2 PCS Wall Mount Shelf for Direct Tv Box, DVD Player, DVR, Cable Box, Blu-ray Player, X-Box

I like the shelves a lot. It's strong, made out of metal and glass. The only gripes are the screws for the wall is hard to mount. One of the shelves is welded uneven.

Thanks for the great product. Easy to assemble. Only took me about 30min to put together. Works great for the price .

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Toshiba RD-XS34 DVD Recorder with 160-GB Hard Drive

• DVD recorder and Personal Video Recorder with 160 GB hard drive; measures 17 x 2.5 x 13.25 inches (W x H x D)
• Interactive Program Guide provides an easy to read listing of the television programs available to view or record
• Records to DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW; plays CD-R/RW and MP3/WMA digital audio formats
• One set of component (Y,Pr,Pb), 1 S-Video, and 1 RCA video outputs; Firewire input for connecting to video camcorders
• High-speed dubbing from the hard drive to disc without any deterioration of digital signal

This recorder offers some of the best features for a DVD recorder. Of special interest is the ability to tailor the bit rate of the recording in very small increments from 2Mb/sec to 8Mb/sec. It has the ability to record LPCM audio. It also allows you to record in Dolby Digital in 2 different bit rates. Overall, this unit offer incredible flexibility for the user. This was a huge selling point for me. It has a very easy interface (which becomes intuitive after a couple of uses) to create menus for DVDs. It's well designed and attractive.

Now for the bad news. A total showstopper: The TV Guide menu system never worked. The manual tells you to go through the set up process, then turn the unit off for 24 hours, avoiding unplugging any connections to the unit. I live in Austin, TX, and get my signals over the air. Reception is excellent in my area. The unit displayed all the available channels. They all came in clearly. But after 24 hours, I turned on the unit to find no program data. I must have done something wrong, so I went through the entire process again, ensuring that I waited 24 hours (this time, just to be safe, I waited 30 hours). I turned on the unit, and again, no data. I tried one more time. No luck. I called Toshiba. They said, "well, if the data doesn't show up, we can't help you".

I would have kept the unit if I could have recorded off the air by setting up schedules manually. The unit REQUIRES the TV Guide program guide. It is the only way that the unit can record TV shows.

Second huge issue for me, regardless of the state of the unit (on/off), the fan in the back of the unit stays on ALL THE TIME. And it's not so quiet. Forget about putting this unit in a small room, because you'll hear it...ALL THE TIME.

Given these two issue, back in the box it went. And here's the really disappointing point...I did my research. This unit has the best features for the price. It has a hefty 160 GB hard drive. It was the perfect unit....almost.

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I purchased the RD-XS32 for my parents last December and was impressed with its capabilities and functionality. So I thought I'd buy the updated version, the RD-XS34 for myself. Huge mistake as many reviewers have already stated.

If you are thinking of purchasing this product, do your homework beforehand:

1) Call your cable/satellite provider and ask if they have a deal with TV Guide to allow their signal to come through their system.

If they don't you'll be purchasing a $500 boat anchor because you cannot set up timer recordings without the TV Guide system. A huge oversight on the part of Toshiba. A huge oversight on the part of TV Guide for not informing Toshiba about this little detail. Toshiba will be getting a lot of these units returned because they didn't inform their customers about TV Guide's limited support.

2) Read other reviews about the reliability of the TV Guide system. This is not the only other unit that has TV Guide and many people have reported some really annoying bugs, such as losing entire program guides and channel preferences, plus recording memory.

3) If your cable company has support for TV Guide and you're willing to risk having some headaches, this unit may be for you.

4) On the other hand, regardless of the TV Guide system, as other reviewers have reported, the fan on this thing is loud and stays on all the time! Turn the unit off, and the fan still runs!

The older RD-XS32 was almost a rock star. Why Toshiba completely got rid of the manual recording features of that unit on the RD-XS34 is beyond my comprehension. Why there is no way to turn off the TV Guide features on the XS34 is also mind boggling, especially when dealing with the very new, not well-tested TV Guide system.

I returned the unit and will not purchase a unit with TV Guide unless they work out the bugs on it and provide a way to download their program information without having to use cable, satellite or telephone. I think TIVO decided to eventually go the LAN route. Maybe TV Guide will in the future.

I will also be hesitant to buy a Toshiba product in the future and you should be too. For the time being, JVC has a unit without TV Guide and you can still pick up the Pioneer DVR-520H without TV Guide. They lack the coolness factor of the on-screen program guide a la TIVO or a working TV Guide, but having used the older Pioneer DVR-510H, I know the system works well without hassle.

My one star rating should be zero but there is no option for that. If the unit had the option of manual timer recording, the star rating might be closer to a four based on my experiences with the XS32, but since I couldn't test any of that, the unit was a $500 boat anchor.

Update: One month after I called Toshiba techincal support (returning the product a week after my call), TV Guide support called to help. Wow! How responsive TV Guide is. If you have a problem with TV Guide, they'll get back to you in a month! No, really, avoid this product.

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Please don't put down this recorder when you either are technologically challenged or cannot read the manual. Several people mentioned there is no way to record TV shows unless you use the TV guide, and does not work with satellite. IN THE MANUAL, it explicitly explains how to record shows manually. You can set the device to record at a certain time just like a VCR, at whatever quality you want and whatever medium (DVD or HDD). To record from your satellite, set your satellite receiver to tune to hte appropriate channel, and go into the TV Guide feature. Then, go to schedule, then hit menu twice, and it will bring you to the manual record option. Or READ THE MANUAL! Just wanted to let everyone know.

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I think this product is unfairly rated very low by some frustrated users. Actually I could have been one of those who gave only one star, because in the begining, it did not seem to work at all. Now I have owned this machine for over a month now, and I really love it.

I did a fairly complete research before purchase, and among the comparable products from SONY, TOSHIBA, PIONEER and PANASONIC, I chose this one, and I believe I made the right choice. The negative reviews are mostly targeted on the EPG systems. But if you have problems with EPG on XS34, then possibly you will have more headaches with all other manufactures with EPG. Contradictary to what people said, it is quite easy to just use the Time Recording (like you do on VCR) with this unit. It is true that it is not an easy job to manually re-set the clock (and I think Toshiba should consider improve on this), but you do not have to manually re-set. Leave it there for 24 hours and it can pick up the right time through over-the-air broadcast (which is exactly the case I had). I guess it could only be a problem if you live in an area where you do no have any over-the-air broadcasting, in that case, you need to contact the Toshiba support for firmware upgrade.

The DVD recorder is fairly new thing in our life, and fairly complicated compared with VCRs. Most users who complain are the ones who just purchased the product and before they adapted to the new way of operating the machine. Once you become familiar with the unit, you will feel a lot happier and the more you use it, the more you like it. Each product has its strength and weekness, but comparing with the cost and overall quality (picture quality, ease of use, edit function etc), XS34 is a very solid product in my opinion.

This is in response to the problems S. Rys and Dan J. Grams said they were having. (Unfortunately, I don't have their e-mails to answer them directly. Perhaps the good people at Amazon can forward these answers to them.) S. Rys said the it was slow to change channels. It does take a few seconds if you just punch in the channel and wait, but if you punch in the channel and press the "Enter" button, it changes immediately. Now for the much more difficult one. This one wasn't in the instruction manual, I found this quite by accident. Dan J. Grams said he didn't like the fact that you couldn't program a show manually. Well, I found out how to do it. While you have the TV Guide page on, press the "Menu" button on the remote. The "Episode Options" window will appear on the left side of your screen. Move up to and select "Go To Service Bar." You should be at the top of your screen now. Move over to the right until "Schedule" is highlighted and press the "Menu" button on the remote again. The "Schedule Options" window appears on the left side of your screen. Move down until "New Manual Recording" is highlighted and press the "Enter" button. You're there, enter the recording info and enjoy! The only shortfall about doing it this way is it won't name the recording you made the way it does when you use the TV Guide.

TEAC CD-RW890 CD Recorder with Remote (Black)

• CD-R and CD-RW Recording
• FL Display with Level Meter
• Center-mounted Drive Mechanism
• Program, Repeat, Shuffle Play
• Remote Control

I've only used this unit for a brief period of time--so I can't assess its longevity. However, I could tell right away that it has some really disappointing limitations in its basic functions.

The most obvious limitation is the lack of an input level volume knob. If you're accustomed to doing manual fade-outs (or fade-ins), then you have to use buttons (which, of course, only adjust the volume in increments that don't transition quite as smooth). Oh--and you can only adjust the ANALOG input level. Yup--the Digital Optical input level is FIXED. (Yuck.)

If you're recording something and you want to separate tracks during a continuous piece of music, it creates a short DROP-OUT (!) in sound when you hit the button to create a new track number. Wha??? That's right. The manual even mentions this--I guess so you don't think it's broken. I kinda wish I realized this issue before I bought the thing.

The input level Display is kinda choppy...

and I think it may also be a bit innaccurate about hitting above 0 dB.

Overall, this thing probably should not be used for anything really critical like burning master discs in a home studio. It seems to basically be useful for (1) making first-generation digital copies of existing CDs or (2) making compilation discs from various CDs using Analog input.

It's not that bad--but it's not that good either.

It would be OK if it only cost $100-$130 ... Unfortunately, it sells for about double that price

and it may be the last component of its type available on the market these days.

So if you're desperate for a new stand-alone CD recorder-and you can't spend for "professional" gear--

this may be your only option. Just be prepared to feel underwhelmed and probably disappointed.

Oh--I almost forgot--the Pause button isn't as sensitive as it should be...

so if you need to end a track at a PRECISE moment-then you better hit that button really hard!!

_____________________________________________________

*** UPDATE April 4, 2012 ***

I have an update for this really REALLY disappointing item...

When you make a direct digital copy of an entire CD via Optical input,

the recorder tends to slightly lag when creating track ID numbers.

Of course, this means: when you play each burned track individually,

approximately the first decisecond of each song will be missing

(because it was left at the end of the previous track).

In the end, this item has been entirely unacceptable...

and I'll probably only ever use it as a overpriced CD player.

(Currently, it's been banished to the closet, out of my sight)

I don't even have the audacity to try and sell this junk for

$40.00 non-returnable to some unsuspecting sucker on eBay.

In the end, I suggest that you stay away from this item.

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TEAC CD-RW890 CD Recorder with Remote (Black)

Although the teac cd-rw890 is simple to use and has an easy single disc loading feature with remote control to boot, it suffers from some aspects that may be important to the consumer who is articulate with what they record. The biggest lacking feature would be the fact that there isn't any modification of recording such as the EQ effects in some models. The second would be the lack of labeling a disc and or each song title or track title, since there isn't any remote feature or onboard feature for this. Although these functions are not available, this unit records full on with volume control and sync transfer and settings for track induction that may be wanted for silence inbetween tracks. For the price, it is still a viable recording deck.

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Like another reviewer, I bought this unit to replace my Sony 500C which has apparently been discontinuted. This is a good product overall except that the recording levels have to be set to the maximum in order to get satisfactory results. As much as I tried, I could not bring the sound levels past the halfway mark on the meter recording. With most tape or cd recorders, the levels will occasionally stray into the "hot" area when hitting a musical peak. There's not a chance of this happening based on my experience with this machine. Perhaps it's a defect in my particular unit. Any any case, Teac doesn't mention any phone-in technical support in the instruction manual. I wonder if anyone else has encountered the same problem with this model.

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I Was looking for a unit to record church services easily. This particular piece was affordable, and proved to be intuitive and easy to use, as well as having several unmentioned optional features that could be turned on or off as needed. Set up of discs was simple and the recordings came out well. Brought this church into the 21 century.

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This is a great cd recorder. It is easy to hook -up and is user friendly. I am using it to record all my records on to cd's. If you have alot of viynl, this is the way to go. Nice unit.

Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD1 5.1MP MPEG-4 High Definition Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

I've owned several video cameras in my time. Including one other from Sanyo. They were, of course, all standard definition.

I've only had four days of playing with this, but I can say that the quality of the videos and stills are excellent. I had seen some sample videos posted from this camera, but they mostly violated general rules of good photos/video. They were shooting towards the sun; they were using bad lighting, etc. The results I'm getting from this are awesome with simple common sense logic of shooting with the sun behind me and getting close and tight on the subject (usually my kid).

Mathematically, there is 3 times the number of pixels in a 720p video versus standard definitions 640x480 resolution. Definition is defined as a combination of the resolution and contrast in the image. So if you shoot in 720p mode and have reasonably good lighting to create contrast, you get AMAZING results. I have also shot indoors in lower than stellar lighting and get very good results.

As far as functionality, the camera fits brilliantly in the palm of my hand and is easily controlled with just my thumb. Two buttons allow me to decide if I want to shoot video or still images (stills are 5.1 MP). The middle toggle controls the zoom. If you want to change whether you are shooting HD or SD, simply press one button and you get visual and audio confirmation of which mode you are in. The pop-up flash is sufficiently bright enough for still images (however, unfortunately is not a constant light for video works only as a flash for stills).

I've often wondered if the video of my son's first years, shot in standard definition, will be considered as poor of quality as the 8mm film that was shot of me when I was a kid. Think about it, it will always be 4:3 square ratio creating those big black bands on the left and right when played on today's widescreen HD TVs. If you have a newborn now, I'd shoot in the format of the TV's today (720p 16:9 widescreen).

The camera comes with more than you will probably need or use. It has a remote control (great for video playback). It has component connections to connect directly to HDTV sets. It has a USB cable, S/AV cable, semi-hard case, strap, and a few other things. No SD card though, but those have gotten so inexpensive anyway.

Also, it only weighs 1/2 a pound. Compare that to the video camera I used to toss in the diaper bag or my wife's purse that weighed 5 pounds.

You'll need at least a 1GB card to shoot high-definition. I'm using a 2GB card. Their are 4GB cards out there, but wait until the brand names release 4GB. Most of the 4GB out there today were on the market 6 months prior to the FAT32 standard (required to go above 2GB) was ratified. Therefore, I'm not about to trust that they will work. 2GB is also plenty of time for the moment.

I highly recommend using the Xacti HD1. I'm having a blast with it. And I can't describe the faces people make when you tell them that this awesome looking camera is shooting "High Def"!!!

Imagine a camera you can ALWAYS carry in your pocket with the following features:

HD 30fps 720p

SD 60fps!! (yeah, you heard it... 60 fps for fast action slo mo)

record to SD (no more hideous tape!!)

great still performance

excellent controls

decent lens

less than $1000

Well, the Sanyo HD1 hits on all factors. The quality is simply amazing folks. It is FAR FAR better on HD and SD than my Canon miniDV. There simply is no comparison in the detail. I find uncompressed miniDV picture noisy, grainy and blurry in comparison.

The still quality is also quite decent, on par with my Sony DSC's.

What are the downsides?

image stabilization degrades the movie image, and thus I keep it turned off. This is the single biggest nit with this unit. However, I will HAPPILY trade shakiness in the image for the vast improvement in movie detail. You can remedy the shakiness with a mono/tripod, but you can't remedy movie detail if it's not there to begin with!

still image camera processor isn't as intelligent as the best still camera. So as you hit low light or very bright conditions, the pics may suffer in comparison with a true dedicated DSC solution. However, the quality is very good and for a casual carryound camera, IMO, quite adequate.

Conclusion: the best camera you can buy is the camera you have with you. I own a Canon EOS Rebel XT. I never have it with me when I need it. I would buy a true high-end HD cam, but also I would never have that bulky monster with me when I need it.

The HD1 can stay in your pocket every day of your vacation or weekend, in your briefcase or computer case 24x7, and it is always there, ready to go. Now mix in high quality HD. And the lack of performance in the image stabilization is totally offset by the advantage that you are now equipped to sieze on the photo or movie op any time it may come up.

Most important after the HD movie capture feature is the recording to SD card. This is absolutely a requirement going forward. Having messed around with miniDV tapes, rewinding, forwarding, breaking up movies into clips (something Windows MovieMaker 2 can NOT do by itself) is such a time consuming PAIN. SD based camcorders will automatically record all movie clips as individual files on the SD card, making viewing and editing a painless pleasure, especially when coming from the miniDV world.

One last thing: you can't take out the SD card and plug it into a PC directly. The SD card is not formatted for Windows. You can read the SD just like any hard disk, but to do so, you have to plug in the camera (with the SD card in the camera) into your USB port on the PC, and then tell the camera to act as a card reader... then you will see a drive on My Computers and you can suck off all the video and pics using any Windows utility whatsoever.

Sanyo, congratulations on taking a risk and making it pay off. I love this product.

We can certainly look forward to much advances in this area, with low power MPEG4 encoding chips arriving that will encode up to 20Mbps or more and with much better image stabilization. The HD1 encodes at around 9Mbps. I confirmed this by examining the playback stream in Windows. So if you want to wait another year or two, you will be well rewarded for your patience with great advances in the category of hand held micro HD camcorders. Great time to be a photo/video buff.

edit: one other suggestion. There websites you can visit for more info on the best settings for your HD1. Unlike other reviewers here, I have had fantastic results on indoor video. Some of these sites feature video example downloads so you can see for yourself the quality and the extent of the image stabilization problem. I myself don't feel the need to have a tripod, though I will put on a quick attach monopod mount for the times when I want that extra improvement in image stability.

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The main reason I purchased this camera is because I was looking for a good "all in one" camera/camcorder solution. I chose the Sanyo because it's affordable (compared to any other HD camcorder), I wanted to shoot in High-Def Widescreen, and the still camera offered a decent amount of mega pixels (5) as well as a nice optical zoom (10x).

Size I travel all the time so the camera's small size is a huge bonus for me. It's small enough to put in a pocket, though it feels a little fragile, so you might have second thoughts about putting an $800 camera unprotected in your pockets or purse.

Cost My old digital camera was 3.1 mega pixels and had a 5x optical zoom; my old camcorder was analog, so it was a pain to transfer video. I wanted to replace both and this was by far the most "bang for the buck" I could find.

Video Quality If you're outside and it's nice and bright, the picture looks really nice though you'll see quite a bit of compression artifacts when watching your video on a large display. If it's dark, you're going to have to work hard to get good results. Even after tweaking the settings to adjust for low light, I could best describe the results as "slightly disappointing." Footage shot in the dark is very grainy and doesn't look HD at all. I read the reviews where people said that the camera performed poorly in low light, but I assumed that these people were shooting in dark rooms with the only light being a lamp 15 feet away. That's not the case. When people say it doesn't do well in low light, they mean "It doesn't do well anywhere indoors that's light less than your standard office building." The auto focus is pretty slow, especially in low light, where it often doesn't work at all. Oh yeah, you can shoot Standard Def video with this as well, but if you're looking to do that, there's no point in this camera you can find much better standard def cameras for much cheaper. There is an image stabilization option, but even with it on, the video was pretty shaky. You can use a tri-pod of course, but if you got the camera due to its small size, you're probably not interested in lugging around more equipment.

Recording Length and Battery Life With a 2Gig memory card you only get 28 minutes of HD HQ shooting, which is 9MB per second. A second HD option gives you over 40 minutes, but it's only 6MB per second. The 9MD footage looks pretty compressed as it is, so you're probably not going to want to mess with anything less. The batter lasts about an hour perhaps a little longer.

Sound The camera uses two small microphones located on the back of the OLED display to record in stereo, and the results are solid, if unspectacular. I haven't noticed the zoom motor noise in my recordings, but I honestly wasn't looking for it. There's a handy wind-noise reduction option that works pretty well.

Display The OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display looks great, and even manages to remain usable in the bright sun. This is a good thing since there's no other viewfinder.

Still Pictures I haven't really taken a whole lot of still pictures, but I've been pretty happy with the results. The camera claims to take 10megapixels stills, but they are basically upconverted from 5MP. There is a flash on the camera that can only be used for stills it doesn't work as a constant light source when filming. The best thing about the stills is that you can shoot them while filming, which is something I never thought about before I bought the camera, but it's a nice feature.

Editing The software that comes with the camera is pretty bare-bones, so you're going to want to invest in a better (more expensive) solution. I am using Vegas Movie Studio 6, which supports HD editing. If you have any interest in sharing your videos, you'll need to use a program like this to get your videos down to a reasonable size.

Other Random Thoughts:

The manual is lousy and does a poor job of explaining features.

The on screen menu navigation is difficult.

You can't see your changes to video settings in real time on the preview display; you have to record something to see what you did.

In addition to the camera, you get a nice case, a docking station, some video cables, and a remote control.

A 2GB stick is the smallest you're going to want to get. Even a 2 gig card isn't big enough, but I've heard enough people say the 4GB cards currently on the market aren't reliable enough to purchase, that I'd recommend waiting until the new crop of 4GB cards is released and affordable.

Transferring video to your PC is done via a USB cable that plugs into the dock, or into an adapter which then plugs into the camera. The little adapter is tiny and there's a 90% chance of me losing it in the next 6 months. Why couldn't the USB and power cable plug right into the bottom of the camera?

Final Thoughts:

I've got mixed feelings on the Sanyo Xacti CPC-HD1. On one hand, it's an affordable solution for someone that only wants to carry one camera around with them. On the other hand, the picture quality is pretty disappointing, particularly the low light performance. I'm experiencing a little bit of "buyer's remorse" but I find comfort in knowing that even with its many flaws, it's probably the best I can do for $800 ($900 if you include the price of a memory card).

If you're looking to see the camera in action, this page has some stills and short video clips you can check out:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/hd1_samples.html

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I don't do reviews...but I was disappointed enough that I thought it might be helpful to hear my experience.

I saw this beauty and thought "this has it all!" If you're looking for either a still digital camera or video unit, this one will probably catch your eye. I originally liked the concept so much I bought another for my wife...then we tried to use it.

#1) Unless you're using a tripod...the stills are awful, even with the image stabilization feature. Nearly every photo on a sun-lit patio was blurred despite resting an arm on a table to hold the camera steady. This happened to everyone that we passed the camera. I could see one person being "shakey" and blurring a shot, but not everyone.

#2) The camera would mysteriously lock-up and display "System Error"...this happened on my wife's camera the first day we attempted to use it

#3) In low-light or an average lit room, it was impossible to get the camera to focus. I'm not talking about midnight in the woods low-light...I'm talking about in our living room with 6 overhead floods and the ceiling fan spotlights.

#4) The camera gets quirky if you attempt to do anything too quickly. Like switch from record to play, take a picture immediately while recording, or switching over to the voice recorder mode from recording mode.

As you can see, we had several issues (one of which appeared to be specific to a single camera..."system error"). I was sold based upon the hand-held size, the 10x optical zoom, 5 Megapixel, and hi-def. I never got as far as viewing the hi-def video, but other reviewers say its not really hi-def, so I believe them. This camera is a great concept, but I think its not quite there. Almost seems like they released it to market a bit early without doing more testing by average camera users.

Hope this helps your buying decision. I bought 2, and returned both within two weeks.

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I was one of the people who saw this camera at CES in January and was so impressed that I preordered it immediately after the show. I received it two months ago, and have quickly realized that the potential was way better than the actual ability of the unit.

My gripes:

1) Bought the 4GB card from PQ1 (used in Steve's Digicam review) video didn't work for more than 2 seconds. Had to figure out on my own that the card needed to be formatted inside the camera to make it work. Fortunately, that one is now solved.

2) HD quality is a joke. I'm in the audio/video industry and if you think the camera video will look like your HD cable or satellite picture, you will be EXTREMELY disapointed. Video is acceptable (at best) in brightly lit environments, and is nearly unusable indoors in almost any condition. Photo quality is better, but still not as good as most basic digital still cameras.

3) The autofocus is terribly slow, so if you are recording something and moving around at all with the camera (even when doing a very slow pan), the image is blurry. So, now you really can only use the camera outside on a bright day with a tripod. Not quite what I was expecting.

4) On top of all that, my camera BROKE 2 months in. The LCD screen will no longer display anything in record mode. The LCD is fine playback works and the menus work, but I can't record anything. It's like the lens cover is on all the time, but trust me, it's not (I've checked numerous times to make sure I'm not crazy). Less than 2 months in and I have to send it to "Advanced Audio Video" for service, and they can't really give me an estimate of how long it will take to repair.

I bought this camera because I love HD and my wife is having our first kid in the next six weeks. Now I'll be lucky to have a working camera for the birth, and if I do the quality will be worse than a good standard def model I could have bought for much cheaper. Mine may be going on eBay soon...

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Degen DE1123 DSP AM/FM/SW Pocket Radio with 1GB MP3 Player & Recorder

I purchased this with the primary goal of time recording AM radio stations, specifically Coast To Coast AM with George Noory which airs locally from 1am to 5am. I thought this device would allow me to program in a 1am alarm time at which the device would come on and record the preset station. I'm still not sure if this is possible or not, but my inability to figure it out is making me want to return it. The problem is, the manual. This is not a simple radio to operate if you're looking to take it out of the box and instinctively know how to operate it. I'm usually good at that, but not with this radio. The functions of the many buttons and switches are NOT obvious. I dove into the manual, only to find the usual Chenglish that one finds in lower grade Chinese products. I can't understand why they pour so much effort into product development and scrimp on hiring a native English speaking person to write their manuals for English speaking markets. The manual claims, in its own way, that upon alarm, the radio will resume what it was doing when you last turned it off. So I set up the station I wanted to record, started recording it, set the alarm for 1am, and turned the radio off. Seemed simple enough. Oh, and you have to plug the earphone in because otherwise it would run the batteries down if the speaker was on because in order for you to have a useful volume for playback, the volume needs to be high during recording. The other odd thing is there's no way to program the alarm timer to turn the recording off. I checked the radio at 7am and it was still on, playing the station I wanted, but it didn't record anything. I'm still working on that but returning the unit is looking more attractive. Also, as another reviewer mentioned, the only tag for recordings is a folder and file number, nothing descriptive, so you have to remember what each recording is by its numeric label.

Some of the negative reviews stated the user couldn't even tune in stations. I think some of this may be due to the fact that you have to manually tell it you live in the US so that it tunes in AM channels in 10kHz increments, not the default Chinese 9kHz increments. Because of this, when I tried to tune to AM1180 the closest I could get was AM1178. Even though 1180 was a clear channel station, it was not clear as a bell, as it should have been due to the 2kHz offset. However, after I read the manual some more (ugh) and made the necessary correction, the reception was perfect, even inside my workplace where my old radio couldn't even pull in any AM stations. There's a simlar correction for FM stations which would block the lower end of the band if not adjusted properly.

So it is a handy, compact reliable receiver, but it has issues one should consider carefully before purchase.

This Degen is a nice compact (shirt pocket sized) little radio. I was in the market for a FM pocket sized radio with good quality and in my search I found this one, it was not much more price wise and had Short Wave (Which is also an interest of mine) MW (AM) a voice recorder and MP3 capabilities. Its the perfect size I was looking for its only slightly bigger the an I-POD classic, fits easily in a shirt pocket, it was some weight to it, so its not flimsily. Sound in the speaker is pretty good, its 50 mm and it produces a descent sound. It DX's in FM station really well, does good with middle wave (AM) (I live in a location with bad reception-one reason I got this radio is I have an Sirius XM radio and I transmit it around the house and property and I can listen to it on FM it works perfectly) and the short wave is to be expected in that it DX's in the big boomers, your probably not going to DX in far away lower powered stations, but its not bad. Its pretty easy to use and there's lots of per sets on all three bands. The MP3 recorder is easy to use, you just plug it into your computer and drag music into its folder. Battery life (rechargeable) is very good, You can get 10-15 hours, or more. It takes 7 hours to fully charge and more if you use the computer like 9-10 hours. Its not a bad radio at all.

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Very good AM and FM performance for its size and price range. SW performance is adequate but subject to interference from strong/local AM radio stations. Very sensitive with just its short whip antenna. Digital recording and playback features are just basic. Does not support scheduled, unattended digital recording. Speaker audio ok for size, audio generally fine with headphones. Some distortion at low levels in AM band. Computer connection not well documented in manual; worked properly with Windows XP; compatibility with other computer OS's not known. No numeric keypad or rotary tuning knob. Seems solid and well made. Its compact size is a key feature. If size is less important, there are other better performing radios in this price class, although none with digital recording/playback features.

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Typically, you'd expect a multifunction device to be a `jack of all trades, master of none', and this one is no exception-it is not outstanding as a receiver, MP3 player or digital recorder-but it is nice to have all these functions combined in one shirt-pocket sized device. The receiver functions about as well as my other portables on AM, FM and shortwave; as with most shortwave receivers clipping a roll-up wire or active antenna to the whip helps with weak signals. Tuning on shortwave is slightly cumbersome since you first have to select the band and then scan up or down in 5 khz steps, although you can store and jump to your favorite frequencies. I can't tell if the digital signal processing helps or hurts, it makes some funny noises when dealing with weak signals. Sound is surprisingly ok considering the speaker size; the included ear buds are junk but it sounds good when paired with a decent headset. Battery life is fair with the included rechargeables; you might want to invest in higher-capacity ones. The supplied wall charger puts out a lot of interference that wipes out my other radios, but you can also charge it off a computer USB port which avoids this problem. As an MP3 player it's pretty basic, 1GB capacity and stores songs as numbered files in numbered folders, you have to remember what's what. As a digital recorder you can record off the air (requires volume to be turned up to full!) or make direct voice recordings (presumably the speaker doubles as a microphone). Build quality appears to be pretty good although the slide switch band/function selector feels somewhat flimsy. This has become my new `travel radio' due to its small size and multifunctionality.

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I was looking for a replacement for my wife's "Radio your way" radio recorder by Pogo products. They don't seem to be in business anymore, to bad. She liked to tape certain radio shows. From what she tells me this unit isn't quite as good. It's a bit bulkier and you can't program it to record at a certain time like the Pogo radio. You have to be there and push record at the time you want. She also says the buttons are real sensitive and when you fast forward you can't hear the commercials zip by so you have to guess where to stop it. Otherwise she likes it. It holds more music etc. and the rechargable batteries are nice. The poorly worded instructions don't help either. Reads like a bad Chinese to English translation. Have only been using it a week hopefully it will grow on her.

Philips CDR770BK CD Recorder

• CD-R (write once) and CD-RW (rewritable) compatible
• CD Text and text-entry capable
• Coaxial and optical digital inputs
• Recording-balance adjustment
• 99-track programming

I made my purchase based on the reviews posted here, and I wound up with the first truly bad electronics purchase I've made in 40 years. I hate this machine. OK, as others have noticed, the sound quality is fine. (I should hope so, we're copying digitally!)

The instruction manual is virtually useless. The main control,. the jog shuttle, is a real pain to use. Many functions are only on the remote, so should you misplace it, you're up a creek.

The auto track setting is TOO long. It's the rare CD that has the required 1.7 second spaces between for the AutoTrack function to work, so you often wind up with CDs with songs clumped in threes and fours, or even no separated tracks at all. Resetting to manual is not only awkward and confusing (and not helped by the instructions), this means you wind up having to babysit your recordings and putting the track separations in.

Worst of all, if you don't finalize your CD at the time of recording and take it out of the machine, or if you simply forget, or put it off to later, you can't go back and do it. The machine keeps telling you there is no disc. There is nothing in the instructions that forewarns you of this, nor is there any direction of any way to override this. This means wasted time and wasted money on blank CDs that you can't do anything with, not to mention SERIOUS aggravation if you've just spent seventy four minutes clicking spaces in for records you've recorded.

My advice? Shop around. Get the facts before you make a four hundred dollar investment. You've been forewarned about a couple of major flaws!

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I've had two CD burners in my lifetime, the first was a Pioneer, and frankly, out of the two, I like this one a lot better. My band and I made a demo CD, and we sold it to one of our friends. I came to his apartment one day, and he had it on. Our songs were so clear, it was unbelieveable. I asked if he had a new stereo, and he answered it was the same one (he is notorious for picking out bad equipment). It must be the burner, I thought. Today, I can mix and burn my own CDs, and take them to clubs, and the audio will just be unbelievable. The mixes are easy to stop, unlike some stereos, and you can easily turn up one instrument and turn down another. A good item, with wonderful sound.

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I had only one problem with this Philips CD Recorder that I wish that they could put a track increment button on the CD Recorder because if you lose the remote control you can't change tracks manually on analog recordings. I thought CD Recording was very hard to do, but Philips made a very easy to use CD Recorder. I highly recommend this CD Recorder if you are beginning to do CD Recording.

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Somehow the 2.5 seconds delay for track switching was the decision of some Exec. that never recorded a tune, songs clumped together is what you get if you don't sit thru the recording session with the remote in hand for 74 min. The "disk error" in middle of the recording with no apparent reason is another pain, when this happens you can trash the disk because it's useless (can't finalize or continue recording). I've played around with it enough so if one way of recording doesn't work I try another till I get it to do what I want, but nevertheless it's frustrating at times. Really overpriced and not easy to use for any first timer. But once the bugs are known I still got some excellent sounding CD's done from all sources. LP's, Old Cassettes, etc... Nobody mentioned in these reviews but some of the CD's tend to skip for no apparent reason, never in the same place. Has anyone else had this problem?

RFinal note do your Research or wait for the 5th or 6th Generation Burners.

i got the phillips recorder 3 days ago.i was thrilled.one day after having it the sound when i played a disc was all distorted..awful sounding.after turning it off for a minutes it went away.then i recorded a song in fast speed..after playing the disc i noticed the sound on the recorded cd was all distorted on the last track..so i wasted 74 minutes on junk.then today i returned it ......came home plugged it in and the tray on the right side will not open,no matter what i do..i called the philips 800 help line they told me to return it...AGAIN!!!!!!!!if this doesnt make you decide not to waste your money i dont know what will.

HP KS523AA USB TV Tuner

This tuner has proven its value for me as a college student. The tuner allows you to connect a coaxial cable directly from the jack (supplied in most college dorms) to the tuner, allowing you to transform your laptop into a tv. Making this a good solution for not owning a tv. This was easy to install. Using the antenna (not cable) the tuner was able to recieve 9 local channels including abc, nbc, cbs, and fox. It is also useful for recording shows directly to the computers hard drive. I have also used it to connect my xbox 360 to the laptop(through s-video). Through quickplay the graphics weren't amazing, but lag was bearable (as long as the playback feature was disabled)...Definitely worth considering if you have access to cable, but no tv.

If you're using Vista as an OS, skip the rest and BUY this ONE!!! I have an HP laptop and this installed and integrated effortlessly. I struggled with another manufacturer's version of this device and absolutely could not get the driver installed. I returned that one and purchased this. I highly recommend this tuner!

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for win7/vista machines, using the ms "windows media center" makes operation with this TV tuner easy. don't be misled by the quick setup guide, which points to hp MediaSmart or hp quickPlay.

happy with operation with windows media center!

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I debated long and hard about this product due to a of a few negative reviews by computer novices at Amazon. My fears were unfounded.

I'm running Vista SP2 on an HP 1.8mHz dual core laptop bought for under $500, (2 GB memory). Using Vista's included Media Center I get crystal clear HD quality, a great FREE channel guide that shows programs 2 weeks ahead, and the ability to record over the air TV just like the cable companys DVR that I'm replacing.

The remote is solid and useful and works well. Set up was easy and quick out of the box. If you use the Windows Media Center Guide, you can add sub channels.

The included antenna was just a little weak for my area (12 miles from stations) so I purchased an indoor multi-directonal table top antenna for over the air recording for about $20. However, the great thing with HDTV is that once you get a channel through a better antenna, you get it in absolute clarity.

Buy it. You'll get more than your money's worth.

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I bought this a couple of months ago. I use it to watch live TV and record. All off the antenna. This is fabulous. It was really easy to setup..had it working in minutes. the antenna works great too better than the one I have for my HDTV (have not tried yet but i think i can plug this one in). I love having my laptop work as a DVR also.

Veho Muvi Pro Micro DV Camcorder with 4 GB Micro SD

I bought two of these as replacements for the similar unit I've had for about 18 months that has broken. One of the ones I bought would never sync up with my computer, and was returned at no cost to me to Amazon. The other one works fine, and has a better resolution than my original unit. I am a Police officer, and use them to capture video and audio on traffic stops, as well as anytime I have need of recording statements or actions. The audio on them is better than the in car camera I have.

I have also used one clipped to a hat band at sporting events to record video. It works well.

Veho VCC003MUVIPRO Muvi Pro Micro DV Camcorder with 4 GB Micro SD

I have to say I'm very impressed with this! I previously used a large Hi8 tape cam but it's very obtrusive. I use this 99% of the time I ride my bike as it helps me review and improve my riding technique. With this cam being so small and barely visible, I can leave it mounted when I park my bike. With the optional clip, it pops right in and out and It slips right in my pocket. I can even clip it to my belt while walking and no one ever notice. Sweet!

The PRO model is true 30fps. 4Gb is sufficient because it records for 2 hours and only uses half the memory. Add a 8Gb mini SD for under $30.

The only negative is how long it takes to upload your clips to a computer.

Something this small with this much quality you can't beat!

I removed the previous video and replaced it with two different views.

The first was with the cam mounted on the tank and the second half I was able to mount it inside of my helmet. I thought it came out pretty good and my feelings remain the same about the versatility of this little camera. And it would really be nice to have the option to disable the time stamp!

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Like most people, I bought this because it was small. It mount's to my vehicle's windshield easily and does not obstruct my view tucked up under my rear-view mirror. It seems well built, and easy to use. The included memory card provides a good amount of recording time, but it is very slow to transfer the videos to a computer through the internal USB, only about 1MB/s. You should get an SD adapter and use a card reader.

The main downside to this is the battery. It advertises a recording time of about 3 hours, but I struggle to get even one hour record time out of it. It can only fill the card if you stop to charge it between shooting, or if you run it on USB power. A $5 USB 12V to USB adapter works nicely for me, with a thin USB cable.

I found the included clip is nice, but it's not entirely useful. If you want to expand your mounting options, check out the RAM mount system. The RAM-B-238-VEN1U allows this to mount with a "B" size ball. Then you can stick it to almost anything depending on your base.

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On the plus side, this camera looks well constructed. There are two switches, one for power and the other to activate the sound activation feature. There is also a little button on top to start recording manually.

The problem I experienced was unbearable background noise with every recording. I contacted Veho technical support and at their request sent them a sample. They said my recorder *was* defective and that I should return/exchange it. The attached video highlights the noise problem with both the original camera *and* the one Amazon sent as a replacement.

According to the manufacturer, some amount of background noise is expected. Let me provide their explanation, directly from their FAQ:

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Problem: There seems to be a lot of sound interference (buzzing) on my recordings, even in a quiet room. Why is this?

Resolution: The level of noise that you are experiencing with the camera is normal. Due to the sound activation function on the Muvi Pro the microphone is extremely sensitive therefore it will always pick up noise even in a quiet room.

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Me, I think it's nonsense. What noise, exactly, would a microphone pick of from a quiet room: Ghosts?

Another aside, mostly for people who already own this recorder is about the date/time stamp. It is permanent and cannot be remove (which goes back to it being permanent). It's also impossible to set unless you know how and nearly impossible to find out how. Here's how... Create a file named time.txt in the top level of the camera's memory. That would be alongside the folder named DCIM. You write in that file the date and time in the following format: 'YYYY.MM.DD HH:MM:SS' Leave off the quotes, don't put a "return" at the end, and the only space is between the two digits for the day (DD) and the two digits for the hour (HH). Turn the camera off and back on. If you did everything right the file will be gone and the time will be set.

BTW, I feel that honest, effective reviews, accompanied by detailed videos, can take the place of first-hand experiences that are often lacking in online shopping. I've always appreciated the help I've received from other reviewers and try to return the favor as best as I can. Please let me know if found this review helpful and the video at least entertaining. If there was anything you thought was lacking or unclear leave a comment and I'll do what I can to fix it.

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I bought this camera for recording on-board video from my race car, and I'm not disappointed. After a half-season of racing, the Veho Muvi Pro is still going strong after being pelted with mud lap after lap. The video quality is very impressive for a camera of this price and size. Video wise, the only drawback seems to be that it struggles in low light. Usually this is not a problem for my purposes, as track lighting usually provides sufficient light, but a couple of times this year I have had grainy footage due to poor lighting and mounting location. When used around the house, sound can sometimes be a bit muffled, but when racing, the camera does an excellent job of capturing the sound of my engine, with little to no wind noise. Others have mentioned the video skipping just a bit, I've had a bit of this with the memory card shipped with it, but it's usually minor, and indications are that a better memory card eliminates this issue. Overall, this camera has done what I wanted it to do, and is at a low enough price that I can afford to put it in peril on the track. After seeing my videos, one of my competitors has already bought one for himself, as has an ultralight pilot that I know. The included video is a compilation of clips in different lighting conditions, to give you a real-world idea of how the camera performs. All in all, in my opinion it's a fine camera at a great price.

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Panasonic PV-GS180 2.3MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

I bought the Panasonic PV-GS180 2.3MP 3CCD MiniDV Camcorder to replace an earlier Panasonic model that I had had to send to their repair facility twice for various problems, and when the tape transport quit working, I decided to go for a new camera rather than send it in a third time. So I was a little concerned about the reliability of Panasonic camcorders. But I wanted to jump to 3CCD technology, and this was one of the lowest price camcorders offering that feature.

I have had this camera for three months, and it has worked flawlessly for me so far. It is more compact than my previous camera, and thus by necessity the controls are closer together. This took a bit of getting used-to, but the thumb-activated joystick control is very easy to use, and enables the user to change the camera's settings quickly. The zoom control is more sensitive than the one on my previous camera, and I still occasionally zoom in or out faster than I intended, but I just have to remember to be less ham-fingered.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and resolution of the still images captured using the photoshoot function. Before I owned this camera, I was constantly juggling between my still and video cameras when recording the activities of my grandchildren, but now I often just use the video camera for both still and video shots.

I don't notice a great deal of difference in video quality between my earlier 1 CCD camcorder and this 3 CCD one, because the colors and resolution were and are very good on both. My videos seem to exhibit less jerkiness with this one than the previous one, however, due to the EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) function (which can be turned off if you find it makes the images a bit blurry I don't), and also to the fact that it is smaller and thus easier to hold steady.

All in all, an excellent product, which I hope will continue to work well.

When I was looking for a camcorder, this seemed like the best bet: it had almost all the features I wanted, although I was concerned about how it would deal with low-light situations. Still, I was discouraged to read all the descriptions of how the camera worked with Windows; would it work with my Mac? I emailed Panasonic to find out, and Panasonic told me I'd need to hook the camera up via firewire.

So my parents got me the camera for Christmas, and they let me open it early so I'd be familiar with it when Christmas arrived. As I glanced through the manual, I noticed with trepidation that there were more references to Windows.

My husband gave me iLife '06 for Christmas and set it up before I tried out the camera. I relaxed a bit as I used the camera; it was easy to figure out how to do stills (even while shooting video), switch between widescreen and fullscreen, record, play back, etc. The sound seemed to be doing well, too. So I had my sample video and still shots--would I be able to retrieve them easily in OS 10.4.8?

Importing the video was a piece of cake, I found. I plugged the camera in with the firewire we bought (it's not included, since Windows users only have to use USB), and iMovie offered to import the video as soon as I launched it. As I played the movies, iMovie even interpreted where breaks were to make separate clips. I exported the first three segments as a QuickTime file with medium sound quality, and my husband and his friends were still raving about how fantastic the quality was. I was pleased with how the camera dealt with light in an indoor situation--it produced significantly better video quality than my mom's digital camera (which, admittedly, is primarily intended for stills).

The USB cable is still necessary to transfer still photos to the computer. My first impression is that stills shot during video recording are not as high-quality as stills shot separately. A flash might help, too; the still shots give the impression of less light than the movies do. The images aren't shockingly better than the ones produced by our hand-me-down ~2.1 MP still camera, but I'm sure they are a bit better.

Figuring out the menus can be a bit confusing if you don't initially realize that the different settings on the camera (like motion vs. still) have different menu options. We had to look in the manual to figure out how to set the time. The most basic camera functions, though, are very intuitive.

With a bigger battery than the included battery (maybe twice the capacity?), I probably got at least an hour of total operating time; I used the LCD screen for most of that time. The viewfinder is electronic, so I can't think that it really sucks up a lot less energy than the flip-out screen, but I haven't experimented with their comparitive energy suckage.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the camera; it's just what I was looking for. Now I just need the disk space to support it!

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It's a great, light little camera. Very handy for field work. I'm very pleased with it. it can take still photos. I find the USB 2.0 video transfer very useful: saves me the trouble of buying and installing a firewire card.

It does not get the full 5 stars because, unlike many, if not all, the previus models of the same line, it DOES NOT include the hand remote control. Too bad, because it woould have been a mayor bonus. A friend of mine has the GS65 model, which has less megapixels 'n such, BUT DOES include the remote. Heck, my manual talks about the remote and everything, kinda throws it in your face a bit. Oh well, It's still a very good camera for the price, I mean, 3 ccds, that's just too cool.

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Great camera . . . one of the few lower priced cams to keep the mic jack and the headphone jack, but beware . .. . this camera does NOT come with a lens cap, and NO remote control. other sources state that this camera does NOT have a Leica lens. This camera does NOT have A/V input. No flash, no hot accessory shoe (though it has one which has no power). No widescreen LCD. It does record in widescreen but no image stabilization in widescreen.

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I bought the GS180 prior to my trip to China. I also bought a 4 hour after-market battery; I've since bought another one. That's what you'll need if you are touring all day and using the LCD screen all of the time. With the battery, the viewfinder becomes just about useless since it doesn't tilt up.

Another review says that the camera doesn't come with a lens cap; mine did. I've had a remote for my Sony Digial 8 but have only used it a few times. This camera does haves some options that are only available through the remote, though, such as audio dubing and variable speed search. It is an aftermarket accessory,

Picture quality is very good. Stills taken in sunlight are also very good; however, they are subpar for low light situations.

Contrels are fairly self-explantory. Outdoor stills are very acceptalbe; you can produce them while shooting video which is nice when you see something that you kow will make a good still. With a large SD card, you can shoot 1000's of these. I had an opportunity to shoot a lion dance and just fied way, clicking constanlty, getting great sitills while capturing video.

I only havea couple of functions that I need to learn from the manual; the cmaaera is fairly straagiht foward. The joystick works great for moving around on the tapes that you have recorded (I avoid doing that on one I am working with so I don't mess up the time code). It really beats the membrane control panel on my old Digital 8 which is beginning to fail.

The size of the camer makes it easy to carry and put ito your carryn computer bag for the plane.

I shot 15 hours of tape in three weeks. The only times I was diappointed was when the battery died before the end of a long tour day with no break to return to the hotel for recharging. With an extra batery bought in Beijing, I am prepared for further excusions.

this is a great camera that is easy to use and produces good quality pictures.

GPX PD908B 9 inch Swivel-screen Portable Dvd Player (Black)

My GPX portable DVD player stayed in its box until the day before a family vacation. Once out of the box, the player worked for 2 hours and then the screened died. Please note that it was in my possession (not my kids) before and after it died. My wife and I spent about an hour trying to think of some button or command we must have pressed it couldn't be the new player, could it?!? We packed it away, went on with the trip, and I got around to calling GPX about a month later. When I did call, I was first told it must have been me dropping it (I think I would remember and wouldn't have spent an hour trying to figure out what happened). Then, they said they could help if it was in warranty. I had called a little later than I expected and they said that although I called 84 days from when I received the unit, I was 92 days out from when I ordered it so sorry, we cannot help you. The funny thing they couldn't care less that the product failed within 2 hours!!!! I would NOT recommend GPX products.

i bought this product to be able to play dvd's in the car when travelling with my kid. It was about a $100 at Wal-Mart (canadian) and it did not work properly from Day 1. Purchased as a Christmas gift it did not play the first disc i put in it. Loaded up the start screen then froze. From then on it would play certain discs and not others. (all work on my Xbox at home). Don't go cheap on this type of product spend the extra $50 and get a recognizable brand name.

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I purchased a GPX PD951BU 9 Inch Portable DVD Player and it is a FANTASTIC player. I do not know how it would compare to the 908B here but the GPX brand is great. Any other review saying GPX is not good is wrong. I have purchased and returned so many. I tried RCA, Panasonic, Sony... all of them failed my expectations. They (RCA, Panasonic, Sony) all had some kind of problem. Either it was no remote control, or the sound was bad or it would not restart a video where you left off. I tried DVD players that ranged from $70 to $250. This one. A brand I never heard of (GPX)is perfect. It has a great picture, great sound, a remote, it swivels (none of the others did that), it starts the movie where you left off, and it is 9 inches. I am beyond pleased. I highly recommend the GPX pd951bu 9 inch portable dvd player (mine is blue). I love this machine. It is easy for my son who is 5 years old. It plays dvd's that I made myself as well as those I purchased. I could not be any happier.

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LG LX550 / LX-550 / LX-550 Sprint Fusic Power VisionSM Phone

When I bought this phone recently, the Sprint salesman said, "the only thing that this phone can't do is fly." He's right.

Major features on this phone (aside from good ol' features like "it makes phone calls"):

-The phone doubles as an MP3 Player, which works very well (the phone includes stero headphones along with a hands free microphone. The cool thing about the headphone/microphone setup is that the microphone is the part that plugs into the phone, and then the headphones plug into the microphone: which means you can use any headphones you want with a standard sized headphone jack like that you'd find in an iPod or similar. Not only does that allow you to hear your music clearer, but you can also hear conversations better.

-The phone has a built in FM transmitter. Ignore the reviewers who said that they're transmitter didn't work: either they got a defective phone or they have no idea what they're doing. It's worked fine for me: in fact, used on my home stereo, I can be on the opposite side of the room. I particularly enjoy this feature because I don't own a car: I'm a member of Zipcar (zipcar.com) car sharing so now I don't have to bring CDs with me as I'm changing from car to car I just have to have my phone with me, which I would anyway.

-The phone has a Micro SD card slot for memory expansion. The phone includes a 64MB card (the largest card to be included with a phone) but it'd be wise to purchase a larger card eventually. Th card can be used for MP3s, photos, videos, files, etc. Also included with the phone is an adapter so that you can fit the micro SD card into a standard memory card slot. Files from the micro SD card can easily be transferred into albums and files on the phone. The phone comes with a USB cable which enables you to either use the phone as a modem, or to use the micro SD card as a flash drive this is an awesome feature because it essentially makes the phone in a portable hard drive.

-The phone has a 1.3 megapixel camera/video camera. Not only can you take short 30 second videos to send (either to another phone, email address, etc...) but you can also shoot 'long videos' which can basically be as long as the micro SD card will allow before it's memory gets filled. There is also a flash included on the phone (the camera has many other standard features too, such as the ability to shoot black and white, sepia, negative, etc...) for being a camera on a phone, the photos that it takes are pretty sharp!

-The Phone has Sprint's PowerVision capabilities you can watch live TV, check your email, browse the internet, check the weather, news, get maps and directions, etc... The Power Vision is much faster than Sprint's standared Vision services. You can of course also send and receive video and picture mail.

-Along with those major features the phone includes a slew other more standard features such as calandar, voice memos, alarms, Bluetooth capabilities, a music composer which allows you to create your own rings, etc, and a million other things.

Overall, this is a great phone that can do pretty much anything for you. The best thing is that all these features fit in a phone that has a shell that's smaller than the popular Razor phone (as far as overall dimensions go it's not quite as thin as the Razor, but close).

You can't go wrong with this phone.

Ah, this phone is excellent. There is a wide variety of ringtones ranging from "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to simple Melodies. It is lightweight and it feels comfortable enough to hold next to your face while you talk. It is very user friendly and easy to get used to. Also, the dial buttons are very nice, unlike the Razrs. The screen quality is beautiful and the camera is very nice. Great pictures. You DO have to buy a seperate Micro SD card if you want your own music on it from your computor. Just put the SD card into your computor, drag and drop the music files, and you're good to go.

Buy LG LX550 / LX-550 / LX-550 Sprint Fusic Power VisionSM Phone Now

I got this phone in early September 2006 and paid $100 more for it than it costs now. Both my husband and I got the same phone. His phone may rate as high as a 2 or 3 but I'm giving mine a 1. I'm already on my second one. I have a lot of problems with the phone "echoing." Everything I say gets repeated back to me and I can't hear the other person. Sprint told me it was a problem with the phone and gave me a different one... but now my 30-day exchange period is up and this one is even worse than the first. It doesn't happen on every call, but it happens often enough to be extremely annoying.

Other problems -BATTERY LIFE GETS A NEGATIVE 10. My battery is often completely dead after 1-2 hours of standby, non-roaming use. I've been stranded without a phone DOZENS of times. I charge it up all night, leave the house with it fully charged in the morning, maybe make one two minute phone call, and it powers off with a dead battery within 2 hours. I also have a tremendous problem with it constantly saying "Data Call in Progress." This is obviously what is running the battery down every day, but no one at Sprint can tell me what is making that happen and I'm not running any applications or making any data calls. I try dialing out, and I can't it says Data Call In Progress. I try in vain to find anything that is running or making a data call, power off, pull out the battery, start back up -and it still says Data Call in Progress. Then my phone powers off because the battery is dead. I've been trying to find a car charger and an extended life battery, but neither are available at my local Sprint store, on the Sprint website, or on Amazon as far as I can tell.

Camera -I bought this phone because I wanted a megapixel camera and this seemed like it would be a good one. Every picture, however, is horrible. Much worse than the crappy old phone I had before that had a low resolution camera. Colors are distorted and you practically need to mount the phone on a tripod to get a steady shot (not that you can actually do that).

Music -It's very annoying that the Sprint Music store launches every single time you want to play a song. Also, the Sprint music player can't play MP3s that you load from your computer. You can only play those through a separate part of the phone, and then it only works if the phone is OPEN. You also have to advance to the next song yourself because there is no play list of your own songs. It works fine for the songs you buy through the Sprint store, however.

FM Transmitter -I've tried three phones now (my first one, my current one, and my husband's Fusic) -in three different vehicles, and the FM Transmitter didn't work at all in any of them. The guy at the Sprint store told me that is common, his wife's doesn't work either. Apparently you will have better luck if your car has an antenna built into the face plate inside the car, or it would possibly work if you wanted to stick it in the back window closer to the antenna.

Vision WHAT A HUGE RIP-OFF. My previous plan, which I used with my old phone that broke in half, included Vision for free. I didn't change my plan at all, I just changed our two phones -so imagine my surprise when I found out that I was now being billed an extra $50 a month for Vision. I called them and they said my plan included regular Vision and this phone doesn't work with regular Vision so they automatically "upgraded" me to Power Vision Ultimate for $25 per line. Information that would have been useful for them to share with me before I bought this phone. There are some cool features with the Sprint On Demand, such as movie listings and Mapquest locations on your phone, but the few times I've actually needed to use those services, the Sprint network has been down and unable to connect. Plus $25 per line per month for Power Vision and that doesn't even include text messaging??

Alarm you can't change the interval of the Snooze. You could do this in my old phone and it was very handy.

Receiving Calls I'm not sure if this a problem with the Sprint network or with this phone, but half the time, these dumb phones don't ring. My husband and I have tested it (because it causes many an argument when you call someone ten times and they don't answer and then you found out the phone never rang). We have tried it out at home. Both phones turned on, both show a full signal, both have the ringer volume on... but we try calling them, either from a landline or from the other phone, and it goes straight into voicemail and never rings at all. Then the voicemail indicator goes off and you have the message, but the phone never rang and nothing shows up in the missed call log. That's happened when other people have tried to call me too, from other wireless networks. The phone just goes straight to voicemail. This doesn't happen all the time either, but I bet it's at least 30-40% of the time.

Overall, I'm extremely disappointed and not at all happy to be stuck in yet another two year contract with a crappy, useless phone that is never there when I really need it. Either the battery is dead, I can't call out because it's stuck in some mysterious data call mode, or the stupid thing just doesn't ring or register my calls. However, at least if you buy it now, you'll save $100 over what I paid for it.

Read Best Reviews of LG LX550 / LX-550 / LX-550 Sprint Fusic Power VisionSM Phone Here

the phone is awesome. if you go to newegg.com you can even get a gig of memory for just over 40 bucks. the transmitter is a little tricky at first, what with finding an empty station that will accept the incoming transmission clearly. over all a great phone. send and receives calls even when no signal bars are showing, as long as service symbol is on display. definitely worth the money they are asking for it.

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I'll qualify my remarks-the first Fusic that I purchased had to be replaced after 2 days because it wouldn't ring when the number was dialed. My local Sprint store replaced it with no problems. This review is for the 2nd phone, which functions as it should.

The call clarity is exceptional. It's hard to tell you're using a cell phone. Reception is great even in marginal areas.

The FM transmitter works well. I have a Subaru with the radio antenna built into the rear window and the FM transmitter sends signal to it with no problem as long as the phone is on the dashboard. If I try to put the phone in my pocket or below line-of-sight of the antenna it doesn't work.

The phone is fairly small and the buttons on the side are easy to press when talking on it. The case is also slick which can make it a little difficult to hold. However I always keep my cell phones in a leather case, so that problem is alleviated.

The menu system is easy to navigate. The music player takes a little getting used to, but once you figure out the controls it's simple to use.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the phone. LG has a real winner with this one.

10ft HDMI to HDMI Cable M/M w/Dual Ferrites High Resolution Cable

This long cable is exactly what we needed for our new flat screen. the connection is sure and fast and we couldn't be happier with the small amount we spent here to get such great results. Thanks!

the cable guy came recently to fix a reception problem with our TV. He changed a few old components and said that he would change the indoor cables too. When I pointed out that I had bought this new cable from Amazon.com he agreed that it was better that the ones they use...The reception problem, in fact, was not indoor, but originated in the cable box, on the street.

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I bought this cable to hook my laptop up to my tv, it works perfectly, crisp clear image on the tv, and above all its incredibly cheap, I think these sell in local stores for around 13 bucks, and this was 58 cents, the shipping was quick too, highly recommended

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this 10ft HDMI cable was just the perfect length, and even with it being 1/3 of the price you would pay at BestBuy it still gives you the Great Picture Output.

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This works well to hook up my computer to my tv. I get good video quality. Just what I needed at a good price.

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TiVo TCD540080 Series 2 80 Hour Digital Video Recorder

I've had one of these for years. It's been really handy for recording episodes of my favorite shows and seeking out movies that I'd be interested in. Finally decided I don't want to pay for the subscription anymore, but the DVR and service have been great.

This is probably a good unit, however it wasn't what was required by my server. My provider needed a Tivo Premier unit. I got my original info from a customer service rep who incorrectly told me I needed a Series 2, but I actually needed a TiVo premier which I ordered on line from TiVo.com and it works great. After installation of the 1st unit I ordered a 2nd for my bedroom.

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Works Great,although it is only a 40 hour model, instead 0f 80 hour which was advertised.

Other than that its fine.

Read Best Reviews of TiVo TCD540080 Series 2 80 Hour Digital Video Recorder Here

The product arrived today. However, it does not have remote control with it although the picture of the product () clearly includes the remote control. The box it came with also has the picture of the machine with remote control on it. The only other things included in the box are 2 cables and a power cord. How are we supposed to use the machine without a proper remote control? The seller is deceiving to sell it without clearly indicating that his or her Tivo machine does not include the remote control. It's just ridiculous!

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I purchased this item hoping I would be able to hook up to my cable box. I later found out I need more wires and this has been a complete waste of money. I don't really blame the seller but Im NOT happy with my purchase. I would like to return it if that is an option.

4GB Mini Spy Button Camera Hidden DVR Camcorder

• Video Resolution: 720*480
• Includes 4gb memory card.Expandable to 16gb
• Takes photos
• Video frame rate: 30 FPS

I have this item early than the expected arrival, I thought it is not working and I apologize to the company who sent it. It was my old USB hub that is not working properly. I connect in other USB hub and it is working now and it install the driver very fast. I look on its recorded video very nice too, my room has a poor lighting so its a little bit blurry but I am satisfy thought I have poor lighting in my room you can see the face clearly. If you have a good lighting in your room it is clear as HD. I AM SATISFIED. THANKS

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The instructions were printed so small, I needed a magnifying glass to see them. My wife suggested I scan it to MS Word and then enlarge it. I probably won't return it because it might cost more than the product is worth.

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For the price it's a good mini spy camera!!! works perfect with the ring,i really liked this purchase,don't expect a excellent quality video.

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Arrived much earlier than promised. This item is shipped from Japan. The video is what one would expect from a very tiny camera; shaky even at the least bit of movement. The sound is very good. The biggest problem I had is the instructions are,(seriously)absolutely,virtually worthless. Written in English, yes, but written by a Japanese fella who may read English but doesn't understand English. I have to figure out the operation of the camera on my own. Plug in USB, download driver into computer. Charge the unit on your computer with the USB cable provided. I don't know how long it will run on a charge. For $20 or so, just a fun little gadget.

Sony DCR-DVD301 1MP DVD Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

I have only used this Sony Handycam DCR-DVD301 for 3 discs. One Sony DVD-RW disc and two Memorex DVD-RW. The Sony disc still works but the two Memorex disc have failed they each get "format error". The Memorex discs recorded OK and played back on the handycam until I finalized the discs. They will now not play on the handycam or the DVD player. The Memorex disc package states that it may be used in Sony camcorders. I rated this camera a 4 based on it working with the Sony discs but would rate it lower if it will only work with Sony discs. I like the handycam based on the use with the Sony discs.

Much like the first review, I am very pleased with the camcorder. HOWEVER, I had a tremendous disappointment on it's first use. We welcomed the arrival of our newborn son and used a MEMOREX dvd-r (which is supposed to be compatible) to record many special moments of his first three days at home. Included were his first home bath, first pediatricians appointment, clips from the first long nights, and other video from a proud papa. We planned on sending a copy of the DVD to his 80 yr. old great-grandma on the west coast. Recording went fine, but once finalized, the handycam cannot read the disk, as it shows a disk error. The memorex disk also fails to play in the computer or other devices. Devastated when realizing that the video was lost. Have used Sony dvd-r since and no problems. Hesitant to try other brands. Tips: pay the extra money and get Sony disks and always download a backup copy to your computer before finalizing and removing the disk. Do those two things and the camcorder will be a 5-star purchase.

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I should've stuck with my mini dv camcorder. Wanna know why? How about losing an entire disc worth of footage in the blink of an eye? Yeah that's happened to me twice and now I'm afraid to use the camera. Once I got slightly bumped and there was a disk error. Another time I was standing stock still with no one around me and got the same error. Then there were the numerous times I was in the middle of filming sometihing great and lost the moment because there was an error that froze up the camera until it reset itself. I wish I could return the damn thing but it's over 30 days. At least with tape you can splice it if you need to. I think this format is a ploy to get consumers hooked on the novelty of being able to put the dvd right in their dvd players. IT'S NOT WORTH IT!

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The Sony DCR-DVD301 DVD Handycam Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom is a great camcorder for any one interested in recording quality footage, not to mention that it is small enough to fit in your pocket. It has a great new touch screen, which allows the user to go through a serious of menus to play with the picture. If you don't have any video editing software, not to worry! The new handy cam is able to make transitions from frame to frame. The program that it runs would cost up to 40 dollars on your computer! The picture on this handycam is better then ever before using the mini DV recording structure. The only negative thing about the Sony is that fairly expensive so be very careful not to drop it. I got this handycam for Christmas and I cannot but it down. Overall it is a great camcorder and worth the money!

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This is my first camcorder and after reading several reviews and with a small baby at home, myself and wife had no question that a DVD handycam was the solution. We just started using it and it's really great to record, finalize the mini CD (it took just a few minutes) and watch it in the DVD. Amazing and fast. The quality of the video is great. Just what we needed.