player now that the Pioneer BDP-320 is scarce if not gone. It maintains the high quality dvd playback and speed very similar to the XV BP1, but with more modern features like DLNA and Netflix (yes, I know LG has had streaming for almost three years!). That said, prices have dropped considerably and arguing relative value is more and more difficult. The $250 mark is heavily competitive and you have older, discontinued models being closed at slightly higher prices (denon dbp-2010ci comes to mind). That said, with just a little more price pressure this player is ideal for folks looking for Netflix streaming, very fast disc loading times, DLNA connectivity and very good dvd playback. There are a number of players that give you more bells and whistles at a lower price (Sony BDP-S470 and LG BD570), but they cannot quite offer the dvd playback this mediatek chipped player offers. Highly Recommended at under $200; Worth Considering at $225.

Read Best Reviews of Yamaha BD-S667 Blu-ray Disc Player Here

I purchased this unit as an adjunct to my existing Yamaha DVD SACD player (I still use the latter to play SACD's). I've used it for both Blu-ray discs (through Netflix's subscription) as well as Netflix streaming over an AT&T DSL. The load time for the Blu-ray is slower than my DVD, but I'm guessing that this is simply due to increased information content on the Bluray discs. Streaming was amazing after a slight delay of around 15 sec or so, the movie started (in HD). I couldn't tell that it wasn't a disc. Build quality is great, software upgrade is done easily over the net and the instructions are clear (much better than earlier Yamaha manuals). Particularly for the price, this unit is a winner.

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I bought this player for its advanced functionality. The Netflix support is a minimal API with access to the Instant Queue. I have had it lock up once. I think it is a quality player, but if you aren't wedded to Yamaha I would look elsewhere. If you, like me, wanted to keep matched components (we have a Yamaha A/V) I would consider getting the advanced functionality from a TV set itself and purchase a more basic BluRay/DVD Player from Yamaha or wait until they Yamaha catches up a bit in the fast moving world of streaming content.

I was so excited to buy this since prices is low compared to retail suggested price. I have Yamaha RXV863 receiver and wanted to match it. I replaced my low end Panasonic BD player with this thinking Yamaha BD technology synchronizes seamlessly with their own receivers. I was dead wrong. When I first loaded Narnia BD I heard big rumbling noise from the player. The disc is freezing few seconds on and off while playing. Thought the disk is wrong (even though I know it perfectly played before on my Panny). The manual says the rattling noise from the tray wile loading is normal. OK then I checked firmware. Its ver 1.05 and 1.07 is available. So quickly downloaded and installed with USB thumb drive. Then I re loaded the Narnia disk. This time the player displayed "unknown disk" message. OK, I went and rented Devils Double BD and loaded. It started playing for 10min and started freezing on and off. I was so pissed of, packed this crap and returned to Amazon and not even opting for a replacement. Continued watching Devils Double back on my panny with no problems at all. Note I use high end Monster cables in my HT set up so nothing wrong with cables. Yamaha disappointed me big time on this player.

Also I noticed the price for this player at Amazon is dropping everyday (today price is at $97). Some thing is wrong here. They knew these are defective but taking their chances. Wait few more days you might get it for FREE. I cant believe Yamaha suggested $350 retail price for such a poor quality build player. Now I am thinking of getting Oppo BDP93 when the price is right.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Sandisk xD Type M 2GB Card

Sandisk xD Type M 2GB CardThis card has lots and lots of room. Data is written to it quickly. Just make sure your camera uses the M type card as some older cameras won't accept it.

At my cameras highest setting, 3 MB picture file size, I can store 700 pictures on this card. NOTICE, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE FILE SIZE NOT THE MEGA PIXEL RATING OF THE CAMERA! For normal size pictures, you can store THOUSANDS of pictures on this card.

You might also wish to purchase an Olympus MAUSB-200 Memory card reader. This card and reader together looks and performs just like a flash drive.

It is a really neat. Someone had a great idea here.

This card is great. Even though the item's packaging says Sandisk, the card was stamped Olympus which allows me to use the panorama feature on my Olympus camera. With this 2gb card I can fit close to 1300 pics in the second highest setting on my camera and 500 on the highest setting. That is more than plenty for my needs. This was the best price I have seen anywhere for an Olympus M class 2gb xD card, glad I found it.

Buy Sandisk xD Type M 2GB Card Now

Bought is for my Fuji fine pix camera and now I can take over 1000 pictures before I need to delete any! Works nicely and was priced right!

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Advertised as Type M but is actually Type M+. M+ cards will not work in some older cameras. Make sure your camera is compatible with Type M+ cards before ordering! This card worked in my camera for about 5 minutes then died, returning.

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I bought this to go along with a digital picture frame, and it works just as promised. Plenty of storage for my pics, fast access, conveniently small.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Roku LT Streaming Player

Roku LT Streaming Player
  • 600+ channels with movies, TV shows, music, sports & more
  • High-definition streaming up to 720p HD
  • Works with virtually any TV
  • Free app for iOS and Android
  • Built-in wireless (Wi-Fi b/g/n)

I bought this Roku LT after looking at the various options all the Roku models, Apple TV, and other streaming media boxes. I ultimately decided on the Roku LT because it was the best value, offered a wide range of channel choices, and seemed intuitive and easy to operate. It isn't perfect the UI could be improved and it doesn't have all the content available but it is a great starter product for anyone looking into the streaming media world and even if you don't have tech experience its a cinch to set up.

Actual product:

The Roku LT is small, light, and simple. It comes with a basic remote, though I will note that mine had the three "app buttons" for Pandora, Netflix, and Crackle the remote in the picture didn't show that. It is purple but not bright, so you won't notice it too much after you set it up. It feels a bit cheaper in build quality terms than the Apple TV especially the remote but I don't think that's a significant factor and I have no worries about the Roku LT breaking.

Setup:

Very easy. Plugged it in, registered the device via my laptop, and connected to my WiFi network. You will need a Wifi network to use Roku LT, as there is no ethernet jack.

User Interface (UI):

Good, but a lot of room for improvement. It isn't difficult to figure out, but it has the feeling of a system that was designed a few years ago. Even in the stock apps there are little quirks like where the selector is placed, how the info box always pops up and blocks other movie titles, etc. Small things generally and I don't want to say that its difficult to figure out at all on the whole, it is intuitive and clear. But if you do a side by side comparison to the Apple TV, the difference is clear Apple made the UI a priority and the experience is excellent, whereas Roku didn't. It almost feels like a beta version. This could be updated in the future though, so I'll reword this if it changes.

Content:

Great has Amazon Instant, Hulu+, Netflix, and more. Those mentioned are all subscription but there are plenty of free apps/channels BBC World News, PBS, Smithsonian, NBC, etc. There are also a variety of free "private" channels that don't show up in the main store, but you can add them via your computer. Just google Roku free private channels and plenty of lists show up.

This flexibility in content was a main reason I bought the Roku LT over the Apple TV. Apple TV is locked it determines when new apps come on, and until then you're stuck with what they give you, which is somewhat limited. For most people it probably doesn't matter, but this is a significant difference between the two products.

Comparison to other models:

Roku offers a handful of models and their naming and differentiation is somewhat confusing. The Roku LT does 720p HD (which is more than enough for most, though if you have a 40"+ TV then you might want 1080p which is supported by Roku XD or XS) though you'll have to have a HDMI cable to get true HD quality. It basically does everything the Roku HD model does only difference is the color. If you want an ethernet port, a remote that allows you to play games, or the best HD (1080p) then you'll have to get the Roku XD or XS, but otherwise do the LT there's no reason to pay almost double if you don't need those things.

Compared to Apple TV, its tough to say which is better. It all depends on if you're a heavy Apple user (iPhone, iPad, etc.) because if so, then the Apple TV has some pretty awesome feature (AirPlay) and your songs, videos, and everything else will sync immediately to the device. And let's face it, Apple designs better UI's! Their experience is unparalleled. But, its 2x as much as the Roku LT AND Apple limits the content so if you're not a hardcore Apple user and on a budget, Roku is the way to go.

Other companies make similar products but through my research, I couldn't find any that really offered the same simplicity, price point, and content. While there may be better products for niche groups of consumers, the Roku LT should serve almost everyone well!

Hope that you enjoyed the review I've added a few pictures to the customer images sections and feel free to ask me any questions about the device!

Buy Roku LT Streaming Player Now

I don't know why some people complain about their Roku being hard to set up. Five minutes out of the box and I had Netflix and Amazon Prime running on it, which is what I mainly bought it for, and no problem whatsoever running it on Wi-Fi. I can even stream one video to my TV through the Roku while streaming another to my Kindle Fire. All video streaming apps need a fast connection, and I suspect most of the bad reviews are attributable to slow and/or poor Internet service. More Roku content would of course be nice, but as it stands it's the best fifty dollar entertainment purchase I ever made. And in the Roku Channel Store you can buy, for a one-time charge of $2.99, a Netflix browser which is far better than the one Netflix provides.

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I purchased the Roku LT Streaming Player for my bedroom (i don`t have cable) it is truly a marvel of technology, it is so tiny and purple and fit in the palm of your hand, yet very powerful and extremely entertaining (and cute) you have your Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora and hundreds more of free channels to choose from. I have choosen 168 (all free channels, they do have pay channels as well) of their channels for my viewing and it will take me quite awhile to see everything. A few people complain about the remote but i love it, also the remote shown in the picture is not the one i got, the one i got has direct connect with Netflix, Hulu Plus and Pandora (for Music) and the channels change very quickly. It has a connection to your TV Set, HDMI for flat screen (HD) and RCA Jacks for analog, so you can connect to almost any tv, it uses Wi-Fi for connection to the internet (no ethernet on this model), which for me works great no slow down, no buffering and a wonderful picture with HDMI, the Roku LT only has 720p HD with an HDMI cable, they have other models which has 1080p HD. I will be getting another Roku later for the livingroom. It is very easy 123 to hook up. I don`t have any negatives about The Roku LT Streaming Player, except you do have to give credit or debit card information but it will only be used for purchase of pay channels. It is in a word "PERFECT" Who needs cable, with this little marvel. Roku LT Streaming Player Note: ordered 2nd Roku Oct 2012, got the regular remote this time, love Roku.

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I've had my Roku LT for a few weeks now and have enjoyed using it very much. Primarily I've been using the Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, and Crackle channels. I'm an Amazon Prime member and was looking for a device that could stream in HD since my laptop is getting older/slower for streaming purposes. The Roku LT fulfills that need. Once you connect your Amazon account to the Roku you'll have access to the full Instant Video and Prime libraries as well as your watchlist. I love having easy access to all my Prime content and being able to see what else is available to watch at the same time. Granted, the remote won't let you add content as easily as your laptop mouse would, but the interface is simple enough so that it's still fun to do so.

The setup of the actual Roku is very simple. There's no on/off switch-just plug in your HD cables, hook things up, and once your account is set you can add whatever channels you want. I also love the variety of channels and free content. I have found channels with free exercise videos, cooking tips, and of course music and tv/movies, and there are even apps for viewing Facebook photos and the weather. If I still had Netflix I would definitely be using that app a lot, too.

This is a great media alternative to those who don't have cable. Even just playing Pandora makes great use of what the device excels at, which is stream content. The Roku LT is exactly what I was hoping for in a streaming device and especially good paired with Amazon Prime Instant Videos. The setup is easy, finding content is fun thanks to the simple and clean user interface of the software, and even with free channels there is so much to keep you entertained. I would definitely recommend the Roku LT considering its cost and capabilities.

Save $0.02 Off

I wanted to save money so I downgraded my Dish Network package to the cheapest and purchased 3 of these Roku LT's. Here's my take on a few things that I wasn't sure about before I ordered. (BTW, 2 of my LT's I've had for a year and the third one I just purchased recently--2 are being used on non-HDTV's and the other on a new 32" Sceptre LED HDTV Sceptre E325BV-HDH 32-Inch 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (Black). So far, the Roku is giving me MOST of what I wanted, but I'm slightly disappointed too.

Do a Google search for Roku private channels, there's a wealth of info on forums. But darn it, I wanted to watch HGTV, and it was available through private channels until the owners of HGTV forced it to be removed same with Food Network. And this is a MAJOR disappointment for me. If I could only get HGTV I'd do away with Dish Network completely.

Pick up some spare remotes for cheap on eBay, because if you misplace the remote, you can't use it.

I knew going in my DSL speed was too slow for Roku's requirements. I have AT&T's cheapest DSL plan with download speeds up to 768 Kbps and upload speeds up to 128 Kbps. I was curious to see if it buffered as when I'm watching a YouTube video on my PC. Or if the Roku even worked at all. So here's what happened with the Roku. Watching the shorter videos my DSL speed is fine. You can see it downloading the video for a few seconds, and there's no buffering as I get when viewing a video on my computer. But my sub-standard DSL speed will not work at all with the movie channels like Crackle, I can watch the commercial before the movie, but that is it, it then goes back to the "play" screen.

BUT (surprisingly), streaming movies from Netflix with my slow DSL speed, no problems with buffering no matter what movies/TV shows I've watched it's been great. Amazon Prime videos are a different story, buffering...so I may be upgrading my DSL speed to the next level.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Panasonic DMP-BD655 networked Blu-Ray Disc Player

Panasonic DMP-BD655 networked Blu-Ray Disc Player
  • Full HD 1080/60pHigh Precision 4:4:4
  • DVD upscaling to 1080pSignal System NTSC
  • Digital Noise ReductionDolby TrueHD Decode and Bitstream output
  • Diagonal Processing
  • Precise Pixel Generation

Just got this today at CostCo (special for 119.00). My 18y/o daughter had this up and running in 30 minutes. We're watching a NetFlix movie as I write this. I'm not a techie so can't go into detail like some reviews... But it's great to have a nice Blue Ray DVD player that we can get streaming video from online. We own a 50" Panasonic plasma TV with a Panasonic home theater. Everything works together perfectly.

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I recently got this blu ray player to replace a dvd player and was happy with the outcome. This is a fantastic blu ray player it's sleek and slim and produces great quality from both dvds and blu rays. Now why this is rated so low is because people didn't do their research. Yes this is netflix ready and a networking player but it requires a $70 dollar add on in order to do it. If you have the cash it's fantastic and a great home theater addition. I highly recommend this product don't let the low star rating discourage you the reason it's low is because of the add on not coming with the player.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DMP-BD655 networked Blu-Ray Disc Player Here

I was somewhat hesitant to buy this player due to some negative reviews but found it at a great price and have not regretted it. What I love best about this player is how it works with my TV. I wanted to buy a Panasonic Blu-ray player because we have a Panasonic 42" 720p television and the Viera Link works great. What is so awesome for us is that the TV remote operates the main functions you need and works through the television set so we don't need to have the cabinet open in order to see the player which is awesome since our 1 1/2 year old son loves to mess with it. Blu-rays and DVDs look spectacular and I did not buy it for internet applications although it is convenient that firmware can be downloaded directly to the player and we will get Netflix eventually. Bottom line, great blu-ray player!

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(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)If you want an inexpensive Blu-ray DVD player that plays just about any format, this is for you. It is also Wireless System Ready, which means that with the proper router and setup you can stream Netflix. The quality of sound and vision is just as good as any other Blu-ray player I have owned (Samsung and Sony), but I would warn that the DVD takes much longer to load than the other players I have used. This can be a bit frustrating, as you are not really sure if it is loading or is stalled (it is loading). As the adage goes, you get what you pay for, but for the price, you really can't complain too much. It's not high performance technology, but it gets the job done and its inexpensive. Personally I would go for the Samsung BD-D5700 Blu-ray Disc Player with Built-in WiFi (BD-D5700/ZA).

I purchased this unit to give maximum video source flexibility for a minimal price. I primarily use Netflix streaming, so I considered an Apple TV for $99. However, I occasional play DVD or BlueRay discs, so having that capability is helpful. This device gives me both for the same price as the Apple TV. Plus it has numerous other streaming services, like Vudu, YouTube, etc.

Device operates well. One reason I bought the Panasonic unit was because I also bought a Panasonic TV. That enables some nice integration through their "Viera Link" functionality. It allows you to control both TV and disc player through either remote, causes devices to switch on and off or change input source in response to each other, and other convenience features--as long as you connect the devices with an HDMI cable. I find it convenient and intuitive.

The unit boots fairly quickly and the streaming functionality (NetFlix, at least) works quite well (in fact it looks identical to the implementation of NetFlix on my older LG player).

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Pyle Home PHDMIB1 Single HDMI Right Angle Jack Audio Video Wall Plate (Black)

Pyle Home PHDMIB1 Single HDMI Right Angle Jack Audio Video Wall Plate
  • Feed-Thru HDMI Wall Plate - Supports High Resolution Display Up To 1080p
  • Designed For In-Wall HDMI Cable Routing For Commercial Or Residential - HDMI Female To HDMI Female Ports
  • Suitable For Home Theater Hi-Def Installs - Black Color Plate
  • High Impact ABS Plastic
  • Delivers High-Bandwidth, Uncompressed Video And Multi-Channel Digital Audio Between HDMI Compliant Devices Including DVD Player / Recorders, Set-Top Boxes And Digital Tvs

The product works fine, the issue with this product is that the rear HDMI or the connection hidden in the wall/electrical box is at the top and so it is impossible to plug in the hidden HDMI cable without tearing the elctrical box apart due to the fact that it is only 1/2" away from the front of the plate. I actually had 2 issues with this because the wall that I placed it in had 1/2" drwall with 3/4" T&G on it I had to cut a bunch of it out in order to make it work. Bad Design!

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I bought this because I was running a 50ft HDMI cable through my wall and then coming out my ceiling. I wanted it to look nice and the I was just going to plug my projector into this. I tested the jack before I ran the cable and it gave me a distorted image with mixing colors. I tried all the cables on their own and the image was fine but once I put the jack in the middle I had issues. I then tried the jack with two 6ft HDMI cables and the jack worked fine. So if you are only using it to go 12ft... I guess you would be OK but I don't know anyone that would use it for that.

Dropcam HD Wi-Fi Wireless Video Monitoring Camera

Dropcam HD Wi-Fi Wireless Video Monitoring CameraMy review is focus on one aspect so as not to be too long, but still useful. **Please note the updates at the end**

The Dropcam is a very good, very easy to use device. Many of the top rated reviews here do an excellent job of listing the pros and cons. Also, the firmware has been updated since many of the negative reviews were posted, so there have been subtle improvements (not enough) with motion detection, and also the iOS and Android apps are now easy and great.

The best use case of this camera, by far, is indoor remote surveillance of a kids room, a family room, or a workplace.

Here's the real, overpowering negative about the device for me: it uses about 60GB of upload data capacity each month. The camera transmits its HD video feed to the DropCam cloud servers ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. The cloud service is what makes the user experience so easy, and what allows you to view your camera from multiple places, phones, tablets, all with just a userID and password. It's good in that you don't have to learn about firewalls, IP port forwarding and such just to make it work. But, that also means that it sends enormous amounts of video of a room with nothing at all happening in it. If your ISP has a quota or a limit to how much you can send per month, this camera WILL DEFINITELY USE A LARGE PORTION. In Canada and with some US ISPs, the limit is 50GB...i.e. less than this camera sends!

Lots of ISPs offer a quota of 250GB, so this camera won't put most US customers over their limit. Just know that this will soak up a good portion of your allotment.

Each additional camera will add to the bandwidth you use.

Consider that you are also downloading the video feed from your ISP, so if you are in the same place as the camera viewing it, it doubles the bandwidth used. Yep, that's right, your video goes up to the cloud server, then back down to you.

FYI, the upload rate is about 400-600 Kbps

The camera does use excellent compression, so the HD video is as compact as it can be in 2012.

If you have anything less than awesome Internet service, the camera will slow down your uploads of other stuff, like photos, attachments, etc. Upload speed is always much slower than download on consumer Internet service, and that's what this camera uses.

So, take this important point into consideration. It may still be a great product for you, but you need to know the costs. For me, I planned on using this at a lake house with slow Internet, so it doesn't work for me. I'll have to find another use for it.

****Update, September 2012

The camera has just received a software update that lets you switch between SD mode and HD mode. All DropCams that are turned on and connected to the Internet will get the update automatically. The standard definition mode uses half the bandwidth of the HD mode. Overall, there is a big improvement regarding the problem I cited in my original review. The update has other benefits in motion detection, etc.

As for me, the 30GB a month is still too much, so I will continue to use the available software switch to turn the camera on and off, and only enable it when I want to watch.

I spent some time researching the different options (Logitech, foscam, dropcam, adt, x10, cisco, ...) in this product category. I decided to try out a DropCam HD. So far (3 days of use), I'm delighted. The product does everything it promises.

It took me about 5-10 minutes to complete the full setup process (open the box to getting video streams online). In fact, it took me longer to figure out where I was going to put it.

Other solutions require special software to be installed and/or a PC/Mac system to be running to capture the video. I don't want to keep a computer on while I am away on travel + have to maintain/update the software. The DropCam HD solution removes all this extra effort/time/pain.

pros

====

easy to setup (5 minutes of work)

can view online or via android/iphone

can share your camera with friends securely

motion tags allow you to jump to interesting sections

no need for special software or a PC running to capture all the data

surprised by 2way audio feature. Fun to use while you are away.

cons

====

monthly dvr pricing for saved streams (free if you just want live views)

still testing

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

low light/night video capture

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I have to say, I am loving this Dropcam! I put it in my living room to see when the kids are home from school. The setup process was done lickety-split, and all I had to type in was my wireless password (which admittedly I had to hunt through a dozen post-its to find). Now I can see it on my iphone and also from my computer at work! Cool!

Some details:

1. I tried another camera like this before and it couldn't see the entire living room from its perch in the corner. On the other hand, the Dropcam can see almost my whole living room while sitting on the same bookshelf in the corner. Faces appear a little small, but I definitely like being able to see the kids whether they are on the couch or laying on the floor

2. The night vision is a really nifty feature. I could just make out my husband on the other side of the room (about 20 feet?). We don't have a big use for it since our kids are older, but it would make a great baby monitor. I guess if somebody breaks in (eek!) we will have the video for America's Most Wanted!

3. There's a little clicking noise here and there on the audio (not sure what that is?) but you can definitely hear what's being said ... I had to wear headphones to really make it out though because my laptop's speakers aren't too great

4. The talking feature is already a family favorite at least for Mom, that is ... let's just say I think a lot more homework is about to be done after school and before dinner time....

5. It's bee-yoo-tee-ful! I really can't tell you how many of these electronic doo-dads are ugly as sin. It looks and feels like a little art sculpture sitting next to the other knick-knacks on the bookshelf, and the white cable blends in nicely with the wall.

I think that's about it! I don't normally write reviews, but I just felt like this gem deserved it. Thanks Dropcam!!

Read Best Reviews of Dropcam HD Wi-Fi Wireless Video Monitoring Camera Here

I pre-ordered this item 2 1/2 months ago, so I was very excited for its arrival this past weekend. However, upon setting it up, it worked for less than 15 minutes before it overheated & shut down. (Same problem another previous reviewer reported). I have been unable to get it to turn on ever since.

I have submitted a ticket to customer service, over 48 hours with no response so far. I will update my review if they can make it right, however at the moment I am VERY unhappy.

EDIT 4/20/12: I gave up waiting for an e-mail back and called customer service. Took about 10 minutes to get through, and after a series of questions, the agent agreed that the camera I had (or possibly the power cord) was defective. He sent me a prepaid shipping label to send it back to them, and immediately sent me out a new unit 2nd Day Air. So big kudos to their customer service team.

I received the new unit lastnight, and spent some time playing with it to make sure it was not going to do the same thing as the first one. It seems to be working pretty well so far. My intent is to use this to keep an eye on my baby when he arrives this summer, but for now I am using it on my dog while I'm at work. I have been able to peak in at him a few times today. I really like that you can turn the camera off or on from the iphone app, so it doesn't have to stay on all the time. I also LOVE that the audio is two-way, that was an unexpected bonus that blew my husband and I away! It works very very well.

That being said, the device is not perfect, there are definitely some kinks they need to work out. It takes a lot of patience to make any changes or turn the camera off, the settings on both the app and the website are pretty slow to come up. The video delay is only about 2 seconds though, which is what really matters in my opinion. The video is pretty darn clear too, and the night vision is impressive.

Occasionally when I turn the camera on or off from the app, it "freezes" and I have to back completely out of it and go back in. Not a huge deal since it works once I go back in. Also, it'd be really nice to be able to control the panning/zoom from the app.

I'm also stuck with two video feeds in my account now that I had two separate cameras, I went through every available option, and there's no way to delete the non-working one. Annoying.

Overall though, as long as it continues to work, it's a pretty cool gadget, and will definitely come in handy with keeping an eye on our little one once he arrives!

EDIT 11/19/12:

I wanted to come back and update my review now that I have been using the Dropcam for 6 months, 3 months of which have been on our new baby. We absolutely could not be happier with the Dropcam. It stays on 24 hours a day, every day and has caused us no problems with overheating or anything. There have been several updates to the iphone (and now ipad!) apps, and website, and I find them all to be much more user-friendly now. We chose this in lieu of a traditional monitor, and we have no regrets. I especially love that we can leave the baby with a sitter and peek in on him no matter how far we are from home. We would obviously not have that option with a traditional monitor.

My one (tiny) gripe is that it does tend to disconnect several times throughout the day and night. Every time this happens, I just have to exit out of the app and go back in. I believe this is more of an issue with our internet connection and/or router, but I wish there was something dropcam could do to make it automatically reconnect whenever this happens.

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I've been looking for a good "IP camera" for a long time now, and this is the first one that I won't be putting in the junk drawer. I've been reading a lot of the reviews and the comments from the company, and I think they are the first people to really "get it".

Setup: They say 2 minutes, it took about 5-10 minutes, but who's counting when the competition doesn't even work without reconfiguring your router. The wall mounting took longer than the wifi setup, and even that was still pretty easy.

Software: I have both an iPhone 4 and a Samsung Galaxy S2. The iPhone app is really good, the Android app is ... well, it works, but it's a little slow and needs some polish. The Dropcam folks have said that a new native version is coming out in some comments here, and the iPhone app has had a couple of great updates since I installed it, so I'll keep the faith going on Android ... I'm really tired of people who expect it to work on their multi-year old phones though, if you've got some crummy prepaid Android phone from Virgin mobile, blame Virgin not anyone else.

Website: The website is really nicely designed, and if anything the mobile apps need to have more of the features that are available on it. Browsing the DVR is much more pleasant, changing settings is easier, and you also use the site to setup your camera in the first place, which is really easy. My only complaint is that I had to upgrade Flash, which is probably OK, I just wish it didn't use Flash at all.

Camera: Camera pops out of the base a little too easily, but when I got it all finally positioned on the wall it stayed in place. Night vision works well, though you can see a faint red light from the LEDs. Microphone works OK, a little noisy at first but better when I adjusted the volume. Speaker was a lot louder after adjusting the Flash microphone volume, and now that works well too.

Recording: I used to be a big do-it-yourselfer, but now that I'm a "grumpy old man" I prefer to compare the true cost of, say, running my own UNIX server in the basement vs just paying for the dang service. I've been using the trial for a couple of weeks, and the best thing is I don't have to keep anything on but the Dropcam and the wifi to get the recording. Some of the other cameras I've used required software running 24/7 on your PC, which is a non-starter if you have a laptop, and a big hassle to keep running all of the time. I've seen a lot of people complaining about the price ... my advice is don't be so cheap. I don't change my own oil anymore, why would I want to administrate a server?

Overall I'm very happy, mostly because of the setup, software and service. It's not everyday that you just breeze through setting up a new and complex device like this. Bravo, 5 stars.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Panasonic SVAV30 MPEG4 eWear Digital Camcorder/Still Camera w/ 64 MB SD Card & Docking Station

Panasonic SVAV30 MPEG4 eWear Digital Camcorder/Still Camera w/ 64 MB SD Card & Docking StationSorry guys... I saw this gizmo and thought as many do.."wow.. a video camera and digital camera in one and in a small package" (I didn't really care about the mp3 player and voice recorder).

I was/am willing to sacrifice some quality because of the size but this thing is ridiculous. Unless you are in DIRECT sunlight taking a picture of something 2 feet in front of you then this thing is worse than anything I can imagine (and even then the pictures are terrible).

The video camera recording/reproduction is useless...I have never got a decent recording.

If you have to use the flash (which seems like all the time) then all you get is bright white pictures.

I can't express how disappointed I was with this product. A friend of mine just got a digital camera for 25% the price and the pictures are 10 times the quality and it is only slightly bigger than this.

The only positive things I could say is that it is a great conversation starter at bars..etc.. since it is a cool package and draws a lot of attention (but dont try actually show it off by using it because it is pathetic) and that the software isnt "terrible" (although has failed to work a couple of times on XP but pretty solid for the most part).

My opinion---a waste of money--novelty wears off after 24 hours and then you look at what you have which is picture quality 10 times worse than a picture booth and a video camera that you can't use.

Sure its not 3 megapixels and not regular handycam...but, it is exactly what it is advertised to be. Very cool. I'm glad I bought it. A 512 flash card will record an hour of video at the highest quality, which is plenty considering you can always carry more than one with you.

I bought a flash card reader to go with it which makes it easy to connect to your recorded stuff as if it were a drive on your PC. The process for importing MP3's is a bit odd, but works fine. Make sure you read the manual. Battery life is good.

Like many others have said, if you want to take pictures to print and hang on the wall look elsewhere. If you want to have something that you can slip in your shirt pocket so that you dont miss moments that you otherwise might, this little doodad is perfect.

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If you don't have an MP3 player, digital camera, digital voice recorder or digital video camera, this one device will do it all. If you have all those separate components, this baby is still great to have. Sure, the still and video camera don't have the resolution of the larger and pricier cameras, but hey, it fits in the palm of your hand with room to spare and weighs just a tad over two ounces. And you can pop it into its cradle and record video from an external source. The frame rate is only 15fps but I was still able to enjoy an episode of Seinfeld while waiting for a flight. And everybody who saw it had to know what it was and what it did.

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Ok, when I bought it the guy from the store (in Miami) told me that the picture quality was about 3MP which is a lie, If you want an mp3 player (I never used this function, so I don't know if it's good), with other functions this is for you, as a camera or a movie clip recorder is not very good, don't get me wrong I loved the size an the slick design but I was after a little more that a casual digital camera.

The still pictures are always blurry, and poor quality, it doesn't have red eye reduccion, the flash is very bad, I use to have a Sony DSC-P20 2MP an it had infinetly better picture quality, we had the camera for 2 months, and we had fun with it, but after a while we started to really get tired with the picture quality so I sold it to a friend that was marvelled with the size and funtions (SUCKER!!), if you want something more seriuos but with all the advantages except the mp3 player try looking into the Minolta Dimage Xt (very small, 3x optical zoom, and also records movies with sound),the Canon S230, Sony DSC-P72/P10 this cameras blow away the panasonic.

But if you want a gadget that happens to be small, plays mp3 and takes pictures keep this.

PROS:

Size, Design, Mp3 player, records movies as long as the memory card allows.

CONS:

Picture Quality, Flash, not very flexable in the camera settings.

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When reading these reviews prior to purchase, I got nervous that I would recieve a piece of garbage that didn't live up to the curiousity surrounding it.

I was wrong!

This is a great gadget for on the go, making home movies, anything. When taking a picture, if you are too close with the flash on, all you will see is a flash of white light. Just don't take it less than 1-2 feet away from the object.

I was very impressed with the video aspect. The sound was very impressive and I was able to watch the videos immediately after taking them, and the picture quality is impressive considering how small this is.

Overall, I'm really glad I bought this. The voice recorder is reliable, I haven't checked the Audio player, but I mostly bought it for three out of four purposes. It is absolutely worth it, especially to slip in your pocket and make videos/take pictures on the go.

TIP: The SV-AV30 comes with a 64MB Memory Card. If you are planning to use this full-time, or are taking this on a trip, buy an additional card. 64MB is really not a lot of room, especially if you will be using all of the options offered (Voice/Audio/Camera/Video). The memory cards are somewhat expensive, but if you invest in a high MB card, it will last you for a while.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Blue Microphones Mikey 2.0 Iphone/ipod Recorder (tiki) -

Blue Microphones Mikey 2.0 Iphone/ipod Recorder -Vendors should know what their selling before they post things for sale.

It's not clear what this vendor is selling from the description vs the photo.

Could be either product, but the photo is clear not for iPhone/iPad/iPod use...it's a USB microphone!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Panasonic DMR-EH69 320GB HDD Multizone DVD Recorder - PAL

Panasonic DMR-EH69 320GB HDD Multizone DVD Recorder - PALEven though the description mentions not for North American use, it works just fine here with a few exceptions. #1 is it has no NTSC/North American tuner(digital or the old analog) it ONLY records NTSC from a line output device(VCR, DVD player, STB with line outputs, DVR etc.). It WON'T work from a device that only outputs RF(for example from a cheap DTA converter box you get free from your cable company, they only output RF channel 3/4 which this DVDR won't tune).

Another slight issue has to do with black level. Since this is a INTERNATIONAL DVDR and not really meant for the North American market it is designed for the INTERNATIONAL black level of IRE 0. North American devices output +7.5 IRE from their line outputs. What this means is unless you slightly darken your source video it will be a tad bit washed out(blacks will not be truly black but slightly gray). If you're recording from a device that has a setting for DARKER(most DVD players have this setting) you won't have a problem and your DVDs will come out just fine. If you don't correct the source you can correct this by slightly turning down the brightness on your TV, but note the DVDs will still be recorded with a slightly raised black level.

This unit is 120v/220v 50/60 Hz compatible and even though the plug is the two round style all you need is a $1 adapter that should be provided by the seller and you can plug it into our outlets.

Like all current Panasonics this one has full resolution LP(4hrs/SL DVD), records to DL media(first record to HDD then HS copy to DL media) and the very handy FR recording speed where you can fill up a DVD with anywhere between 1-8 hours of material.

When you set the recorder up you specify if you want it to record in NTSC or PAL, chose NTSC for North American use. As mentioned this recorder will play and record PAL and NTSC but it won't convert from one standard to another. That is if your DVD is PAL you'll need a PAL compatible TV(most flat panel Vizios and lesser names are multi system but NOT TVs like Sony or Panasonic). Of course Tube TVs need to say multi system(quite rare in the US) in order to display PAL.

This recorder is also handy for converting your PAL VHS tapes to PAL DVDs. Simply plug your PAL VCR into the line inputs of this recorder, play your VHS and record the PAL signal to DVD. You can then play that PAL DVD in one of the many players that will play a PAL DVD and output it as NTSC(again not Panasonic or Sony) but I found out my Samsung, cheap Cyberhome and also Pioneer DVD players easily played PAL DVDs recorded by this unit and changed it to NTSC. Note you can also hook up the converting DVD player to this DVDR, record the signal to DVD and now have a NTSC DVD of your original PAL VHS tape. The quality of the dub is actually quite good IMO.

As mentioned because this is a gray market product any warranty is with the seller and not North American Panasonic. I've had mine for over a year with no issues and am very satisfied but because of the above issues it may not be for everybody.

Edited 9/'11 adding more PAL to NTSC information.

Anyone that use to have the Panasonic DMR EH55 will love this machine. It does almost everything the EH55 will do. Smooth running, Lots of hard drive, (73hours XP) DVD works smooth, and Edits really nice.

This units comes set up to Pal, but in about 2 min you can change it into a NTSC system. Should come with a electrical plug adaptor,

This unit will work great if you use a cable box or a sat reciever or even if you have a HI-FI vcr will also work. As your channel changer. This unit does not have a tuner for North America. Use the component (rca) connections works great. Set the eh69 to input AV4)

I've bought 3, 1 for each tv in the house. Have it hooked up to a flat screen panasonic 2 Years old, a 10 year old panasonic, and a 1 year old Haire tv. All works great.

To swith this unit from Pal to NTSC is very simple, On the remote hit function, then to tv connection then where it says Pal, click to NTSC and everything switches over.

You might need a convertor to hold the V-Hold when you first hook it up. The 10 year old Panasonic v-hold was going crazy, but the Haier held the v-hold until I swithed from Pal to NTSC. But once changed everything works great and no need for a convertor.

One more thing is when you first get this unit it will seem like forever for the unit to turn on, this is because it comes shipped in power save mode, Turn this off or it will seem like it takes forever to turn on. If you want to record something fast like the EH55's, then turn this very annoying power save off, and the unit will start up very quickly.

Anyway great machine and works great.

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VERY IMPRESSIVE DVD PLAYER, EXCEPT FOR TWO THING U SHOULD BE KNOW ABOUT, THIS DEVICE DOSE NOT RECORD VIDEOS FROM HDD(THE BUILT IN HARD DRIVE) TO USB EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE OR TO SD CARD

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DMR-EH69 320GB HDD Multizone DVD Recorder - PAL Here

My intent was to purchase this DVR from Amazon initially but frankly found a lower price from another vendor. This is not usually the case but this time it was.

First and foremost, I understand most consumers in North America are not going to be interested in any component that doesn't carry a North American warranty. I decided to purchase this unit w/o a warranty based on the Panasonic name and the fact that I'm a techie. This is my 5th DVR/DMR with all in perfect working condition and each serving its purpose in my technical world of video components. Having said all that, the Panasonic EH69 has a massive hard drive (massive 320GB for any DVR/DMR). I wasn't concerned whatsoever about switching PAL to NTSC or any voltage/cycle issues because this information was clearly defined to me by researching the product manual PDF online long before making any purchase. I knew that the S-Video inputs and outputs were limited by default (1 input on the front, 1 on the rear) 1 output on the rear). This was easily increased by adding two SCART s-Video adapters to the rear panel providing an additional input and output.

The comments by other reviewers mentioning the depth issues of blacks are true but if I were blindfolded and led into a room where two different units were playing, I doubt I could tell the difference. This was a non-issue for me personally. The up-scaling to plasma or LCD is awesome.

The tuner was a non issue because I'm using a cable set top box. This unit has many more positives than negatives. I would have preferred 12 hour time increments rather than 24 but after all, this is a non North American model. My unit also came with the USA male plug adapter and once connected it's a forgotten issue. The editing features perform smoothly and precisely.

This unit is a win win for me personally. Some may ask, what happens if something goes wrong. My answer is simply, I'm confident I can find someone online who will be willing to perform repair service. O yes, one last comment: out of the five machines I own, only one has ever required service. That's not a bad record and lends confidence that well over ten years has produced untold hours of recording enjoyment.

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I must say that this is a very nice recorder. I had in the past a Panasonic EH-55 which lasted about a year. I took the EH-55 in for repair and the shop stated it needed a HDD cable which would not be available for 6 months and the unit was discontinued. Panasonic refunded my money so I was satisfied with the result. I was disappointed because I knew of a couple of other people that had the EH-55 and to this day those are still functioning. Now back to the EH-69. I have looked far and wide for another DVD recorder with hard drive. The Pioneer, Sanyo and Magnavox are some of the makers that have manufactured this type of unit in the past although currently they do not. Panasonic for some reason manufactured a 80gig, 160 and 200 gig versions for release in the USA but that was some time ago. They were all discontinued and to my surprise a bunch of them appeared to be refurbished and sold online at a premium price. This recorder is a PAL multizone version for use in PAL/NTSC areas. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Europe. It has automatic switchable power adapting to both 110v USA and 220 volt Europe. The power cables are the European two prong or a 3 prong. You can probably get a standard cable to use as a power cord and it appears to be a standard figure 8 slot in the back of the EH69. I would like that better than using the European power adapter that was provided in the box. The unit is default set to PAL video signal and must be switched to NTSC by pressing the stop button and the open/close button for more than 5 seconds. I think it is around 7 to 10 seconds before my unit switched over and initially I thought it was not going to work. To my pleasure it did and began looping an NTSC signal through the S-video port. The HDMI initially showed no signal and switched to standby on my plasma until it switched to NTSC. The signal seems to be clean although the blacks are not as deep, possibly due to a different firmware dedicated mainly to PAL. NTSC standard definition signal parameters are set and I would think that if it is intended for use with NTSC/110v that should not create any color burst or setup/black level problems. Although the tuner is not compatible with NTSC or USA signal processing the unit functions well with DVD playback or record (providing that the signal is not copyright encoded.). The hard drive is very nice to use which is why I bought the unit in the first place. Lots of Hard drive space for Standard Definition recording. I never intended on using the tuner function in the first place and I think Panasonic could have eliminated the tuner mode for more simplicity. Longevity? Well hopefully this unit will give me years of use but I am happy as of right now. Since this is a Grey market unit not imported by Panasonic USA it has no warranty. I am wondering if a technician would work on it or be able to get parts? I will give an update in 6 months to a year on this unit.