Nokia 6102I Tri-Band GSM Mobile Cellphone - Unlocked

A great little phone! I have had several of these phones over the last few years, because of the two features I use and have not found on newer phones It has voice commands without having to subscribe to an extra service and has calendar reminders that I use extensively.

i gave this item to a friend. He cherish it so much that anytime we met he is always thanking me. He said that it works perfectly well under all weather. I will buy the item again for a gift. I WILL RECOMMED to friends.

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it was a great phone, i had about 6 of these phones. i loved these phones. wife and i used them till we couldn:t get them any more.

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Opteka CXS-500 X-Cage Pro with Handgrip and Rail System for all DSLR cameras

There must be more designs for DSLR video rigs than there are fireflies on a summer evening in Texas. Many are more than the cost of the camera, and many are 'me-too' copies of those high-dollar, high-quality video rigs. The Opteka CXS-500 has a very down-to-earth price, and surprising quality and versatility. A DSLR cage is a building block, a scaffold on which to attach some (or most) of the 'add-ons' which transform a DSLR designed primarily for still photography into a system that can overcome many of the DSLRs short-comings, and enable the user to shoot video in a professional and productive manner.

A cage's primary role in life is to provide a solid, lightweight, adaptable anchor point for items like follow-focuses, video lights, video monitors, microphones, sound recorders, HDMI splitters, wireless receivers, and other small accessories that can be attached by either 1/4"-20 bolt, or cold shoe. There are thirty-four (!) 1/4"-20 holes spread out on all surfaces of this lightweight cage, and they are all threaded and the threads neatly chased.

The holes are both its greatest asset, and the only disappointment. The box proclaims "numerous 1/4"-20 and 3/8"-16 mounting holes." But the model I received had only 1/4"-20 holes. A few 3/8"-16 holes would be most helpful, specifically for mounting microphones which often have 3/8"-16 holes in their shock mounts. One tip for using the holes to their best advantage; if you have any extra screws of the kind that come on Manfrotto mounting plates, they can be threaded through one of the holes on the rig and then they can turn freely to make mounting an accessory easy to get tightened down snugly.

Overall, the build quality is very good for an item in this price range, the versatility excellent,and the possibilities in constructing your own customized video rig are extremely broad.

The included handle is a nice touch, though the choice of blue rubber on an otherwise all black rig is questionable. The handle can both be reversed and mounted on the front or the back of the cage, though the rear location is slightly off-center. The handle is very firmly mounted, and the rig seems to be balanced well from the front mounting.

Hex wrenches are included for the hex head bolts, a nice touch.

Remember when buying an item like this, that you need to also budget for the many other parts that you will need, or want, once you have the cage. A cage usually is incorporated into a bigger rig, perhaps with front handles, a shoulder brace or shoulder mount, or other means to stabilize the whole rig. You may find you need a follow focus, a matte box, video monitor the list goes on and on. And don't get so caught up in the equipment that you forget why you got all this stuff it's the stories, silly! Go use this wonderful piece of equipment to tell stories, to make us laugh or cry or ask why.

As other posters have noted, the short 15mm rods are a welcome addition for those just starting out, though for those of us adapting this cage into an existing rig, they may become useful extras or back-ups.

47th Street Camera has the best price on this cage, and it was both shipped quickly, trackable, and delivered on time. I am already a repeat customer because of their combination of price and good customer service, and will certainly buy from them again.

The product has a nice finish and it's very robust. The problem is that I have a Canon T4i and I am not abe to remove the battery from the camera without having to unmount the camera from the cage. Also, I can't flip out the LCD screen from the camera as it bangs against the frame. As a solution to this I had to cut out this part of the cage so I can use it with my camera. I am still trying to find a way to fix the battery removal issue. So I guess they should change the description to Not for all DSLR cameras.

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I have been using this cage since Sept. Out of the box it was a great product. Well built and priced right.

Until yesterday. Both screw holes for the rail mounts decided to strip out. Maybe I overtightened? Don't know. No tighter than before. Disappointing that such a well built item, would have such a weak point.

Still using it as a base on my tripod rig. For hand held action cammy type stuff, I'm going to find a different solution.

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I just received my Opteka CXS-500 X-Cage Pro from 47th Street Photo to use with my 7D.

The Cage is made of sturdy aluminum and is built very well. All metal is smooth, burr free, and everything has a tight fit. With a price of just $99 bucks you really get a lot of bang for your buck with this rig! The rods and mount are also built well and look great. The mount has both large and small threads for your tripod quick release plate. Easy access to everything on your dslr.

My only concern with this rig is related to the access of the battery door on my 7d. When opening the door, it hits the adjustment knob used for the the rod below it. You can squeeze the battery out, but it is really tight. So be careful. I will just find a smaller knob or hex bolt to solve this issue.

Opteka, if you are reading this, please check this out with a 7D, and maybe just ship this awesome rig with smaller adjustment knobs and all will be good.

I have given 5 stars because this really is a great rig for the price. I have recently purchased other gear from Opteka and I am very happy with everything so far. Just great film making products at reasonable prices.

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Well you may be thinking, woah $100 for a metal rectangle, some poles and a handle, right? Well if you're interested in videography with DSLR cameras this is a must have. With this cage you have limitless possibilities for when it comes to rig arrangements. Once I got this I realized I made a great investment. This is the key item if you're ever thinking of getting a follow focus or matte box. Without it you have a mess of a camera and you'll a have mediocre look for when you go in for that video gig. We obviously know you don't need a huge rig to shoot amazing video, but the customer you're shooting for does not know that. There are tons of people now a days that shoot with a DSLR and its getting less rare with each passing day, so why look like everyone else? You'll never be able to get a decent gig if you have just a DSLR and say you shoot great video, you must look the part. I know it doesn't seem that way, but try it, show up with a small consumer camera like the t3i, I'm pretty sure they'd be like, "Man, I could have hired my 15 year old nephew for half the price, he got one of those cameras for x-mas..." Then try showing up with a huge dslr rig (matte box, follow focus, lcd monitor, microphone, and so on) you look the part and have the proper equipment to do the part. I hate saying this but it really does take money to make money, I have been slowly investing into my camera equipment and it has paid off. You will not regret making this purchase!

Thank you for reading-

MiamiFilmerGuy

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Samsung UN46B7000 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV

• Ultra-slim 46-inch LED HDTV with full HD 1080p resolution for the sharpest picture possible
• LED technology enables a true-to-life range of picture brightness; uses 40 percent less energy than conventional LCD TVs
• Internet@TV online content service from Yahoo!, Flickr, YouTube via your broadband connection
• Inputs: 4 HDMI, 1 component, 2 USB, 1 Ethernet, 1 PC, 1 optical digital audio output
• Includes detachable swivel table stand; measures 44.4 x 30.2 x 10.8 inches (WxHxD) with stand

My requirement for a television is quite simple: plug it in to the cable box and have it work the first time; then turn on the sports event of the day, e.g. Mets or Yankees, Jets or Giants, etc. The Samsung 46 inch LED TV does that very well. You plug it in, it works.

This TV does more with less. It weighs only about 40 pounds plus another 10 pounds for the stand. Compare that with the older Samsung 950 model of the same size which weighs 70 pounds. The elegant stand allows for easy rotation. The TV is only a little over one inch thick! Power consumption has been measured by reviewers at about 105 watts. The 950 model comes in at 180 watts.

The picture is great. The contrast ratio, rated at 3,000,000 to 1, exceeds that of older LCD TVs. The black areas are dark and the picture has an almost 3D quality. There are four preset picture options. I chose the "normal" setting. The next higher setting, "standard", makes infield grass look almost dayglow. I do not think that there is a need to have any further adjustment done on the picture. However, there is an automatic dimming of the overall brightness for dark scenes. For instance, when the credits of a movie run against a black background the lettering becomes dimmer. This has no effect on sports, but does effect dark movie scenes.

The screen surface does reduce reflections but does not eliminate them entirely. The black frame is shiny and does also reflect some light. Rotating the screen to the best angle helps.

The remote provides choices for four picture size variations. I use "16:9" for the HD format or "wide" to make the non-HD, 4:3, video fill the screen. That loses some of the 4:3 picture at the top and bottom edges, but the picture quality is still good.

The sound also has four preset choices. Although, the internal speakers are not bad, I decided to use my sound system for the audio. The TV has an audio output connection, but the TV remote volume control only allows variation in the sound level for the internal speakers. The audio output stays at a constant level. I got around this by taking the audio from my cable box directly to my sound system and controlling the level with the cable remote. This works.

Although Samsung provides a version of the instruction manual on a USB drive with the TV, I found it easy to download and print a pdf of the manual from the Samsung support center. Having the printed manual is helpful. See my comment for the web address of the support center.

After one month, I still really like this TV. It is great for sports. An added bonus is that my electric bill has actually gone down.

Note: This review was written for the 6000 model. The 7000 model differs from the 6000 model in its I/O capabilities. Recently some people have reported that the 7000 has a better picture. If you do not need the extras, go with the 6000 and save a few dollars.

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I won't go into as much detail as some others, but I do want to say that I've had this TV for 3 weeks and I absolutely love it. One thing I noticed on all TV's my friends have is when the scene goes dark, you can see the entire screen glow and most LCDs will only go so dark. Due to LED technology, which does not disappoint, this TV will go pitch black on dark scenes and very bright on light scenes.

One thing I do want to mention is that Samsung's Auto Motion Plus (AMP) is something that takes time to get used to, if you choose to use it. The funnies thing I've read about this TV is a person who paid over $2k and then sent the TV back because they said TV made everything they watched "look cheap, like a soap opera", so they rated TV one star, shipped it back to the store and bought a different brand. As soon as I got the TV hooked up, I popped in Matrix II into the DVD player and I did notice what that person was talking about. Entire movie didn't feel quite like a movie, but more like someone was holding a video camera and was following all the car chases and everything else. It did remind me of those "cheap" TV programs, but is also looked kind of like you are actually there. I read more about it and realized that if I turn off AMP, the TV will show everything "normally" and there is absolutely no reason to send it back if AMP is not your thing.

However, I read more about AMP and from what I can tell, it is the imperfections in normal movies and motion blur that we are all used to. What AMP does is figure out where all moving objects are, "unblurs" them and actually plays back the scene at 120fps instead of 24fps. Extra frames are extrapolated based on object motion in the scene. The result is that everything is extremely sharp and clear and motion blur is almost entirely gone. I've seen Matrix II about 8 times and when I watched it with AMP turned on, I noticed extra cool, little details which I've never even noticed before when watching it on a regular TV.

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This TV has produced a lot of controversy. After having spent a lot of time wading through it, passively and actively (debating it in threads), I came to the conclusion that I would get this set for a number of reasons:

1. I was not convinced by the people who were claiming that there were serious issues with this TV. One reviewer claimed to have seen trails in large dark objects. I went to the store and found NO ability to see it, and it was right next to the 750 (and a lot of other sets). As to the LED being edge and thus the lighting being inconsistent, ditto. I am not saying that it's all lies and local dimming is useless. I am saying that it's not something I can see right now (and that's really all I care about).

2. This set is INSANELY thin. I have a space for mine where this actually makes a big difference.

3. I like to vote with my dollars. This is the lowest consuming television ever made. The CNET list of sets showed that the range was 8:1, which is pretty phenomenal if you think about it; in cars, mileage is not even that spread out. This is a REMARKABLE achievement and it's a drag to hear people whining about dumb little imperfections that 99% of people would never see while they are buying from the other end of the spectrum. Of course, the amount of energy less you are going to use is not going to make a revolution, but a tiny percentage of all TVs using this amount would make a huge difference (game theory 101).

The biggest difference from my prior set (Westinghouse LCD) is this one actually has blacks.

The controls, menus, remote, etc., are all fine (I use a universal remote). Having a bunch of HDMI ports is great. I plugged in the connection to the web and looked at the Yahoo Widgets. Calling them useless at this point is an understatement. Should be interesting to see what is coming from that direction.

The argument that if the 750 looks just as good, save the money and get that is a compelling one. In terms of value overall, I paid ~$1500 for my 42" Westinghouse 3 years ago. I just replaced it because it had developed background noise (patterns you could see). If this set lasts 2 more years, it will have exceeded the prior value in size and savings of energy.

Again, this is a remarkable achievement in an industry that had told us we'd all be using power sipping OLED by now, this is a hybrid strategy, here today.

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I bought this TV about a week ago and have been fairly impressed. There is a lot to like about this TV, but there are also a few problems.

The Good:

The picture is great; very clear with both HDTV and BluRays. The black levels and contrast are very good. The sound isn't terrible (with some tweaking), but it isn't anything to write home about. The settings are very intuitive and easy to work with.

The Bad:

I've already mentioned the sound, but it bears repeating: the sounds levels are just okay. You will not be able to turn the bass up to what I would call an acceptable level without making the speaker housings vibrate which can be very annoying. This wasn't a deal killer for me as I paired it with a surround sound system, so I barely hear the TV speakers.

This TV is terrible for gaming. I should qualify this: This TV is terrible for playing music type games. There is considerable input lag using a Wii, even with the game mode turned on. I attempted to play Guitar Hero: World Tour after connecting the Wii to the TV using the new composite cables I had to buy (more on that in a minute), and found it to be unplayable. Because there is considerable lag, the strum does not register until just after the notes have passed, resulting in a missed note... many, many missed notes actually. This is not acceptable for me.

There are not enough inputs for gaming devices and there are only inputs for HD devices. While this may seem like a stupid complaint, remember that neither the Wii, nor the PS2 (outdated I know, but bare with me) have an HDMI output. I had to go buy HD Composite cables for both and a switch box because there is only 1 composite input on the TV. These cables aren't really cheap, so that was another $60 I had to shell out. Also, there are only 4 HDMI inputs total, so if you have multiple gaming systems, a BluRay player and a cable/satellite box, you may need to buy an HDMI switch to get everything to work.

The Ugly:

You will need to take quite a bit of time to calibrate this TV to make everything look the way it should. Here is a quick tip though: if you don't want everything you watch to have the quality of a commercial, turn off the 120Hz options (located in Picture Options > Auto Motion Plus 120Hz). Some people may like the ultra crisp effect that this adds to movies and programs, but I just feel it makes everything look very plastic and without depth.

All-in-all, this is a decent TV, that could be great for some... but terrible for others. If nothing I listed will bother you, this is a great TV for the money and will not disappoint.

I was eyeing this tv the day it was introduced and had to put it off for a while because of my upcoming wedding.

After that was over though, I was right back to salivating over this set. I was ready to pay retail for this at a certain blue big-box store. Never even thinking to check Amazon for it. Long story short I did and I am in LOVE with this set! It has been worth every penny so far.

I have been drawn to Samsung LCD's ever since they came out with the Touch of Color. We ended getting this one in the red because it brought a really good balance of color to our living room. This tv is also available in TOC gray at the aforementioned big-box store. But why get something this beautiful in a color that won't make it stand out?! Of course the profile only being a little over 1" makes this look incredible mounted with Samsung's slim wall mount kit. With the kit it only stands off of the wall about two inches and is easy enough to install. I love when people first come over and see it. I get comments on how nice this tv is every time. And that's before I even turn it on!

Hit the power button and WOW, the colors are just incredible and the blacks are actually black. No issues have been seen that have been mentioned in other reviews(ie: inconsistent backlighting). I was afraid I was going to have to adjust the settings like crazy to get the screen as good as it looked in the store. Boy was I wrong. I changed maybe two sliders slightly in the menu. Speaking of which.... the menu's are very easy to use and are laid out thoughtfully. Everything seems to be customizable too, including the standby light and little jingle when you power on and off(Nice touch, Samsung! I cannot say the same for the Vizio in our bedroom.). Tons of connections in the back too.

I also cannot get around the fact that this tv just flat out saves us money too!! It's power consumption is insanely low. We use the DLNA Technology in this to access our home server directly and watch movies, listen to music and view photos we have saved. So it is on almost all the time in our home. I was intending to do this with whatever tv I purchased so this one is essentially paying for itself over a standard LCD. And of saving money makes my wife happy! :)

Two things that bug me though:

The internet features that seperate this model from the 6000 series seem to be of limited function though. I check it occasionally to see the new content that is available, but nothing has really seemed to interest me yet. I will keep watching though, I have heard of some promising things on the horizon for this.

The glossy finish on bezel is EXTREMELY SCRATCH PRONE!! I knew this, my wife did not. With luck though, I realized that Zaino show car wax fixes the bezel back to better than new. Much better actually! It almost looks liquid now! I have yet to take a good picture but look at the Nissan 350Z on their home page and you'll get the idea.

I would say that covers all of the major stuff with the Samsung UN46B7000. I have owned this tv for about four months now and would say that if any other annoyance would be popping up, it would have happened by now. Thanks for reading and hope I helped you decide to pick up this amazing television! Please rate!!

Samsung YP-T7JX 512 MB Digital Audio Player with FM Tuner & Recorder

• Lightweight, multi-format digital audio player with 1.2-inch color LCD
• 512 MB flash memory holds 8 hours of MP3 and 16 hours of WMA audio
• Compatible with MP3, WMA, and PlaysForSure secure WMA
• Integrated voice recorder; FM tuner (with record function); 8 EQ presets; line-in recording
• Internal rechargeable battery with up to 10 hours of life

A good friend of mine who is quite intelligent and geeky but non the less a total luddite relented to the digital age a bit and picked up a laptop for school. He is a lover of music and has literally thousands of CDs scattered around his apartment, so for his birthday I went shopping for an .mp3 player simple enough for him to use. The Samsung YEPP YP-T7X fit the bill nicely.

DESIGN/FUNCTIONALITY

Every bit of the YP-T7X design is well thought out; the case alone, rectangle of matt silver and sky blue about a fourth larger then a Zippo lighter with an equal weight, is wonderfully crafted. The buttons are well laid out, though the play/pause needs to be larger.

A squat, 5-way joystick set below a gorgeous 1.2"x1.2" 65,000-color screen serves as a simple, effective and easily recognized interface, and performs well at the task with no lag and a comforting amount of resistance.

And the screen...what an excellent surprise in such a small device. The menu system takes full advantage of the available 65,000-colors with a series of moving, monotone images that clearly distinguish the various options, making navigation quick and simple. There is a photo viewing option at well, though with the small screen size this is a novelty at best. Disappointing is the fact that the device doesn't support ID3-tagged album art, which would have been an excellent and impressive use of the screen.

A small, retracting loop sits at the top of the case, and the kit comes with a plastic lanyard so that it may be worn around the neck (which I thought was silly, but might be fun for kids). The headphone jack is recessed along the top, left side and the line-in and USB ports are protected by an attached rubber flap that actually manages to stay firmly closed while also being quite easy to open. That alone is a small miracle.

SOUND QUALITY

There are two things you need to do before you listen to this .mp3 player. The first is to throw out the included earbuds. These horrid little pieces of flimsy plastic produce the kind of sound you would expect from earbuds sold behind the counter of a 7-11. They are simply that bad.

The next task is to make sure that the WOW effects are turned on; when off, the sound isn't quite as rich (though after testing, we suspect that you get about an hour less playback time with it on). With a decent of earbuds you will get a clean, rich sound that has only the tiniest amount of hiss at the highest end of the volume setting. And while the volume max is plenty for earbuds, standard headphones may fall a little short with only 10mW output per channel.

FM RADIO

Washington D.C. is notoriously bad for radio signals, but the YP-T7X preformed wonderfully. Stations came in clean and crisp, and procedure for finding and locking in up to 20 radio presets was easy. In fact, I was able to set up all aspects of the device without once cracking open the manual; all the options are presented well and in a simple, easy to navigate structure.

BATTERY LIFE

The posted 10 hour battery life is also disappointing, and my friend claims he gets anywhere from 8-10 hours of actual use with a full charge and the WOW effect turned on.

FEATURES

The YP-T7X comes with an excellent range of features and settings, ranging from the ability to play a wide array of files (MP3, WMA, protected WMA, Ogg Vorbis, and ASF) to the preset EQ settings (Normal, Classic, Jazz, and Rock, as well as the ability to create your own) to the ability to set timed FM recordings.

In addition, there is a list of sound enhancements you can activate to bolster the equalizer, including the afore mentioned WOW effect, TruBass (a bass "augmenter," which fully admit I don't understand, but it sounds good), SRS (surround-sound), and a bass-booster. All of these effects are unique and distinctive, which is surprising for such a small device and much more then some of the larger, hard-drive models have to offer.

You also have a line-in jack that allows direct recording of any device with a headphone jack at a bitrate of up to 192kbs, which is good enough for me but proved just a tad to imperfect for my friend's well-trained ears.

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I got this for christmas. The first time I listened to it I was blown away. It may not have all the high tech video like others ..If that is what you need or want then go spend 300.00 ++ dollars ..Buy this for mowing the lawn,walking or to just get away from the noises of life. You can't beat the price.

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Okay, so it's not an iPod, but I didn't want one anyway. I admit some of the attraction for me in this was the color (I'm a girl, after all) but the TFT screen rocks, the sound quality is terrific, and the size is perfect for sticking into the change pocket of your jeans.

Synching it through Windows Media Player is really easy, although I can't get the date to synchronize correctly. Some of the controls are less than intuitive and I did have to RTFM to figure out how to do some things like add songs to Favorites.

The Photo display is a nice little feature if you want to carry photos with you. You can also use it as a storage device, although since it's only 512Mb you might be better off just using a USB flash drive for portable storage.

Recharging and synching is done via USB/mini-USB, and since so many devices already use the cable, it's convenient to just swap it in and out with phone, headset, etc.

The included ear buds are great; they can't handle more than, say, 30 out of 40 volume, but neither can my ears, so we're all good there.

My one issue is that the jog button occasionally sticks, so we'll see how that pans out over time.

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If your looking for clear high resolution sound then this is it. This player has 3d sound options that make the music sound the way it should it comes alive. Scrap the ear plugs that come with it and get a pair of the shure brand plugs there expensive but really make this unit sound like your there. The color screan is great with great clairity and color quality. The unit is nice and small you can put it any were and not even know its on you. The only down side of it I dont like is the 10 hours of play back on a single charge. Over all I am very happy with it and was blown away with the sound Qualiy with the shure ear plugs. I would buy this unit again.

I like the small size and ease of use. A good value over other MP3 players. The color screen is amazing in its clarity. I like that it holds a good number of pictures plus plenty of songs.

TosLink to Mini Optical Cable, 2m

Acer Ferrari newbook wouldn't tell me from customer service but THIS is the proper cable to get digital audio output over to my outboad DAC. My little netbook now has place of pride in a second small but very "high end" audio system in my study. The tip of this headphone jack cable has a hidden fibre optic wire to send digital out of the Acer using spdif-optical. The other end is your typical optical fibre optic spdif plug for audio "in."

Sony DCR-HC42 1MP MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/12x Optical

By many measures Sony DCR-HC42 isn't the best camcorder in its class, but it strikes a good balance for many intended buyers. For instance, similarly priced Panasonic camcorder records more vibrant images. Canon's similarly priced camcorder performs better under lower lighting situation. But it has few nice features that separate DCR-HC42 from these camcorders, particularly if you like widescreen composition.

Let's examine its pros and cons.

Pros:

Excellent form factor, among the smallest and lightest camcorders in its price range.

Excellent DV Widescreen support, including great widescreen LCD.

Long battery life (nearly 2 hours in continuous shooting with LCD backlight turned off, about an hour in demanding situations). Optional batteries offer longer battery life.

Included docking station makes it easier to connect to computer or TV.

Very good outdoor performance.

Automatic settings work well.

Built-in lens cover.

Cons:

Optical zoom is only 12X, which is inexcusable considering lower-end DCR-HC32 goes up to 20X.

Proprietary accessory shoes for attaching accessories such as microphones and light. These accessories aren't cheap.

No headphones jack for monitoring audio recording.

Sensitive microphone may pick up button clicks (best to turn off the button click "beep" sound).

Not so good low light performance.

Most functions require you to access touch screen LCD.

Touch screen menu system can be complicated to use.

So-so digital camera image stills quality.

Compared to lower-end DCR-HC32, DCR-HC42 adds many features in an attempt to justify higher cost, including DV Widescreen, widescreen LCD (LCD backlight can be turned off to conserve power), color viewfinder, noticeably superior CCD for better image quality, accessory shoe that powers external microphone and lighting attachments, and higher resolution megapixel still camera. If widescreen does not interest you, DCR-HC32 may be a better buy.

DCR-HC42's most obvious gimmick is widescreen. If you have HDTV set, this is the low-end camcorder for you. As of now, Sony is the only big name manufacturer that includes widescreen LCD, which while not necessary to capture DV Widescreen, helps the experience immensely. Many camcorders with conventional 4x3 LCD do in fact record DV Widescreen as well as standard DV but LCD will have either black bars on top and bottom or worse, squeezed to accommodate wider images onto narrower frame. It is worth noting that while DV Widescreen increases horizontal resolution, it does so at the expense of vertical resolution. DCR-HC42 has real-life DV resolution of about 400x300 and DV Widescreen resolution of about 450x250. But this is still better than "fake" widescreen DV camcorders such as DCR-HC32, which records widescreen composition onto 4x3 frames, which decreases vertical resolution without increasing horizontal resolution.

Taking DCR-HC42 out of the box, I was surprised how small and light the camcorder was. My previous camcorder was bulky Hi8 model, and while I have played with many MiniDV camcorders at the store, its size still surprised me a bit. Recording a long footage without the use of tripod, I appreciated every ounce that DCR-HC42 sheds from heavier models.

Recording indoor in lazy afternoon, I was disappointed by recorded footage at first. But tinkering with the camcorder taught me a trick that cleans up noisy low-light images immensely the back light feature. This feature is designed to brighten up the subject set against brightly lit background (e.g., a person standing before sunrise) but significantly cleans up noise under indoor situation as well. Some footage takes on much smoother appearance with this feature turned on (helped further by using other features).

One of my biggest pet peeves is touch screen menu system. While personalized menu feature helps immensely (in which you can assign up to 28 frequently accessed features available within few clicks), I much prefer using physical buttons. Features such as tweaking exposure, adjusting focus, selecting automatic exposure, and adjusting white balance require using touch screen menu system. Thankfully, very frequently used features, such as enabling fully automatic mode (called "EASY" mode), previously discussed back light feature, and zoom are physical controls.

The main reason to choose MiniDV over other formats (e.g., DVD, MicroMV), is because the format is computer friendly. Using light weight compression algorithm (similar to MJPEG), DV format offers minimal digital artifacts and is highly suitable for linear editing. Before connecting the camcorder to computer, invest in FireWire (also known as i.Link or IEEE 1394) cable. This cable, along with FireWire connector on your computer, is necessary to edit DV footage on your computer with zero loss in quality. Windows XP includes Windows Movie Maker 2 which is good video editing software and works well with DCR-HC42. Sony includes video editing software, too, but it is pretty limited with many usability issues. If you are using Windows XP, stick with Windows Movie Maker. Macintosh users have even better tool at their disposal, iMovie HD, part of iLife `05. iMovie HD supports DV Widescreen, which lets you work with widescreen footage directly. Using this software, I was able to cut fairly well edited home movie.

All in all, DCR-HC42 is a good camcorder for point and shoot crowd, and particularly appealing to those with widescreen TV set. Its touch screen menu system may detract some buyers, but the Easy mode works pretty well for "set and forget it" crowd. More advanced users will have to put up with touch screen menu, but it wasn't so bad once I got use to it. If you record lots of footage under low light situation, this isn't the best camcorder for you. DCR-HC42 shines under bright outdoor.

I bought this camcorder about a month ago and have used it for recording nearly 4 hours of video so far.

Things that I like most about this camcoreder are

1) Image stability

2) Image Quality (Both Video and Still)

3) widescreen mode (40' angle for widescreen capture)

you loose tiny bit of resolution in wide screen still images

4) handling and portability

all the manual conttols are well arranged

smaller size allows easy portability

5) Battery life (I got almost 1hr 30 mins each time)

6) Touch Screen Menu (I wonder why some found it difficult)

7) Ease of use

8) Docking station

9) Still Image modes

exposure bracketing (three photos taken at various exposure)

normal burst mode (three photos taken consecutively)

10) LCD/viewfinder (2.7" Widescreen LCD screen)

it doesn't solarize like others when viewed from an angle

both LCD screen and viewfinder in color and 123K resolution

Areas where this camcorder lags behind

1) Low light performance

2) Scan rate (it should be 24P)

3) Optical zoom (It offers only 12x optical zoom)

while DCR HC32/21 offers 20X optical zoom

Overall

This camcorder is good for

1) Point and shoot users

2) Techno freaks

3) Outdoor video

4) Indoor video with decent lights

5) If you own a SONY laptop (ease of capturing movies and image)

Recommended Accessories

1) Tripod (set it up and operate camera from far using remote)

2) External flash (Very useful, can be attached on top)

3) Additional battery

If you want to capture more than 1 hr video w/o recharging

If using external flash

Buy Sony DCR-HC42 1MP MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/12x Optical Now

This is one of the best camcorders in the market today and I would definitely recommend it to anyone planning to buy a Mini-DV camcorder

Positive factors:

Very small and easy to hold with one hand. Can be easily attached even to a mini-tripod with ease.

Excellent widescreen video and hi-fi audio. Your videos finally get that "Hollywood" feel when you shoot movies in 16:9 ratio (widescreen format). Even if you don't have a widescreen TV currently, you will very soon have one as more and more people are buying them. So its better to buy this camcorder and shoot in 16:9 format to enjoy your movies later in widescreen format.

Includes widescreen rotatable LCD so what you see is what you get when you shoot in 16:9 ratio (widescreen format)

Good battery life. One extra battery is enough. You can easily manage a day's worth of shooting with two batteries before recharging them again

Includes docking station making it easier to connect to computer or TV. If you have a good computer with a firewire port, please buy a firewire cable to connect the camcorder to your computer. You can download your movie in excellent clarity in .avi format and edit it as required

Make sure to change the audio setting to 16 bit (instead of the default 12 bit) for very good hi-fi audio

Touchscreen menu system is great. You don't have to search for any buttons as they are all available in the touchscreen menu itself.

12X optical zoom is more than sufficient for ordinary home videos. Anything more produces more "shaking" and would necessiate the use of a tripod. When you shoot without a tripod, 12X is the best zoom you can achieve without worrying about shaky videos

1 MP widescreen still photo. You can use this feature if you forgot to bring your digital camera. The photo clarity is not good so please don't expect great shots. Since the photo is in 16:9 format, you can take panoramic photos and cover more people in group shots

Nightshot: Cool feature that records using infrared light. Useful for shooting at night as you can record a video even in 100% darkness

Color widescreen viewfinder Very useful when you are running down on batteries and need to use the viewfinder. The color widescreen viewfinder gives an excellent picture and is as good as the LCD in clarity

Negative factors:

Outdoor videos especially in bright sunlight are overexposed. So please adjust the white balance when shooting outdoors. Add the white-balance menu to your shortcuts so that you can easily access it and return to default once you start shooting indoors

Sensitive microphone may pick up button clicks (best to turn off the button click "beep" sound).

Notes:

Use a fresh cassette after recording 2 or 3 times on the same cassette. The head tends to get dirty if you re-record on the same cassette more than 3 times

You can edit movies in Windowx XP using Windows Movie Maker, but beware it does not support 16:9 ratio video. Hence your videos look ugly as you shot them in 16:9 but Movie Maker converted it to 4:3. Invest in Pinnacle Software version 9 or 10 for better movie editing capabilities. Pinnacle is the only software, I am aware of, that preserves teh 16:9 ratio. Even Roxio could not allow 16:9 format.

You can also invest in wide-angle lens as it gives excellent coverage

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCR-HC42 1MP MiniDV Digital Handycam Camcorder w/12x Optical Here

After much searching for the perfectly priced, and well performing mini DV camcorder, I came back to Sony's HC42 model. I've owned a LOT of sony products over the year, and have yet to be disappointed. This is a solid camera, packing a touch screen, an upgraded lens, 12x optical zoom, and a docking station which connects your camera to the computer (via a firewire cord that YOU MUST PURCHASE separetly, it only comes with a USB cable for tranferring pictures) and is also a charging stand. It comes with some video editing software, but I would suggest Pinnacle 9 Plus, or a 3rd party if you are really into video editing. The picture quality is awesome, ease of use is great (it even has an 'EASY' mode, where high tech options disappear from the screen!). You cant go wrong at this price point. I wouldnt go for lower models, and the higher runs over 1000 bucks..this is the sweet spot. Enjoy

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I had recently bought one and returned after observing its poor low light performance. This camcorder gives exceptional quality video in outdoors. In indoors with minimum lighting, it produces below average quality video and grainy pictures even with night shot. Especially if you are planning to shoot lot of video indoors (involving kids, for family events), this is not the right camcorder to buy.

Vivitar DVR508 High Definition Digital Video Camcorder in Black + 4GB Accessory Kit

This camera is low on options and features. It seems to work ok but feels like a toy. I guess it is worth the $60 I paid for it. My expectations were low and were fulfilled.

Panasonic RR-QR160 IC Recorder

This is my 5th voice recorder. I started with a cheap pen, then a poorly designed olympus, then I had 2 sony units that had a great design but were buggy and dropped messages. This Panasonic is a very nice unit especially for the price. The voice quality is excellent, much better than the sony I had. The buttons could be placed better but they are very usable and I can find the record button without having to look at the unit which is important when making notes while driving. The play button should be on the side, it is too easy to accidentally press when it is in a pocket on the front. Also the sony erase button would play the message repeatedly until you pressed erase again to delete it. This was a great feature for going through notes. The Panasonic lets you press and hold then press to confirm which is OK, better than the olympus that took ten button presses to erase every recording.

Overall I like this Panasonic, especially for the price. I think I will be using it for a long time to come.

This was my frist digital recorder that I bought and I was pretty pleased. The batteries last for quite a while. The only thing I don't like is that on a manual tape recorder, you can erase part of the recording. On this one, it automatically makes a new folder everytime you record a new piece and you can't delete just part of it. But other than that, it works great.

Buy Panasonic RR-QR160 IC Recorder Now

Altho discontinued, I just picked this unit up for under $25 brand new, and what a great value. It is designed very nicely; easy to operate, has excellent sound clarity in hq, and was very easy to master in no time. It is small and light, and will be perfect as I think of things I have to do while meandering thru my home or when driving. For the money, I really don't think you can go wrong (if you can find one).

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic RR-QR160 IC Recorder Here

I have owned this product for a couple of years now. Bought it directly from Panasonic. Reproduces very good. I found it very annoying that it depletes batteries very quickly, in a couple of weeks even when disconnected. Also construction is very poor and the case lost the printed indications and color very quickly; looked beaten up in less than six months.

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Have been using this recorder for almost three years now...almost daily..and it is still kickin' butt..I especially like the five folders so I can sort out my recordings depending on content...batteries last about 4-6 months...it is very compact and easy to use...I use this recorder for my bike journal when traveling...takes a lickin' and keeps on kickin' !!!...good little recorder...plenty of memory...JM

Creative MuVo Slim 256 MB MP3 Player Black

• 256 MB holds up to 8 hours WMA or 4 hours MP3 music
• Super Fast USB 2.0 transfers music and data up to 40x faster than USB 1.1
• Built-in FM and FM recorder with 32 presets
• Built-in microphone for easy voice recording
• Compatible with Windows 98SE, 2000, Me, and XP

After having a Memorex mp3 player die on me in the 4th month, I read a lot of reviews and the Muvo series seemed to get top marks for performance and reliability. The Muvo Slim even got the top recommendation from a prestigious Consumer technology-review site. One of the best things about it is the lithium ion rechargeable battery, which even recharges quickly through the USB port. I went through a lot of batteries before. Even if your mp3 player gets 10 hours on one battery, if you work out or walk to the bus stop every day, that can mean 1 battery per week -that starts adding up quickly, believe me!

I ended up going for the Muvo Micro instead, but that's only because it has an arm band, and I go running. I actually like the credit card shape of the Slim better, and it fits excellently in a top pocket. But I finally got my hands on one in person, and I noticed that the nice leather case doesn't have a place for a belt clip or strap, so even if I had created my own arm strap, there was no place to guide it through.

Hope this helps someone else who was thinking the same thing.

Buy Creative MuVo Slim 256 MB MP3 Player Black Now

I just got mine out of the box and fooled around with it for a couple of hours. I honestly did not know they made stuff this cool. No it can't hold a week's worth of continous play like an I-pod, but then again it's about three hundred dollars cheaper. The recording mic. works well and you can record stuff off the radio. And it's so damn small. I am completely and utterly satisfied, so satisfied that I decided to sit down and write this review at 1:00 in the morning. If you've even thought about getting an MP3 player, this one is great.

Second Review: This review is written about five months after the above review. I'm responding to some of the negative reviews here listed about the muvo slim. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you guys, but as far as I'm concerned, the muvo slim is still the best MP3 device available for under $100. I am an avid skateboarder. I've taken about five good slams while using my muvo (one time landing more or less directly on top of it) and it's never had the slightest problem. I don't think I'd run over it with a car, but it's pretty tough. Battery life is still very good and it has never malfunctioned at all for me. I love it.

Read Best Reviews of Creative MuVo Slim 256 MB MP3 Player Black Here

I think I have taken a good decission in buying this product. After searching over the net for a month, I choose this compact MP3 player as the best one and after using it over a month now, I found it to be the ultimate one when I compare this with other MP3 players those my friends are using.

It gives a harmony sound effect, no need to go for another ear piece. The voice recoding is excellent. I recorded so many songs and sent those to my friends and they couldn't believe that the voice is so much clear when I told them it is recorded by a mp3 player. They felt like I am singing infront of them. Lookwise, it is very nice and very handy for travel purpose. I also carry it with me whenever I go for a meeting. The download is very fast, only you need to attach the cable to the USB port.I don't see any disadvantage of this item. Worth buying it if you are a music freakout person. This item is for someone who loves music and listens to the soft voice. Also, it is one of the best gift items you can think of.

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A great purchase. I bought it about a month ago, and it still works great. The equalizer allowed me to make the crunchy guitars in my music well...crunchier. The radio was pretty good too. It doesn't have AM, but who listens to AM anyway? The voice recorder is EXTREMELY handy, Especially for people without microphones on their computers, seeing as how this thing comes with one of the fastest ways of file transfering out there. Simply amazing. The quality is second only to my 6 speaker car stereo. If you do choose to buy this, I would recommend that you buy a pair of headsets to go with it. The included ones are very fragile, and constantly fall out of my ears.

Have owned many MP3 players over the years, this is by far the best, and the lowest cost. Battery charges quick (though the latch to close it is poorly designed, hope it does not break) with USB port to computer, I found the radio stations to be clear, and the size and shape is ideal for the exercise club. Not much to add to other reviews other than I use with Audible.com, and the download speed was very fast. What really made this a great unit is the fast forward button, which I did not expect it to have. You can listen to recordings, and if you miss something, go back and relisten to any section easily. Other MP3 players can stop, and start at same spot you left off, but here it is like a tape player. I record off of my PC webcasts and other events, and they download perfectly into this unit. So, in one unit, can listen to music, radio, books, or recordings. Only thing I would want more is satellite radio!

PlexEasy-A PC-Free Smart Back-Up and Share Station

I have been using my PlexEasy to copy the pictures and videos from my Digital Camera SDHC cards to CD/DVDs and USB keys, with no problem at all. Compact size and low price for all it does, light weight, easy to use menu.

Got this for my father who is a retired professional photographer but not very computer savy. Case is not "flimsy", it is typical laptop drive build. SD to DVD copy is very easy and works well. JPG's from a digital camera burned to DVD were viewable on several DVD and Blu-ray players that I tried.

Buy PlexEasy-A PC-Free Smart Back-Up and Share Station Now

You really have to read and understand the instructions. Not exactly intuitive. However, once you get the hang of it, this is a jewel of a tool!

I'm a Pro photographer and often go on extended photo shoots where I need to backup and store a lot of photos. I bought a 1TB 2" hard drive that doesn't require external power and I can transfer photos off my camera SD chips right onto the hard drive or burn to a CD or DVD. It is VERY slow... but that's OK because at the end of a shooting day... you just start it going and go out to dinner or relax while it does it's thing. I bought a SeaHorse waterproof case that I store the PlexEasy, it's power brick and the small HD in. One star off for being so slow. I don't know why a SD to USB transfer would take that long... but it does. It actually takes about the same time to burn a DVD. Sorry I don't have timing info for you. BEST of ALL... no PC or laptop required!

Read Best Reviews of PlexEasy-A PC-Free Smart Back-Up and Share Station Here

Does a great job making copies. Operation "manual" is almost impossible to understand? Wanted to copy old Beta & VHS tapes to DVD without the hassle of connecting to a computer but there are no AVI inputs and I cannot find an AVI to USB adapter without buying a converter, which gets me back to the computer again? Had to use a card reader to access a memory stick from my Sony camera? Good product but lacks the features mentioned above?

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Pros: Works as described, truly PC free operation, will back up from iPhone, iPad, SD, USB to CD or DVD. It will autospan if it sees you have more data to backup than what one disc can hold. Mac OS X recognizes it as an external writer. Can be USB powered. Comes with an external power supply. Can erase RWs and format media PC free.

Cons: Cheap flimsy plastic case. Needs to have a USB port with enough power to run off the USB power cord or you have to use the external power supply. Multisession DVDs aren't readable in Mac OS X, only the first session is readable so if you are a Mac user you have to burn all you can in one session for a DVD. I suspect this is due to the UDF build the PlexEasy uses. Multisession DVDs are readable in Windows 7.

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Pioneer DV-410V-K Multi-Format 1080p Upscaling DVD Player Featuring HDMI

• HDMI Terminal for Digital Audio/Video Out
• HDMI Upscaling (to View on 1080p) WMV (Windows Media¿¿¿ Video) Compatible
• HD JPEG Playback JPEG PhotoViewer(Fujicolor CD) Video Adjust Func
• PureCinema 2:3 Progressive Scan
• 1 HDMI Terminal ,1 USB Input, 1 Coaxial Digital Output, 1 S-Video Output, 1 Audio/1 Video Output, Component Video Output (DVD, Video CD)

I purchased Pioneer DV-410V dvd player to replace a low-end Sony model that I have been using for a year. The Sony DVD player does not have a HDMI port, so I have been relegated to watching my Panasonic LCD TV via component video cable. I narrowed my choice between Pioneer and LG DN898 players. They are the two top rated DVD players according to Consumer Reports. Pioneer, with the score of 86, tops LG player (which gets 82). I saw no reviews for LG DN898 on the Amazon web site; Pioneer (Amazon's second bestselling upconverting DVD player; LG was #7) got 15 mostly positive reviews. So I went for the Pioneer player.

Pioneer DV-410V has a very handsome form factor. There are more controls in the front panel of the player than most other DVD players (even though I probably would not use any of them). Disc tray is very solidly made. The display is easy to read. Pioneer comes with plenty of connection options. Composite A/V, S-video, component video, HDMI, plus coaxial digial audio out. The notable omission is the optical digital output (fortunately I do not need it), which is available in Pioneer's higher-end models. The set up was very easy. Connect the HDMI cable, went through various settings in the Home Menu, and I was ready to watch my first DVD.

The Home Menu is a model of efficiency. It is divided into five major sections: Audio Settings, Video Adjust, Play Mode, Disk Navigator, and Initial Settings. It is very easy to navigate through each section using cursor buttons. I especially like the Video Adjust Menu, which give you control over such settings as Sharpness, Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Hue, and Chroma Level. This may be redundant with many TVs, but my Panasonic LCD display has minimal picture settings, so some of those settings are still useful.

The picture quality is much better than what I have been used to with the Sony, at least due to using HDMI instead of component video cable. The picture is more lively and rich than what I have been used to. The picture quality difference was most evident when viewing JPEG photo files. They were like viewing them on my computer display, except on very large scale. I gave up watching JPEG files with the Sony because the images were so pixelated and the resolution was so terrible.

Audio was very rich and clear, although this only happened when I disabled surround and other special audio features. Sometimes less is more. Too many special settings actually have opposite effect. The player remembers last five discs, and it resumes the play automatically. When I stop a DVD and then press play there is no delay; on my old Sony there was a considerable delay

So why only four stars. Any man-made product has at least a bit of imperfection, so this DVD player is no exception. My major gripe is that Pioneer is noisy. It is not a problem when I am watching a DVD, but when I first turn on the unit or when I pause or stop the noise level is perceptible. Next, the display in front of the unit is fixed at displaying chapter and elapsed time (for DVDs). I rather have the flexibility to change it to the remaining time, which is more useful to me. I can view the remaining time and other informations by pressing Display button on the remote (and I have to press the button two more times to get rid of the onscreen display), but that's not as convenient as just looking at the unit's display. Time format is in minutes and seconds, so 1 hour 25 minutes will show up as 85:00, instead of 01:25:00 which I am accustomed to viewing. The remote control is not a universal remote, so I cannot control my TV with it. It does not even have volume or mute buttons. This is no problem for me because I use Sony RM-VL600 8-Device Universal Learning Remote, which I would recommend very highly. Lastly, it only comes in black, if anyone cares.

My next venture into this field will be for a Blue ray player. I wanted to wait purchasing it until blue ray becomes the de facto standard. I would not mind if I wait a year or two until prices of blue ray players come down to around $100 level. Until then, Pioneer DV-410V will serve as a useful bridge. It's picture and audio qualities (the two most important factors) are very impressive. Pioneer has a long history of making quality audio-video products. As I mentioned earlier, it tops all DVD players in the Consumer Reports ratings. The negative aspects of this DVD player are very minor and in no way diminish the appeal of owning this fine product. Therefore, I would highly recommend Pioneer DV-410V to anyone who's shopping for a DVD player.

Buy Pioneer DV-410V-K Multi-Format 1080p Upscaling DVD Player Featuring HDMI Now

I have been buying all kinds of DVD players (2 years searching) with no luck for the HDMI to DVI. Until this one. It works!!!

Works in 1920x1080p 1920x1080i 1280x720p 720x480p 720x480i

Even tried the Pioneer DV-400V-K. Pioneer said that one would work but it did not. Pioneer also said the only difference was the USB on this is in HD and the DV-400V-K is standard definition.

Pop in a USB key and it lets you scroll through videos and pictures in HD.

The picture is fantastic and the multiple adjustments you can do in the settings for picture and sounds. There are so many settings, you will not believe it.

This is "THE BEST" UP-Convert DVD player.

Read Best Reviews of Pioneer DV-410V-K Multi-Format 1080p Upscaling DVD Player Featuring HDMI Here

Update, this is an older model now, I think I paid $100 new last year.

Pros:

Full controls on front panel

Excellent image quality (no blocking)

Slim and quality feeling

USB 2.0 content with HD images

Cons:

No optical audio out

Some graininess to dark scenes

Who should buy this player? Anyone looking for a full featured upconverting DVD player for a reasonable price.

I like the DVD player. The main reasons I bought this model is that it is upconverting for my HD TV and that it has full controls on the front panel. My TV is only 32" so there is only a slight improvement in image quality over standard DVD. Those with larger TVs might notice more improvement. The quality is nowhere near HD or Blu-Ray of course, but still an improvement. The full controls on the front panel are important to me, because any function can be performed without the remote in case it is lost.

Menus are intuitive and easy to use, and the HDMI output is handy to reduce cables. I run the HDMI cable to my TV and the Digital Audio out to my Amplifier (it doesn't take HDMI at all), and that works great. I just disable the audio output in the HDMI cable (through the menus) and no sound comes out the TV (which is what I wanted).

Overall, this is a great DVD player, and I hope it lasts longer than my previous players from other brands. I like the feel and function.

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I did my research prior to buying this player. For those who are looking for an affordable DVD player that plays ANY region disc as well as UPSCALING...look no further. I have done both of these things with the Pioneer DV-410V-K and it works perfectly. The remote is user friendly and the menu/programming is simple and easy to navigate. IMPORTANTLY when it comes to the upscaling feature there is a little programming however which I contacted the seller and received instructions on this procedure machine will not automatically do this and this makes a big difference! Here are the intructions :

Here are steps:

1) You need to connect both RCA cable and an HDMI cable both together first time.

2) Confirm that you are getting picture using RCA cables.

3) Change the input source on your TV from RCA to HDMI.

4) Take the remote of Pioneer DVD player press the Home Menu Button.

5) Select the Initial Setting menu.

6) Go to Video Output and choose the resolution what ever you want.

Once you do this quite frankly you will get optimum 1080i or 1080p upscaled image quality. I do not have a Blu-Ray player but the cost of these and investment in the discs are only really worth it if you are using a 70" TV. I have played old BBC TV series in PAL as well as newer discs that are currently released and the Pioneer is outstanding. For around $100+ you cannot go wrong!

The Pioneer DV-410 is a very solid performer, but it has one fatal flaw: an inexcusably unresponsive remote. I can't really complain about the video quality or the array of features, but when you're trying to access a menu or even turn the unit on and the remote just isn't working, it gets pretty annoying really fast.

Here are the good features: You get a USB jack right on the front. This is incredibly useful for connecting your digital devices. I also really like the presence of buttons on the front of the unit. Judging by the utter lack of controls on the face of DVD players, I must be in the minority, but I really like to not rely on the remote for essential tasks like play, stop, and chapter skip.

I don't have an amazing TV, so I can't really speak to its upconverting capabilities. If you want flawless video, you probably want a Blu-Ray player anyway. For standard definition DVDs, I'm very satisfied with the image quality.

The strongest feature is probably its compatibility. I've encountered so many DVD players that are picky when it comes to DVD-/+Rs, DIVX, DVDRW, and whatever else you can think of. Amazingly, I've not had a single disc not play in the DV-410.

There are so many great features, but again I have to return to the terrible remote. Seeing as you'll likely need to use the remote every time you use to DVD player, it *will* annoy you every single time. My recommendation is to consider where you'll be placing the unit. Anything beyond a 30 degree angle is not going to work and that is just unacceptable. If you'll have a straight shot with the remote, you'll probably be okay, and if so, you'll get a great deal of use out of the Pioneer DV-410.

mobiBLU Cube DAH-1500i 1 GB Digital Audio Player Black

• World's smallest digital audio player, at 0.63 ounces and 0.94 inches square
• 1 GB memory holds 16 hours of MP3 and 32 hours of WMA audio
• Plays MP3, WMA, and secure WMA (compatible with online stores and subscription services)
• Integrated FM radio with 20 presets and record function; built-in microphone and voice recorder
• Unique OLED display; internal lithium-polymer battery charged via USB connection or AC adapter

A few months ago I saw the MobiBLU Cube on some weekend morning news show. At the time I did not have an MP3 player, which is kind of strange since I am what you call an "early adopter." I liked the looks of the MobiBLU Cube. It's a small (approx. 1") cube that fits in the palm of your hand. A couple of weeks later I went to Wal*Mart and bought the black one. I wanted the pink one but that is only available online and I didn't feel like waiting. I purchased the 1 GB player and it was $129.00.

The MobiBLU Cube comes with the mp3 player, a pair of necklace headphones that double as antennae for the FM receiver, an ac adapter, USB cable, instruction manual, software and a rubbery protective thingy.

I should say right off that I am not a music person. I like music, of course, but I don't obsess about it. I can't really tell the difference between good sound quality and great sound quality. I can tell bad quality, though, and the MobiBLU Cube does not have bad sound quality. It may not be great quality but it is at least good quality--and, it may be great quality, as far as I know. All I can really say is that the sound quality is sufficient for me and would probably be sufficient for most people.

The MobiBLU Cube has some neat features. It can tune in FM radio stations, although in my area this feature doesn't really work. It has a microphone and can be used to take memos. You can also record from the FM receiver and add the recordings to your playlist.

I find that the included earbuds get really uncomfortable overtime. They came with spongy cover things but by the time I realized they had come with it one had already fallen out of the package so I don't know if that would help with the discomfort. My guess is that it would not help much because the discomfort is a result of the somewhat large size and slightly odd shape. I'll probably eventually pick up new earbuds one of these days.

The Self Emitting Blue OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) Display is ultra bright. Sometimes I use it in the middle of the night to find things when I don't feel like turning on the light, it is that bright. I also haven't had any problems reading the screen outside and I don't exactly have the best eyes in the world.

The random play feature needs some work. I currently have 66 songs on my unit (and yes, I paid for every one of them--I don't steal music), 26 of those songs are Big & Rich (two full albums). That's just over 1/3rd of them so at that rate B&R should be player approximately every 3rd song but typically it plays about 5-6 B&R songs in a row and then will play 1 of my other songs and a lot of the songs almost never come up on random play. Interestingly the B&R songs that are playing are almost always from the Coming to your City album. So, I have songs from one album playing repeatedly while other songs aren't playing at all. Now, obviously I like Big & Rich but come on, there's a limit to how many times I can listen to Jalapeno in one sitting! I frequently skip several songs in a row when I am listening in random play.

The product manual claims that with the screen off and the volume under 20 the MobiBLU Cube can play for up to 10 hours. I don't have the patience to wait out 10 hours to test it but I do know that I have never had it stop playing while I was listening to it. The most time I am likely to spend listening is maybe 2 or 3 hours. The one thing that really bothers me about this MP3 player is that the battery doesn't hold a charge when it is off. Every time I want to listen to it I have to recharge it even if I haven't been playing it and the battery was full a couple days ago. This may be the case with all MP3 players, I'm not sure.

I had trouble using the included software. I would drop the files to the player and the files would come up on the player as zero length files. Then I reformatted it and tried using the WMP sync function and it worked perfectly. When I got my new laptop I didn't even bother to install the MobiBLU software, I just use WMP and everything works just fine.

As far as durability goes I have had no problem. I have been using it for a few months without any problems. I have definitely dropped it once or twice and my cat is certain it is actually a cat toy. If I look away for just a second he will pick it up and run off with it and bat it around for a while. It still works despite a bit of abuse and that's a good thing. The iPod we got my nephew for Christmas stopped working before the New Year and he was treating it like vial of nitroglycerin! Apparently those things break if you look at them wrong.

The MobiBLU Cube is not without its flaws, but it's a cute little device. It's lightweight and really simple to use. The 1 GB capacity holds up to 32 hours of music (in WMA format). For the price it is probably the best deal on the market. It used to only be available from Wal*Mart but now you can find it all over the web including at TigerDirect, Target and Amazon.com.

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No need to repeat all the features, but the FM tuner functionality and recording capability is invaluable to me. The microphone is very high quality for its type -I've used it to record lectures, public announcements, and live music, and it's performed admirably in all cases. FM reception isn't too strong, but some is better than none!

One other note about the device's design: the dime's width screen makes for a surprisingly effective user interface, but don't expect to see track information while your files are playing -it just scrolls the filename. If you have 2gB of music loaded, that can be an annoyance.

Some people have complained about the service and quality of the device. I just got my 8-month-old unit back from the service center, so I can comment accurately on both issues.

The quality of the device's physical construction is very impressive. It comes with an impact guard, but it seems fairly indestructible. In 2/3 of a year of active use, there's not a scratch on the unit.

The one weak point is the OLED screen -blue, beautiful, and bright, but extremely weak to burn-in. That is, if the screen is active and displaying the charging screen -as it is when you connect it to your computer -the pixels that are on will noticeably weaken and fade. It doesn't make it unusable, but it's a flaw in the software. Using a wall or car charger does not cause this problem, so I recommend you do.

My unit's problem was corruption of the firmware. I don't know whether it was the player's fault or my computer's (I've had weird USB problems for a long time). In any case, the device would -every twenty syncs or so -get a bit corrupted, so that the options screen no longer worked. I had to reflash each time (though contrary to what another user complained about, you're not forced to delete all your audio files to do so). After months of this, a reflash failed, rendering the player unusable.

I emailed MobiBLU support about it and got no response. After a week, I called their customer support line. I talked to a very courteous representative who told me to resend the email. I did and got a response the next day. (I can only guess they have a zealous spam filter.) I sent the unit in, they replaced the firmware, and sent it back express. I got it within a three days of them receiving it.

Here's the best part: the new firmware performs a self-check on startup, which probably would have prevented my problem for occurring. The new firmware also improves navigation in the file structure and features a new "Favorites List" functionality that seems very useful. It doesn't appear to be up on their site yet, but it probably will be soon.

So: the firmware seems a little bit buggy and susceptible to corruption. Customer support requires a bit of effort to work with. Despite these problems, it's been a quality piece of equipment and the company has acquitted themselves well in our interactions.

If you want a tiny, light, convenient, inexpensive player, you can't do better than this one. It's not perfect, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else on the market.

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If you are introverted, don't buy a MobiBlu cube, people see it and want to know what it is without fail wherever I go. They will try to engage you in conversation and want to touch the cube. Once they find out it's an MP3 player, they shake their head in disbelief. It's roughly one inch square. They could probably make these even smaller but why, they'd be less usable and harder to manipulate.

In the gym I see people struggle with their oversized iPods (iPaid2much is a better name!) latched onto their arms like some plastic, electronic leech. The Mobiblu cube hangs neatly below your neckline via the supplied ear phone cord and is so light, you don't even notice it after a short while. If I am doing some very strenuous or exercising with lots of movement, just a quick tuck of the Mobiblu inside the shirt keeps it neatly and safely stowed for about anything you can think of.

Things I really like about the cube is that it recharges quickly. I can take 100's of songs with me to the gym, more than I can even listen to in the two hours I'm there. The sound is easily shaped to anyone's tastes and the construction is very sturdy, I was quite impressed by that when I first pulled it out of the box. The buttons have a nice tactile feel with sure clicks. The OLED blue screen is extremely bright and can be adjusted to further conserve battery life.

All in all, I think this is the best MP3 for the active person. This is the MP3 player that Apple wishes they were building.

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I have had the mobliBLU 1GB for about 6 months and I use it for Mp3 music only. Although it can play WMA files, I believe the battery may last longer with Mp3 files recorded @128kbps. I set the LED display to ALWAYS ON only when charging for long periods of time (ie. overnight) so that it does not overcharge the battery. I had to reinstall the latest firmware once about six months ago, but it has worked reliably ever since. Seeing the display in *bright* sunlight is a problem. Selecting the music to play is fairly easy, and I have never had a problem with "random" mode. I really like the equalizer which has presets, but allows you to configure it anyway you want. The earbuds are a tad larger than I would like, but they seem to have excellent sound quality.

The FM radio only works for strong local stations. The 1GB is too small-I am sure the 2GB is a better value. Copying music and deleting th music is a piece of cake using My Computer or Windows File Explorer. The iPOD Nano is nice, but it does not come with the necklace earbuds which are $39.99 from Apple the last time I checked. You must also use iTunes to load and remove music, which I found cumbersome. I recommend the mobiBLU for those who want to try something diferent and easy to use.

I've had my little mobiblu 1 gb player for a year now so i know a lot about it. In the begining i was so excited to have it. the easy copy paste music feature is a nice touch.the size is obviously small and convienient. but that is also its down fall. It may be to small for it's own good. small buttons, small screen, small, small, small... you get the picture? The sound quality is alright but you really need to turn it up to hear it (not to say the volume is bad). the blue screen is nice and bright easy to see in the dark, and the unit is light and not even a bit heavy...It has a radio but the reception is bad. th clock and voice recording features are a nice touch as well. plus the same cable that you connect to the computer can be plugged into a wall outlit to power it as well. plus it also can get it power from the computer

now for the problems i've had with mine.

From all the reviews on amazon i've read. all of the other people who have this little system have different unique problems...Mine are as follows

The system after a long period of time would not turn on when i press the play/on button and the system had 3 bars full power and i had to constantly press the reset button on the bottom of the unit to get it working. When that did not work i went to my computer, and had to delete everything on the system to get rid of any file corruption that might be making the unit malfunction and reinstall the firmware that came from the disc that comes with the unit. I've had to do this twice over the course of me having the unit.

Well that my scoop on the mobiblu dah 1500i

It nice for novelty and having people stare at it ask "what is it?" to you. But you would be better off spending your money on another better mp3 player like the creative labs or the ipod players

Pros: It's small, Lightweight, easy to put files on it, easy to manage.

Cons: It's Small, you might experience a problem or two.

NBOX 2nd Generation True 720P TV Media Player Manufacture Gift Pack - Play MKV with Enhanced Chipse

I was looking for a simple media player that would be compatible with my old tube TV. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it either. Once I received it, I just hooked up the AV cables to the TV and followed the quick installation instruction provided by the seller. Within minutes, I was playing my first video. It was so easy to navigate through the menu. I'm playing .mp4 and .xvid files mostly. I had some minor issues but when I contacted the seller that he responded back within an hour and all problems were resolved. He even offered to take back the product and give me a new one. But everything is working fine now so I'm keeping it. The seller was very helpful and I appreciate great customer service as much as the good product. This is a good product that I'll be using for a long time. No complicated setup. Very simple to use and good picture quality.

This product is inexpensive but seems to be well but together and has done everything I have asked of it. I did run into one slight problem Nbox V2 does not display in alphabetical order it displays by time stamp of when the file was written. (Example your copy the first 5 episodes of your favorite tv show on to your thumb drive depending on the order they were written to your thumb drive they may list in the order of 5, 3, 1, 2 ,4)if you select episode one it will play them all in the correct order. I contacted the seller who quickly verified the issue and is pressing the manufacturer to issue a firmware update to correct it. In my opinion this product is well worth the money and I would have no problem recommending this product to anyone.

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Works great with most formats, however, there are some rmvb for HD it is not able to read. We can use a computer to play those files without any problems. This is a nice gadget to have, no need to hook up your computer to the TV anymore for playing video files.

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This is the media player that I'm looking for. I'm glad to get this device to play all my media on my external hard drive without plugging in lots of cables around my laptop to connect to the TV and view the media. It basically plays all the file types I want.

The device is lightweight and pretty! It comes with a sleek design of remote control. The user interface looks beautiful and easy to navigate too!

With the price of this device, very good deal!

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I was looking for a media player to play some the youtube videos. The video was for some classes I am taking, so that the 720P quality is good enough for me.

I am amazed this little devices playing so well for MPG4 files on TV RGB inputs. It plays the MPG4 as well as FLV files. However, for the same video, downloaded MPG4 file has much better quality than FLV files on its TV output.

I was able to plug in a 1.5TB external USB drive and select go to sub directories, play the videos, at least once. Next time, it would not reconginize the 1.5TB drive any more. I don't know if the manufacture tested with that size of drive. But at least it works with large external USB drives.

One thing I think they need to fix is how they read the FAT file systems. Does not matter is the flash chip directly plugged in, or through USB external drive, they display and play the files in the order they were copied to the drive. Which means the player actually use inode to identify what is next file to play, not by the actual file name. When I have a lot of video files copied from computer to the flash card or USB drive, I am not copying one file at a time, rather is whole directory of 20 to 30 files. I wish they fix this problem.

Overall, this is a really nice device and worthy player.

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Sony AC-E30A Worldwide AC Power Adaptor with Folding Plug Blade

I am very happy with this adaptor...it turned my portable cd player/radio into an electric appliance saving on battery use. I purchased small speakers so i can use it when I do tai chi, dance or cook. It can also be used worldwide. The price and service are excellent. Thanks.

I use this AC Power Adaptor for my Sony tape recorder and it's a perfect fit. The price is right and I especially like the compact size that doesn't take up more than one space on the power strip. I was happy to find a Sony OEM at such a reasonable cost.

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I have 6 Sony MX-20 digital recorders and I got tired of replacing AAA batteries so I purchased 3 of these AC adapters and they work just fine. The cord is extra long so it is very convenient to use.

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Have an old Sony Walkman and this adapter is a good match, works fine. The instructions on the package say not to use with a radio due to interference/static. WTF I said to myself, It was listed by Sony as the model for my radio. Well, I get no static except with AM stations. FM stations are clean. This was a good price and I'd buy it again but forget AM stations on the radio.

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I purchased this as a backup to the batteries because I was using it for interviewing. If the battery is drained the quality of the recording is affected. So you may be better off using the adaptor to play it safe.

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Mount-It! Wall Mounted AV Component Shelving System with 2 Adjustable Tempered Glass Shelves (Black)

• Designed for use with DVD players, HD recorders, cable boxes and other AV equipment
• 2 Included Shelves are constructed out of tempered glass and are height adjustable
• Saves space and neatly organizes your AV Equipment
• Easy and Secure Installation
• Weight Capacity: 17 lbs per shelf

Just what my daughter wanted. This product was as advertised. Shipment was quick.and receipt was timely. She was completely satisfied.

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It holds everything that I needed it to. Looks very nice and was very easy to put together. Came with good instructions.

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It would be nice if there was more space between the shelves & the mount/wall. I used this for my PS3 & Dish Network box, and it will be ok. Not much room to get the HDMI or Coaxial cables attached and have space between the wall. For the price it is worth it.