VideoSecu CCTV Outdoor Security Camera IR Infrared Day Night Vision Weatherproof 520TVL High Resolu

I install security camera systems and have used several makes and models of cameras. This camera did Not perform well out of the box. It flashed on and off when in night vision mode and lost detail and resolution. It takes a while for the night vision to kick in as well. Since time was critical in getting security coverage, I didn't bother sending it back and just replaced it all together with Zmodo brands!

I've got about six different cameras on my system, and this one, hands down, is the best. The IR is great, illuminates my whole side yard (about 75x100 feet) like daylight. The daylight colors are better than any other cheap camera I've ever used. I'm going to be replacing a couple of my others with this model for sure.

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Professional 16 Channel HDMI H.264 Network Standalone DVR (NO Hard Drive Installed) for Security Ca

I purchased 4 of these DVR's for various bar/restaurant clients. I have found that it works best for the cost. The dvr itself is solid. It runs basic Linux operation system. Has the ability to have 2 Hard Drives OR 1 Hard drive and 1 DVD. The on screen menu is good but you have to remember that this is an entry level. If you are looking for bells and whistles, then you should look for a different model. The software that comes with the DVR is again entry level. It is called NetViewer. I installed it on a Windows 7 machine and connected to the DVR remotely. Depending on the remote(or where the dvr is located) upload speed will determine the overall interaction with the DVR. I have suggested to my clients that they should increase their "Internet"...Right now their download is 7mb and their upload is 712k. Upload is the bottleneck in most cases. If you are at your house and the DVR is a remote location, you are Downloading while the remote DVR is uploading, so that upload speed is important. The mobile app that I use is mEye or Asee. Seems to be the same app with some limitations. You are only able to view LIVE video on the mobile app at this time. I do like the mobile app but don't expect the picture to be perfectly clear as you would if you were using the NetViewer desktop application. The NetViewer desktop application is nice. It allows you to watch live feeds and review old files or playback from a specific point. You have the ability to view recorded video on the DVR but the user interface is no where near as function as the netViewer app. You also have the ability to access the DVR via the web though I you have to use IE. In Firefox they have an add-on called IE Tab. I would suggest using this because it takes the mind numbing work of getting active x configured in IE. Just look up IE Tab Active X and there are good instructions on how to use it. Overall I have not had any trouble with this product. I will continue to purchase this as an entry level. They way I look at it is that why would I spend $800 for stuff that I may never use. GW Security has been great to work with. I have emailed them a couple times and have always received an response in a timely(24 hours is my time frame) manner.

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Maxell Music 32x 80 minute / 700MB CD-R Media for Audio, 30 Pack Spindle

I've recorded more than 2,000 blank CDs of music, mostly classical, from originals to copies, from LPs, cassettes, reel-to-reel tape to CD, from CD copies of one brand to CD copies on Maxell blanks using both Sony and Philips CD burners, and from downloads directly via sites and through my PC's processes. In my experience, Maxell Music CDR is the most reliable brand of music CD on the market. They consistently outperform Sony, Fujifilm and Memorex (and any other brand I've used) and give me a product I can play on my PC, my CD player, my CD player-burner and in my car CD player.

I've been doing this with music going back to the middle 1970s when I regularly recorded from radio broadcasts and my turntable to cassette and to reel to reel tape. I followed tape technology in its day and bought my first CD player in 1986. I bought a Philips CD burner in the 1990s and later bought the Sony CD burner I use today. I have recorded from a turntable and cassette originals to CD using Maxell wiht nary a slip other than an occasional fault in my burner.

My success stories with Maxell products are plentiful. I purchased a download of a Beethoven choral work about a year ago that was no longer available in any purchasable CD format other than in an expensive multi-CD collection. I downloaded it to my PC, then burned it to a Fujifilm 80 minute music-data CD. The transfer was successful but, once I played the CD, it included a lot of static that reminded me of what it used to be like playing LPs. I'd heard this before -in the waning days of my old Philips CD burner when it would not successfully transfer the music from one medium to another without some excess noise also being transferred. When I bought my new Sony CD burner and burned a new Maxell CD from my earlier CD burn, the noise was gone and I was left with a pristine original.

Most recently, I downloaded a free copy of a symphony from an online Bruckner site to my computer, then burned it onto a Memorex 80 minute music-data CD using my PC's directions for a "mastered" disk (via Windows Vista Supreme), which is supposed to be playable in any conventional CD player. Once finished, the new disk played perfectly on my home players. When I tried it in the car, however, the player wouldn't read it.

I burned this CD onto a Maxell Music blank using my CD burner and this issue is now resolved. This is just one in thousands of episodes I've had over the years using Maxell's superior product. As I understand it, the reason they work so well is because, ironically, they can record at speeds as low as 4X. Don't ask me why but it works. This is the brand to buy if you want to record music from any medium to CD.

I have used hundreds of Maxell Music CD-R media through the years without problems, and acutally prefer them to any other music CD-R's. I ordered three of these spindles in November 2009 and just began using them. Immediately I began to get music with skips making them unacceptable for use. I opened a new spindle and experienced the same problem. I was afraid that my write drive was bad, but regular (non-music) Maxell Cd's recorded music fine. As a last resort, I went to my local computer store and bought a Maxell Music 50 pack, (which differed only by having interior plastic wrap and a "Made in Taiwan" sticker on top). These work fine, as I have always experienced. I can only conclude that the discs that Amazon is selling are defective. It may be that some will work and others will not, but I do not have the time or inclination to try each one to get a correct burn. Of course the return date has expired, so I will just have to recycle them. Be forewarned!!!

Buy Maxell Music 32x 80 minute / 700MB CD-R Media for Audio, 30 Pack Spindle Now

Maxell makes a very reliable blank CD-R that can handle up to 80 minutes of music or 700 megabytes of data. Moreover, these blank CD-Rs are capable of recording data at high speeds. I have used these as data discs and discs to record audio. I almost never got a coaster. Great!

The CD-R discs are compact and easy to store. While the discs are still blank, store them in the circular case on the spindle that they came in. After your burn data or music onto them, I would recommend storing them in slim jewel cases instead of paper sleeves. It's just better protection for your CD-Rs that have anything stored on them. Don't store these discs, burnt or blank, in rooms that become very hot; this causes damage to any brand of this type of disc and you could lose data over time.

There are two caveats that many other people note about any brand of this product: when you are burning the data onto the blank disc, don't be surprised if you see that the data is burning at a rate slower than the packaging advertises. This can happen if your burner doesn't have the capacity to burn faster, or it may be a quirk. I am not a professional so I cannot be certain of precisely what causes this phenomenon; but I assure you that the extra minute or two (tops) that you wait to get your CD-R completed is worth the wait. In addition, DON'T write on these using Sharpie ink pens. The ink can seep through the top coating of the CD-R disc and slowly but surely compromise your data--and you wouldn't want that, now would you? If you need to label the discs, label its jewel case using a post-it note.

Overall, Maxell blank CD-R discs store data very reliably and I believe that an extra minute or so to burn the data onto the blank disc is well worth it just in case it doesn't actually burn at the very highest speed advertised.

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I needed the best CD-Rs available in a hurry, so I went to Walgreen's and passed up on Memorex, Sony, and another less expensive brand in favor of this golden-faced Maxell CD-R 30-count music spindle. They were all coasters, playing intermittently and then sticking. Not a usable one in the bunch.

[Amazon doesn't deliver on Saturday, or I could have waited. the 100 CD-R spindle of Verbatim discs that I had ordered from Amazon came on Monday. Immediately, I tried burning the same 60-minute music file using the same equipment for recording and playing back the file. No problems. Perhaps it could just as easily have been the other way around. Nevertheless, it's somewhat like the restaurant business. If that first meal is undercooked, etc., the customer is hesitant to return. These Maxells do have a somewhat embossed, uneven upper surface to accommodate the fancy gold and silver patterns. I'm not sure, but that tiny irregularity could be too much for some players to cope with.]

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This has nothing to do with the quality of sound that was recorded on the CDs but with the fact that half or more failed. We were sent this brand of music CDs as a substitution for the ones we ordered. It took 2 spools of 50 CDs each to get 60 CDs to burn at all. The ones that did burn played OK but we noticed what looked like a lot of flaking in the CD material itself.

Bottom line We will not use this brand again nor do we recommend it at all.

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Sony DVD-R 16X 4.7GB (3-Pack)

I bought this media, but in the 10-pack (cheaper that way).

I burned it in my generic DVD player, and have had absolutely

no problems. My sister can't play them in her DVD player,

but it's an older model that doesn't play any recordable

media (DVD-R or DVD+R). But at home, in my 3 players and

my computer, they play perfectly. I suspect that the other

reviewer that had such trouble with it was doing something

wrong.

I bought this Sony media because I thought it would be the most compatible with my Sony DRU-530A burner. Unfortunately, every single DVD-R in the pack could not be read by any DVD burner. Please stay away from Sony DVD-R, buy Memorex instead.

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I wanted to make a back-up recovery DVD for my entire computer. These DVD's worked out just fine. I only used them for information (recovery media), not for viewing/audio. It took me awhile to figure out which type of disks I should use, since folks have different uses for them. But for back-up computer recovery storage, these work fine.

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I bought these in the 25 pack spindle. Seven of the 25 are unusable because they appear "non-blank". One other is not recognized by the burner. I have never had this problem with Memorex.

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Swann SW211-STY StyleCam Security Camera

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Sony ICD-UX512 2 GB Flash Memory Digital Voice Recorder (Silver)

First, Amazon ROCKS! Their service and delivery is outstanding.

I use this digital voice recorder primarily to record meetings. It is amazing how well the recorder picks up voices from around the room. There is an option to "cut noise" which reduces background noise and provides further clarity. There is a playback option that allows you to slow down or speed up your recordings. This is very beneficial when typing meeting minutes. You can use either the device itself or your PC to playback recordings. You can transfer the recordings to your PC, which allows the option to share with others. The device allows you to create folders so that you can organize your recordings. I have imported recording from CDs onto the device. This has proven to be a good tool as now I can listen to teaching lessons on the go. I have not recorded or imported any music as of yet. The device is Windows 7 capable. It's easy to use and very compact.

This product is simply great. It works exactly as advertised. However, I would recommend the ux412 that actually does exactly the same and is cheaper. I own the ux312, the ux412 and the ux512. I highly recommend the 412 because of the relation quality-price. However this one (512)looks cool and is excellent too. By the way, do yourself a favor and don't buy the 312... Terrible recording in comparison to the other two.

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My wife bought this to be able to record meetings so the review is hers: I am amazed at how well it worked. I was able to pick up all the people in the room. The first meting I recorded, I listened to with an old set of ear buds and the voices were distorted. I was so upset but decided to try the ear buds that came with the recorder and the voices were clear as can be. I downloaded the meeting into my computer and it was perfect. I am amazed how it can pick up a voice in the back of the room and after the first syllable it amplified it so that it was as loud as the person sitting next to the recorder. The person sitting the furthest was about 12 feet away from the recorder. I don't know the range. I used the automatic meeting setting but there are 3 other settings and you can also set it manually. Oh, we also tried all talking at the same time & rustled papers and I could hear all the voices perfectly. I have only had it a week but am VERY impressed. And of course Amazon is the greatest place to buy from. I have bought from them for years and had a remarkably few problems that were handled promptly. Love Amazon and love this product.

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Very satisfied with the recording device, but disappointed with the sound organizer software. Did not install the software after reading the license agreement that requires allowing Sony to "control and/or monitor" my computer:

"SOFTWARE DATA COLLECTION AND MONITORING

The SOFTWARE contains features which may allow SONY and/or third parties to collect data from, control and/or monitor computers and devices running or interacting with the SOFTWARE. You hereby consent to such activities."

To verify, go to Sony's eSupport website and click on "Drivers and Software." Enter the recorder's model number (ICD-UX512). Once under "Drivers & Software" for the recorder, select your operating system. Then click on "Sound Organizer." You'll see product info and a "DOWNLOAD" button--click on the "DOWNLOAD" button (takes you to the "Sound Organizer Software" webpage).

Click "Download Now" at the bottom of the page, "Save File," Open the file and read the License Agreement. After finding the above excerpt (just over halfway down), you can cancel the installation.

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Although the supplier is not to be blamed, this model was different than the model I wanted to purchase. It seems that the Sony company made two models under the same label, with slightly different packaging but a very significant technical variant. The original model I had prior (picking up this second one from Amazon) came with a sleeve for the recorder and an 8 gig mini SD card. These trinkets were, of course, bonuses but the main difference was in the recording unit itself, which had a radio feature in my former model that the model I purchased form Amazon did not. It was a mild disappointment to receive this item instead of the former but still the item is a quality recorder and I love it very much. I recommend it as a practical and useful device but just want people to be aware of the variant of the products in case they were chasing a recorder with the radio feature.

Koss KS3112 Progressive-Scan DVD Player

• Plays DVD-video, CD audio, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD, MP3, JPEG picture CD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW
• Fast forward/reverse; up to 5X zoom; resume play memory for up to five different discs
• Parental controls and PIN lock
• Hi-resolution video output; progressive scan/component video output; coaxial digital output; s-video and composite video output; stereo audio output
• Full-function remote control

I bought this dvd player because I just got a dvd burner and I needed a dvd player that played dvd-r disks. Well this one was advertised to do that; it even says it on the box. When i pull it out of the box and plug it up, I put a dvd-r in to watch it, and it gives me a "no-disk" error. I'm sending this back and getting my money.

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I bought a Koss 5 disc progressive scan home theater system for Christmas last year. I should have known when the one I brought home didn't work, that I was making a big mistake. The machine had trouble reading discs (as did the first one I purchased). It then worked for a while. Long enough to expire the warranty. It has now been exactly 10 months since I bought it and it will not even power up. Do not be seduced by a great price on a product that "looks" good. Koss is a horrible brand and I've had nothing but problems since the day I bought it. I should have just gotten my money back when I could instead of hoping it would turn out to be a great deal. I could have just mailed them a check for $150. I've got nobody to blame but myself. Consider yourself warned.

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So I get this DVD player for Xmas from my parents to make up for my VCR that died recently. I had never heard of "Koss" before. I had never touched a DVD before. So my wife and I pondered the cryptic setup instructions which did not match the machine at all and finally got it set up. No remote. We found it hidden in a small crevice in the styrofoam. How disorganized. So we just got it. So far so good. It still works. After -one week. But it's a new year. Wish us luck! And thanks for the crummy reviews. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

2.0 inch LTPS 720P HD Car DVR Black Box with Separate Rearview Camera/Sticker Mount/Night Vision/SO

• HD 720p high-definition video.
• Dual separate camera.
• SOS urgent file protection.
• Motion detection. Built-in G-Sensor (car accident case of emergency save, will not be deleted).
• Recorder will automatically start video when connect the power.

Dash DVR working good at day light,not so good at low-night-light,even when watch on pc,but have had use proved 2th when car accident happen in front of me witness,& when i*d been light hit in back!!!!!!rear camera!!!!

Opteka CXS-500 X-Cage Pro with Handgrip and Rail System with Opteka FF180 Reversible Follow Focus (

Got this for Christmas. So far I love it. Makes my rig look really nice and professional. The follow focus is awesome. Wasn't sure what to expect out of it, but it is really nice. Good solid construction. I do recommend this cage.

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Refurbished Olympus DS-40 Digital Voice Recorder - DS40 with Stereo Microphone

I've used a DS-30 for several years and loved it, and the DS-40 was just an upgrade. I use it to record dictation, group discussions, and presentations. It handles all three types very well with the included stereo mic. Transfers recordings to a Mac with no trouble: Use Flip4Mac to convert them, and edit using Audacity. Haven't yet tried creating an MP3 from the recordings.

This unit was "refurbished" but I couldn't tell it wasn't new.

The interesting question is comparing the DS-40 to my iPhone as an audio recorder.

Pros of using iPhone with the Dictamus app compared to DS-40:

-I always have it with me.

-Very easy to start recording. Can stop and restart recording, even after doing a different recording.

-Sound quality is fine with dictation and small group discussion

-Looks like I can edit right on the phone, but I haven't tried it yet.

Cons of using iPhone as recorder:

-More complicated transferring audio recordings to my laptop, where they end up in iTunes.

-Lower sound quality for large group recordings.

-If I'm using it for recording, I can't be using it for other things at the same time, such as emails or texting. However, incoming phone calls put Dictamus on hold till the call is finished.

For now, I love my DS-40, but the time could come when the iPhone replaces both it and a digital camera.

UPDATE. It worked for 1 year, then stopped. Won't turn on. No idea why. My older DS-30 still works find.

mvh

Sport Sunglasses Video Camera (16GB MicroSD Card)

Received on time and had absolutely no problems with the product. They work great and easy...real easy to set up with computer. Video quality and the sound are better than I expected. Glasses aren't the best looking frames or lens, but for what I use them for they are more than adequate...boating and camping. I recommend! No complaints here.

Sylvania SDVD7024, 7-Inch Portable DVD Player with Car Bag/Kit, Swivel Screen, AC/DC Adapter, Remot

• 7 Inch Widescreen color TFT display with 360 degree swivel screen
• Plays these formats: DVD, DVD+/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3 music burned onto CD-R/RW, JPEG photos burned onto CD-R/RW;
• Includes; Car Straps, AC power adapter, vehicle power adapter, A/V cable, carrying bag, remote control, stereo earphones
• Rechargeable lithium battery, built in stereo speakers
• AV Our Function

I really like this DVD player. I did a lot of research before I ever decided to buy this one. Everyone kept talking about how the different kinds of players would quit working quickly or the volume wasn't high enough. I finally decided on this one and am very glad I did. My son certainly doesn't have any problem hearing it and in fact, I don't have a problem hearing it when I'm driving.

My only gripe with this product is the car bag/kit. It is just fine as a bag to carry the dvd player and all the things that come along with it. However, it is the same material as the reusable grocery bags that the major grocery stores have started carrying. It is hard to keep the player in place and I have had a difficult time actually finding another mount for this player. They've got the kinds that mount it in the middle of the car but that doeesn't make much sense to me if the car seat backs are in different places. I really would just like to find some straps to hold it tight on the back of the seat. We've finally decided that if we don't find some soon, we'll just make some.

All in all, I would recommend this product to anyone wanting to purchase a dvd player for their car. When and if this one ever quits working, I will probably look at the tablet players but until then we will use this one and it works great!

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I have found this product to be a great DVD player it is compact and performs great. It looks good and performs well. The car bag kit is a bit flimsy but as for the performance of the player I have no complaints. The value and quality are spot on.

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Very satisfied with the product. Portable and light. Easy to operate. Remote control works very well. Would recommend to buy if need one

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I got this for my 20 month old son, we are taking two airplane rides this summer and want to be sure he is entertained on the plane. He started watching the DVD player at home and he loves it. We love it.

The DVD player worked great, no issues what so ever on our drives to Myrtle Beach from Chicago and back. The only issue was the holder! It is awful and would not stay on the back of the seat at all. I had to hold the DVD player the entire time we used it, which gets pretty tiring after a few hours! So, if you do buy this, buy another car bag, because the one it comes with is garbage!

JVC GR-X5US 5MP 3-CCD MiniDV Camcorder w/10x Optical Zoom

this is a very compact camcorder. However, the 5MP 3-CCD is useless if the lense is inferior. That's what happens to this JVC miniDV. The lense is not from any lense specialist, it's made by JVC itself. You have to look at the camcorder lense carefully to see "JVC video lense". The vidoe quality therefore is limited. There are tiny dots when you play it back on TV. I compared this with Sony DCR-HC96 and Panasonic PV-GS500 and decided that PV-GS500 is the best for the money.

Quantum FX AM FM SW 1-9 11 Band Radio Cassette Recorder With USB - Quantum FX J101U

Though it's not mentioned anywhere the USB, SD, and cassette deck are all in stereo. The FM however is not. The tape deck records in stereo as well (though there is only one built in microphone so that's mono, of course).

The sound can be a bit on the shrill side, but the good news is that it has a tone knob that takes the edge off quite a bit. Because of that it's not bad. Of course at this price it's not exactly going to be top notch high fidelity, but for what it is it's just fine.

SD and USB slots:

The most basic of functions is the name of the game here. It has buttons for next track, previous track, and play/pause. That's it. Of course there's no screen.

it does NOT scan through a track when you hold down the "next" or "prev" buttons. It does remember the last track plaid and will start back on that track after you turn it off or switch to another function however it starts at the beginning of the track.

It is HCSD (more than 2GB) compatible.

The tuner:

The tuner is a bit better than the other Quatum FX, Supersonic, etcetera radios of this type and class that I've tried, though not top notch. The FM is quite sensitive and selective (perhaps a touch better than average), MW/AM performance is about average, and the SW bands are about what you would expect from something in this price class, if not a bit better.

Cassette deck:

It runs at the correct speed and stays there, the head azimuth is spot on, and surprisingly enough the built in microphone is reasonably sensitive yet pics up very little noise from the deck itself. It will record from the SD and USB slots in stereo. The quality of the recordings is about average for an auto level control deck.

The fast forward and rewind buttons do not function as cue and review (you can't hear the tape go backward or forwards).

Lights?

*laughs* Yes, it has flashing lights. No, they do not change by/with whatever you're playing.

All in all for the price it's fun and it does what it should.

Runs on 6 D cells, 9V barrel plug, or AC power (switchable 110/220 volts).

This unit has a lot of things it can do , you might ask does this unit do them well . I have always found out especially in some cheaper radios that they make allowances in manufacturing them . Here are some differences I have noticed !

S.W Bands

3.5mhz to 4.5mhz 75 meter band } There is not much to listen to here .

4.5mhz to 5.6mhz 60 meter band

5.6mhz to 6.7mhz 49 meter band

7.4mhz to 8.9mhz meter band not known } Not world band segment

10.2mhz to 11.5mhz meter band not known} Not world band segment

12.1mhz to 13.6mhz meter band not known} Not world band segment

13.7mhz to 14.5mhz meter band not known} Not world band segment

15.0mhz to 17.0mhz 19 meter band

20.8mhz to 22.9mhz 13 meter band } There is not much to listen to here .

A.M F.M Radio

These international world meter bands are all off frequency so you might get a O.K radio . When you get this in your hands what can you really receive other then A.M and F.M Radio stations ? The other functions work as advertised !

I have also bought a amount of the Quantum FX model J-112 Radios which I also reviewed , the J-112 radio I like a lot . The frequency is off quite a bit , but this is a continuous frequency not separate ones like the Quantum J-101U radio . So I am giving the reader an idea about this radio J-101U ! I gave this radio 2 stars because of all it does in this one package !

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Sorry to say we sent this product back, it wasn't what my husband were looking for, It wouldn't pickup on the reado. and it just didn't work like he thought it would.thank you SG

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8.1MP Digital Camcorder Water Resistant Up To 10 Ft Hi Def

I was looking for a camera that would provide both video and still photos with the benefit of some weather resistance so that it would not be ruined if caught in the rain. This camera does a good job of meeting that need at a very affordable price. I really like how compact it is because that makes it easy to fit into a pocket, backpack, or luggage.

The biggest drawback is the lack of an ability to shoot video footage in low light situations without an external light source. Given the compact size I suppose that it would be hard to add a built-in light while retaining good battery life. It claims to have a 'flashlight' mode in the owner's manual but I have yet to figure out how to actually use that. Maybe that would resolve the indoor video issue.

Still photos turn out great. The digital zoom goes to 8x but provides grainy results, as one would expect from a digital zoom. In reality you can get only up to about 4x with decent results. If you want to do many zoom shots you should pay more money and get a camera that has an optical zoom.

With 8.1 megapixel stills and a decent video resolution, this is a great all around camera. Thanks to some deep discounts we were able to afford one of these for our daughter, who is an avid swimmer. Worked great in the pool, as well as a "test run" in the bathtub.

Pros: Well built, Lithium Ion battery lasts a good long time, SD cards up to 8G, floats.

Cons: Only one so far the tripod adapter screw is built too far into the base, so most tripods cannot be attached without adding an adapter.

Beyond that, if I were to nitpick: the door could be broken off with rough handling (time will tell), special shape and size of LI Ion battery needs a special charger, or the camera would need to be plugged into a USB port or the charger to recharge Would like to see AA batteries, but that would make the camera bulkier. Software that comes with would be better kept off your computer, using Picasa, VLC media player or some other software instead.

Summary: Great multi-environment camera that can be used anywhere, even up to 10 feet underwater.Vivitar Underwater Digital Video Recorder Blue (DVR 850W-B)

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I purchased this as a gift for my daughter for her 11th Birthday. The camera records video in a AVI format that our Mac could not read. Low light performance is very bad. The camera has a fixed focal length (no ability to zoom in or out). The seals for underwater are strong enough for a pool only. This was a total waste of money. Stay away from this product.

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Looked great it was a gift so im not sure how well it works but it looked nice great wrapping in the box got here fast

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Got all the way to the Bahamas only for this to not work at all. Sending it back now.

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Philips DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder

Amazon.com top 1000 reviewer, Jerry P. Danzig's thorough and exceptionally helpful product review posted on December 31, 2012 leaves little that I can add for those weighing the pro's and con's before purchasing the DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder.

There are a couple points that may eliminate the frustrations like those I experienced though. First, I recommend that you visit the product homepage, select the search option, enter DVT3000/00, then select the User Manual. Note that DVT3500/00 includes instuctions for this product. I say this because in my opinion, the user instructions that comes with this device are overly simplistic with pictorial rather than verbal instructions while the on-line 60 pages user manual is a must read to get the most out of this small but sophisticated electronic device. Second, upon receipt of this machine, after removing it from the package and inserting the rechargeable batteries, I recommend that you connect the recorder to your computer's USB port 2.5 hours to charge those batteries.

I have used many recorders over the years; however, this one is unlike any I have ever experienced. After reading the on-line instructions, the pictorial instructions that came with the device finally made sense. My blood pressure returned to normal after I figured out how to turn this recorder on--duh, the batteries needed the initial charge before the intuitive menu on the device would work.

With all of its bells and whistles, it may take a while to master this recorder's unique features; however, I can see how it would be especially useful to students, medical personnel and others needing accurate notes and documentation that are easily saved, indexed and retrieved. I think you will find that the results are worth the effort.

The Philips DVT3000 has a lot to offer--stereo MP3 recording and superior, 2 GB of built in memory and a Micro SD Memory Slot for up to 32 MB cards that provide vast recording space and batteries that record up to 48 hour before they need to be recharged--and at $60 you get a lot of bang for your buck!

Enjoy!

I really wanted to like this Philips Digital Voice Recorder. I mean, it's a nice-looking unit with stereo mikes for under sixty bucks. What's not to like?

Well, I'm sorry to say that in my experience, the feature most highly touted -the automatic recording mode suggested by the Voice Tracer name -does NOT work well at all. It's like having a point-and-shoot digital camera that keeps getting the exposure or focus wrong, ruining all your pictures.

There are several problems with this feature. First and foremost, it seems to make its adjustment only once, when you first engage the recording mode. As a result, if the recorder takes a non-representative sample of the audio to be recorded, you're stuck with improper settings for the length of the recording. That means voices will either be too soft to be heard clearly, or too loud, producing audible distortion on playback.

Second, while the recorder is making the adjustment -which takes a few seconds -it doesn't record anything. This means you are going to lose a few seconds of a recording.

Let's assume, for example, that you want to record a lecture. You must begin the automatic setting procedure when someone is speaking; you can't take a sample of the quiet room. If the speaker is someone introducing the main lecturer, you will lose a few seconds of that introduction. And if the lecturer speaks at a different volume than the person introducing him or her, the recording level will be off for the remainder of the lecture.

If there is no introduction, then you will lose a few seconds of the primary lecture. In either event, you lose.

Philips would have done better to incorporate Automatic Gain Control into this recorder -a standard recording-level-setting feature which has been around for years. At least that technology works on the fly, allowing instant level adjustments according to real-time conditions.

As far as I can determine, the DVT3000 has no such feature. You can, however, turn OFF the automatic setting function, "riding gain" -setting the recording level -manually. But that's like shooting with a manual camera instead of a point-and-shoot: you have to keep monitoring the recording level, which is distracting when you would prefer to focus your attention on the conversation or lecture being recorded.

So I have deducted a full two stars for this IMO fatal flaw.

Otherwise, the recorder works well if you set the recording level manually. You can also make adjustments allowing for your distance from the speaker being recorded -up to 50 feet away.

Other features include a wind filter, noise reduction to help eliminate background noise, timer and voice-activated recording, an alarm clock or appointment reminder function, WMA and MP3 music playback and equalization, and more.

The recorder offers a number of sampling rates, from PCM with no compression enabling 6 hours of recording, to LP that runs up to 1,140 hours. Unfortunately the instructions don't give the frequency responses of these various "speeds", just the sampling rates, from 44.1kHz for PCM to 16kHz for LP.

You can also plug in a microSD card for more recording capacity.

Two NiMH rechargeable AAA batteries are included (which can be charged in the recorder from your computer using the short USB cable provided), enabling battery life of up to 42 hours of recording using the internal memory or 16 hours using a memory card.

But the long and short of it is -if you are looking for a full-featured yet easy-to-use "point and record" digital voice recorder, I have concluded that this Philips Voice Tracer will NOT suit your needs.

PROS:

* Attractive design.

* Good value for the money.

* Stereo mikes built in.

* Ample built-in memory storage.

* Sufficient battery life.

* Rechargeable NiMH batteries included.

* Many useful features.

CONS:

* Automatic recording setting feature does NOT assure a good recording.

* NO automatic gain control to compensate for real-time conditions.

* Poor quality built-in speaker.

UPDATE: I just discovered today that the distortion I have been hearing may have been caused in large part by the not-so-great speaker in the recorder, not by the recording level being set incorrectly!

Today I had the opportunity to record a conversation with a young lady instructing me in a reporting procedure. I turned OFF the auto-level feature and instead set the recorder's sensitivity for "Conversation". When I listened to the recording later using the recorder's built-in speaker, distortion was quite prominent, and the recording levels often seemed to be "pegging the needles" as we used to say -maxing out. I feared the recording would prove unintelligible, until I transferred the audio file to my computer and ran it through my laptop's audio program and speakers. Ah -now I heard NO distortion.

So it is possible -I haven't yet had a chance to confirm this -that the auto-level-setting may work better than I had experienced (although it still interrupts the beginning of a recording, a real nuisance). What's more, the instruction manual says nothing about the recorder having "Automatic Gain Control" -real-time ongoing level calibration -so again I have my doubts about the true efficacy of the ALS feature. And clearly the recorder's built-in speaker is not up to the task of playing back an intelligible conversation at a reasonable volume.

Therefore I still feel that this Philips has some drawbacks that prevent me from giving it a double-thumbs-up.

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I've wanted a portable recording device for some time now as it occurred to me that being able to speak impressions into a mic was a lot faster and more practical than attempting to dig for a pen and pencil, especially if one is trying to track their dreams (much less invasive when drowsy). The Philips DVT3000/00 2 GB Digital Voice Tracer and Recorder (whew!) fits the bill nicely. 2 GB is plenty of storage for my purposes and the unit is compact and lightweight enough that it's easy to tote unobtrusively yet large enough to find if I'm sleepily groping. Playback quality is excellent and the display is quite easy to read. Unlike the cheapskates at Panasonic, Philips is considerate enough to include batteries; my only complaint is that there's not much in the way of hard-copy documentation (a truly deplorable state of affairs in general of late). Other than that, I'm quite happy with it.

These digital recorders are a vast improvement over their cassette-recording predecessors, even if they're somewhat larger. But hey, cellular phones have gotten larger over the last few years as well--a big improvement over the tiny little gadgets that we thought were such hot stuff. My needs are light, so I'm hoping my recorder will last for some time. I'll update periodically.

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This unit is light-weight with easy-to-use controls and functionality. Digitally record individual MP3 sound bytes which you can download and save, or edit, on your computer. This unit has and AutoAdjust recording feature which helps adjust the sound parameters automatically to the recording environment. As a result, the sound quality is excellent and the portability of this little device makes it an excellent choice.

Approximate dimensions are: 4.5" x 1.75" x .75"

Weight (with batteries) is: 2.2" oz.

Approx. 1" x 1" digital display

There is a spot where you can insert a micro SD card for expandable memory.

A few things worth noting:

-The batteries which come with this device will need to be inserted into the device and then charged before using.

-This unit has a fold out stand on the backside so you can position it towards the source of sound you wish to record.

-There are a number of optional accessories which you may also purchase for use with this device: Telephone Pickup, Plug-in Microphone, Tie-clip Microphone, Transcription set.

-Recordings are stored by date and time so you can easily find the sound byte you are looking for. Digital display allows you to search for a particular recording by date and time.

-Fast forward, pause and rewind buttons help you navigate through your recordings. An erase button lets you delete a file directly from the device (two second hold followed by confirm delete on separate button to ensure you won't accidentally delete a file).

-2GB built in memory. (Additional memory available by adding SD Card.)

It would be hard to beat this recording device for features, quality and price.

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Summary: This handheld recorder is complicated, but if you're willing to spend some time downloading and reading the manual, it does a lot of things and does them well. Recommended for recording class notes, music practice, or similar uses, especially if you plan to transfer your recordings to a computer.

This is a lot of recorder for a reasonable price. The built-in mike doesn't do stereo, of course, but includes features such as "zoom" or external noise reduction. I didn't notice a huge change, but I will keep playing with it and see. You can also plug in an external stereo mike if you want to do stereo recordings.

There are a ton of features, including on-unit editing, the ability to record .wav or mp3 files, to play files downloaded from your computer, and transferring files to the computer is a simple matter of plugging the unit in to your usb port and mounting it as a drive. (In a somewhat shiftier feature, you can enable "quiet mode" recording, which will allow you to record without the unit appearing to be on.)

I also appreciate the DVT3000's flexibility. It will take microSD cards of up to 32 MB to expand its 2 GB of built in memory, and it comes with two rechargeable AAA batteries, which is the best of all worlds battery-wise. The recorder can recharge its own batteries, but it's also easy to pack spares in case the existing batteries start running low.

The only real down side is that the recorder is pretty complicated, and that you need to download the manual from the Philips site to really get the most out of it. Assuming that doesn't scare you, highly recommended.

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SiliconDust HDHomeRun PRIME CableCard TV 3-Tuner HDHR3-CC (Black)

I've been following this product since it was first promised earlier this year. I read all the gotchas, problems, etc, and thought I would be able to use that knowledge to help when I finally got the product myself and installed it. I also have an HDHR so thought it would be similar. Here's my experience:

I received it today (wonderful one-day shipping from Amazon), and had picked up my MCard (CableCard) at Cox yesterday. Hooked everything up, plugged everything in, and went through the install so far pretty straightforward. The setup did upgrade the firmware to 20110830, however, on SiliconDust's website they've released 20110920beta1, so I went ahead and upgraded to the latest. Finally get to the part where you call your cable company, and that's where things started getting interesting. The first call activated successfully, and I thought it was done, I said thank you and goodbye. But I only got basic channels, not extended (no ESPN, CNN, etc). So I called back, and she sent "hits" and "INITs", to no avail. Finally she had me unplug the Prime, pull out the CableCard, plug it back in and re-insert the CableCard. Then she re-paired it. But in my error, I gave her the wrong codes (you give them three ID codes). I didn't know that when you unplug, remove and reinsert the CableCard, it generates a new ID for the Data code. The other two codes are static. She couldn't get it to pair up again, but strangely, I started receiving all the channels! So we assumed everything was fine, even though it wasn't activated. Sure enough, in a few minutes I lost the channels again. A third call to Cox, and I gave him the correct codes (even though he was on the verge of saying he would just as soon send a tech out), and finally, it all worked!

My recommendations:

1. Get the setup and card activation done before even going into Windows Media Center. Use the SiliconDust Setup and QuickTV to verify things are working. Get familiar with the Prime setup web browser, so you can get the codes and see the status of the activation. Check the logs to see if the channels are subscribed or not.

2. Be prepared to give the cable company what they need the three (correct!) codes from a web browser pointing to the Prime. Cox didn't need any special instructions for this product. The last tech kept referring to my Tivo (I didn't correct him).

3. Once you've verified it all works from the Setup/QuickTV, close all of the HDHomeRun windows so you won't get tuner availability errors, then go into WMC and configure your TV Signal. This part actually worked great for me.

I've been watching TV for a few hours now, both on my computer and on my Windows Media Extender, with no glitches or hiccups. Will withhold final judgement until I've gone a few weeks.

(ETA, just want to say that Cox was very helpful, this was all done on a Saturday night, and the second tech even called me back after giving me some time to find the codes and so she could do some research on it.)

Update 3 1/2 weeks later: So I was missing a bunch of channels, and after several calls to Cox and an onsite visit, they said I needed a tuning adapter for Switched Digital Video (SDV) channels. The tech that came onsite didn't have any, so another trip to the Cox store, and then I hooked it up at home. The TA wouldn't lock on the signal, so a few more calls to Cox, and another onsite visit finally resulted in the SDV channels coming in, but no cable channels! Finally one more call to Cox, and now I'm getting all the channels I should be getting.

Other than the channel problem though, I have been recording several shows a week, sometimes two shows at a time, and have had zero problems! It has been very reliable.

HDHomeRunPrime provides cable card decryption for my Comcast TV. Converting the encrypted channels that you pay for (anything above ch 30 and above) into IPTV format.

I have tested it with Microsoft Media Center and have found that it works well streaming the content real time over the Ethernet. For those who do not have Microsoft you should be glad to know that they support a variety of TV watching applications (on Linux to boot). However their is one big thing to note. If a broadcast has been flagged on TV you cannot watch or record it on any program except Microsoft Media Center. Be sure to check to see if your TV provider flags all broadcasts or leaves it off by default. Comcast (which I have) leaves about 99% of their TV programing un-flagged by default. ALSO for flagged broadcasts be sure your have a complete hdcp complaint setup as the flag requires that type of DRM.

Now as for streaming stability, I have noticed that if you go to wireless and attempt to access HDTV their will be some glitches as wireless does not provide the consistent quality of service and will drop packets causing your show to stutter. Wireless N might be a possible solution to solve this issue. However all I have is wireless A and G so I cannot test N.

Recording TV shows on any PC is now possible no matter its location in the house. We have three pc's and this device can send HD TV to all three without even breaking a sweat. Keep in mind if you have Ethernet over power in your home it will have the same issues as wireless. (How do you think I know that >_>

Silicon Dust provides a TV preview window so that you can quickly see if the device is working when you activate it. Oh speaking of activation, if you have Comcast expect to set some time down to get this device activated as most reps at Comcast are not to familiar with cable card activations. Ah, one other thing if you pay for TV you have the right to get one Cable card from your TV provider free of charge. MAKE SURE for this product that you request a CABLE CARD M and NOT CABLE CARD S. (FYI You can get the cable card from your Comcast store.) I have a you tube video overview of the physical device (update you will need to look for it on youtube amazon removes links.)

(Update 1-15-2012) Having had the HDHomeRunPrime for a while I have a few observations to bring to light. First and foremost if you have multiple windows pc's and have purchased this device you will need to get each one activated with your cable provider. Second for your machines to receive HD on certain channels you will need to know if your machine is HDCP compliant. Lucky for you Microsoft has put a testing application in media center under settings to test to see if you are HDCP compliant.

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808 Car Key Chain Spy Camera Recorder 720*480 TF - New

This is the 808 key fob camera, and I received version #3 one of the best (Google for more info). Picture quality is very good considering the incredibly tiny lens don't expect DVD quality but it's good and not choppy. It is "zoomed in" more than you would think so do a test run or two to become familiar with aiming. I use it to record various activities that my smart and devious Maltese gets into so I'm not particularly concerned with hiding the cam but I can assure you it's discreet if you needed it to be. It does have a small indicator light on the top but luckily it goes out when recording, this should be a given but most of these "spy cams" have a bright LED blinking light when recording (seems counter-intuitive). Speaking of which, here's a quick version of how to operate:

Hold down power button for about 2 seconds, the yellow indicator light comes on and stays on.

To begin recording press the (separate) recording button for about 2 seconds, the yellow light will blink three times then go out, now your recording. VERY simple.

Takes a good 2.5 hours to fully charge, but that's because it has a nice big battery. Mine lasted for 1 hour and 45 minutes of constant recording before depleting. That's LONG for this sort of thing. When I opened the files on my SD card I had 4 automatically saved files...Three were 30 minute clips and one 15. Total file size was about 2.5 GB so buy a 4GB SD card to go with this, 2GB and you will cut short, 8GB is way too much.

Incredible deal for ~$15 shipped...I would pay 2-3x that and still be happy.

Not much more of the product description is accurate. There isn't a wide-angle lens -the FOV is actually pretty narrow. The video function doesn't record in 480p -it records in 720x480 (interlaced, not progressive) MJPG. The device supports SD cards up to 8GB in size -but with MJPG "video," about 1GB is used up every 20 minutes. 30 frames per second are chopped apart and look like 15 or so. The low-quality image sensor blurs anything it can. The instructions come in Chinese or nonsensical, broken English. And the color balance is hardly "full color," whatever that means -daylight shots are blown out, and night shots are nothing but darkness.

In short, look elsewhere if you're after a super-lightweight camera.

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this product never worked. it wouldnt stay on. even after charging it several times. it is just poor quality. considering the price you get what you pay for. go with something a bit better quality

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After charging and working briefly, the lithium battery went haywire and starded heating up to the point of burning whatever touched it (my finger). Couldn't even turn it off at that point, so we put it outside so it wouldn't start a house fire.

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Fantastic little video camera for the price. We mounted it to a model rocket and it took a hard landing and still works great. I may purchase another!

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Creative Zen V Plus 8 GB Portable Media Player

• Portable media player fits perfectly in your palm or pocket
• Extra-large 8 GB memory holds up to 4,000 songs, photographs, and album art
• 1.5-inch OLED screen displays rich and vibrant photos, full-color menus, and more at any viewing angle
• Direct CD Recording allows you to record songs directly from an audio source without using a PC
• Player doubles as a voice recorder with the handy built-in microphone

Before I bought the Creative Zen V Plus (8GB black) I had the Creative Zen Vision:M (ZVM) for almost a year. Unfortunately, my ZVM decided to obey Newton's cruel laws of gravitational motion while its drive was spinning. Thoroughly satisfied with my Creative product, I decided to replace my expired mp3 player with either another ZVM or this player. Fearing another HDD debacle, I decided to go for a flash player instead. To anyone who doesn't mind risking a broken HDD-based player, I highly recommend the ZVM. Its movie playback is fantastic, the screen is gorgeous and features about four times the colors of the 5.5gen iPod, and it sounds great. This player is comparable in almost every way. The screen, of course, is smaller. While it's not optimal for viewing video, the video quality isn't terrible. I watched the pilot episode of Lost just fine. However, the refresh rate of the OLED screen created a slight flicker. Overall, the amount of flash memory and the small screen limit the enjoyment of this video option. It's nice to have it, but I don't think I'll be using it much. If you use torrents or rip DVD's to your drive and want to watch them on the go, do the Zen Vision:M. But if audio is your main concern, the Zen V Plus (ZVP) is a great buy. It's light, but not flimsy. I like the look. The picture is an accurate representation of how it looks in real life. It's small! Check out a box in a brick and mortar store to see just how small it is. On the front, it has a picture of it in actual size. I have average sized hands and it fits in my palm. It's so light, I use the lanyard to wear it around my neck, underneath my jacket, keeping it secure. However, it's quite sturdy as well. And it hasn't had a scratch on it (unlike the ZVM, which scratches quite easily). I got about 14 hours out of the battery, doing mp3 playback, radio, and viewing photos (which displayed fairly well -again, this thing's mostly for audio). I usually rip mp3's at VBR (192 256 kbps) and have over 1200 songs on it.

In conclusion, at ~$200 on Amazon, the Creative Zen V Plus is a fantastic flash-based mp3 player. If you go to the gym, don't have too many mp3's, want long battery life, think smaller is better, and aren't an Apple-zombie: this one's for you.

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Before buying this Zen V+ I had the Zen Micro. I was very happy with it but when the earphone-jack went in my second replacement outside of warranty I decided to get something new. In my opinion this is an excellent MP3/Photo/Video player.

Screen: The screen is colourful and extremely clear with customisable colour themes from vibrant to cool. I really can't get over the clarity.

Size: I like the size of the player (it's TINY). The brightness and clarity of the OLED screen makes navigation of the menus simple even though the screen is quite small (3cm x 2.8cm). The size and smoothness or the outer-casing along with the rounded edges means that slipping it in and out of pockets creates minimal hassle. Just pulling on the earphone cord can extract the player from a jeans pocket (I wouldn't recommend this but the earphone-jack does seem to be very secure).

Navigation: As already stated the navigation greatly benefits from the clarity of the OLED screen. The navigation buttons are simple to use. They are not touch-sensitive but the buttons work with minimal pressure. You'll have to get used to locking the player with the slider on the left side. Volume is controlled using two buttons on the right side. The 5 function key in the centre is the main control for menu navigation and is very easy to use. The other buttons are the Play/Pause, the return key (goes to previous menu or when held down opens a context sensitive menu) and the Record button which when held down for a few seconds starts a recording session using the in-built microphone.

Recording: The microphone is just as good as the one on the Zen Micro, quite sensitive and perfect for voice recordings. There is also a line-in function which you can record from and it automatically synchronises with the source if it has multiple tracks (ie. it creates a new track every time the source goes onto a new track). The line-in means you can record audio from any source with a 3.5mm earphone jack whether its the radio or a comedy special on TV.

Earphones: The bundled earphones are sufficient. I don't use them but tested them for a while. They're nothing to get excited about and I'd recommend getting some other earphones. I've had great success with the Creative EP-630's. These are still low-end though and I'm hoping to upgrade to something better soon.

Sound Quality: I was very impressed with the sound quality of the player. It is clear and crisp with multiple equlaiser settings and optional bass boost. I found the Disco EQ setting the best. However I don't use the bass boost as it seems to ruin the songs though this may be the fault of my earphones. It sounds very tinny. Some higher quality earphones may correct this. Overall though I found the sound quality to be very good.

EDIT: I bought the Sennheiser CX 300s. The sound quality is now greatly improved and the bass boost can be used without any problems. I would recommend these earphones over the Creative EP-360s. They look similar but the Sennheiser phones are far better quality. Since the lesser sound quality was the fault of the earphones, the player deserves 5 stars for sound.

Photo/Video: For those of you who will use the photo and video viewing function, both seem to work quite well. The photos are transferred by drag-and-drop and an option can be turned on to reduce them in size for best viewing. Video viewing seems good for the size of the screen even though the frame-rate isn't great. Also the size of the converted video clip is huge as the player doesn't play compressed videos.

Other Functions: The FM radio works quite well but I don't use it much. The bookmarking function works very well holding ten bookmarks at any one time. It's very useful when listening to audiobooks or any other long audio files.

EDIT:

No Mains Adapter: One thing I forgot to mention. There is no mains adapter included with this product. You have to charge it from the computer using a USB lead or else buy a "Zen Range Travel Adaptor" costing £19.99. This didn't affect me as I already had a charger from the Zen Micro which is compatible with the V+ and so I forgot to mention it in the review. I think this is very unfair on Creative's part. One should have been included in the package.

OLED Screen:______*****

Size:_____________*****

Navigation:_______*****

Recording:________*****

Earphones:________***

Sound Quality:____*****

Bookmarking:______*****

Photos:___________*****

Video:____________****

FM Radio:_________****

No Mains Adapter:_**

Overall:_______***** (4.4 rounded up to 5)

A truly excellent device. It is well built and very easy to use. The absence of a mains adapter is the only unsatisfactory thing. Still, if you're are looking for a high quality multi-media player I'd highly recommend this product. Good luck With your purchase.

Read Best Reviews of Creative Zen V Plus 8 GB Portable Media Player Here

6-6-2011 update:

This really isn't the best place to post this, but I thought I'd give the epitath on that outstanding Cowon iAudio 7 I bought (below). After four years of outstanding sound, the battery life is finally getting flaky. Used to play for weeks on one full charge. Now it's dying in a couple days, even if I don't turn it on. Nothing lasts forever. The now obsolete iA7 outlasted and outperformed anything else I've seen in the years I've had it. If I can't find a replacement battery (seems a wild hope), I'll buy the latest Cowon device.

12-19-09 update:

I've had a 16 GB iAudio 7 from Cowon, two years now. The sound has been consistently much stronger than I described below from the Creative Zen V Plus, and the iPod nano. I've also upgraded to Sure SE530 ear canal phones -very pricey, but I'll scrimp elsewhere for the sound these give. With a high-end recording, say, an >200 kps OGG rip from CD, or at least converted from a DRM-free 256 kps .m4a file (iTunes' format), these sound incredible.

7-9-07 update:

In the last 3 weeks I have scoured the web a ton and learned a lot about lesser-known digital audio players (DAPs). Take heart! There IS a brand out there that still markets to mobile audiophiles: Cowon. Check out their site at . The web vibe on Cowon in general, and their new flash memory based (and therefore MUCH more durable) iAudio 7, sounds extremely encouraging. You can go right to this product's write up at . I'm torn between buying the 8GB model at ~$220, or waiting for the 16GB model their site claims is coming "soon." Cowon also have a DAP that doubles as a personal video player (PVP) called the Cowon D2 (see it at ) with lots of very solid press.

Original review, 6-14-07:

I am a BIG fan of excellent sound. I use music mostly to exercise, and find the difference in my workouts is HUGE when comparing a so-so music playback device to a top-notch one. I've _thoroughly_ tried the iPod nano (8GB) recently, and loved the design, and crisp screen, but hated the muffled sound (returned it). I have been listening to Creative Lab's Zen X-tra (has a 60GB harddrive) for the last couple years on Etymotics ER4's (about as good an earphone as you can get). I have been occasionally frustrated by the harddrive resetting during exercise. You can't even think about jogging with this. But ellipticals, treadmills (power walking), stationary biking, and lifting are all mostly do-able. The sound from that combination is so good, that anything else feels like listening to your music through the neighbor's wall.

But I was very hopeful that Creative Lab's new Zen V flash memory based player (the one I'm reviewing here) would be as good as their Zen X-tra, but without the motion sensitivity.

The good news is: it's tiny, has respectable battery life, the color screen isn't bad (if not as crisp as the iPod nano's), and the physical inteface is pretty much as functional as the iPod's. Also, counter to the claims of the faithful who have not done a thorough and unbiased comparison, the software is no better or worse on the whole than iTunes.

But here's the sad / bad news: the sound is every bit as dull and flat as the iPod nano. :(

Apparently, you just can't get good sound when you compromise so heavily on the size of the mini-amplifier and the power suppliy (i.e., the battery). Remember when music was all about audio fidelity, and not pocket portability? Everyone understood then that amplifiers were not all alike. Today, slick marketing and the hype of the compressed music formats (like MP3) give the impression that all music sounds great from this new platform. But that is so terribly wrong.

We currently have the industry being driven by the large "soft target" money to be made off kids understandably excited about plugging in to their favorite tunes anywhere. But they just don't know what they are missing. For anyone interested in fully ENJOYING their music, not just hearing some facsimile of it, I strongly recommend getting a larger older player like Creative Lab's Zen X-tra, before they are completely gone.

And if you take my advice (get the best ear canal phones too), and so find yourself forever stealing time with your tunes in preference over your old drug of choice (lattes, Red Bull, etc) because the sound now just transports you like nothing before, ... well, then please tell your freinds, so we can form a market they'll notice and start to serve. I for one am getting sick of seeing soft-target marketing drive product development away from better quality offerings.

Want Creative Zen V Plus 8 GB Portable Media Player Discount?

I am upgrading to the 8GB model from the 4GB, which I have filled up. I download at a 320bps sample rate (Itunes is at about 190bps), which probably isn't necessary, but I still got over 400 songs on the 4GB player even at that.

The sound quality is quite good, and there is plenty of volume available. I upgraded to the Shure headphones which wrap around your ears and thus won't fall out when running, etc.

I am a bit concerned that the lower menu button on my 4GB player seems intermittent. I may be doing something wrong, but often when I push it, it just pauses or restarts the present song like the top button is supposed to do instead of returning me to the previous menu. If it gets to where it does this all the time, I won't be able to use the player. I have not read of others complaining of this problem, so perhaps it is a fluke.

The small size of this player is great for me. I would love to have a 60GB player and put virtually all of my music on it. But if it won't fit in my pocket and not be noticeable, what is the advantage of that? I don't care about photos or videos, but I do find that I enjoy having the album art pop up with the song. It's a connection to the music.

I think the ipod nanos are cute and slim, but who needs Itunes????

I received my new 8gb player. Creative has now changed the 8gb to red trim instead of blue like the 4gb. I was pleased to get going with it, these are great little players....

....when they work. This one didn't. It froze up on me, something that has happened just a couple of times with the 4gb, so I knew how to use a guitar string to reset it. Then it froze again on "rebuilding library". Uh oh...well, then I had to go to the recovery menu and use the "scan disk" to find corrupted files. It froze at 100% of the scan. Next I reformatted, wiping out all loaded songs to start over. This seemed to work, and I had reloaded about 1/3 of my songs when it froze again during song transfer. Same thing, reset and then it stalled on "rebuilding library". This time in desperation I downloaded new firmware from the creative site to see if this would give it a new start. But when I tried to load the new firmware, the player was not recognized by the software. Dead in the water, I called Creative tech support for help. He immediately pronounced it dead. Send it back.

Now it will be weeks before I can give it another try. What a negative experience. Like I said, I love these players and they sound great and are so portable and not tied to stupid I-tunes. But they appear to be a little flimsy. Creative knows about the "rebuilding library" problem, because it is on their website. Unfortunately their solution of reboot, clean up, reformat, reinstall does not solve the problem.

I have been using Zen V Plus for the past one month and have to say that I am more than satisfied by the performance of this product. I did expect the product to be small but was really surprised by the size when I received this product.

Pros:

Small and yet easy to handle

Good extras: recording

Cons:

After a month's use... I did not find any as such, but considering the size I would say that an arm-band should be included as a free accessory with this product.

P.S.: I have seen some reviews (for the 4GB version) where people have complained that the device hangs when the charging cord is pulled from the PC. I did not notice any such issue. May be creative has improved on the firmware. I would suggest that people facing this issue should check the website for any firmware updates.

Polaroid PMP120-4 4GB USB 2.0 MP3 Digital Music/Video Player & Voice Recorder w/1.8" Touchscreen (P

• polaroid
• pmp120-4
• 4gb usb 2.0
• mp3 digital music
• player voice recorder

I thought I was getting a good deal purchasing this at $19.99 with 4G storage space, but it was such poor quality I ended up returning it right away. The other reviewer is correct in that the touch-screen is very difficult to use and virtually useless. There was no way to select songs without paging through each song like the older, smaller MP3 players that were around a few years ago. Also, the sounds quality was very poor the headphones that came with the unit only worked depending on which way you twisted the plug in the socket. For roughly $8-$10 more, you can get a Sansa Clip that is far superior quality and a much better product.

Buy Polaroid PMP120-4 4GB USB 2.0 MP3 Digital Music/Video Player & Voice Recorder w/1.8" Touchscreen (P Now

I bought one of these for myself and my son. He is in love with his, and I am in like with mine. It is good for my needs, however, it is hard to adjust the volume which I really did not like at all. The sound is good, and it was easy for me to sync my music from my desk top to it. I just wish it were slightly more user friendly.

Read Best Reviews of Polaroid PMP120-4 4GB USB 2.0 MP3 Digital Music/Video Player & Voice Recorder w/1.8" Touchscreen (P Here

I purchased this Polaroid 4gb Mp3 media player from Big Lots. It's GARBAGE! A TOTAL WAIST OF TIME AND MONEY! The touch screen doesn't work. The only way to control the volume is via crappy touch screen. In fact, the volume icon on the screen is so SMALL that I could just barely trigger it with the corner of my finger nail!!!

When I did manage to get the volume somewhat adjusted it turned to the next song or went to menu.... VERY FRUSTRATING! The touch screen is of such poor quailty that it rarely responds to where you touch it & when it does it goes to the wrong place.

That's NOT it's only problem! The sounds quality is for S#!T! It distorts, cracks, pops & buzzes!

DON'T BUY THIS & IF YOU HAVE ALREADY THEN DEMAND YOUR MONEY BACK!

I purchased it with out checking reviews because of "Polaroid" being a trusted name &/or quailty brand. How disapointing... I'll NOT EVER buy anything from Polaroid again... Shame on them!

JUNK TOTAL JUNK!

Want Polaroid PMP120-4 4GB USB 2.0 MP3 Digital Music/Video Player & Voice Recorder w/1.8" Touchscreen (P Discount?

I'm giving this a better review than other people have. Keep in mind that my needs are very basic. I purchased my unit from Walgreens shortly before I was to fly across the country. I needed an MP3 player for listening to French language lessons on the plane. I've since kept the unit and continue to listen to language lessons and language lessons only. I do not use it for music. It's extremely small and light. It fits in my pocket easily. I use better quality headphones for it than the little earbuds that came with it.

The pause button is in a good place, which makes it easy to stop the recording at any time. That's important for me when I want to stop and and say something in French more than the commentator on the recording requires. However, I do wish there were a rewind and a fast forward so that I can easily go back and repeat something I didn't quite understand. I agree with other reviewers that the volume control is awkward, but I manage. I wish when I shut it off that it would keep my place in the recording. If I want to stop a language lesson and continue later, I have to leave it turned on or lose my place. Either that or I must continue the lesson on my laptop.

I did get a unit that turned defective on me. After I would start the recording, the buttons on the top would quit working after a few minutes and there would be gibberish on the screen. Fortunately, Walgreens let me exchange it for another one, which has worked fine since.

Overall I've enjoyed being able to take walks and do my language learning. This Polaroid unit has been adequate for what I use it for. There probably are better units out there for people who want to use them for music and want a better organized system. If you find one of these at a low price and your needs are basic, you'll probably be happy with it. If you want the best 4 GB MP3 player out there, keep looking.

The only reason i'm giving this product one star is because it came on time. Other than that the product itself was cheap as hell.I should have known. Well you get what you pay for.