VuPoint Solutions Digital Video Converter (Black)

I bought this today while I was browsing Bed, Bath and Beyond. I'd been talking about something like this with a colleague a few days ago videos on SD cards instead of huge DVDs. Plus my laptop is a tablet no optical drive except on the dock. Movies on the plane would be nice.

So I put in a 4GB SDHC card and put in Star Trek it recorded as advertised! The audio is excellent, and the video is quite good not as good as a DVD, of course, but more than just watchable. Just plug the card into my laptop and presto all the movies I want!

I wanted to trim it, so I tried my Pinnacle Studio 12, but it didn't load the ASF format. I also own the complete AVS Media toolset and that works fine for editing the format, compressing to fit on my Palm Treo cell phone, and anything else I need.

Now I have to get some big SDHC cards and put, maybe 3 or 4 movies each on them. Super cool! Excellent for a netbook!

The set up and the recording is a snap. But beware the box tells you it records in mpeg 4 format, but it does not. Although you get ARC Soft software with it, there are absolutely no instructions to tell you what you need to know to record a TV program and put it on your iPod. I tried converting their .asf file format to MPEG using ARC Soft, but I still then have to use iTunes to cnvert the converted file to an iPod compatible format. Once I convert the file using ARC Soft (and select the mpeg format) the converted file coes out as a windows media/audio file. Between ARC Soft and the iTunes conversion, it takes over 2 hours to convert a one hour TV show for my iPod. Too much work.

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I had a bunch of old VHS Home Movies of my kids growing up, wanted to convert to digital so that the movies would not be lost & could still be veiwed on a DVD player or computer. The movies were easy to copy over, had to play them to do so, on an old VHS player. Then the files had to be saved on a computer and convert the files to be made into a dvd, then burn the DVD. Took some time only because of having to record while playing the movies, converting was not hard. Was very pleased over all with the product.

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The device got to me very quick, and worked just as I hoped it would. I converted all my old 88 mm camcorder videos to AVI files and can now enjoy them on my computer and home entertainment system. Thanks

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I was excited to see this item and grabbed one to try out. Hoping it would record video files that would play on an iphone/ipod or at least on my Mac laptop. It advertises that it creates Mp4 files but NOPE. Instead it records and create some strange ".asf" file that apparently MUST be converted back on your computer (PEE CEE ONLY) with the included software (PEE CEE ONLY). The .asf files are not recognized by quicktime or itunes even on a Mac with TONS of extra quicktime codecs installed behind the scenes. NOT FOR ANY FORM OF MAC USERS. Will be returning the item.

Sony DHG-HDD250 30-Hour High-Definition Digital Video Recorder (250 GB)

• High-definition-capable digital video recorder with 250 GB storage: 30 hours of HD programming or up to 200 hours of standard content
• Includes NTSC and ATSC tuners; a perfect match for bringing off-air HDTV reception to HD-ready televisions and monitors
• Pause, rewind, and record live high-definition TV; record one program while watching another; HDMI/component-video outputs
• CableCARD slot accommodates digital cable decoder cards; Memory Stick PRO media slot lets you enjoy digital photos and MP3 music
• Measures 16.9 x 3.3 x 14 inches (W x H x D)

[This review is based on experiences with the DHG-HDD250; the DHG-HDD500 is identical, except that it is $150-$200 more expensive and has two 250GB hard disks instead of just one.]

If you're anything like me, you're likely looking at this Sony unit because TiVo doesn't make DVR that can receive high-definition (HD) broadcasts. (And the fact that TiVo has been dragging its feet on HD is one of many reasons that the company is not long for this world.) I bought the Sony DHG-HDD250 to replace my old TiVo box, and although there a few small things I gave up in the process, I'm mostly happy with my new Sony.

First and foremost: QUALITY. Watching live TV on the Sony unit is *almost* as good as watching TV with my TV's built-in ATSC tuner. The colors are slightly less-vibrant and there are a few more compression artifacts, but this is to be expected, and not terribly noticeable. Recordings are first-rate, and infinitely better than any low-def DVR, VCR, or even DVD recorder. And with the HDMI output, you can have a pure digital connection from the DVR to your TV. Probably the only quality issue is the confusing "Format" button on the remote, which allows you to stretch or shrink the video to display correctly on a 16:9 widescreen TV. It works, but it responds very slowly, is inconsistent, incomplete, and hard to figure out. Why they didn't include a simple "zoom" feature (like every TV on the planet) is beyond me.

THE INTERFACE. The menu system is not complicated, although not as friendly and cheerful as TiVo (it's faster and sharper-looking than TiVo, though). The Sony unit is much, much more configurable than any TiVo, and that configurability comes at a bit of a cost. Be prepared to read the manual to figure out how to record programs and set up the channel list, for instance. Thereafter, many things (like recording shows) are actually easier to accomplish (albeit more difficult to learn) than on a TiVo. Example: in the Guide, press and hold the Record button for one second to record a show. Press Record again to record it repeatedly (same time, same channel). That's it no wading through multiple screens, like on TiVo, to set up a simple recording.

THE GUIDE. The Sony uses the free TV Guide on-screen system (what used to be called GemStar, I believe) to get program data (off the air!) and display TV listings on the screen. This means you don't have to extend a phone cord or network cable to your DVR; just plug it in to your wall outlet, attach your antenna or plug in your cable card, and leave the unit powered off overnight. Each night, the DVR gets program data for the current day and the same day next week, which means it'll take six days after you take it out of the box before the listings will be fully populated. (Tip: listings come from an analog station in your area, so make sure not to exclude your analog stations from the listings until you find out which one is broadcasting!)

The guide not bad, but not great, either. It's pretty easy to use, but suffers from a few really idiotic design decisions. For instance, there's no direct way (on-screen) to show the listings for a different day (e.g., Tomorrow, next Wednesday, etc.), except for holding the "right" arrow button on the remote to cycle slowly through each hour of listings until you eventually end up on the correct day. The only shortcut is to press some numbers on the remote (e.g., 2 and then 4) and then select "hours ahead" from the menu that appears to jump 24 hours into the future. In other words, there's no "Tomorrow" or "Yesterday" buttons on the remote or on the screen. And there are many little annoyances like this, although it works okay once you get used to it.

But the DHG's guide also has some really nice features, such as the grid (which TiVo never could manage to include on their units), and even a keyword search; you can even save your searches! You can also get alphabetical listings to find the show(s) you want, and you can even filter the list to show only HD content, only movies, only comedies, etc. Also, recordings can be grouped by show, so you don't have to wade through a long list of recordings to find the recorded show you want to watch.

SEASON PASS. One of TiVo's best (and simplest) features was the Season Pass; I could tell it to record West Wing, and no matter what time and on what channel it appeared, TiVo would record it. Alas, the Sony unit DOES NOT HAVE A SEASON PASS feature; I don't know why the folks at TV Guide couldn't get this simple feature to work. You can have the DHG record multiple episodes of a show, but ONLY if they're broadcast at exactly the same time and on the same channel. If West Wing is an hour later one week, or if it's syndicated on another station, the DHG will miss it unless you manually ask it to record those episodes, too.

There are some other TiVo features absent from the DHG that I don't miss at all, such as "Recommendations" (a feature that fills up your hard disk with junk you don't want), and the "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down" buttons that are supposed to influence the aforementioned recommendations (almost as effectively as TiVo's marketing partners).

OVERALL. The DHG-HDDxxx is the only DVR on the market that doesn't require an expensive digital cable subscription or satellite dish; since I get all my HD broadcasts for free with a $20 rooftop antenna, this was a must. It's also quite a nice unit; well made, attractive, and it works well. If you want an HD DVR, you'll probably be very happy with the Sony DHG-HDDxxx once you get used to it's quirks.

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I've owned and used the RCA Scenium DVR for several years so switching to the Sony was a bit of an adjustment.

The Sony is not quite as intuitive and takes a while to learn how it works. So far the Sony hasn't "glitched" on me (which is my only disappointment with the RCA Scenium which has malfunctioned every once in a while ever since we first bought it).

Channel management is "poor" and slightly confusing with the Sony (an issue I didn't have with the RCA because it didn't pick up HD / Antenna channels in addition to our cable channels).

The Sony is harder to "one touch" record whatever you happen to be watching. Otherwise, once you get used to using the "TV Guide" system it works well and in many respects is a *lot* easier to use.

The layout of the buttons on the remote is poor. With the RCA all the time I'd be hitting "Fast Forward" and then "Play". The button layout of the Sony remote makes this a bit tricky. Reaching the pause, play and fast forward buttons and then going to the channel up down buttons requires moving your hand (clumsy).

Give the Sony a bit of time and you'll fall in love with it. Once familiar with how it works you'll grow to appreciate the intelligent design Sony has built in. (odd quirks like Fast Forward at 30x speed and then hitting play results in an intelligent "rewind" to compensate for slow human reaction times)

I still find the "TV Guide" system very clumsy. In many respects it's great but it takes "learning" to effectively use it and checking "tomorrow" is difficult/clumsy.

Also Sony's tech support is clueless! Online support did not know ANYTHING about the device and gave incorrect advice and suggestions. E-mail support only said "use online support or call our phone support". Terrible!

If you accidentally enter the wrong cable service (poorly identified by numbers) do NOT follow tech support's advice to unplug it and wait over night to start from scratch. If you are clever you can find the place in the (poorly worded) menus to select different cable listings.

It's quite annoying that upon first plugging it in or unplugging (to move and change your physical setup) results in the Sony going "stupid" and a potentially *long* wait until it receives the correct time (and starts getting the programming info downloaded).

Probably the only real feature I miss from the RCA Scenium is the ability to just press a single button to start recording (which fails often on the RCA) and then hitting "stop" when you are done recording. The Sony wants to do it far more "intelligently" (and sometimes I don't like my electronics trying to outguess what I want to do).

This review may sound negative overall, but really the Sony is a great device. And having a DVR is wonderful. A DVR is the single greatest and most appreciated device in our entire house.

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I am very happy with this DVR after 3-days of ownership. While it is expensive, it really does deliver as both an HD tuner and 30-hour DVR. I am using this for OTA and basic cable reception, and it is giving me perfect high-def without paying for an expensive cable box

The big knock on this unit is that some people are unhappy with the free "TV Guide" software which gives the unit it's TiVo like capabilities. There is a massive thread over on the AVS forum detailing all of the pros, cons and possible problems with this unit, and pretty much all the problems stem from TV guide software or the local cable company flagging some high-def channels to prevent recording. I am pretty sure most the problems posted here on the HD500 thread are due to ignorance on the owner's part. You have to be especially careful that you let the unit turn off every night AND you have enabled an analog PBS station or you will not load your guide information.

I am quite familiar with the idiosyncracies of the TV Guide software since I already have a Panasonic DMR-E85HS that uses it.

Another point to consider is whether or not you need the 500GB or 250GB. The two DVR's are otherwise identical.

Since I do not want to pay for the upgraded service (I am paying $13/month for Basic service), buying this DVR was a more attractive choice then renting from my cable companies DVR.

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I've been running one for a few weeks now and here's the problem I found with the device:

The channels that you watch by using the channel up and down button on the remote are unique and distinct from the channels you can record. Most of the folks on here having problems getting it to record are probably stumbling in to this.

I connected the unit to an antenna and my cable and had it scan for channels. This populates the list of channels you can watch. You can then press the menu key at a blank screen to enter the device menu, edit your channel list, etc.

The channels you can record are dependent on the TV-Guide Channel. You have to program this list completely separately from the main list of watchable channels.

Once you get both lists to co-incide with the best quality channels it works perfectly. Getting to that point takes time and lots of fiddling.

I am generally very happy with this DVR. The picture quality is excellent. Analog cable channels look much better than they did on the cable co's own Motorola DVR. It is nice to be able to combine antenna reception with cable reception since most cable co's don't carry all local HD channels. Most complaints with this unit come from the TV Guide On Screen software. I haven't had any major issues with that aspect. I do wish it was a little more like a Tivo so that it would skip reruns and grab the same show from multiple channels at multiple times. The software is also not very intelligent about resolving recording conflicts. There is no way to give one show a higher priority if two scheduled shows come on at the same time. But TV Guide On Screen doesn't cost 13 bucks a month like Tivo does. It also would have been nice if Sony had included dual tuners as the cable co's Motorola box has. Overall, this is a very nice product if you want to record HD programs without paying a monthly fee to the cable co.

If it had dual tuners, the ability to skip reruns, and didn't cost so much, I would have given it 5 stars.

UPDATE: After owning this piece for a while longer, I have discovered that Sony is not the company they used to be. My DVR has already been in for service once (they told me there was nothing wrong). And the next call to Sony I was on hold for 2 hours!

UPDATE 2: Unit has been to Sony twice and is getting ready to go back again. These people are clueless. They don't even understand how the thing is supposed to work until I explain THEIR product to them. The last time the unit was in, they told me the problem is with the TV Guide software the unit runs and that they couldn't do anything about it. I told them that is BS. If that was the way things worked, GM wouldn't have to fix anything on their cars since many of the parts are outsourced. Sony's name and phone number are the ones on the warranty card. And, if you try to contact TV Guide, they tell you to contact the manufacturer.

UPDATE 3: Sony sent me a brand new unit. I was hoping this would resolve the issue since I really like the DVR when it works. However, this replacement unit has now behaved the exact same way twice dropping scheduled recordings of Law and Order. There is a software problem with this model and Sony apparently can't figure that out.

UPDATE 4: Sony has bought the DVR back from me.

Lorex 4-Channel H.264 DVR with 4 Wireless Cameras (LH1140501C4W)

The biggest problem with this system is the very reason I bought it. The wireless system is not consistent and drops the connection constantly. I should have known that this would be an issue when I read all of the reasons why it loses communication in the instruction manual. If you have an average size home, you will have this problem. The actual componants do work fine, when it works. If you have a small house or apt,

This system is right for you.

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Ematic 8 GB Video MP3 Player with 3-Inch Touchscreen, Built-in 5MP Digital Video Camera, FM Radio,

• 8 GB capacity for storage of up to 2,300 songs, 7,000 photos, or 20 hours of video; expandable to 16 GB via MicroSD card
• Up to 8 hours of music playback or 4 hours video playback on a single charge
• 3-inch color TFT LCD touchscreen display with 320 x 240 (QVGA) pixel resolution
• Supports MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, FLAC, and APE audio files; AVI, MP4, RM, RMVB, and FLV video files; JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, and TIFF images; TXT text files
• One-year limited warranty

got this for my daughter and it worked for 3 hours, sent it back and got a new one, this lasted for 2 weeks, this was never dropped or abused, they are junk don't buy

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I bought at the site, and request to deliver at my hotel in Orlando, considering that I am a turist and I will stay for few days in US. The item arrived in my last day, I out it in my bag, and traveled back to home. When I arrived at home to open the item, it never worked. The screen has a problem and did not show anything. The problem now is that i have to send back to Amazin and pay the amolst the same amount of the cost, just to ship. So I will keep my never work mp3 with me....

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I am in disagreement with the Ematyic E4 Series received , the Digital Video Recording and Digital 5MP Full-Sized they are out of service, he does not gain images, I only can see a green screen. I sent an email to Ematic and the answer that they gave me was not useful for me. I am very angry because I purchased a bad-quality product and I do not have suitable answer from Ematic. Can Amazon make anything to solve my problem?

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Ematic 8 GB Video MP3 Player with Touchscreen, 5MP Video/Still Camera, FM Radio, and Speaker (Black) the 8 GB Video MP3 twith 3-Inch Touchscreen,with Built-in 5MP Digital Video Camera,a FM Radio, and Speaker I got this before I got my table it work good for every thing but reading books. Now I us it with my old computer speaker to listen to music, camera is better then my table you have to add an sd card to make it work

I got mine from another website but never the less it still ended to be not worth it. I took good care of it and for some reason it wouldn't hold a charge anymore

Headset, E-20 Dual Monaural Earphone

I bought these to use with my Olympus voice recorder, because I was tired of using regular stereo earbuds and hearing my college lectures in just my left ear.

The audio quality is pretty good, and it's nice to have sound in both ears--that makes it so much better for me to listen to and understand what I'm hearing.

Poor sound quality

Don't stay in the ear

Cheap but still not worth the price.

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These earphones are fairly good for the price. I have a hearing problem to start with,so that may account for my 3 rating. Worth their price. Darn Yankee in SC

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These were necessary for the Sony DVD player, otherwise you have to use two sets of earjacks. They solved a problem and work great.

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Headset, E-20 Dual Monaural Earphone.I purchaesd at amazon. As advertised sound good but little pricey but overall good product works grate.

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2- Pack DENON HD8/100 High Bias Metal Particle Audio Cassette Tapes

I'm a 'retro' stereo guy and have built several high-end stereos from the late '70's. Finding quality cassette tapes is getting harder and harder to find. However, these tapes were in OEM condition, well packaged, and worked beautifully with my 1980's cassette tape recorder. A good product at a great price.

Philips 2GB Digital Recorder with clearvoice

This is a good little recorder. Nice small compact size fits in a slim eyeglass case (since it didn't come with a case). But the instructions are really, really poor. I looked everywhere online to see if I could figure out how to use it and was almost ready to return it when I happened on the file that held the MP3 files. I've been recording a teacher and love that this is USB connectible to my laptop. I want to be able to save the files and load them onto my ipod. You pretty much have to just start hitting buttons to figure out how to use it. I've stumbled around enough to get it to do what I need, but if you need step by step instructions, then this would probably frustrate you. The voice quality is good, the only drawback is the complete lack of instructions. C'mon Philips step up and put together something! I'm sure there are features that I would like to use if I knew about them or how to find them.

This product exceeded my expectations. Great clear recordings of lectures from far away and excellent sound quality. It is easy to use, aesthetically pleasing (the picture doesn't do it justice... it's so sleek!) and very useful in helping hear those little professor mumblings that always show up on the exam.

Love it and recommend it to anyone!

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I'm very pleased with my recorder, for the price is an awesome product full of features found on more expensive recorders. Very easy to use the controls are very intuitive; if you need more help there is a PDF file with the instructions. I just love the USB connectivity, you can transfer the files to computer so easy, and they are recorded in MP3 format. It doesn't come with a case, but is not a big deal; I just use a glasses case I bought at a 99 cents store.

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Seems like a good product so far. Intuitive operation should be easy to use for most without consulting directions. Used as a personal memo/idea capture device while biking/hiking etc. USB connector is very short, might not be convenient for some set ups but could easily be replace by off-the-shelf connector (perhaps discarded/older cell phone USB). It has a lanyard attachment point which I was counting on based on the picture but was not mentioned in the description. Works as expected. Play back speaker is just adequate. Access the mp3 files easily on Win7 PC computer. Playback audio quality of mp3 on other devices seems very good to me. Can't comment on durability/longevity but seems rugged enough for general use.

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Too small. Totally lousy sound. clumsey to use.Philips 2GB Digital Recorder with clearvoice sound is muddled and almost non existant. DO NOT buy this product.

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Underwater Waterproof Digital Camera, Has only 8MB built-in memory (No External Memory slot), Compa

Me and my husband bought this camenmra for our vacations to punta cana.we read all reviews on how expensive cameras failed at being water resistant and we decided to go for the cheapest digital camera (eveeer) and it worked !!! We sunk it when swimming with sharks dolphings and marine lions :D and all our pictures and videos are great. When we released it under water it didn't sink it floated back to surface jajaja tip test the software in various laptops before traveling it didn't work on our newer windows versions we had to find an old laptop with the x p to backup our pic while traveling

This camera wont work with some windows like "vista" but does work with windows xp. It is very easy to install the software and upload pictures. I paid $23 plus free shipping. Not bad for the price but the LCD screen is a bit diffucult to read. The pictures are'nt as clear as you would expect from a digital camera but it survived the water. This uses AA batteries not a charger. If you want clear high quality photos this is not the camera for you but it does take ok photos.

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This is a great digital camera for the price. Perfect for taking on vacation, especially to the beach, and leaving your expensive camera at home. and you can't beat the price. Important to note though. It is only compatable with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP.

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I bought this camera looking to experiment with taking some fun photos in the pool or at the beach. While I clearly knew that this camera was not going to be of high quality, as evident because of the price and just general look, it was still a waste of money. I tried it out in the pool, excited to upload the pictures to the computer. After just my first try, I already found myself having problems. Most of the photos would not upload and had appeared to have been deleted, or possibly never even taken. I thought I was doing something wrong, until I later realized that the shutter button itself was not fully working. While it would appear and feel as if I took a photo, the camera wouldn't register or capture the image. However, OCCASIONALLY a photo would be processed, but it was extremely inconsistent and of such low quality that it wasn't even worth the frustration or time. I actually ended up losing the cord to connect the camera too, another part of this product that was difficult. There's not memory card or batteries, it just has a card to the computer that you use for charing and transferring the few photos you may have taken. Not to mention, the battery life was terrible; lasting only an hour or less.

In summary, it has now been two years since I bought this camera and I am still regretting the purchase. I have returned to Amazon again to buy a REAL underwater camera for the summer. I just wish that I wouldn't have bought this piece of plastic, and had put this money towards a functional underwater camera.

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I really like my camera phone that was water proof better, but if gave way. I really didn't care for this all that much. My kids barely used it the entire summer.

Panasonic PVDV103 MiniDV Compact Camcorder with 2.5" LCD

I was looking for an inexpensive camcorder with high quality audio and video, digital download capabilities (i.e., miniDV), and good portability. I tried out numerous camcorders and read up on many more, and I eventually settled on the Panasonic PVDV103. The first distinguishing feature is that it's seriously SMALL -noticeably smaller than the comparable models from Canon and JVC. It fits really well in the palm of my average-sized hand, and most the controls then just fall naturally under the fingers. As a result, it's a pleasure to use even for extended hand-held filmimng sessions. The audio is very clean, unlike the Canon ZR-series, and the video has wonderful, natural colors. Downloading an image via Firewire is easy and trouble-free. I only have three minor quibbles with this camcorder: 1) it doesn't have the Sony-style night vision capabilities for filming in dim or dark situations; 2) its optical zoom is 10X, which is good but not superb; and 3) its image stabilization isn't quite as solid as Canon's or Sony's. All in all, for the price (and even for hundreds more), I don't think there is a better all-around camcorder.

Panasonic makes a great DV. I'm on my second one. The video quality is solid. The import to the PC works well. They have been reliable. Nice and light. Everything you'd want.

The only downside in my experience on my prior Panasonic was it broke after about a year of fairly frequent use. Their service policy is a flat $250 charge to fix it, regardless of the problem. That was about half the price of the unit new, which seems out of line.

Otherwise, if it doesn't break, great unit.

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When shopping for a camcorder the first thing to pick is format. I dismissed analog because of the lower resolution and poorer picture/sound quality. I considered miniDVD, but this is a relatively new format and is therefore significantly more expensive at the moment. I chose miniDV because it seems to be the most popular digital format right now. I also decided that I did not want to use the camcorder for taking still shots that are stored on removable memory. Even the very expensive models have low resolution that will yield poor pictures. My advice is to stick with a separate digital camera and save some money on the camcorder. I have had good luck with Panasonic tvs, dvd players, projectors, and cordless phones so I naturally considered them when shopping for a camcorder. Consumer Reports also rates Panasonic camcorders highly in terms of reliability and picture quality. I chose this particular model because it had all the features I needed, is very compact compared to other brands, and is reasonably priced. I think this model will please and adequately serve any home movie makers.

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Purchased this item two months ago. I used it four times and now it shows a "dew detected" warning. The camera then shutdown and no longer works. I did some research and found this is a common problem, not only with this model, but several other Panasonic products. The problem is due to a detective module that Panasonic uses and the only way to fix it is a repair bill of $150. I have tried several times to contact Panasonic, but have received no response. Until Panasonic upgrades their parts and customer service I would buy elsewhere.

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the "dew detected" sign is another way of Panasonic saying that the camcorder needs "servicing" and that you will have to send it in to be fixed for a price of at least $80. There are TRILLIONS of forums on the lack of reliability of this camcorder.. so DON'T BUY IT.. or any other camcorder from Panasonic.. because they're just unreliable.

HDE ® 1/4"- 20 Tripod Screw to Hot Shoe Adapter

This is an all aluminum product that's nicely machined. I know it's inexpensive and simple but it's way nicer than I expected.

I bought this a few days ago. I bought it to go with my hotshoe on my camera and also on the small rig that attaches to my hot shoe. This rig adds several hot shoes to your camera in an oval shape. I bought this adapter so that I could attach my Recorder to my camera through this rig.

The erason why I had to mod is was that the flag hot shoe adapter on this is slightly wide. It fits in the hot shoe on the camera very snug, but when I tried to attach it to the rig it wouldn't fit. It was very slightly too large. This may be a problem with the rig rather than this adapter, but I wanted to warn people and give them an easy quick solution. I took a dremel tool (battery powered grinder) and grinded down 1 side about a mm or a cm and checked if it fit in the rig. It did, so what I did was used the polisher/finer grinding bit to smooth out the grinded down area and this works great! The adapter fits perfectly, and for the money I can't complain the extra 3 min of work I had to do to make it fit. I mean if your looking to buy something this cheap then you have to be willing to do some DIY work.

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Is a great and userfull littler piece.

i'm using with a mic on camera like zoom and is very good idea.

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I am trying to attach extra things to my flash bracket like a recorder (zoom h4n) so that I can shoot video with my 5D mk2. I needed this as the 'missing component' to fit my flash into a 'sound and light' cold shoe y bracket. It is strong, inexpensive, and it does the trick!Opteka VLB-3 Video Light/Microphone Dual Cold Shoe Y-shaped Splitter Bracket (Includes Sony AIS Adapter)

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Bought this to attach my Zoom H4N recorder to my 7D. Effective, great price, and I even got a coupon for my next purchase. So far so good!

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Splitter IPTV RF Broadband 3-Way HomePNA Tested & Certified for applications on U-Verse Networks

Just got U-Verse and was lead to believe (by the installation guy) that I couldn't split a box to another TV. Well this worked great. I can now watch TV in my "dressing room" while not having to pay for another box.

Changing out my splitter did not solve my problem but that is not the splitter's fault. So having narrowed the problem we move on.

Buy Splitter IPTV RF Broadband 3-Way HomePNA Tested & Certified for applications on U-Verse Networks Now

I thought I could use this for comcast cable but, I was wrong. I use windows media center with a ceton receiver, and it had too much signal loss. Whenever i watched video it had a pixalation every other minute and sometimes more. I had two dual spliters and it was fine. So I would not recomend this for Comcast if you have a WMC, DVR, and a modem hooked up to it.

Read Best Reviews of Splitter IPTV RF Broadband 3-Way HomePNA Tested & Certified for applications on U-Verse Networks Here

Sony DCR-SR80 60GB 1MP Hard Disk Drive Handycam with 12x Optical Zoom

Just bought this camera from Circuit City about two weeks ago. The first camera I had to return the next day because the image on the LCD was stuck upside down. The camera powers up pretty fast and you can begin recording in just a couple seconds. I love the fact that you can browse through the video and play anything on the fly. I would have thought at this price point it would take better still shots (only 1mp)but that wasnt really the reason I bought it anyway. Low light is ok.. it's no better or worse then my JVC Mini DV. I like the Sony 'night shot' feature. It allows you to take video in total darkness with a built in infrared mode. Do yourself a favor though and purchase an extended battery. The one that comes with it is pretty worthless at only a 1 hour rated life. I purchased the extended 9 hour battery and can realistically get about 4-5 hours without having to charge. The touchscreen is a little different but you get used to it quick. Kinda wish it had a viewfinder but that's on the next model up.

Mainly I purchased this because I was sick of dealing with tapes... I have a whole box of VHS and Mini DV tapes that I now have to take the time and convert to usable formats on my PC. The beauty of this camera is that all that goes away and the video is going to be in it's purest form for this level of camera. It doesnt take hollywood level video but at least you are removing one step out of the equation when having to re-render it. The software that comes with it is pretty worthless. about the only thing I liked was it has the ability to archive any changes from the camera whether video or photo and auto back it up with one click.

Don't buy the SR-40 or SR-60 you will be disapointed with the features vs. price. If you are looking to upgrade from tape go with this one the SR-80 becasue it is the best value over the two lower models. If you can afford it (i couldnt) Get the SR-100 becasue it has the better camera (3mp) and a viewfinder.

Compare the reviews of Sony vs JVC before you buy a HD Camera!!

This camcorder does capture good video. But the main drawback is that it records in MPEG2 format (DVD quality). Initially its nice and easy to capture video and watch it on your computer by downloading the files using the USB 2.0 connection. It gives you instant gratification. But after capturing 4 or 5 hours of video, you will notice that your videos aren't so great as you expect it to be. Its not the fault with your camcorder. Its because all of us shoot extra footage, unwanted scenes, shakes, etc which we want to edit. You may want to add a title or two, add transitions, add backgroud music, combine your photos with the video, etc. Basically you may want to edit your footage. Its here when you find the major drawback of this camcorder. The MPEG2 quality video is not good for editing. The video quality is so compressed that you won't have sufficient bandwidth to edit the video.

MPEG2 is a LOSSY compression technique used to compress large video files into smaller files that can be fit into a 4 GB or 8 GB DVD. Since the camcorder compresses the video and then writes to the hard disk, the source file that you download to your computer is already compressed and has lost much of its data during the compression. If you edit this already compressed file, you lose more data during the process thus resulting in poorer video quality.

When you edit these videos, add some transitions or special effects, increase/decrease brigthness or noise, etc, the newly edited video loses further clarity and thus makes your video look ugly and pixelated.

In summary please don't buy this camcorder if you are serious about your videos and would like to edit them. But if you are not bothered about editing and want to watch your unedited footage forever, then go for it.

That said, if you still think you want to go for this camcorder, please read the review on its other features:

1. Super NightShot Infrared System: Not a useful feature. Its amazining to initially see how this camcorder is able to "see" using infrared light. But the moment you shoot your subject using infrared light, you never want to shoot again as they will appear like devils when shot using this infrared light. Remember infrared footage appears almost black-and-white and not color. And the subject's eyes really look like devil.

2. 2.5-inch wide SwivelScreen LCD display with touch panel capabilities: Sony convenietly "forgot" to mention that this screen is NOT widescreen. Most of the camcorders now-a-days come with widescreen LCD. Its a good feature if you always want to shoot in widescreen. In fact I would suggest you to shoot in widescreen only as all future TVs and current LCD/Plasma TVs are widescreen. You can future proof your video by shooting widescreen. This camcorder DOES support widescreen video but the LCD is NOT widescreen. So when you shoot widescreen, you see black bands on the top and bottom.

3. Digital still photos: Please don't rely on this feature. The best photos from this camcorder as as good as the worst photos from any popular digital camera. Technology has still not matured to the point where a camcorder can shoot as good as a digital camera and vice versa.

4. 20x optical/120x digital zoom: Optical zoom is very good. You can handle upto 10X optical zoom without a tripod. Any more zoom requires the use of a tripod. I was able to zoom in and read a car tag from the top of Sears tower, Chicago. I love the zoom feature in this camcorder. Don't use the digital zoom feature. Turn it off. As mentioned above, MPEG2 compression already makes the video bad in quality. The digital zoom further makes it worst.

5. Professional-quality Carl Zeiss lens: Yes its good. The image quality is truly great. No doubt about it.

6. Super SteadyShot picture stabilization system: Good enough to avoid small vibrations caused when going on a ship for example. But not good enough for the shakes encountered when walking with the camcorder. Don't expect to get great footage in such conditions. For great footage, you must still rely on a steady hand or a tripod.

7. On-screen zoom and record buttons: Not an useful feature. The camcorder tends to shake more when you use these zoom buttons on the LCD because the LCD is always projecting outside when shooting video. Hence you shake the camcorder more when you touch the LCD than when you touch the camcorder's body.

8. USB 2.0 interface: Good interface. Fast enough to download 30 GB in 1.5 hours. Firewire interface would have been great. But USB 2.0 is also good enough

9. Image Mixer Software: Very useless software. The free Picasa software from Google is far better in organizning your videos and pictures than the software that comes with this camera. Forget about this software.

10. InfoLithium battery with AccuPower meter system: Great battery life. I could shoot for upto 1 hour 20 minutes with one battery. Remember we always don't shoot continously in everyday life. We turn the camcorder on and off repeatedly when shooting. This battery last for 1 hour 20 minutes during normal shooting as explained above. If you shoot continously you may get longer battery life.

11. NOTE: This camcorder does NOT have an Active Interface shoe. Other Sony camcorders do have this feature. This allows you to add other Sony accessories, for example, extra flood light. If you are not planning to add any accessory, then don't worry about the absence of this feature.

12. DVDDirect compatibility: This feature allows you to directly burn your video and photos to DVD. I don't think this is a very useful feature. Its always better to download to computer, and burn only the good files and photos to DVD instead of burning all of them.

Overall summary. Buy this camcorder only if you are not serious about editing the videos. Its a good buy for point-and-shoot-and-view pleasure only. In my opinion, a mini-DV camcorder (DCRHC42 for example) is still a better bet than a DVD or hard drive based model. The only inconvenience in a mini-DV model is that you have to be a bit techy to download video to computer. If you are ok with that, the mini-DV still provides good value for money as its far cheaper than DVD or hard-drive models.

Buy Sony DCR-SR80 60GB 1MP Hard Disk Drive Handycam with 12x Optical Zoom Now

I agree with the previous reviewer. The low light performance of this camera is pretty bad. Deeps reds are more like deep pinks...but other colors are quite natural, though a bit flat.

It is a nice camera otherwise: very compact, HDD makes a world of differenc in ease of use. Handgrip takes some getty used to.

Stills are useless. No built-in flash makes situation even worse.

Would have liked to have component video out so that we can get widescreen output diretly from the camcorder to TV.

I may end up trading this for the big-brother DCR-SR100....

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCR-SR80 60GB 1MP Hard Disk Drive Handycam with 12x Optical Zoom Here

This camera is working out great for me. I love that I can play back movies instantly. The microphone works very well. Better then I expected in fact. I would agree that shooting in low light is not great, but it is adequate. It is also annoying that the image is shot in 16:9, but the LCD is 4:3. When I playback on my 16:9 TV I find that there are things in the shot I didn't see on the viewfinder. That's good actually, because the image on the TV is better than what I thought I was going to get.

Overall I am very happy with this camcorder and would certainly recomend it.

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This Handycam is Great for only one reason the 60gb hard disk. It means never having to worry about tapes or DVD etc. It's small and light.

I returned a Sony DVD handycam which malfunctioned within the first 30 days of receiving it and bought the SR80 instead.

I'll focus on the negatives:

a) VERY POOR low light performance. Shooting indoors is a pain. For example you try to shoot a dance floor in a night club forget this camera can't deliver. I am about to purchase the light attachment hoping to alleviate this problem. The only way to get halfway decent low light shots it to shoot in a party mode where the image loses all sharpness.

b) The original lens that comes with this camera ahs a very narrow focus it's like you have tunnel vision. I bought this in time for my daughter's 6th birthday party and the results were terrible. It was impossible to get a decent shot unless I was at least 10 ft away from the subject and I am talking about trying to get more than one person in the frame. I bought the wide angle lens for about $40 and this has made a lot of difference. The lens however is not sharp when you have zoomed out to the max. I also found that I cannot use the camera in most conditions without the wide angle lens. Why Sony would sell a camera with such a poor lens is beyond me.

c) Sound is OK. It's supposed to be Dolby Surround. It provides only mono sound with the Bluetooth remote sound attachment.

d) Super night shot is useless beyond a few feet. Trying to shoot our Christmas tree was a nightmare. The wide angle lens also blocks the infrared light that is supposed to light up what ever.

e) 1 mp Digital stills: Why do they even have the option? Results are terrible. There a cell phones which shoot better pictures?

Pros:

1) Image stabilization is excellent.

2) I already mentioned the benefit of having the large hard disk.

3) Good battery life.

4) Nice wide LCD makes it easy to operate even for people with big hands.

5) Easy to navigate interface.

6) Hot shoe for external attachments like additional light and Bluetooth microphone device is necessary.

7) Day light shots are great.

RCA Voice Recorder 256MB Built in Flash Memory

this recorder surpassed my expectations. it has great sound quality, and transferring the mp3's to my macbook was as easy as just plugging in the usb cable,no drivers or extra software required. its very easy to use and lightweight. i was able to figure out all the functions and be up and running without reading the instructions, its a very intuitive device.

While I haven't used the recorder a lot yet, I have experimented with it. I bought it for personal use recording guided imagery scripts and the recording is great with the mic; there is a faint buzz if you use the built-in recorder.

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The case furnished with the voice recorder is so tight that it keeps buttons pressed. This results in the device staying on and running down the batteries. After a few uses, I put it away (without the case). When I took it out to use it again, all stored recordings played back s l o w, even when the voice recorder was set to fast. The sound quality also took a deep dive. It's now on its way to the electronic scrap pile.

The menu driven system is NOT intuitive. You can't operate the thing without having its manual handy. Then, when you go to "RCA" for support, its nonexistant.

Don't buy one.

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In awesome condition and has a case with a clip and a mic extension an a pc cord and batteries with it(they are dead or cold) but i will get batteries tonight and give it a try and add to the review of quality etc but for now it came before the delivery date and in excellent condition and the same product as advertised!

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WD TV Live Hub 2TB Media Center

As in Jack of All Trades :)

I want to begin by saying the 'I like' (but I don't yet fully 'love') WD's TV Live Hub and this earns it 4 (but not 5) stars. And I like it in spite of it lacking a few almost 'must have' features for a device in its class such as some storage redundancy (RAID-1 = disk mirroring) or at least a built-in backup utility or any significant security or, to a lesser extent (I'll explain) built-in Wi-Fi. And I like it even though bugs still exist such as the Hub's occasional failure to maintain/update its 'media library'. And I do like it even though the Hub's supported Web 'services' are few at this time because some of the 'major' ones are there.

___________________________

Note: (9/9/2011 update):

I am upgrading this to 5-stars because since the original writing of my review most of the bugs have been addressed and many important Web services and other features such as 'games' were added.

Because of its versatility, built-in storage, low power consumption and its ability to integrate with everything else the Hub is now the centerpiece (the true hub)of my entertainment center.

___________________________

WHY I LIKE IT

Some of the shortcomings duly noted above, I like the Hub because:

The Hub turns out to be a well connected, relatively easy to use and operate, low-power, physically small, versatile video/music/still photos player with the built in ability to store the equivalent of almost 200 DVD-quality movies on its built-in 1TB drive, expandable to many times more than that via an attached USB drive and capable to sync and play content from any accessible media server such as PCs, Xboxes or PS3s, Microsoft Home Servers or NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices.

The Hub can also go out on the Net and report the local weather, play YouTube videos, Netflix, Hulu Plus and Blockbuster movies, Podcasts and Pandora music (I compiled a list of supported Web services below).

I was able to add the TV Live Hub to my Harmony universal remote control setup and I was able to address the lack of built-in backup (running a scheduled Robocopy task off a Home Server) because the Hub's drive can be mapped and managed as any other computer drive through a PC.

The Hub plays content off existing media servers and it acts as a media server for other devices (PCs, PS3s, etc.) on the same network. It can be set to sync with whatever content it can discover on your home network and it supports iTunes (did not test iTunes support myself). And for the hard-core YouTube users, a USB-attached keyboard should allow for easy searching. Also, the Hub makes it easy to post content directly to Facebook and Flickr.

And, finally, the Hub is likely to do more and do it better tomorrow because WD is constantly updating the firmware and hopefully it will address some of the more annoying bugs soon and because there appears to be an active, lively, innovative, helpful and supportive user community. [Note: 2 firmware updates later, several new Web services were added and some bugs were fixed.]

________________________________________________________________

Here are the hub's features in a more organized format.

MEDIA PLAYER

Plays videos with full support for HD and multi-channel sound.

Plays music with support for playlists.

Plays movies/videos with filters for genre, rating and so on.

Displays photos, has slideshow capabilities.

Games section (added on 5/17/2011) has 'mind games' such as Sudoku, puzzles, memory games.

MEDIA HUB

Acts as a media server for other devices (PCs, PS3s, Xboxes). My PS3 'saw' the Hub and was able to play content off it as soon as it went online.

Plays content from other media servers on the local network. It saw 'everything' we were sharing as soon as we turned it on.

Plays content off NAS (Network Attached Storage).

Syncs with media found on PCs and has support for iTunes.

ONLINE SERVICES

Services availability is controlled by WD. As far as I know, you can't add or remove a service but that may change in the future.

Current selection is limited but 'big names' are supported: Netflix, Blockbuster, YouTube, Pandora, Flickr, Facebook, etc.

Grabs metadata (title, description, cover graphics) for music and movies.

Firmware is upgraded by WD remotely.

CUSTOMIZATION

Users can download or create their own themes and backgrounds.

Integrates with Harmony remotes.

Several styles of menus.

Additional storage can be attached directly through USB port(s).

Supports USB keyboards.

Supports certain Wi-Fi USB-connected devices (not tested by me).

SPECS

I/O ports: Optical, HDMI, Composite, RCA, 2 USB, gigabit Ethernet

Video (Full HD 1920x1080): AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), M2TS, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), MPG/MPEG, TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), VOB, WMV9

Audio: (multichannel up to 7.1) AAC, AIF/AIFF, Dolby Digital, DTS, FLAC, MKA, MP3, OGG, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA,

Photo: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIF/TIFF

________________________________________________________________

MY EXPERIENCE: SETUP

It was as easy as plugging in the unit, connecting to a network hub with an Ethernet cable (not supplied) and to a receiver through an HDMI (not supplied either) cable.

HDMI 1.4 is supported but composite (RCA), and component outputs are also available as well as an S/PDIF digital (optical) output. For best results, 'wired' network connectivity should be preferred. It's the only one supported out of the box and, if you expect to play or stream HD content, it's the only one that can support the load reliably.

Once the box is turned on it quickly updates itself and it's ready to use. Literally 5-10 minutes after powerup we were watching YouTube videos. Of course, additional setup is needed to fully customize it but the Hub can make itself useful quickly and there's no need to rush. Some of the Web services such as Pandora or Netflix require that you have an account but the Hub makes it easy to set yourself up if you don't have one. On the local network, as I mentioned already, the Hub became immediately visible and it was able to see and use the other active media servers running. From a PC it's easy to connect the Hub's drive and upload content. It's also the only way you can back it up.

MY EXPERIENCE: OPERATION

I've been using the hub to store and play DVD and Netflix movies and occasionally music. I've already uploaded several thousand photos, home videos, backed up lots of DVD movies and TV shows and some 700 songs and there's plenty of room for more. Video play off the local disk or from a Microsoft Home server we keep on our network was flawless. I prefer the Hub to PS3 playback because, the Hub lacking big fans, there is no audible 'hum' during playback. Music playing is okay, both off the disk or off Pandora and so are the photo slideshows. Some of the 'radio' and other content services don't look/sound so good but, since I've experience flawless HD playback on Netflix and music on Pandora, I'm blaming 'them' for the low quality.

As far as the other Web services, I don't have major complaints but it's annoying that YouTube recognizes the Hub as something that's attached to a TV and will NOT let you to see anything that's 'big media' produced. Netflix is okay and the latest firmware upgrade brought in the same great interface (Netflix 3.0?) I have on the PS3.

The Hub can make media watching and organizing as easy or as complicated as you are prepared to allow it. It has the ability to consolidate everything it sees on its local storage and on the network around it into a big pile of 'stuff' and the 'media library' will then show you all sci-fi movies you have (an example) regardless of where they are. Or, if you want things arranged in a certain way, you can create your own folders, name them any way you want and navigate to your favorite movies/shows yourself.

From a PC you can easily stream music off the Hub but, because all the movies I keep on it are at the highest resolution, DVD movies streaming can be a little jittery over Wi-Fi and HD doesn't work at all. The Hub works best when playing off its own disk or accessing/serving content over 'fast' wired connections. My home is not wired for Ethernet but I'm using a Western Digital WD Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit to pipe Ethernet over the power lines. It works.

I should also mention that the online manual is VERY well written, very well organized and very helpful. It comes with links to other online resources, including the very active Hub community board where you can find a lot of good advice concerning enhancements and bugs.

BUGS

On 'day one' after uploading some 5000 photos, a message informed me that the Hub was compiling its media library. It was still compiling on 'day two' and it didn't stop until I told the Hub to drop the library and then rebuild it. Rebuilding the library can take 10-15 minutes but it's annoying and I hope that the next firmware update will take care of it. Meanwhile, I learned to be careful as in "don't try to do something else while the media library is being rebuilt" and I only had once similar incident in the past month. I'm not sure whether this was because of the firmware updates or because I'm more 'gentle' when interacting with the Hub.

Another bug seems to be the 'queue'. You have the ability to drop movies or songs into a queue to play them later but it does not always work that way, the Hub reporting that the content couldn't be found. I'm not using the queue feature any longer because it sometimes seems to trigger the never-ending media library recompilation (see above).

I can't think of any other significant bugs other than the Hub rebooting itself a couple of times.

On the WD discussion board I learned that quite a few users had issues with the power button. Apparently it can cause the Hub to constantly reboot, making it unusable. I haven't experienced this problem but I never physically 'touch' the Hub except to dust it off. All operations can be done remotely and, since I've read about that problem, I am somewhat reluctant to physically interact with the Hub.

EVALUATION

I already announced in the first paragraph that this is a '4 stars' to me because 'I like it' and it's not a '5 stars' because I don't love it yet: bugs, not a lot of Web services. My PS3 does almost everything that the Hub does and some of it it does better AND it plays movies and music off discs and it plays games but I can't afford to keep my PS3 always on because it burns a lot of electricity and its fans aren't silent and you can't have 1TB worth of storage on it. The PS3 can also cost $100-200 more. In other words, the Hub has its place and even with a sophisticated machine such as a PS3 or a Microsoft Home server around it's going to see its share of use and playtime. I see how the consecutive firmware upgrades are making the Hub an increasingly versatile device and I won't be surprised if the bugs are addressed and more functionality becomes available.

_________________________________

NOTE:

The latest firmware upgrades added a number of great Web services and the new additions have enough depth to satisfy me. This is what was available at the time I wrote this:

AccuWeather

Blockbuster

CinemaNow

DEEZER

facebook

flickr

flingo

Hulu Plus

LIVE 365

Mefdiafly

NETFLIX

PANDORA

Picasa

tunein

SHOUTcast

YouTube

NOTE March 25, 2011

I tried a 'stress test' the other day. Playing an HD video on the HDMI-connected TV while, at the same time, playing a DVD-quality movie on a laptop which had a drive mapped directly into the Hub Hub has an Ethernet wired connection to the router, the laptop on 802.11n Wi-Fi. Output was flawless on both.

--

>> Brush your teeth, it's the law!

Logitech Mini Controller for Logitech Revue and Google TV

• Compatible with Logitech Revue and Google TV systems
• Thumb-sized QWERTY keyboard searches content from the Web, your TV programming, and more
• Navigates and scrolls easily with combination touch pad/D-pad
• Entertainment-system controls like Play, Pause, Rewind, and Fast Forward
• Changes backlighting depending on functionality

I'd like to start out and say that there is a lot of misunderstanding and some controversy over this product.

Logitech produces TWO products that appear nearly identical but have very important differences.

1) Logtiech Dinovo mini

2) Logitech Mini Controller

If you're simply looking at pictures you'll see almost no discernible differences. The major difference to be concerned with is the communication technology. The Dinovo mini uses Bluetooth Wireless communication while the Mini Controller uses RF wireless.

I have owned and used BOTH of these devices and will say that I 100% recommend the Mini Controller!

The ONLY downside, if I consider it one, is that the Mini Controller requires a small USB micro-transmitter because motherboards/computers don't have RF built-in compared to many that have BT built-in.

While the Dinovo Mini may have additional compatibility with more devices out of the box I found the bluetooth signal was easily interrupted which led to jumpy mousing on the touchpad and inconsistent typing. I would type a complete sentence and only see 3 letters show up, 10-15 seconds later the enter sentence would immediately appear like the computer had caught up to what I was doing.

With the Mini Controller I have never once had inconsistent communication with the computer. I have used this controller exclusively on my new computer build (HTPC) and it is excellent as an input device for all types of control; OS setup/testing, media playback, file transfer, etc. The Mini Controller also works well with the Sony PS3 (transmitter plugged into USB port of course) and while I do not own an Xbox 360 I presume it would work with this as well.

The Mini Controller has a removable Li-Ion battery that when charged lasts over a month with general use! The device also automatically shuts off when the lid is closed and when re-opened is functional within a second!

There are two modes for the controller; Pointer and Directional, controlled by the little switch just to the left of the circular pad in the upper right hand corner. Pointer mode always touchpad control exactly like you're used to on a laptop with excellent feedback and quick response. Directional mode functions like a gaming D-Pad allowing left/right/up/down motion useful in moving between lines in documents or other applications. Both modes have "OK" or "Enter" when you push the center down.

While the Mini Controller can appear a bit pricey to some I feel its benefits strongly outweigh the cost and con of an external transmitter. I have compared this device to many others including Harmony Remotes, Rii Controller, Boxee Box Controller, Mediaboard Pro, and full wireless keyboard/mouse solutions. While a full-keyboard will allow faster typing it requires two separate devices (keyboard + mouse) to accomplish all functions the Mini Controller provides.

The compact package, speed of communication, instant on/off function through the clamshell cover, battery life, and overall form of the Mini Controller make it the single best wireless input controller I have found or seen.

EDIT 2012.06.17

I still rate this device as 5-stars, however, I have noticed a slight buzzing sound coming from the device when the backlight is on (mousing or typing). This has not impacted operation at all. Range is the same, quality of connection is also the same. I admit to being VERY sensitive to sound so this may not even be perceivable by most people it's a small electronic buzz but I wanted to share. The buzz started approximately 6 months (Jan 2012) after initial use and I have continued to use it since then (a total of 11 months) without any other issues.

EDIT 2012.09.18

The buzzing seems to come and go with no obvious pattern. I have not noticed it interfering with any functions or reception ranges and it's only noticeable if you're very sensitive (I can hear it but my wife cannot and calls me crazy).

The main mouse button (upper left hand corner) takes more direct pressure to click now than when the device was new but still functions properly.

Buy Logitech Mini Controller for Logitech Revue and Google TV Now

I bought this for my Media PC (win 7) hooked up to my Media center FLAT SCREEN. Nothing better then a palm size wireless keyboard to type in Napster tunes, or sit back and use the internet on your large screen TV. As far as using it for a Google TV?? I guess it will work, but it works great with a Desktop PC as a media center for the living room... Thumb pad mouse is simple to use and typing on it is easier then then today's cell phones.

Best Buy Reps say it won't work with a desktop.... what do they know, it works great... BTW 25 ' range I am using it at, I can't find non-blue-tooth devices reaching that far very well..

5 stars here!

Read Best Reviews of Logitech Mini Controller for Logitech Revue and Google TV Here

There's a bit of a paradigm shift in this from the regular keyboard that comes with the Logitech Revue. The keys are laid out differently, which is necessary for the compact size, but some of the decisions defy logic to me. On the regular keyboard/controller, volume and channel up/down are on the right of the device. on this one they're on the top and the left. That's not a big deal if it's all you use, but I constantly find myself looking for those keys instead of just going to them naturally. Maybe not an issue if this is your primary remote control. The odd little lid is a bit strange as well...not sure what they were thinking with that, other than it looks cool when it's closed.

On the plus sides, the size is reasonable for a full qwerty keyboard remote, and it's easy to thumb type on it. The backlighting is very nice in a dark room, a big plus compared to the full sized keyboard that comes with the Revue.

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I bought this because of the back lighting. It does this well and is very colorful too! When the touch pad in enabled, the back light is a circle. When the D pad is enabled, the back lighting turns into 4 points and is a different color. Very well done.

Save 59% Off

I bought this for my boyfriend who has an HTPC hooked up to his 50" tv. He loves the thing! He is actually using it to surf the internet while I sit here writing this on my laptop. It works great for him. It has tons of functionality, battery is great, range is great. No complaints at all. One of the best things I've ever bought for him!

Isonic Snapbox DV747PK 12 MP 2.5-Inch LCD Remote Control 8x Digital Zoom Pink Retro Leather-Like De

My daughter really likes the looks of this camcorder and how it functions but the only negative part is we can't get it to recognize the memory card so she can have more videos recorded and take more pictures. I have tried contacting the seller but have gotten no response.

Pyle Home PHDM2RB2 Combination Audio Video Wall Plate for HDMI, Mono RCA Audio, Coaxial and Dual Et

• HDMI Plus 1 Gold RCA,2 Rj45, And coaxial Wall Plate - High Impact ABS Plastic
• Gold Plated- Delivers High-Bandwidth, Uncompressed Video And Multi-Channel Digital Audio Between HDMI Compliant Devices Including DVD Player / Recorders, Set-Top Boxes And Digital Tvs
• Includes Matching Screws - Mounts to Standard Electrical Box
• Designed For In-Wall HDMI Cable Routing For Commercial Or Residential - Attractive Decora style Black wall plate
• Suitable For Home Theater Hi-Def Installation

My plan was to incorporate this with the Pyle Home PHI71B Combination Audio Video Wall Plate (Black) in a three gang box, using a standard three gang stainless steel cover plate. The PHI71B wall plate is a standard decora size and will fit a standard wall plate, not so with this product. The only option is to use this stand alone with the included Pyle wall plate. I cannot speak to the quality of the components as I am returning this.

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PROS:

* Port Selection

CONS:

* This unit will NOT fit in a standard decorator switch plate. That means if you were planning on putting this in a multi-gang outlet box you're out of luck! With a Dremel or file you might be able to modify it, but there was no good reason to design it this way.

* The HDMI ports aren't angled properly, you'll more than likely have to add a 90-degree bend. If you're using a pair of these like I would, that'd mean by using the wall plates versus a direct connection that you've just added 4 splits to your cable run. With HDMI this will likely require you do add a passive or active repeater. I recommend the following repeater for under $20, it uses the power supplied by the HDMI cable itself to amplify the signal, it's genius and it works great. HDMI Active Equalizer Extender Repeater Extend Upto 100FT

Additional Considerations:

* If you're going to hide your cable box and other home theater equipment you don't need to run Coaxial to the TV.

* The RCA Audio jack is digital compatible. Get a thick sub woofer cable (Mediabridge Ultra Series Dual Shielded Subwoofer Cable RCA to RCA Gold Plated Pro Grade Connectors (35 Feet)) and you can use this to output digital signal from your TV to your receiver if your receiver passes through HDMI audio rather than decoding it. Do not bother fishing unshielded RCA or 3.5mm audio cable.

* Running 2 x Cat5E/6 cables is a great idea in-case you ever need to do a long distance HDMI run. You can get equipment that'll run HDMI over two network cables at great lengths for cheaper than active HDMI repeaters.

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ethernet docks are not very good, you have to be able to seperate the ethernet wires out to use this. you cannot simply plug an ethernet wire into one end and another ethernet wire into the other end. overall not a good product, i would not recommend this product.

Polaroid 4GB MP3 Player (PMP281-4) with Video Playback and 2.8" Touch Screen - Black

• MP3 Player Features: Built-In Speakers, Video Camera, MicroSD Media Card Slot, Touch Screen, Digital Volume Control
• Built-In Memory Storage Capacity: 4GB
• Display Features: LCD Display
• Display Size: 2.8 "
• Screen Resolution: 320 x 240
• Media Type Compatibility: MicroSD Card
• File Formats Supported: AVI, FLV
• Music Management Software: Windows Media Player 10
• Wired Connectivity: Headphone, USB
• Battery Cell Type: Lithium-ion
• Battery Charge Life: Up to 12 Hours
• Operating System Compatibility: PC, Mac
• Includes: USB Cable, Instructions, Installation CD, Ear Bud Headphones
• Language: English, Spanish
• Dimensions: 8.19 " L x 4.29 " W x 1.76 " T
• Weight: 0.22 Lb.
• Warranty Description: 1 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty

You know if there was a zero star rating I would pick that when I first was setting this thing up for my big sis it crashed and froze up. she reset it then it worked perfectly we used it until like 3 weeks like then it froze again and we can't even reset it sadness polaroid should just stick to makin cameras.

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Bought this at Kohls for$40-!!! Awesome device for the money..

It has a pretty responsive touchscreen, and expandable micro SD slot.

My gave feature was built in speaker...

It's not an iPod but for price it's a great value....

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Bought it as a gift, did not use it. Disappointed that it did not have a camera. I saw one advertised elsewhere with a camera. I was expecting a camera as one of the features of this unit.

Meiego 8CH PCI H.264 200fps/240fps Security Digital 4CH Audio CCTV DVR BNC Capture Card

This has resulted to be a great card. I must admit at first I was about to rate this at 1 star. I'm using Win7-64 bit and I couldnt for the life of me find the drivers for this card. Kept getting "multimedia controller" & "multimedia video controller" missing drivers error. After several weeks i decided to contact the seller and return the item. Not only did the seller contact me within a few hours but also sent me a zip file with 64-bit drivers. After I installed those drivers, the card worked FLAWLESSLY. Im in awe with the quality of this card and you cant beat the price. Stronngly recommended.

Very nice plug and play.......and very user friendly, Thank you for something easy and clean and to use right out of the box, God Bless.

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Non functional without driver for windows 7, The provided driver does not work. Zero directions and NOT PLUG & PLAY compatible. I am currently attempting to contact the seller as another reviewer said they sent him the correct driver upon request. At this time I cannot reccommend this item, simply a waste of time.

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Sekonic "T" Synchro Cord f/Digital Flash Meter

This "T" cable can link the Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter with a standard coaxial PC port on a camera (I've used it with an old Mamiya C330 TLR) and at the same time a flash (such as the Vivitar 285HV). Cameras with only a hot shoe will need a PC socket to hot shoe adapter.

The light meter cord is about 11 feet long. The "T" connector stems to two five-foot long PC socket connectors for the flash and camera.

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