O-SKY (TM) Full HD 1080P Car DVR Camera Dash Cam Video Recorder G-Sensor IR Night Vision HDMI

• 1920x1080 Full HD video recording
• Built-in G-Sensor: to mark the emergency accident and keep the video files from being overwritten
• 2560x1920 (5MP) high resolution pictures
• Supports up to 32GB TF card
• HDMI/AV/USB output

One 8 GIG SD card at Full HD = 52 min; not good at all. The video is choppy. my camera came with the front scratched showing heavy usage and the seller should have said that the camera was used. but at this price.......... my loss.

Pro: It can be used as Web Cam on the computer.

Mini DVR Recorder for use in PLAYPEN Video + Audio USB

I purchased this & immediately tried it out in my office to see what my staff was really doing while I was away. This DVR was very easy to conceal & worked fabulous. I now know what my staff is doing when I leave & have had a few of them replaced. This is an awesome product. buy it.

Swann SW211-STY StyleCam Security Camera

I needed a basic camera for my attic to see what type of critter has been visiting in the wee hours of the morning. I didn't want to spend a lot of money. I heard that Swann was better than the other brands. The camera setup is really easy and I was able to get the system running in 30 minutes. (Most of the time was spent screwing the base of the camera to the rafter.

Video quality with room-level lighting is fine. Near darkness, the image switches to B&W and is pretty grainy. I may buy an additional IR light source if my critter friend decides to show up at night only.

GOT A GREAT DEAL. WORKS GREAT WITH DECENT QUALITY IMAGE FOR COMPARABLE CAMERAS. PRO NICE VERY LONG CORD WHICH MAKES IT VERY EASY TO PLACE.

THE 'NIGHT VISION' .... DOES NOT WORK THROUGH GLASS! It emits IR light which reflects off the window if the camera is placed inside and is recording what is outside through a window and makes it totally unable to capture any image at all ... at night through glass.

Otherwise it's great. I think the IR light reflecting is typical for 'night vision' that is not 'TRUE NIGHT VISION' but is based on Infrared Light.

note: I saw a lot of negative reviews of the "SWANN" brand around on various sites. I think it is a great product and have even purchased a totally different type of product, but made my decision based on the SWANN brand and am very pleased.

Good PDF downloads on their site with detailed specs on their products.

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It is a very disingenuous practice to write a 5 star "customer review" of a product that you are a seller of. Even if it is under the guise of "Additional Product Info!", it is still manipulating the rating system at Amazon, since customers sort searches with average customer rating and your products come out on top. Because of your lack of integrity as a seller, I will never buy a GS Wholesale product. I am also going to complain to Amazon about your rating manipulation.

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BestDealUSA 5.0MP HD Smallest Mini DV Camera Digital Video Recorder PC Webcam DVR

I bought this camera to use on my rc plane. At first I tried to charge the device using the AA battery charger. It would not charge. I then charged it using the USB cord attached to my pc and it charged just fine after being plugged in for about 2 hours. The first thing I noticed was that it had an eyehole and a viewfinder, which was laughable because you can't even see through it. It's like looking through one of those plastic toy telescopes that comes out of a gumball machine. Nevertheless, I attached the camera to my plane. I took several still photos which were very poor quality. The whole reason I bought the camera was for aerial photos. I then tried to take video from the plane. The first video, which was also poor quality worked fine. I then tried it a second, third and fourth time. Each of these files were corrupted, apparently because the camera had an encryption problem. After the fourth try, the cheap plastic case that is held together by a little round sticker came apart and the guts fell out. I could not get it back together. I only had it working for about an hour and I had to throw it away. Also, the instructions were written in broken english and said that the camera produced 8mp images even though the sticker on the camera says 5mp. All I have to show for my $15.00 is a small metal box for storing little trinkets in. BUY AMERICAN.

For what it is I cant complain it works for what I want to use it for which is to put on my rc stuff to record so for that I love it.

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C Crane CWTPL CC Witness Plus Digital MP3 Recorder Player with Built-in AM FM Radio

• Voice recording in MP3 Format
• Built-in AM FM Radio
• Built-in Speaker or use included earphones
• Clock with Timer and Alarm
• Mini USB connector

I purchased the CC Witness+ as a replacement to the Pogo RadioYourWay AM/FM MP3 recorder, which I had owned for several years. I used the Pogo radio to record programming (both AM and FM) and then archive the audio I want to save onto my computer. From day one the RadioYourWay unit had a annoying glitch in recording FM and thereafter downloading the file onto the computer: The resulting audio file had 'artifacts' of random 'squawks' (it did sound like stepping on a rubber duck) that I had to repeatedly clip out of the file in order to make the end result listenable, sometimes as many as five or six artifacts per minute of audio. The AM recorded files had no such issues so I don't know whether it was a problem with the hardware or software with the Pogo unit.

The CC Witness+ that I purchased has no such issues. Both AM and FM recording files download clean into the computer.

I have, however, encountered an issue with compatibility in downloading MP3 files to a computer. When attempting to download from the CC Witness+ to a laptop with Windows 7 Pro, the download takes as long as 30 minutes for a 2 hour MP3 64k clip. Using a laptop with Windows XP Pro, the same download takes less than four minutes. (The RadioYourWay unit I have didn't have that problem either with XP Pro or Win 7 Pro.) With my experience there seems to be a compatability issue with using the CC Witness+ with Windows 7 Pro. Since I do my audio editing with my older laptop I can live with it but users with Windows 7 Pro might want to know that this could be a problem; if anyone has found a way to speed up downloads on Win 7 Pro I'm open to it. It is due to this problem that I only give it four stars instead of five.

In editing the resultant MP3 files downloaded to my computer from the CC Witness+, the audio does seem to record 'louder' (at or near 100% modulation) compared to the older RadioYourWay unit, yet I've not detected any meaningful, annoying distortion in voice recording. At that level I did notice some minor distortion in recording music off the air but I don't know if it was a reception issue or an auto-record level issue. As to reception, it seems that the FM radio in the CC Witness+ does a better job of receiving FM signals than the RadioYourWay and about the same with AM reception, which I thought was remarkably good for such a small unit. If a person wants to attempt capturing AM DX signals it may be well to consider using the CC Witness+ with one of the external antenna units that CC Crane offers.

So far the battery life doesn't seem to be quite as long with the CC Witness+ as with the RadioYourWay but for what I use it for the battery life is still adequate.

If you have used the old Pogo unit, the controls on the CC Witness+ are easy to use. Finding and identifying recorded files is much, much easier with the CC Witness+.

The CC Witness+ as packaged does not come with an AC adapter but does come with the USB patch cord that plugs into your computer so you can connect it to the computer to charge it. The AC adapter that came with the RadioYourWay is 100% compatible with the CC Witness+.

Yes, it has mini-speakers built in but you will get much better audio quality in using earbuds or headphones with the CC Witness+ than using the speakers.

For voice recording (talk shows, broadcasted lectures, etc.) or music where CD quality is not demanded, the CC Witness+ works just fine; for those purposes I would recommended it.

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I waited a couple years to buy this expecting someone (Sony, Apple, whoever) to build something like this a little more reasonably priced. My kids' iPods are on par with the cost of this thing and do 10 times more things. If iPods had an AM tuner I'm sure there would be an app that would render the Witness+ obsolete. Sorry, had to get that little whine off my chest...

I've had this a couple days now so here are my first impressions. The Witness+ is smaller than I thought, about the size of a deck of cards. The user interface is well thought out, it was very easy to program stations into memory and schedule recordings. I have no problems pulling in every station I listen to in my location (about 25 miles from downtown Detroit) on this radio's tuner. It even pulls in smaller stations I didn't know existed. The instructions are very well written. Recording quality is variable, easily changed, and at higher quality levels sounds exactly like live radio.

Hooking the Witness+ up to my computer went without incident, Windows XP recognized the unit immediately. When I first charged the unit and turned it on, I did notice that the AM radio tuner was not working right off the bat, just got screeching noises. I powered it down, flipped it to FM and back to AM and it cleared up after that (not sure the exact steps I took but it works fine now).

I'll update this review if I have anything significant to add or change, but as of now I'm pleased with the quality of the Witness+.

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We've all been hooked on the DVR. This is a DVR for radio that works great. I like to use it for programs that are on only after midnight or Public Radio broadcasts that I often miss. You can set 20 timers to record blocks of any length. One other neat feature is the ability to change the speed of the playback from .5 of normal to 1.7 of normal, and you can easily define a playback loop. The unit actually turns on during the time it's recording--I found I could either leave the ear buds plugged in or I could lower the volume to zero. Like any new electronic device, there is some quirkiness to the interface but I found it mostly intuitive. I haven't tried the USB interface yet but I fully expect it to function well.

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This little radio/recorder is everything advertised. Don't expect to set this radio down next to you and listen, it is not designed to be a table top unit. The instructions were in clear English, easy to understand; I'm happy.

I had known about the CC Witness Plus for a while, but had put off getting one as I was using my cell-phone for radio and music playing.

The problem with using my cell was the constant freezing of apps or delays caused by the phone looking for signals while on the move.

The CC Witness is not only able to pull in very clear signals everywhere I go, but the added bonus of being able to record my favorite radio shows and play them back later is pretty cool.

The unit is lightweight, about the same size as my cell and has great sound capability. The controls are intuitive and setting it up for my preferences was very easy.

My only little complaint would be that while listening to the radio and then switching to the menu to change a setting, the radio cuts out and doesn't come back until you select a band. Oh well no biggie.

I haven't tried to record a meeting yet, but that will be coming up shortly; I will let you know how that works.

Roku 2 XS Streaming Player Bundle

This little gadget has saved me from the traps of contracts for my TV entertainment, I have all that I desire all in this little box. I love, love, love Roku! I also suggest Paperthin Leaf Indoor HDTV Antenna, and with Roku, you get a nice little package of entertainment!!! A nice alternative for TV entertainment.

Fast shipping, good product and the best part of the bundle is you have everything in hand to start plugging the system without have to worry about or run to a near by electronic store.

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It was very easy to set up; Menus are easy to follow and intuitive; great to have access to lots more content via streaming.

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Very easy to set up and use. User interface is straightforward. Great content, especially Amazon Instant videos. We don't always get HD quality over Wi-Fi, but resolution very good nonetheless. Overall, very pleased with the purchase.

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The device wasn't packed very well but arrived on time undamaged. It was easy to hook up and easy to link and use.

Panasonic DMP-BD10AK 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

• Blu-ray Player
• Advanced Pixel Processor
• HDMI 1080P upconvert for all DVD
• 7.1 Channel Audio, with Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital, DTS-HD, and DTS decoding (but not DTS-HD Master Audio Lossless)
• 297MHz/14-bit Video DAC

This player will start the movie from where you stopped it or even if you power it off unlike other players where if you press stop or power off will go back to the very beginning. Excellent picture and menu controls. Comes with 5 Blu-Ray Discs in the box and you also can mail a rebate form in for 5 more discs.

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I'm quite pleased with the Panasonic DMP-BD10AK. That said, if you're now in the market for a high-end Panasonic Blu-ray player, I suggest you wait for the just-announced Panasonic DMP-BD50. The BD10AK is discontinued and it's replacement seems to be the DMP-BD50. The DMP-BD30 looks nice on paper but it seems to be targeting a lower price point (ie. fewer features).

I went with the BD10AK because I needed the analog decoding built into the player as I have an older AVR that cannot decode the new higher definition audio formats. With the BD50 now announced, it is best to get that instead.

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I ordered a DMP-BD10AK, and Amazon's selling partner (not mentioned in description) shipped a DMP-BD10APPK. In an e-mail exchange, their partner has implied that it is the same unit and that "The manufacturer's box adds the PP to the SKU for internal inventorypurposes". In any case, after the first disk played locked up ten minutes in, I upgraded the firmware from v2.4 to v2.5 using Panasonic's download service. Note that the downloaded file is a PC ".exe" file, so Mac users might want to use a cross-platform helping application to decompress the firmware update prior to burning it to CD. No problems since the firmware upgrade. (By the way, the process was easy and painless.)

Performance: The picture is excellent, as is the sound. The quality varies according to input. For instance, I had hoped "Planet Earth" would display without the blurring motion artifacts that were seen on the cable broadcast, but no, the compression artifacts were still there; "Flags of Our Fathers" was crisp (albeit with lots of video gimmickry). DVD-processing is very good, and my one Superbit DVD, "Lawrence of Arabia" is even "gorgeous-er". The unit upconverts DVD content to 1080p quite well: you'll be saying "No lines! No lines!".

Audio seemed stunning, even though I'm using 5.1 right now and not 7.1. It SEEMS clearer with a better S/N ratio. No instruments, just my well-tuned ears.

Operability: (meh) I'd like the setup button more easily-available, and like reviewers in other media have noted, it's sort of a pain not being able to get a jump on disk load/eject from your chair. That button is on the player itself.

Overall: This player seems very, very good. It will show the best material spectacularly. And I can see all the blemishes, since I'm watching 1080p on a very large front-projected screen. There don't seem to be many blemishes, though.

Buy one.

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We decided not to wait for the HD wars to settle and jumped for BluRay. I figure that I can buy a player for each format for less than a combo player.

This Panasonic player seemed to be in the top-three for performance at a ressonable price. It is a new design. Since we were going with a Panasonic display (58" Plasma), I opted for the Panasonic player. This was a good decision. Panasonic has integrated the control between the DVD and the monitor to provide one-button simplicity. Press play, the TV powers up, the proper HDMI is selected, the movie starts. Simple.

More important than simplicity is the picture. We had just updated from a Samsung 42" LCD on Dish Satellite with an upconverting DVD player. We thought that was good. When we converted to Plasma and DirecTV, we got a much better picture along with many more HDTV channels. The picture went to beautiful.

I didn't think I could see an improvement over DirecTv. But with this player, the system is simply awesome. The picture is vivid and fast. The sound, processed by an Onkyo 805 7.1 Receiver is far better than sound from DirecTV.

The player came with about $150 worth of action videos. (Pirates, Fanatic 4, etc.) That was enought to get me to buy a few more. Mainly we use NetFlix, but I want to have some owned content to showoff the system.

Don't wait on high def DVDs jump it the technology is great.

I've been a die-hard Sony supporter, but after blindly buying the Sony BDP-S300, watching it take several minutes to boot up, and load a movie, lock-up several times, which requires that you shut it down, and go thru the painful process of re-booting, I decided it was time to check out the competition.

I did some research, got on the A/V forums, and the Panasonic DMP-BD10AK came out on top. It is by far the best player for the money. Boot-up, and loading a movie takes less than a minute, and so far it has yet to lock-up. The controls are not at sleek and smooth as the Sony, but they work nicely without a hitch.

Another perk at the time was the 5 free discs that come in the box, plus the 5 free by mail. One of the free discs in the box is Pirates of the Carribean, #2. I never had the opportunity to play this on the Sony, but I read that quite a few people had problems even getting this one to play on the it. The Panasonic plays it smoothly.

Anothe nice perk is being able to up-date the firmware. That is a definite must in my book. The process is relatively simple, and painless.

All in all, if anyone is looking for a somewhat affordable High Def player this is the one I recommend without reservation. I am very pleased with it's performance.

Sony HVR-Z5U HDV High Definition Handheld Camcorder

The z5u is a serious piece of equipment. I've had it for a couple of weeks now, and only until today I feel I know it well enough to write a decent review.

First off, the camera looks really sleek, feels solid and very well built. Its look isn't as metallic as the Z1, but the feel is very similar.

Of course, you can use it from day one with everything on auto, but if that's all you're ever gonna do, you're better off with something much less expensive, like those tiny HD cameras that are popping up everywhere.

Speaking of day 1, your first accesory is necessarily some kind of carrying bag or hard case. Sony has a backpack that's amazing, but costs more than 500 bucks. I got the Kata bag, which is perfect. I also got the large battery, and the cables that are not supplied with the camera (Firewire, HDMI, XLR extension). Also, I got SONY HD Master minidv tapes, as well as a 6pack of regular sony minidv tapes. After some preliminary tests, I must say the image on the HD Master tapes is noticeably better...

The main menu is easy to navigate, though it has enough levels you will get lost until you explore each a couple of times. One thing is, there are a lot of things on that menu, and the button and selecting wheel are really small... or perhaps my hands are too big? My main uses for this menu have been to select progressive or interlaced modes, and 60, 30 or 24 frames per second. Also, I've used it to assign all the assignable buttons under the handle, fine tune white balance temperature, set the handle zoom speed to its lowest setting (that way the handle zoom is my slow, controlled zoom, and the rear zoom is the fast one, very practical), and altering the gain setup (I left everything on 0, less grainy that way).

The range of the G lens is perfect, since it goes from a wide angle to a 20x zoom.

The 3 ND filters are great, though I've only really used the first one for an exterior shoot, which brought out the detail of a sunset brilliantly. The picture profiles are nice too, this is where you can make all sorts of color adjustments, including gamma, depth, wb shift, etc. Here I created a profile based on cinematone 2, only I connected it to a monitor and made some adjustments to my personal taste. These color profiles are assignable to easily accesible buttons, BTW.

Both the stereo and shotgun microphones are excellent, though I haven't used them extensively enough to offer a more complete evaluation.

I don't have the optional memory unit (MRC1K), but haven't found it absolutely essential. It would be practical, but I've had no problems capturing HD video via firewire on Adobe PremierePro CS3, running on a Mac. I might purchase it though, but only after a nice tripod, a lighting kit, and a DOF adapter kit.

Will post an update when this camera has endured more serious, long term usage, but initially it couldn't be better.

I love this camera. Tough, feature laden, reliable, and completely functional. It takes awhile to learn the the important features and I bet nobody knows all of them. One nit, however. It's heavy for its size. I finally surrendered to the fact and now use an aftermarket shoulder mount. Be sure to buy the obscenely priced HVR-MRC1 memory unit accessory.

I like the memory unit for two reasons. First, it's a back up to the tape. Second, it's faster to dump the data from a CF card to a computer than doing from tape.

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I've owned the Z5U for about 4 years now. It's a great piece of equipment. Out of the box you can get GREAT video with it. The detail is fantastic! You will be amazed with your shots. It is a pro-level camcorder, so if you're coming from a consumer-based camcorder, like a HV20/30/40 VX2000 or something similar, you will notice right away how much more substantial and robust this thing is. It's larger (not too much larger than a PD150), heavier and has more buttons and dials. The menu choices are much greater and can be daunting, I would seriously recommend Doug Jensen's "Mastering the Sony HVR-Z7U" training DVD [by Vortex Media] as these two camcorders are nearly identical. That DVD will cut your learning curve by 80%. It did for me, which made the investment in the DVD worthwhile. I go back and watch it every once in a while as a refresher.

Back to the camcorder, the first thing I noticed, coming from a VX2000 and HV30 is that it has as good or better low light performace than the venerable Sony VX/PDxxx cameras. That's saying a lot. It's also better in low light than the HV30/40 series in that it can withstand more gain w/o becoming grainy. Good ergonomics put the buttons right where you need them and preset buttons allow you to set your own favorite presets. The other thing I noticed right away is how it feels like a quality piece of equipment. The quality of materials and plastics to me feel great and contribute to a solid feel. Sony wisely provides what I think is the BEST hand strap in the industry. Really nicely padded. Putting my hand in that strap is like sitting in the compfy seat of a Cadillac.

I really like some of the other well-thought out touches: For example, the lens shade has barn doors that open/close with a slider, so you don't need a lens cap anymore (one of the best solutions I've ever seen). The eye cup is a quality piece of neo-prene like rubber that is the best I've seen/used. Sony provides an updated (better) mic than the PD150/170 that sounds pretty good, actually. Another good touch is that the battery is recessed into a *deep* cavity on the back of the camera so it doesn't protrude in an awkward way. Maybe the BEST feature this camcorder has is the lens itself wich has a wide field of view and very good zoom. Most users will no longer need a wide angle lense like in the old days.

Out of the box the video is quite good, but you may want to explore using "pro-color" settings for a warmer look. The steady shot has been vastly improved over the previous PD/VX camcorders (and a lot better than the Canon HVxx camcorders). Because it's a heavier camera, it helps prevent shaky looking videos. It's got two "shoe" mounts which is great for accessories. The LCD was pretty good when this camcorder was first realeased, and it's 'ok' now, but with the advent of smartphone display technology, it's too bad Sony didn't go back and improve the LCD with a larger/brighter unit. That would make this a more perfect camcorder. There is a lot of talk on other reviews about the crappy menu dial, and IS mind boggling how something like this could have slipped through Sony's quality control considering how well executed the rest of the camcorder is. Nothing's perfect I guess, but the good side is most users won't hardly need to use the menu dial. Pair this with a BOWER SS10 neoprene neck strap and you've got a nice, compfy rig.

Comparing to newer camcorders, the newer Canon XA10 (AVCHD) camcorder rivals or even exceeds this unit in low light and quality, in a much smaller package with a better LCD. But that's AVCHD, and if you want a solid, HDV camcorder in this format, this is a great product. Sony hit a home run with this one.

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This camcorder had great high-def quality. It was also easy to use. If you are looking for one I would recommend that you should buy this camera. Overall this camcorder was great for weddings and other events.

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I have several of the older Z1s that have received lots of run time. The HVR-Z5U fixes many of the issues we have had with the Z1s. Wider angle, longer lens, Zebra level entry on the monitor, much better management of the mic controls and other subtle improvements. And of course the slow motion feature. So over all we could have probably bought a different machine but this is one proven producer. Well worth the money.

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Hauppauge 1183 WinTV HVR-1600 Internal PCI Dual TV Tuner/Video Recorder Media Center Kit

The installation instructions were abbreviated...a little too abbreviated. The drivers didn't install properly and I was afraid I had made a mistakein buying this card. I downloaded the newest software from the website, and in the process figured out what the problem was with the original install. Once I had that done I started to receive some channels, but not all. It was through a trial error process I was able to figure out that in order to receive all TV channels and FM radio I needed an antenna connected to all three inputs. It's not an easy trick because of the limited space between the connectors. It also makes the back of the PC a little messy. The instructions for the operation software were also quite brief and very vague, and that took some time to work through as well

But I eventually figured everything out and I'm glad I did. Using a P4 2.99 ghz and XP Pro SP 3 and an HP 2207h HD monitor the picture is as clear as it is on my large HDTV. I am very impressed. I've used the record function and it works very well, as does the screen shot feature. Now that it's up and working I think my wife could sit down and watch TV on it with little or no instruction from me, so that learning curve is very short.

Don't expect to stick this card in and be up and running in 5 minutes. And don't buy this card if you are a computer or a/v neophyte you'll be disappointed. But if you know your way around software installs and enjoy fiddling around with something like this and the satisfaction of getting it working it is does a VERY good job.

This was my first MythTV install, Mythbuntu 8.10, in a leftover P4 system. The HVR-1600 worked like a champ out of the box. The only thing I needed was an external channel changing script to control the IR Blaster for changing channels on my cable box.

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I bought this tuner to put in my Windows 7 computer. I have basic analog cable and this tuner is perfect for it. The install was easy, windows media center found the tuner right away. The tuner discovered all my cable channels. Now my computer is my DVR. It is amazing how flawless this works. It is a must have.

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I'm usin git right now. I'll tell you this; it took me around 15 minutes total to install and configure it with Windows Media Center 7. The picture quality is excellent, it picks up about all the channels our expensive HDTV can get (using the same type of antenna), and it just generally works great. Um, this works well with Windows 7 if you're wondering. I downloaded the latest driver from hauppauge's site (about 1.1 MB) and voila. Here're my system specs:

Core i7 920 @ 2.66 GHz

WD 640 GB Caviar Black

HD Radeon 4870X2

6 GB of tripple channel DDR3

Intel DX58SO Motherboard

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I am very pleased with the HVR-1600 Media Center Kit. I initially had trouble with the analog picture quality (Very grainy w/ bad color) and almost returned the card but decided to do a little checking around on google. I eventually found the answer to my problem. I had used the included Composite to S-Video adapter to feed the composite signal from my satellite box into the S-video port on the card and when setting up the card in media center I chose S-Video as the source (because I was feeding the composite signal into the S-Video port via the adapter). It turns out this was a mistake and the cause of my woes. I went back into media center and set up composite as the source and now the analog picture is excellent. I wonder how many others complaining of poor analog picture quality with this card have made the same mistake.

CiragoTV Platinum CMC3200 Network HD Multimedia Center with a 2 TB HD and Built-In Card Reader for

I have had this for about 4 months now and believe I have found any flaws that may exist with it. But first the good. It plays anything, I have over 2 TB in movies with files of every type. I have not ran across anything that won't play. I pull from a NAS and over a domain with authentication and it works fine in this environment. Have used wireless (n) and wired with no lag in video. I have used a USB drive to play movies from and copy movies from to my NAS all very effortlessly. I use the 2TB drive on it to backup other files from my network as I have the NAS for a file sharing resource I have no need for the space onboard. I have tried to record TV and it works good enough but really it's not a feature I am interested in so it does not get used much. The design of the box looks good but also has an out of the way appearance to it. I use it every day to watch movies on or play music through and I am happy with it. I have used this to replace out an Archos 5 with a docking station and going from that to this has been a very good experience as the Archos was VERY temperamental and it would lock up just by looking at it and it finally died via HD that was proprietary to the device. I have not had this Caraigo lock up, not even once as some of you may know that it can really spoil a nice movie night and is very important to me. I also have not used this for any web based features like youtube.com I see the advantage of this being on the TV but the remote would make surfing the web agonizing. It does not generate too much heat or noise though you can hear the HD spin up from time to time.

Now the bad. As mentioned earlier the remote, were to begin. It's a very bad design I have gotten use to it but it really is no good. It needs a keyboard for a device like this to make all the tasks quicker like typing in file names and logging into resources on a secure domain. It's one of those remotes that you have to aim directly at the device or it will not work. The buttons are poorly designed and need to be rethought. The play, pause, stop buttons (which you use the most) are very small and insignificant looking. Almost like there a feature that will not be used that much. It takes some time to get use to this. The caraigo displays the current directory in a narrow view so you can't see the whole file name. You have no way to go straight to a file by searching or selecting a letter to take you to that section. FFwd and Rewind are only in steps of 32x so it can take some time to get to the middle of a movie if you want. If you are interested in recording TV it will not record in HiDef as it only has RCA in to the Caraigo.

I have two of these and am happy with them. I would buy them again if given the chance, though I would like to give the WD version a go as well to see how it compares. I would recommend these to my less technical friends as I feel it is easy enough to use and versatile enough to fit most needs. If they would fix the remote I would give this a 5 star.

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2.5" LCD Wide Angle HD 720P Car DVR Camera Video Recorder With Motion Detection/Cycling Recording

• The design of ultra-small body, to facilitate easy video recording and monitoring on various occasion. AVI format of video recording, to facilitate PC to plug and place directly and to easily upload video website.
• Free to rotate 180 degree lens. Synchronous display of time recording video.
• For car use, start up engine automatic record function. Support charge and record simultaneously.
• High-speed dynamic video recording, instant response to light environment.
• Support 32GB memory cards at maximum. Portable installation, it is convenient for installation and use in different occasions.

This DVR worked for me, it records with a nice wide angle, better in day light, but still with a reasonable result at night.

The casing is a bit cheap, during first installation, I lost a screw or a hinge, but I fixed that with a screw from my tool box.

After this small hick up, the machine is recording nicely day in day out.

Audiovox D1710 7-Inch Slim Line Portable DVD Player

• Ultra-slim portable DVD player with 7-inch TFT active-matrix LCD screen; unit measures 7.75 x 1.125 x 6 inches (W x H x D)
• Anti-glare, anti-reflective screen coating maintains viewability even in bright areas
• Plays DVD-Video (NTSC/PAL), SVCD, VCD, CD and MP3 CD, and Kodak Picture CD; includes AV cabling and slim remote
• Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel passthrough to compatible audio/video receiver
• Includes 3-hour lithium-ion battery pack; offers built-in stereo speakers with Q-Surround simulated surround sound

I bought two Audiovox D1710 DVD playersone for each of my daughters for Christmas. Both arrived defectiveone kept shutting itself off after only about 30 minutes of viewing time (this happened whether using the battery or the 110 volt power supply). The other failed to recognize about half of the DVDs we tried to viewit kept giving us an error message which stated "Wrong Disk" (these were brand new DVDsnot old or scratched ones). Additionally both units had poor picture quality and had very distorted "pixelated" video on some new DVDs. The troubleshooting section of the manual was useless. The "Customer Service" portion of Audiovox's website was even more worthlessthere was no troubleshooting information even remotely related to the problems we were having. The Audiovox Customer Service Phone Number was even less helpfulyou cannot talk to a real person, and after a lengthy menu we were instructed to leave our name and number only to hear that "the mailbox is full"we never were able to leave any information. I finally returned both units for a refund and spent a little more to purchase two Sony DVDs. The Sonys work flawlessly, have beautiful pictures and much better sound. My advice is not to waste your money and your time on the Audiovox D1710spend the extra money to get something that works well.

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My wife and I had been thinking about buying a DVD player for home use. We do some traveling year-round and go camping in the summer, so it seemed like a good idea to get a portable DVD player, but we thought they were very expensive. We chose the D1710 for its portability, appearance, features and mostly its price range. At $200. or less, we weren't expecting much. Smaller 4.5"-screen players were only $30. to $50. cheaper.

The D1710 reads DVD's, CD-ROM's, MP3's, JPEG's, TIFF's, and possibly other types of disks/files. It has audio/video and coaxial outputs so you can watch movies on your regular TV, and it comes with a credit card-sized remote control, which works well. The screen is as clear as other players we saw on display costing twice as much, and the sound is typical for such small players with little speakers; it sounds good, but tiny. When using headphones or plugging into a TV or home stereo system the sound is crystal clear and as powerful as a home-based player.

So far we've watched about 10 or 12 movies on the D1710, and although it's tracking is decent, it's not flawless. We haven't played a single DVD yet that didn't momentarily skip or hang at least once or twice during the movie. An occasional black screen happens, but each time we waited and the movie picks right back up within maybe 5 to 15 seconds. To be fair, most of the movies we watched have been on cheap DVD's, and judging from reviews of more expensive units this seems to be quite common among portables.

The battery, though we've only used it once so far just to test it, lasted exactly 2.5 hours on the first charge. I understand the life increases after a handful of charges.

Lastly, we couldn't get JPEG's to show, and the manual is all but useless. I looked up the Audiovox website, which wasn't much more help. You have to create a user-account and then send off some text (no email address for help!), and someone will get back to you within 2 business days. They did, and directed me to call a toll-free number. It turns out that in order for the D1710 to read JPEG's, you need to record them onto disk using CD burning software as opposed to using the "drag and drop" CD feature in Windows XP. After that, it works fine.

Overall, this is a great player for $200.

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I have been dying to get a portable DVD player for years, then I received a 1710 for Christmas. It's been absolutely wonderful! When I first sat down to "try it out", I was upset because it seemed like the DVD player wasn't working. I admit, the quick help guide wasn't much help. Then I tried the AV IN/AV OUT button and discovered it was set in the incorrect position. What a simple fix! Since then, I have enjoyed watching an array of movies from mini DVD-Rs (1.4GB), full size DVD-Rs (4.6GB), old DVDs and new DVDs, and even rentals. Everything has played flawlessly. The sound quality is so good that it can be heard clearly from a different room. The picture quality is great in any of the 3 available format ratios. The function keys are spaced well for easy use and are easy to read. From a distance of approximately 10 feet, I could see the picture clearly, plus the remote control worked from that distance too. I've used my 1710 almost daily since I got it for Christmas and have had no problems yet. If my opinion changes, I will get back online to give an update. I can't attest to the customer service given by Audiovox because I haven't had to use them. :-)

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I purchased my Dvd player for a big trip the next day. I tested it out at home with the wall plug that was provided in the package. It worked great so i charged up the battery that night. Used the car adaptor the next day. The DVD cut off 15 min into it, and would not come back up. The player started to smoke so i returned it back and exchanged for another one (same brand). This one did the same thing except i used the battery instead of the adaptor and it started to smoke again. Even at the store it was smoking when the employee checked it out. I would not buy another one! Not worth it!

WILL NEED AN EXTENDED WARRANTY IF YOU BUY THIS PRODUCT! Worked fine on our first trip next use was outside of the 90 day warranty and it started freezing up about 30 minutes into a movie. It's next little trick was saying "wrong disc" or "no disc" with any and all DVDs or CDs I placed in it. So I have spent $200 for a trip worth of watching movies. NOT A GOOD DEAL! If anyone wants to buy it for the battery I'm selling :-)

Olympus Digital Voice Recorder

Works great, ultra clear recordings, plenty of space, and files easily load onto Windows XP (have not tried any Apple PC's with it). Only issue it the switch from conference and dictation is sometimes easily switched, and you will later realize you recorded in the incorrect format.

I GOT THIS VOICE RECORDER. I AM NOT SURE IF MINE IS PRE OPENED, BECAUSE I FOUND OUT THAT THE BATTERY IS MISSING(WHICH SHOULDN'T),EVEN THOUGH THE RECORDER IS STILL, OBVIOUSLY, BRAND NEW.

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Kenwood DVF-3250-S DVD Player with MP3/WMA/DIVX/and JPEG

• Accepts DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, VCD and WMA and MP3 discs
• Programmable CD memory - up to 32 tracks
• 12-bit, 54 MHz video D/A converter
• Plays DivX & JPEG photo CDs
• Coax digital audio

I purchased this dvd-player almost a year ago so i can watch all the dvd's i rip into XviD. This player has a lot of options and is so compact and light that it's nearly flawless. Granted, the only flaw that i have come across is that it does not support AC3; but that is only needed if i really want to impress the neighbors and friends w/ the clarity, it's only a superficial requirement. Highly recommend this box for it's MANY options.

Crimestopper UBB-4Q Quad Screen Dvr Monitor

• Digital Video Recording System With Quad Screen Processor
• Provides Around-The-Clock Video Surveillance Recording Of Vehicle
• Allows 4 Different Cameras To Record Simultaneously
• 4 Different Trigger Zones: Ignition, Reverse, Dome Light (Security) & Turn Signal
• Recordings Can Be Viewed On A Quad Monitor In Vehicle Or On Home Computer

I bought this thinking it was the perfect solution for my daily driver. I soon discovered that it is flaky and no longer depend on it. It could be my unit but I waited too long to install it and it is no longer in warranty. I suggest that you steer clear of this product.

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Canon ZR300 MiniDV Camcorder w/22x Optical Zoom (High Metal)

After reading other reviews and about the features I decided to purchase one of these, rather than a Sony brand. The big selling point is the widescreen recording. The night mode shooting on this model could use some improvement. Even with the built in light on, in darkness you can see no further than 10 feet away. For me this was the biggest downside. The only advantage is you still have full color. Auto focus doesn't work so well in low light either. The viewer gets jerky in night mode as well. Personally I prefer the green nightvision Sony camera's have, just put it in black & white mode and it's fine. Connecting this camera to a PC couldn't be easier. You just need to buy a IEEE 1394 cable (sold seperaltly) for about $30. If you don't have any special software you can use Windows Movie Maker to capture the video. I see people complaining about the batter life. Battery lasts about 50-80 minutes depending on what your doing, which seems pretty reasonable to me. Again, if you want super-long batter life, go with a Sony. Camera is small, takes sharp still photos, even for such low res (1024x768). Has some rather advanced features, like setting the shutter speed, auto/manual focus, image stabilization, etc. The image stabilization isn't so great, but effective. So overall, if widescreen is a must, and shooting in pitch blackness is not, this is a great camera. Otherwise check out a Sony, they have great image stabilizers, can shoot in the pitch blackness and long battery life, but no true widescreen or other handy features Canon's do.

overall i think this camera is very nice. I like the wide lens attatchment becaus i skate and like to get close and have everything in the shot. i also like this product because it has high quality picture and awsome sound. some people said after filming, during the playback you could hear the sound of the motor. those people are idiots. the only reason for that is becasue they were filming videos on to the memory card witch has a purpose of still images. when you are recording video on to a mini dv tape, that noise will not show up at all. the battery life could be better but you can just pick up an extra at walmart for 20 bucks which isnt bad. the night vision isnt that high quality, i mean it works fine and all its just that it is a light and i would prefer an infared system such as in the sony hc21 for about the same price. but i think this camera is a better choice. my only other complaint is that the whole purpose i bought this product was to get my skate footy on to my computer to make a video but this camera only comes with a usb cable that is only good for putting pictures on to your computer. the usb isnt fast enough for transfering video content so you need to go out and buy a 1EEE 1394 firewire cable for around 25 bucks and if your computer dosent have a firewire cable than you will either have to buy a firewire hub or a pci card for your computer. the pci card goes for about 30 bucks and the hub is around 50. so to sum it all up the canon zr300 is most deffinatly worth the buy pretty much everything that the manufactuer description is accurate and its is a very high quality camera. if you buy it you will not be dissapointed. don't listen to the people who say it records the sound of the motor because it dosent unless you are recording with the memory card witch is just plain stupid. also dont listent to people who say it doesnt work good indoors because they are also wrong.

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I got this camcorder only a few weeks ago, but I am in love! It works great and is everything it is sold as. The low Lux is great. The batteries (extra batteries) are very expensive, but are light and quick to charge. Image quality is sharp/crisp. It is just a fun little camera.

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I saw a lot of reviews about the background audio noise. I thought people may be too picky, and then bought one myself. How stupid I am. Now I have to return it immediately and pay the shipping fee. I don't want to punish my ears when watching the playback.

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I was upgrading from the ZR65MC. I was hoping the battery would be the same so I didn't have to purchase any more. I like to have a few on hand so that I'm not forced to stay connected to the wall when I am recording. Unfortunately, the battery on this model is different. The product is very user-friendly. I mainly use it for home use: ballet, gymnastics, outdoor play, life, etc. It works well for our family. Sound and picture quality are good. The digital images are what you should expect with low megapixel images. Overall, I'm satisfied with my purchase.

Sylvania NB530SLX Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)

• Full 1080p HD playback
• Deep Color processing
• Bonus View Profile 1.1 for picture-in-picture bonus features on compatible discs
• Compatible with BD Video, BD-RE (Single/Dual), BD-R (Single/Dual), DVD Video, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, Audio CD, DTS-CD, and HD JPEG Formats
• Compatible with Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital Lossless, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS HD, and Linear PCM Audio Formats

This player does all the important stuff very well. I was able to have it entirely set up in about 5 minutes. The picture quality is great, and I'm especially pleased with the upconversion of my DVD library. It does not have a remarkable number of outputs, but it has the HDMI and Coax outs that I need. The downsides are the cheap-feeling remote, the time it takes initially to load Blu Ray disks, and the fact that higher-end players have higher-end features.

Pros:

-cheap (especially since I got it free with the Amazon deal!)

-has the necessary features (mute HDMI audio, picture settings)

-great picture.

-Really easy to set up and use.

Cons:

-The remote is rather sad and pathetic.

-Long load times of Blu Ray disks (does not appy to regular DVD)

-Lack of high-end features.

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I am writing this review because I see that nobody has addressed problems with firmware yet. I have and I am really frustrated. Firstly the player has no ethernet ports so downloading firmware is something that has to be done manually. This player comes with an SD slot which I figured would work for downloading firmware updates but it apparently doesn't even do that. I downloaded the updates to my SD card and the player recognized the updates; only the "loading software" screen stayed on the screen for about a half hour to an hour before the player just shut off from sitting idle too long. Having read a few forums, I concluded that I would probably have to go out and get discs to burn the software onto so just to make my player play newer blu-rays, I have to spend more money. My point is that other blu-ray players have the feature of simply plugging in an ethernet port or connecting wirelessly to the internet; which means firmware happens without doing a thing. The player will be fine for awhile but you'll be pretty irritated when you come across a movie it won't play and need to get the firmware.

The movies it does play it does just fine. I guess I just don't like having to go way out my way just to make a product do what it is supposed to.

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We've had this for a month and are real happy with it. Consumer Reports rated it (actually the precursor model) as a best buy and they seem to have got it right. It is every bit the equal, or superior, to the Sony Blu-Ray that we paid 3 times as much for and crapped out just after the warranty was over. The picture quality is execellent and it is simple to set up and use.

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I made the choice for this player since it was cheap and I wanted to a bluray player to supplement my Xbox 360. The Sylvania gets the job done. I may not get Bluray LIVE, but I have yet to find the technology developed enough to make it worth my while to invest in. The picture quality is great for the price and lets be honest-if you're considering this player you probably have an equally entry-level type HDTV as well.

Get this if you're an HD enthusiast on a budget OR a disgruntled 360 owner. Bare bones Bluray at its best!

I have never heard of Sylvania prior to buying this Blu-Ray Player (and I would have not purchased it had it not come free with the purchase of a Samsung LCD tv), but after setting this baby up, I could not give it anything less than 5 stars!

The player itself is easy as macaroni to set up (trust me, you will not need the manual for directions!) and after about 2 minutes, your home theater is good to go!

I played Planet Earth via Blu Ray as well as 2001: Space Odyssey; these movies looked flawless in 1080p. This player is very easy to operate and the upconversion of regular DVD's look amazing as well! To the untrained eye, one may not be able to tell the difference, but if you are a visual techie of any kind, the Blu-Ray v.s. DVD PQ debate is as much a thing of the past as the actual DVD's themselves: Blu-Ray definitely is the way to go! Do your HDTV a big favor and buddy it up with a reliable Blu-ray Player. The Sylvania NB 530 SLX will not disappoint!

As a few other reviews here have mentioned, the load times can sometimes take a while (I've had waits of up to 20 seconds before the player itself powers up and functions). When I hit the power button, the Sylvania NB530SLX will greet me with a creepy "Hello" text on the front panel, but during those 10-20 seconds that it is powering up, the player simply will not respond to any button you press. Even the OPEN/CLOSE button will not even affect its booting. To some, this may be a huge flaw because my understanding is that a PS3 or another expensive BD player can all read Blu-ray movies with speed and ease. But to aspiring Shaolin monks with the patience and tolerance of a banana slug such as myself, 20-30 seconds is something I can easily handle!

Take your pick with the many offerings available online, but the Sylvania is a great buy for the relatively inexpensive price of $128.60 (price as of 9/15)!

Sylvania DVL150G DVD Player

• Progressive scan video output
• 2x and 4x zoom
• Time search and high speed search
• Multi angle, skip, pause and resume
• Component, S-Video, and composite video out

$19.77 for a DVD player? You've got to be kidding. I took the gamble and am very glad I did. Incredibly easy to hook up just match the colors on the cables to the ports on the TV! Sylvania even supplied the batteries for the remote control!!!!

Okay here's why 4 stars and not 5. The instruction manual is complicated and virtually useless. A vital piece of info is missing you have to turn your TV to the proper channel for viewing a DVD. The problem is that they don't tell you which one! So, a call to the ever-open 800-customer service line at Sylvania solved the problem.

Bottom line, if you want a simple DVD player with progressive scan to watch a movie, this is your best bet.

To Amazon: Your shipping service was amazingly quick! It arrived the day after I ordered it.

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If you do not have HD, get this one for the time being. It is very good if it size does not bother you.

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Well the product is not bad. I needed a dvd player for my dorm room, since I already have a tv of the same make I decided to get the make's dvd player. Easy to install did not need to read the instructions (I never do when setting up electronics) but when I glanced through, they were straight forward. Godd buy for its price and the images are very sharp plus, it is very light weight.

All in all a great product.

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I honestly have to say that I have been shocked with the quality of this DVD player. After connecting the component output and enabling progressive scan, the image displayed on my 32" LCD television couldn't be much better (for 480p). We have had this DVD player now for three months and it has never hiccuped once; even with some of the disks that skip or won't play at all on another "higher quality" deck that I also own. The menus are easy to navigate and seem to be intuitive.

This is a solid purchase for anyone wanting a DVD player with component output on a serious budget.

Heck ... this is a solid purchase for anyone.

As usual, shipping wasn't a problem and our order showed up earlier than expected.

Thanks Amazon!

I initially bought this DVD player for the home-office. Not much TV is watched in the home-office but I thought it would be nice to have a DVD player since I already had a TV set in there. When I went looking for a DVD player online, this one caught my eye because it was cheap. Why put an expensive DVD player in a room that it will not be used but a few times a year? When I received it, I was very surprised it was Progressive scan. My DVD player in the bedroom wasn't progressive scan but the TV was capable of it so I thought why not, I'll put this in the bedroom then move the one that was in the bedroom to the office. It works fabulously. I can't believe how well it works, really. The remote looks like it's cheap but the actually DVD player looks very nice and is a very slim design. I have a universal remote and this DVD player works with it so I don't really need to use the cheap remote that came with it. It really looks like a 200 dollar high end DVD player. No-one would ever guess it's a cheap 20 dollar DVD player (until they see the original remote control). Also, it plays DVD-Rs as well as DVD+Rs very well. I haven't tried RWs but it says it will play them too. This is a great value. The picture is crisp and clear with very little noise. Don't waste your money for more expensive DVD players particularly if it's going into a low use area of your home. This is all you need.

Coby MP315-4G USB-Stick Micro MP3 Player with LCD Display and FM Radio - 4GB Black

• 4GB Flash Memory Micro MP3 Player with high contrast LCD display, Integrated FM radio
• Plays MP3 and WMA digital music files, ID3 tag support for song information display.
• Mobile data storage function, convenient USB adapter included
• USB 2.0 Hi-speed for fast transfers.
• One AAA battery provides 8 hours of play time

I give this unit 4 stars, would have been 5 if it wasn't for the cheap battery compartment door and very tiny buttons that need more pressure than I would have expected to work which is most likely going to be the points of failure for most users.

I bought this player to replace my now dead 1 gig ILO player of 4 yrs (RIP).

Overall impression is nice small sleek unit about the size of two thumb drives side by side, a very compact unit. It is a rather basic unit, not much in bells and whistles but that was I was looking for.

Unit does have FM but I have not used it (although I really didn't need FM since it is used inside a metal building which leaves radio reception less than optimal at best).

Unit has several different repeat modes, a power save (On by default, need to turn this off if you want the player to play all day), Folder search.

As some folks have noted, this unit plays files in the order they are copied to the drive, this includes folders so it ignores alphabetical order.

The work around might be to place multiple folders on the drive, name them in numerical order. I have not tried this as of yet since I simply copied my existing folders from my PC to the player which are alphabetical using the album name.

Then name your songs adding in a NUMBER sequence (IE name the file something like MYMUSIC01, 02, 03, ect) This is how I was able to get my ILO to play each song of an album to play in track order rather than alphabetical order.

Also noted by someone else, you do not need to install the Coby Media Manager software.

It does not automatically attempt to install (Coby Media Manager) unless YOU choose to do so.

Folks, READ THE MANUAL, this info IS IN THE MANUAL.

When you plug the player in to the PC it will pop up an action box which at the top of the box is Install Coby Media Manager. Just ignore that and choose to Open folders like a thumb drive, now you can simply drag and drop your MP3 files directly to the player.

If you chose to remove the preinstalled Coby Manager installation software I would suggest copying it into a folder to your PC HD just in case. The reason for this is Windows Media player 10 and above may detect your player as a media player instead of a removable drive.

This player has some quirks, when powering on, it will splash Coby on the screen, then to menu which allows you to choose the action (play, FM, setup, ect), then pause 10 seconds or so then open the play folder. But it gets crazier from there, instead of automatically playing, it WAITS in Stop mode until you press the play button not once but twice.

Additional Bonus quirk, this one I like! This unit can be powered via USB port and play! To use this quirk, you do not need to plug into a PC USB port but instead use a USB CHARGER. I have even done this with no battery installed and the unit powered up and plays when I plugged it into a USB charger. Good bye to batteries that fail during the least opportune time.

Now for the good points.

LOW COST! This unit is a steal for being under $30!

Lots of storage space (4 gig can hold nearly 40 hrs of MP3s at 128 bit encoding)

Runs from a single AAA battery (read, no expensive or non replaceable Li-Ion batts which eventually require scrapping the player). Additional bonus, this player sips on batteries, I use Duracell 1000mahr NiMH rechargeable batteries with my old player it would play about 18 hrs per charge, the Coby is easily going 30 hrs per charge! Coby was only rating it as 8 hrs of play time but this was most likely based on drycells.

Acts like a thumb drive (no special software or specific version of Windows Media player required).

Can power up and play without a battery via USB or a USB charger.

Cons.

Battery cover is extremely cheap, rather difficult to get it closed since it is so flimsy. I would think this item is going to not last long if you give it to a kid or don't pay attention to how you put the door on.

Buttons are very tiny, unless you have very small fingers, it is easy to press the wrong button or press two buttons at the same time.

Buttons need pressed a bit harder than one would expect to be needed, hopefully they won't break off.

Bass equalizer setting is a extremely muddy and really isn't a usable setting.

Display has some very tiny fonts, may not be a good choice if you require bifocals.

When using NiMH rechargeable batteries, the battery indicator never reads more than one bar??? The battery indicator appears to be designed for use with dry cells (read as non rechargables). Coby needs to add a menu item to allow adjustments for rechargeable or non rechargeable batteries like some digital cameras do.

Final notes.. If you are looking for a cool high tech, slick Ipod with playlists then this is not for you! An Ipod it is not.

If you are looking for a low cost no frills player with lots of space (4Gig) and don't mind a few short comings then this one is for you.

Buy Coby MP315-4G USB-Stick Micro MP3 Player with LCD Display and FM Radio - 4GB Black Now

I really enjoy the small Coby MP3 players. Using simple MSC file transfer just like onto a flash drive, I can organize audio files any way I like. I listen to mostly audio books, audio drama, and podcasts, so play lists are not needed.

The basic operating software is the same on the MP315 as on the MP305 model, but with the MP315 model I get about twice the life out of a battery than with the MP305. I get about 8+ hours of play time from a rechargeable AAA battery.

Read Best Reviews of Coby MP315-4G USB-Stick Micro MP3 Player with LCD Display and FM Radio - 4GB Black Here

The device automatically installs their own "Music Manager".

It is their idea of "iTunes". (Which is exactly what I don't want).

Do yourself a favor and cancel the install. Delete the files off the device.

The previous version from Coby, the MP-305 acted just like a memory stick.

You could use any music manager to sync files, or just drag and drop.

The FM radio on the MP-305 is a little better. It picked up 22 stations, instead of the 17 stations.

Music sounds just a good as my MP-305.

The price is pretty good. A 4GB thumb runs about $5, so an extra $20 you get a radio and an MP3 player.

Want Coby MP315-4G USB-Stick Micro MP3 Player with LCD Display and FM Radio - 4GB Black Discount?

I'm a big fan of MP3 players powered by AAA cells. Using rechargeable NiMH cells, the ongoing operating expense is virtually nil and the player can be instantly 'recharged' by swapping cells. Should the rechargeable cells ever wear out, you don't have to throw away the whole player.

Until they stopped making them, Creative Labs MuVo was the best of this variety. I'm very happy that Coby now makes a suitably sleek, capacious, and inexpensive replacement. The sound from this unit is excellent.

I did not use the provided file management system...I don't know if it's any good or not. As long as one remembers to double click the buttons after a moment of inactivity, the controls are very responsive. I adapted to their layout and operation quickly. I don't think they are any harder to press than the equivalent Creative buttons, and their layout is logical and intuitive, with the track advance button first and the pause/on/off next to it.

Using a 1000mAH NiMH cell, battery life is a lot longer than the advertised eight hours more than twice as long, I'd say.

Edit: It has been more than a month since my purchase. At this point I'd award six stars if it were possible. This MP3 player has turned out to be more robust and reliable than I had expected. Also, in practical terms, it seems to go all week on one charge of the AAA NiMH cell. I don't know what they've done to reduce power consumption, but it is very effective. One other thing to mention is that while on Pause, one can scroll through the song list extremely rapidly. It doesn't take that much effort or time to find any song, anywhere. Finally, a number of people have commented on how nice it looks. It really does have great lines and is surprisingly compact for an AAA-powered device. FWIW, I just bought three more, for gifts.

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The initial one of these I got was defective and had consistent buzzing noise. The replacement unit works well and is one of the few that you can get that takes a AAA battery rather than a rechargeable. The buttons take a bit of getting used to. As other reviewers note, they are small. You also need to press them twice at times to get them to work. I think this is actually a feature to prevent accidental changes.