Polaroid DVG-1080P High-Definition Digital Video Camera with 2.5-Inch LCD Display

I bought this camcorder mainly because it was the lowest-priced 1080p (full HD) camcorder I had seen. I have a point-and-shoot digital camera with standard-definition video. I also have a DSLR which does not have video, but I don't want to fork out the big bucks for one of the DSLRs with full HD 1080p video. As long as you do not expect really high quality from this camcorder, you will probably be more or less satisfied with the results. Video recording modes include 1080p (30 fps), 720p (30 fps), WVGA (60 fps), VGA (30 fps), and QVGA (30 fps). This camcorder performs well outdoors where the video is clear and sharp. For indoor video recordings, performance starts to drop off noticeably without the window coverings wide open. If you don't have adequate sunlight from outside, even with all the lights turned on, the images begin to get grainy, even if you use the built-in light source which is not very powerful. One nice feature is the 60 fps option at WVGA resolution. The main disadvantage in my opinion is that the image stabilization works at all resolutions except for 1080p and WVGA. I took a few still photos and found the quality to be mediocre, even with adequate lighting, but I am accustomed to the image quality from my DSLR. The menu controls are not intuitive, but I got used to them pretty quickly. All in all, if you're on a budget but would like 1080p video, this would be a nice entry-level option. Do not buy this camcorder if you demand high quality in your video recordings, especially indoors.

Finally, I wanted to comment that I am a Mac user. I have both a 1GHz G4 Power PC iMac running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) as well as a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac running Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). I was initially unable to play the videos via QuickTime on my Power PC iMac, as it said I was missing the video codecs. So I installed a freeware plugin called Perian (w w w dot perian dot org), and it now plays the video although it is choppy because the processor is not fast enough to display the video at that resolution. On my Intel-based iMac, videos at all resolutions play smoothly with QuickTime and Perian.

HD-1080 + OPTICAL Zoom. Compact in size and features (not too much, not too little both are undesirable). Worked fine with PC. Simple switch for HD versus smaller (Web) file size. Audio was solid. Low light could have been better (but I really taxed it). Install CD wasn't readable on one PC, but switched to another and copied CD to a thumb drive. Need their viewer for .avi codec. Good resolution for still photos. Great videos/pics of Amsterdam!

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I purchased this thinking I would use it mainly to record live music at local venues. (not loud punk music or thrash...but jazz, blues and maybe some medium volume classic rock/funk bands). I also wanted to use it with my drumming students. I wasn't expecting high quality audio reproduction at all....(nothing better/worse than a typical camcorder).

That being said....The audio is terrible.....it distorts easily....and anything recorded over 40 decibels is worthless when played back.

Honestly....I've heard better audio quality from CELL PHONE video cameras.

The video is clear and ok....but it get's jumpy sometimes. I attribute that to a low quality product.

All in all....for what I wanted.....it was a complete waste of money.

If you want to film birds outside...or someone reading a book I'm guessing the audio would be ok. But if the bird you are filming is loud...or the book reader subject sneezes you'll probably distort the sound.

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I got this as a gift from my mom from Target over a year ago or so. It was on clearance for $75.

It gets some pretty decent visual quality in good lighting, but in lower light it gets almost unviewable due to darkness and noise. You can set the ISO to auto, 800, or 1600. But, it doesn't change much besides how much grain the picture has. There are few manual controls in general I can change, forcing me to edit the video later to remove as much of the noise as I can and brighten the picture in general to the point you can watch it.

There's also some scene modes: skin, night, backlight, black & white, classic (sepia) & negative. I don't notice any major difference or improvement between the night, skin, and backlight modes (and even tested it by shooting shots of the same things and comparing colors), so it seems pointless to change those unless you like the more artistic modes: classic, black & white and negative.

You can also take still pictures with it at up to 4000x3000 resolution (12MP). The quality will come out as good as it does in video depending on the lighting. However, you cannot seem to put on Image Stabilization (IS) to take pictures... strangely. It's only in the video modes. So, unless you are very steady when you click the shutter button or you have a tripod, your pictures will come out blurry. The camera will not stand up on it's own due to the screen tipping it over, so you'll need a tripod to keep it up.

Most of the controls are set in menus as well except for a light button (the camera has a decent light on the front of it) which seems to boost the noise too, the video button, the picture button and the zoom wheel. (you have to press the "OK" zoom wheel in the center to access the menus) White balance (no manual white balance may I add or any exposure compensation) and IS have to be tweaked before shooting unless it comes out good in auto. The only things that stay in memory is the ISO setting, the camera's sound and the resolution. Otherwise things revert back to the defaults after you turn off the camera... some even after each shot like the auto timer.

The audio is also on the weak side as if it picks up something that is a bit too loud for it, the sound distorts and gets very staticy, sometimes to the point where you can't hear what was spoken. This is very easy to do as well because it doesn't take much to make the sound distort. What I have to do to film as clear as possible, is keep the camera fairly far away from the sound source to lower the sound it picks up, like 2-3 feet away, then boost the volume in my video editor later.

This camera also has no lens cap or any way to get it one. But, the lens is glass and recessed a bit into the camera, so it's unlikely it'll get scratched or damaged unless you're careless with it.

All of the bad points in this camera I talked about make it seem like this camera is bad, but really it's OK for the price. Don't pay more than my mom did. I've seen it for like $130 and for that price you can get a better camera with more manual controls like a compact Canon or Nikon. Just very clunky and inconvenient to use quickly, a bit weak on the audio and lacking in the manual control department. It feels good in your hands to use, feels very sturdy and it gets the job done providing you use it as I described to get the best quality you can. The rotating screen is a big plus when you want to film at an otherwise awkward angle you couldn't do with a stationary screen on the back of it.

The more I use this camera, the more I want to upgrade to something with more manual controls and buttons so I can tweak video and photos without having to sift through menu screens and do it more precisely. But, I think that may be because I've gotten to a more advanced level of filming and photography since I got this camera and outgrew it. Though, I'd recommend this camera to a new video or photo enthusiast that wants an entry-level camera just to see if you'll like it as it's not complicated to use.

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First time I got this camera I was so excited but then I hook it up to my tripod and the screw fell off and still can't find that screw!

Rosewill - Pellucid HD Series High Speed HDMI cable (6 FEET)

The cord is exactly what I needed and is of good quality. Worked well with my TV and Converter to my Mac.

This item was exactly as I expected. No problems. I received it quickly and the recordings I'm making seems to be fine.

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This cable was very inexpensive, and it did exactly what it was advertised to do. I would recommend this to anyone in need of a HDMI cable.

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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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Pro Articulated Magic Arm with 15mm Rail-block for Dslr Rig Support System

This articulating arm is a great addition for my 15mm rod support system for my DSLR. I had a t first tried a cheaper product and got what I paid for, a cheap item that was below standard. The Pro Articulated Magic Arm works perfectly, and is of excellent quality.

Motorola DCP501 All-In-One Home Theater Receiver

• Space saving, all-in-one system houses a DVD/CD/MP3 player, audio/video surround receiver with 100 watts x 5, and cable reception
• Interactive cable receiver for analog and digital (where available) cable
• Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro Logic II 5.1-channel processing for immersive surround sound from any source
• AM/FM Stereo receiver, large VF display for easy reading
• NTSC decoder with digital adaptive comb filter upconverts all composite-video signals to S-video

We bought these for our lodge (63 2 & 3 Bdrm Units). While the combination of components in a small package is exactly what we needed, we have experienced a large amount of product failures. Out of 67 units ordered, we have experienced a 30 to 40% failure rate. Types of problems in order of occurrence:

1) Audio section a) Subwoofer worked, but not satellite speakers b) "Overload" becomes too sensitive

2) Digital cable subsystem failures a) Constantly losing the digital programming b) or just complete failure

3) Premature DVD Read problems I say "premature" because the oldest unit is less than 2 years old.

4) Front panel lockout.

While we are a "lodge", this is a private residence club whose members tend to take good care of the appliances in each unit. So abuse is not a major cause of problems. Also, the manufacturing dates range over several months.

A failure of 10% or less would have been acceptable, but close to 40% is just ridiculous. These units were professionally installed and we have worked closely with the local cable company to try and find an outside cause, without success. The surround speaker system used with the DCP501 is a high end Yamaha setup, while brand new Panasonic flat-screen TV's were connected using S-Video.

We do have other Motorola Digital cable boxes in use here, and none of them have displayed any of these issues. So we were very surprised to experience all these problems. It's too bad, because now we will have to look for a multi-component type of setup that we really don't have the room for.

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I bought this device mostly on the Motorola name and the incredible discount. Overall, I am happy with this device. It sounds good, looks good, and I haven't had a problem with it yet. My biggest gripe is that the front panel display is quite difficult to read from even a few feet away, especially during the day. If the display were larger and brighter I would be much happier with this device. This problem could have been mitigated with more "on-screen" info coming through the TV, but the DCP puts very little info on-screen. For example, when changing TV channels I would like to see the channel number displayed on the TV, but the DCP501 doesn't do that. It will tell me the volume, but not the channelit's a little odd that way. Dolby digital works as it should. I don't need the MP3 feature but it is nice to have. Not Earth-shattering audio power, but good considering that it's integrated. In short, I got a nice AM/FM tuner, CD/DVD player, home theater system, for a great price. I think this M S R P'd for a little under n in e hun dred, but I got it for about t wo f if ty.

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Not sure what all the gripe is about with this unit. I have had mine over a year and it hasn't had any of the problems others have stated (maybe I'm lucky). No sound distortion, clean crisp at high volumes (I'm using Precision Audio ceiling speakers). Good radio station pickup. Good dvd performance. I really enjoy the Dolby Prologic IIas even our ITunes files get surround sound.

That said, the only issue I have had is when i turned the powerbar off while the unit was still on. When restarted sound only came out of one speaker and not all five. I got through right away to Motorola and they were very helpful and gave me a short set of instructions to go about resetting the unitit now works good as new... below are those instructions for anyone who needs them:

1. put the unit in DVD mode.

2. power off using the button on the front of the unit (do not use the remote)

3. Hold down the setup button and the 'down' button at the same time

4. While holding those buttons, press the power button on the unit

5. Release all three buttons at the same time

Unit should power up in the FM mode and be reset. Motorla says if it doesn't come up in the FM mode, try again.

Happy listening and watching...

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Motorola DCP501 All-In-One Home Theater Receiver This would be a great machine for all of your audio/video needs except for digital cable channel selection. The real problem is Comcast refuses to activate this box. They will tell you that you have a stolen box and they will stick to that storey and never activate this box. Without activation by comcast the unit can only use channels 1-99. I bought one and am now stuck with a very nice looking audio video DvD player. So, don't buy one thinking that you can use it with comcast. Best to check with your cable service provider first be fore you spend a few hundred dollars. Hope this helps you make a better decision on buying any cable converter box.In short, The cable companies control what you can recieve.

A miserable attempt by Motorola to create a high-end product that would combine all worlds. Originally rolled out over 8 years ago, it is obvious that Moto is dumping old stock onto the market. Crappy stereo, passable DVD player and a 3-generations old cable receiver. This thing is HUGE. Mine broke within 12 months. Too bad, because it practically took an act of God to get my cable company to authorize the receiver. When it died the cable co. insisted that I had a box from them already (!) and that I would need to return it to them in order to get a new one. Ha I gave them this broken hunk of junk! No HD, no DVR, no ability to even upgrade the firmware on this beast. It perhaps was relevant & cool for 6 months in 2000, but it is a relic of another project gone wrong by the folks at Motorola.

Avoid this product at all costs!!!

Q-See QSM30D2PK Dome Decoy Cameras 2 Pack

I would not install the battery, as I've never seen a real camera blinking... Otherwise a good value! Mix with real cameras to get the security you need with the impression of a much bigger system.

These look OK and are simple enough to install. The paper drill whole guide is wrong in that the suggested holes are in the wrong place. They indicate that the holes should be drilled in the 'open' position, when they should actually be drilled in the 'closed' position otherwise the lens does not look straight ahead.

Don't insert the batteries either, real dome cameras do not have flashing red lights.

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SONY CFD-S200 CD Radio Cassette Recorder Boombox

I am amazed at how good this small boom box sounds. I bought it to use in my office and here's a few reasons I love it:

-volume control is highly incremental so you can always find the right volume.

-Looks sleek and sophisticated.

-Has a remote control.

-Does not blare when volume is turned up.

-Sounds better than any of another 5 products I tested in this category/price at a store.

-CD motor is very quiet.

Memory Master 32 GB SDHC Flash Memory Card P-SDHC32G10-EFMM

This card worked for a few days. One weekend, I was asked to do photo and video for a graduation party and this card failed and I was really mad. Stay away from this brand, Memory Master.

Good quality, very fast, and spacious, more than enough

I bought it for photograph and video. I works perfectly for my Canon digital camera, and also compatible with my iMac.

Good quality and good price.

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Purchased because price was right, and I needed a SDHC class 10 card to do video recording on a Canon T2i 1080p, and because I got tired of switching out my Sandisk Extreme III class 6 card 8GB.

Well the thing had sustained write speeds of 18-19 megabytes/second on a PC for large files. However once in the Canon about 50% of the time I would get a write error while doing video recording. You'd see the memory buffer window show up briefly on the Canon's LCD and then get the write error. I'm assuming this is due to the Memory Master SDHC class 10's card of having very poor burst writing speeds.

I've never seen this kind of buffer error on my Sandisk Extreme III class 6 8GB card before.

I guess you get what you pay for. If you're doing work that requires burst writing, spend the extra $$$ and get something that can actually work as advertised.

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CIB R1601H60W1000G H.264 16 CH Network Security Surveillance DVR 1000GB HDD. ...

There are much better systems out there for a better price but I bought a DVR system from this seller. One most attractive feature of listing was the capability to view the cameras remotely over the internet. Well, we couldn't get the capability up and running, we called and they didn't help. We never did get the internet viewing option working. AND within the first week, one of the cameras failed.

I replaced the entire system with other brand system that I like very much! Cameras are much clearer than the its' cameras.

I would NOT recommend CIB DVR. Do yourself a favor and get other quality system!

I have been using this product for several of years and the product nor CIB security have yet let me down. Great customer service and technical support.

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Sylvania NB530SLX Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)

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

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

Pros:

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

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

-great picture.

-Really easy to set up and use.

Cons:

-The remote is rather sad and pathetic.

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

-Lack of high-end features.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Motorola KRZR K1 Unlocked Cell Phone with 2 MP Camera, MP3/Video Player, MicroSD Slot--Internationa

It's designed for use in Hong Kong and has a strange plug on the charger. It's awkward getting the Sim card in and out as the battery is in the way. For some reason it does not show when a missed incomming call has come in. It's really a pig in a poke. It will work in the USA but for the price you can probably get something more "mainstream"!

I recommend this phone.

It is everthing you'd want in most advanced cells. Extremely long battery life, plays movies, songs, even games. I use a sim card in my car sterio, this phone and my workout Ipod.

This is a non-mainstream phone that beats out it's contemporaries. For computer geeks, the equivalent is athalon vs. pentium. Better product without the name jacking up the price.

CON: This price is higher than I paid for mine I bought a non-warranty model for about 50 cheaper. Due to the great quality, I did not expect it to be an issue. But I ran it through the washing machine . . . it still works, but took some damage.

I may go with the more costly warrantee'd version because I am sure I will buy this exact same model.

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Coby 2 GB Sports MP3 Player with FM Radio (Red/Black)

• High contrast LCD display with backlight
• Integrated FM radio and recorder
• Integrated microphone for digital voice recording
• Plays MP3 and WMA digital music files/Plays digital music from most online stores and subscription services
• ID3 and LRC support for song and synchronized lyric information display

After two months it stop working, I will check if I can still use the warranty.

I cannot even turn it on to listen music. However, I can connect it to the computer and use it as a usb disk (a very expensive one).

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I recently had the opportunity to get two of these through my Pepsi points. The entire checkout process was simple and the shipping was pretty darn quick...I received them in a matter of 2-3 days. The Coby's are packaged nicely, with everything sorted into little baggies that you can reuse if you so desire. Not a bad idea, I think. My MP3 players came with the power cord, headphones, armband and even a battery so you can use your player right out of the box. Now THAT was nice of them! Right away I got to using my players and the accessories. They rate as follows.

Pros: Great size. The Coby is small and light enough to use during physical activities, but not so small that it makes reading the screen difficult. The screen is a decent size and features a pretty good display system. There's a good set of options which even include changing the backlight color. That may not be important to some, but to others, the aesthetics are a plus. The player is pretty durable, my daughter having dropped hers many times over, and yet it still works like new. The 2GB storage is perfect for me and even my daughter, holding a great deal of music. Of course it may not hold your entire music library, but it will certainly hold enough for several hours of listening pleasure, depending on the file size of course. As for the MP3s themselves, you can load your music easily and even sort them into your own created folders if you like. It's really just drag and drop music files. Simple as that.

Cons: The headphones are a waste. Not only do they sound terrible, by the looks of the size of them, they're meant for a giant's ears. So, not only do they sound awful, they're also uncomfortable and they won't stay in your ears. The armband is kinda cheesy. It's a great idea in theory, but with how it's adjustable, there's so much extra "band" that it not only is uncomfortable, but it just looks plain stupid. I don't see many people getting much use out of it, to be honest. On the plus side, the Coby does have a spot to attach a lanyard to it, which would be better than the armband anyway.

All in all, I'd rate this a 4/5. It's definitely worth the price and isn't a bad little MP3 player.

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Good Overall Player, Good Price, Very easy to use, Good FM Tuner and Recorder function that few players have. Only complaints are: 1the headphones are too big to fit my ears, the cable tends to get very tangled, there is no quick release of the headphone leash to the player

2-The armband came in a cream color that did not match in my opinion the player color, black would have been better.

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It is really good for the price.

The 2 GB size is great, especially with the FM radio built in.

Will someone please make one with AM as well.

I do wish that it had a clip on the back in addition to the eye on the top.

You really need a rechargable battery with it.

It goes through the single AAA battery fairly quickly.

Save 10% Off

After reluctantly steeping into the MP3 player world I looked around for a cheap intro player. After several useless ipod rip off models from eBay I went with this player. I like the fact that it can record ambiently (not great sound, but decent) and has an FM player. I thought it might last four-six months, but it's been more like a year and going strong with heavy usage. I'm still happy with it in general, and for what I spent on it, very happy.

Goods:

-Plenty of storage for me (I listen to about 8+ albums and thirty+ podcasts at any one time)

-Data storage capability is nice

-Small, super light

-Simple to navigate

Bads:

-The fact that it takes a AAA battery may be a pain for some, but I just got a 4-pack of rechargables, and I could care less. When it runs out I can put a new one in and keep listening while the other charges unlike a built in battery.

-Navigation knob is easily moved unintentionally

-I'm suprised the flimsy battery flap hasn't broken or been lost yet, it tends to fall off.

-Display light doesn't stay illuminated nearly long enough, easy to re-illuminate though.

Hope this helps.

-N9

Olympus Linear Recorder (LS-11)

Of all the currently available pocket-size portable voice recorders, the LS-11 is one of the most expensive and one of the best. I have used this device to record some professional interviews and the sound quality is generally excellent even with the intrusion of occasional background noise.

Plus points:

1. Its construction oozes quality with a tough lightweight metal casing

2. Chunky, high-quality and easy-to-use controls

3. Easily mastered, intuitively designed navigation menus

4. Choice of recording formats: the default PCM which is fine for everyday use, also Wave, WMA, MP3 Record and Playback

5. Excellent built-in directional/omnidirectional mikes (choice of settings); you can control the record level manually or set it to "auto" and the LS-11 assesses the sound level itself and adjusts accordingly this good for environments where the sound level changes constantly; you can also plug in any external mike

6. Good handy pocket-size and weight

7. Long battery life

8. Tripod screw-mount

9. Small remote-control unit included so you can set it in position and start/stop it remotely without having to touch it

10. Directly compatible with PC & Mac and very easy to download, copy and edit files in any format

11. Absolutely first-class playback quality

Minus points: few but you should consider these prior to purchasing decision:

1. Screen font size is small and menus can be difficult to read unless you have excellent eyesight

2. Playback through the unit is not very loud and you may need to actually place the speakers next to your ear like a phone in order to hear everything, even with the volume turned up to max though playback through a PC is excellent

3. It's expensive relative to the competition, which is plentiful at the cheap end but not at this level of quality

Overall: as a pocket-size recorder, near excellent. You get what you pay for. I can't comment on Olympus's after-sales service, as I have had no cause to use it because the unit has worked perfectly from day one.

I'm a journalist who has to cover conferences as well as one to one interviews. So far the Olympus LS-11 handheld digital recorder has performed brilliantly in the month that I've used it. It is especially good at up close and personal interviews, even with lots of background noise, as you can hear in this interview with Internet founder Vint

I'm still experimenting with different settings, but the factory settings work pretty well. I haven't tried the software that came with the unit as I am familiar with the free Audacity editing package. But Audacity has its limitations, so I will give the other a try.

I really like the uncompressed PLM recording, so much so that I've not used the MP3 facility. But as I ran out of memory (despite having 8Gb on board) in the middle of an interview, I'm going to expriment with high bit rate MP3.

I bought the companion device that lets yoiui record phone calls. I've only used it once, and found it easy to set up but fiddly to use, and the sound quality was uneven.

On the downside, I found the AA batteries that came with the unit ran out surprisingly quickly. But that is a minor issue. More problematic for me (I've had a double cataract operation) is the screen quality. The characters are small and hard for me to read. This top end device could use a high quality, high contrast screen. Perhaps Olympus could talk to Research in Motion to see who supplies the screens for their BlackBerries. That really would make the LS-11 a complete package for me.

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Olympus has a great start with the LS-11. The recorder has great sound quality for its price range, a very sturdy build, and a fairly straightforward user interface. Our primary reason for purchasing this unit was to replace our aging fleet of Sony Hi-MD recorders, which are showing the signs of heavy student use/abuse. The metal case has a heavy duty feel to ittime will tell how much better it will stand up to student use. The sound quality is comparable to the Sony MZ-RH1, which is outstanding for a consumer recorder with mini-plug inputs. With decent mics, you have a small, bullet-proof recorder with a lot of pro features. AND it will hold sync for 30 minutes with a video camera.

After putting the LS-11 through a few shakedown sessions in the field, we came up with a wish list of issues we hope Olympus will resolve with the next firmware updates:

1. Ability to 'cascade' recording from internal memory to the SD card (or vice versa). I know 8 gigs is a lot, but heythe batteries last for 23 hours, and 8 gigs comes up just short of 13 hours at 44/16. Some of us like to go for long durations.

2. Better implementation of the V-sync feature. V-sync enables the recorder to wait in PAUSE mode until the ambient sound level reaches a pre-set threshold level, then it starts recording until the the ambient sound falls below the threshold level. As it is now, it's pretty much worthless. If it isn't re-activated within 10 seconds, it puts the unit in STOP mode, and won't re-trigger again when the sound gets loud enough. Every other recorder with a similar feature will continue start recording when the sound reaches the trigger level until the operator pushes the stop button.

3. Allow for FLAC codec recording/playback. FLAC is much cleaner than MP3.

4. Random play mode for the Music folder. (and only the Music folder) Because some folks don't want to tote around the LS-11 AND an iPod.

5. Lastly, but certainly not least: publish a list of approved SDHC media! Many hours of recording time have been wasted with some cards corrupting audio files when they fill up.

The fact that this unit has been on the market for over a year with no firmware updates doesn't bode well. It looks like Olympus may rather develop new models that have minor differences as opposed to refining a great product already on the market.

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Looks like I am going to have to send this back for evaluation by the manufacturer. I bought this recorder to try my hand at recording nature soundsrain, thunderstorms, riverside sounds, birdsthat type of thing. I am a complete amateur, so take that in consideration with this review. I have been using this recorder for over two months now. I usually record at least an hour at a time and often several hours, mostly at very high bit-rates. I have babied this unit and take great care to protect it. The biggest problem I have with it is that it introduces electronic "clicks" into the recording. It is getting worse latelyabout 1 every minute in today's recording. These appear as very large spikes in the waveform (Sony Soundforge audio editor). It is now such a problem that I can't use the recorder. I first noticed these spikes after a few weeks of use and they weren't as frequent or pronounced as they are now.

What do I like about it? I love the form-factor and layout of the controls. The menus are very well thought out and very intuitive. The use of a memory card is a very nice feature. It gets great battery life and is a pleasure to operate. The microphones are sensitive but there is a significant amount of 'noise-floor' to me. The 'hiss' during low-noise/quiet recording is too loud and is another reason I find myself less and less wanting to use this recorder. I have used an external mic only a few times, but that seemed to help some.

'Motor-boating' or putt-putt: I sometimes record in an area that is adjacent to a small airport and whenever a propeller-plane gets too close the recorder can't handle the sound. The recording becomes stuttered and starts to putt-putt-putt. I tried recording with the limiter on/off/automatic. No matter which setting I tried, it couldn't handle the airplanes (which were a little loud, but not so very close).

Be aware that the V-Sync recording feature, which starts the recorder whenever it detects a preset sound level, will only work one time (it will restart only if it re-detects a sound within 10 seconds). This feature is different than other Olympus models which offer VCVA (Variable Control Voice Activation).

Would I buy it again knowing what I now know? No.

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I'm really happy with my Olympus LS-11; it suites my purpose perfectly i.e. recording small and large vocal groups, band-rehearsals and acoustic guitars. In my view the strength of the LS-11 is:

Excellent mics

Excellent battery life

Handy types of files (MP3 and WAV)

Very informative display

Size and shape (fits pockets and hands well)

Mic screens in the box

On the weakness side:

"enter" button needs a careful push (or you end up with an up/down selection)

Display information is sometimes hard to read due to small letters

I also bought the silicon protective holster and the remote control...both are a must-have in my view.

Samsung SDE-4001 8 CH Security System with 6 Cameras

I owned this product for almost a year and so far it works. It should probably get 4.5 stars because I do believe Samsung can improve it. The one star rating is unfair expectations based on the price point. I owned other cameras with high resolution and professional grade DVR and they cost a lot more. I used this in conjunction with this Samsung camera system. It is great for entrances and inside the house where it is well lit.

What I like:

Easy do it yourself security system. The day time picture quality is excellent and color is amazing. There are two things that affect image resolution: one is the cameras' tv lines or pixels and the DVR recording capability. You can set the recording to be better for the cameras that you need to be the sharpest and back off on the ones that are not as critical. For example, choose CIF for best picture and higher record rate for real time at least 30 fps.

The best cameras out there are 700 TV lines and DVR records at 720 x 480 pixels. This system can come pretty close.

Easy to view back captured video that are recorded based on motion (save disc space) or continuous. It has a remote and on screen menu is intuitive. I like the Cat 5 wiring instead of those BNC and power supply connectors that most used.

For the money, it is very good value.

What could be improved:

The night vision is poor but you would pay more money for cameras with a lot more IR LEDs with longer range. The work around this is to put a motion triggered light and light up the area and the camera can capture higher resolution or you can install IR LED flood lights.

The network setup is tricky but it is tricky for other camera system tooso you need tech support to help here.

Camera is not vandal proof but then again, for the money one should not expect it to be. There is no adjusting on the focus and focal length but again you would find these features on high end cameras. Frankly, if you are not technical, you would probably be frustrated trying to adjust too many features. It has a BNC port so it can accept at least one of those higer resolution cameras but Samsung has a disclaimer.

Overall a huge disappointment. After a few months of use I've dropped this review down to 1 star. It seems that Samsung has completely abandoned this product as there is virtually no support or information. Here is what I have learned and collected for anyone still trying to make this work for you. Be thankful as you will not find this information easily.

The login you choose for the DVR must be only 8 characters. Manual does NOT tell you this. If you plan on using the program Smartview 3.0. After troubleshooting 1/2 a day I found this to be why I could not connect with my 16 character(secure)password I set. 8 character password is piss poor for security but if you keep it on your local LAN no big deal.

Smartview is a nice program and does everything you can do on the unit but after a while for whatever reason the application with crash on you at start up. After a few installs on new computer system it always eventually will crash. Possibly some Microsoft update who knows but Tech support will not reply to you and when talking to a person you realize they are absolutely clueless as to how to fix it. The software on the unit (mouse & on-screen keyboard) is seriously ridiculous and tedious to use. If the software would work I would add 3 stars. Thats how badly it cripples your system not being able to use SmartViewer.

Setup your DVR IP address in your router to static outside of your domain. If you have 192.168.1 through 192.168.1.100 then set it to above that for example 192.168.1.200. Forward ports 8000-8160 and 554-558 both TCP (not TCP/UDP) to your desktop IP address (DVR defaults) No other numbers will work so only use those. I purchased a SED-1006R for sound with video recording at my front door, had to get replaced because sound was not working so got it replaced. Sound from the unit must be powered by a separate funky one plug speaker system, however sound to my desktop via SmartView works ok although the sound is mono not stereo.

Motion detection is ok, though I've seen better. The squares are a bit too large and make it difficult to cover finite regions. My biggest complaint is glare at night (car lights) that trigger motion events. A shiny car and or wet pavement can reflect and trigger events easily even on the lowest detection setting.

I originally had it set for each camera to record at highest settings (4CIFL(L) 15FPS Level 8 ) with just motion events but have since changed 3 camera's set for continuous record and 1 motion event with same quality settings. The hard drive capacity right now is 20 day's recorded at 800Gbs full so roughly 23 days with 4 camera's 3 with continuous, 1 event. I would venture to guess that with 8 cameras you would get a week with say 6 continuous and 2 event. On the other hand based on what I've observed looking at drive usage you could easily get 3-4 months set to motion event with 8 cameras if you have normal activity (cats, birds, occasional insects around camera. I plan to water proof the ethernet connections as they are outside and susceptible to moisture in the connectors. Heatwrap tubing and electrical tape should work fine.

I wanted this product to work but I'm bailing on this for something far better.

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Some reviews mention the poor video quality of these Samsung cameras, but I believe the problem resides in the DVR video output. I came to this conclusion after connecting an additional camera of good quality to the DVR, and the video output turned out to be the same. On the positive side, the software is very intuitive and the feature-set is absolutely useful; the build quality of the cameras is also strong...But again, the poor quality of the video output is a deal breaker. I would not recommend this camera set and wouldn't buy again.

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Easy install, one wire connection to camera. Provides both feed and power..Nice. DVR is easy to use. Lots of options. Day video great. Not so great night. The system uses 2 power supplies, co be prepared to use a multi connection cord. It is had a monitor for the price would be a hard system to beat. I feel it does everything i need and want it to do. Internet connection can be tricky. I didn't have a LAN connection in the closet where its installed, so without built in wifi i needed a "bridged router"...(receives wireless signal and has plugs to connect LAN lines). Which works great. CPU Fan runs all the time, so its bit noisy so consider that during your research. Camera's could be smaller, but not bad. They might look dated in a couple of years.

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All thress of these systems have given me nothing but problems. Im disgusted with samsung. I buy samsung everything and the security system, THE DIY SECURITY SYSTEM, IS THE BIGGEST JOKE. I have one set up in a buisness location and it didnt come with the wire to hook up to a tv. You would think it would include everything but no visual or audio connections in site. They give you a ethernet cord...very helpful samsung. Had to send the owner to get the cords. It finally worked. Next system was totally different. Still didnt come with visual and audio wires but we had sone on hand this time. Suprise!!! We need a video link, that the box or instructions never said anything about or didnt include. Thanks again samsung. My last one I set up was tonight...and my very last samsung that I will ever work with again. The box had 6 cameras...one of the had corrosion in it...wasnt the same plug and the barcide sticker was coming off. No biggie..we'll use one less camera. Hook up the dvr through a vga to set it up, remote d9esnt work, dvr doesnt work, nothing responds to s***! Call technical support the idiot pretty much readme everything the instructions say and say return your systems. AFTER SETTING UP ALL OF IT THROUGH A PROFESSIONAL! Im sick to my stomach of how much money was put into this and theres nothing they can do about it. I will never give a penny to samsung ever again. Mark my words.

TechTonic Portable Alarm Clock Spy Camera DVR with Motion Detection

Don't buy this product, it is not worth the money. The light stays on while filming and if you have to film using a hidden alarm clock camera, then that's your issue. I threw mine away and will never buy anything like this again.

Great camera for the price! I was really surprised at the resolution and clarity. The down side... it tends to lose battery power quickly and has to be charged frequently.

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pls dont buy this product. it is a total waste of money. the picture is not clear and after a few months it went off and never worked again. i dont recommend this product at all.

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opened it up charged it completely worked 1 time and 1 time only replaced batteries in remote and still nothing

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im one of the lucky ones to get a working clock it has bean 24 hours since i baught the clock and it still has a charge and i used the controler a couple times and it still works the fist thing i did was look up some information about the clock and after reading about the instructions i was ready to go.

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Sony Professional Digital 2GB MP3 Voice Recorder with Memory Card Slot, Noise Cut Technology Reduci

Tone quality is superb in this product. Ease of use is acceptable, but difficult for those who are not "technically savvy", particularly our older clients. When the memory card is downloaded and erased from one computer, it seems to work fine, but we have multiple computers in our business and multiple customers. This is not a good product in this situation. I would advise more research before purchasing this product for anything other than personal use.

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JVC BR-DV3000U-B Professional DV Recorder

Considering how expensive professional equipment can be over the same thing for consumers, this deck is VERY well priced. I have had mine for over a year. It is quiet. Reliable. Very fast rewind and fastforward.

I sometimes get DVCAM tape in PAL format and it is an easy flick of the switch to capture PAL onto my computer from it. Then switch back to ntsc for the next. The ability to use MiniDV and full size DVCAM tape in the same deck is a big plus too.

With the foot for using it on it's side, it takes up very little desk space too. I highly recommend this deck to pro-am and professional video editors.

love it works fine i received it in a decant time frame it was only missing a remote but other than that its like brand new

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A great solution for any level of capture from dv tape to firewire or compsite video. The capture I have done so far are just perfect. using Vegas with firewire works and gives you great control over the capture from the deck. Just great!!

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Honeywell Ademco 5800CO Wireless CO Detector

This is one of the reasons I updated my security system.

Being able to have a monitored CO detector gives me a great sense of security. Most CO detectors just sound an alarm, but this one, threw my monitoring company, will get the fire department to the house even if we are knocked out.

Programing is quick and painless, and once that was done it was just a call to the monitoring company to get it in service.

I was told it could take up to two and a half weeks to be shipped, but it was here in three days.

I'm planning on getting another one to put upstairs.

This was a good deal. The product works as it should it is compatible with several systems hence the only problem is that instructions are too generic to be useful. Make sure you know how to set this in your specific system.

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Magnavox MDR513H/F7 HDD and DVD Recorder with Digital Tuner - REFURBISHED

I no longer have any use for cable TV. This machine works it just WORKS! Versatile, intuitively layed out, compatible with "Harmony" remotes. Comes with a very nice, intuitive remote of its own. I believe the "refurb" status is simply due to a post production firmware update. The unit showed no sign of use whatsoever. 32 memory event slots provide plenty of programming to catch daily, weekly, single events, whatever, without having to be nickle and dime'd by that subscription DVR service whose name must never be spoken. Works with my Roku with great results. Lots and lots of hard drive space. Makes great DVD's and DVD-RW's. Survived a power failure while operating in record mode with no ill affects at all. Can't say enough good things about this unit. For rhree month's worth of cable service fees, it's mine-all-mine!

If you want the convenience of the "Tivo" or cable/satelite DVR service than go ahead and pay for it, but if you are the type who doesn't mind spending a little time programming your own unit to record your favorite shows, along with figuring out which shows are on which digital channels etc. than this is definitely for you! I can't believe I've gone without this for so long!

No need for that digital converter as it's already in the unit.

This is 10 times better than any DVD recorder you can buy at your local electronics store, just go ahead and get this 1st as I made the mistake of buying a similar model that only has the DVD recording option and took it back after a week.

Simple hook-up if you already have cable servie going to a cable box. Just move the cable that's in the "cable-in" on your cable box and put it on the "antenna-in" on the HDD recorder, then use the included coax cable to connect the "antenna-out" from the HDD back to the "cable-in" on the cable box. The HDD does not even have to be plugged in to transfer the cable signal back to the cable box. You can now record any cable program as well as any digital over the air program. After scanning for digital channels on the HDD recorder you can set it up to record using daily/weekly or one time recording options. The best part is you can continue watching whatever through your cable box and record another program at the same time, and pause live tv etc. much like most DVR's that cable companies offer now. But it's not as user-friendly as the DVR's the cable companies offer and I believe it's not quite 100% HD recording, so it's not a great idea if there's not a technically inclined person operating it..such as my wife. I usually have to play the shows for her as there's a learning curve to using it properly.

I also really like the programmable skip and replay buttons. I have mine to skip 30seconds forward and reverse 15seconds back so when I skip too far through the commercials it's usually perfect to reverse a quick 15 seconds back.

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Purchased this unit because I have an identical unit with an 80GB hard drive that has proven very easy to operate. Appearance of this unit is identical to the older one. HD is much larger and remote control is configured better, but at the same time the old remote will control the new unit and vice versa. Actually, both have 47 buttons with only one unused button not identical. I have had a couple of DVD recorders, one without and one with a hard drive, that were almost impossible to figure out. Therefore, I am most satisfied with both DVD recorders and delighted that operational changes were not made just for the sake of change.

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I bought this DVR thru Wal-Mart.com 3 weeks ago, as one of the Black Friday deals online. I bought it because I may get rid of my cable box, and I need to still be able to record my favorite TV programs. So far, it has worked perfect. When watching your local stations through the DVR, the picture is as clear as your HDTV. Setup was easy. To test it's 320GB hard drive, so far I have recorded 10 hours of TV programs without deleting them. It still has room for more recordings. It beats having to delete programs on a DVD or put in a blank one every time you want to record something. Setting the timer to record programs is very easy. Whenever you set the timer to record a program, the menu will ask you if you prefer your recording on DVD or hard drive. That's great. But the feature that I like the most are the settings for "Repeat Recording". For example, if you watch a particular program every Wednesday at 9p.m., all you have to do is select "WED", select the time of "9:00 p.m." and the DVR will automatically record your program every Wednesday at 9 (just like the cable DVR you rent every month). Besides single repeat days, it also has the following settings for repeat recording requests: "Daily, Mon-Fri, Sat-Sun". So far I've only had 3 weeks, but I am completely happy with my purchase.

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Great deal, the best $150 we have spent in a while. This thing works perfect and the shipping was on time, all good things. We now can record 150 300 hrs. of shows and they stay safe on the hard drive. We will use less DVDs and maybe never watch a tv commercial again. You can set the skip feature and just buzz by those things at light speed. Good buy, don't wait buy now... Ron

Toshiba SD-V593 Progressive Scan DVD/VCR Combo with HDMI

• Progressive scan DVD/VCR combo; measures 17" x 3.5" x 9.8 inches (WxHxD)
• DVD player compatible with DVD movie, CD audio, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, VCD, and SVCD discs; MP3, WMA, JPEG
• 9-in-2 memory card reader; VCR with 8-event/1-year programming
• 1 HDMI, 2 composite in, 1 composite out, 1 S-Video out, 1 component out, 1 digital optical audio out, 1 RF in, 1 RF out
• Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound modes

Note: Past Toshiba DVD players have had documented problems reading disc (see all product reviews prior to 59.. series). This is not the better, newer 59.. DVD model. They are using the older (bad) drive in the combo VCR/DVD to save money.

I purchased this model expecting the newer 59.. model DVD drive. This drive has eliminated many of the previous problems associated with Toshiba DVD system. Unfortunately, I gave Toshiba too much credit.

The system showed all the signs of being the older drive. Skipping, random pixilated image, loss of sound, and problems initializing the disc. Come to find out they are using the older drives to save money on these combo units. Toshiba has deceptively named this model after their newer, redesigned system in an attempt to sell their remaining stock of older drives.

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Well, I didn't need to read far into the first customer review to discover that my issue wasn't singular. The issue? The DVD player, after working just fine, just stopped reading disks. Boom, just like that, over, out and that's all she wrote! One night it was working great, the next night a "NO DISK" message. Naturally, I tried a number of disks, even the optical lens cleaner one, but no go, it's dead.

The player was got in late August of '05. I'm the only user and I'm a Type-A careful guy, so I didn't do whatever killed it.

For image and sound, high marks while it worked. For longevity, minus marks; why should it only function for 13 months? I've got another DVD player, Toshiba, or there would be no need to mention it, that's been working wonderfully for over 6 years. Why this glaring discrepancy in the products sold under the same name?

If you are comfortable spending a fair amount of money for short-time usage, it gives high quality pictures and sound while it's alive. Otherwise, research DVD players and buy something reliable, which this particular one isn't, alas.

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After reading some of the reviews a few months I reluctantly purchased this machine because it had the features I wanted. I was reluctant to buy because of the difficulty many reviewers on here expressed about set-up and getting a picture.

I had no problem setting it up and it used to work fine. However we've had it a few months now and the machine does not recognize DVD disks. I've read other online reviews today of Toshiba's other DVD products and it seems that their products give up after a few months.

I've always been a Sony guy and have bought MANY things over the years from them without any problems (as with any company I'm sure Sony does have some occaisonal defective products, but I personally have never come across any). At any rate I can not recommend buying any Toshiba DVD products based on my limited experience and what I've read.

I went to Toshiba's web site to see if they offered trouble shooting. It seems logical to devote some space on the web site that lists the various error messages with suggested actions. The web site does not have this. I did look at the owner's manual, which does offer some trouble shooting, but it does not cover this particular error message. Toshiba's customer support is open M-F, 10 am to 7 pm Eastern. I'll call them when they're open. Obviously customer support is another weak point of Toshiba. I'm in California so I'd have to call between 7 am to 4 pm California time, and I'm either on my way to the office or already there. So their hours of operation for most people in the Western US is inconvenient.

To be fair I do not know Sony's customer support hours (or if they are better) but that's only because I've never had a problem with Sony or had a reason to call them.

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I've had this combo VCR/DVD for two weeks now and so far I am very pleased. I didn't have any issues with connectivity to my Pioneer Elite Plasma. I have the DVD portion of the player connected via the supplied HDMI cable to Input 3 of the plasma and the VCR portion connected via the supplied composite cables to Input 2 of the plasma.

The picture quality of the upconverting (I'm using 720p at the moment) DVD is very good especially at this price point. I considered other DVD players from Denon and Panasonic but decided on this Toshiba. I decided I would save a little money for similar PQ and a VCR as well for the tapes I haven't replaced yet. Since HD-DVD or Blu-Ray is right around the corner I didn't want to spend too much on the upconverting feature, which is merely a stopgap technology anyway.

As for the VCR picture quality, it is fine. It's more a function of displaying on a 43" Plasma than the player anyway. I don't know of any player that will display a great VHS picture on a large screen panel.

Overall, I'm very happy with this unit. The price/performance can't be beat as far as I'm concerned. I obviously haven't had the player long enough to comment on its durability, build quality etc, but I'll be keeping an eye on it and add to my review in a few months.

This machine only lasted a few months and know the DVD player constantly freezes. I tried cleaning it, but it still constantly freezes to the point that watching the movie is impossible.