BV Tech 16 Port Network PoE Switch (Up to 120W)

For anyone looking for a small non-managed full power 16 port POE switch you can't go wrong with this one. I bought it to power 10 surveillance camera's in a home security system. These camera's require between 6-10 watts each depending on the type and how many IR LED's they have. This switch provides 120 watts of POE power available to all 16 ports. With one port taken up with the ethernet connection and 2 others for non-powered equipment that leaves 13 ports all with the 802.3af POE specification of 15.4 watts per channel, more than enough to power all of the cam's. If I needed the other 2 ports I could use a small 4 port for the non-powerer items to free them up. Each port has a dip switch to turn the power for that port on or off, and status led's for both power and activity. No fan needed and the unit stays cool to the touch. With a small foot print and silent operation this switch can be placed most anywhere.

was reluctant to buy, have had 9 cameras running over a months excellent! word buy again, works well! no issues

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Would not power up four of my ip cameras... Swapped with a net gear and it worked immediately..

Not sure why this didn't work.. But I had to return it...

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This is an amazing value. I searched for days to find a large enough switch for my application and this one did the trick

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IOGEAR GW3DHDKIT Wireless 3D Digital Kit with Full HD 1080P and 5.1 Channel Digital Audio

My configuration and why I purchased this:

All of the televisions in our house have a single HDMI connection over 2x ethernet to an HDMI matrix switch in our basement, which is where all of our A/V components live. The matrix switch is controlled via an iPhone app, so we can easily change sources in each room. This setup works great, didn't break the bank, and is easy to use. We've since added a television in our master bedroom and unfortunately don't have 2x ethernet there. Running ethernet to our bedroom would require a lot of drywall repair which I wasn't excited about. When I saw the IOGear product at Best Buy Magnolia tonight, I purchased it. I expected it to fail, as most wireless products never live up to expectations. I can honestly say I'm not disappointed with it.

Installation experience:

First, I attempted to install the IOGear transmitter in our basement, directly connected to the HDMI matrix switch. (Read the instructions) After connecting the device and getting the transmitter and receiver to connect with one another, some of the components including the TiVo Premiere at 1080i worked flawlessly over this very long wireless connection (40ft through two floors). Other components including our Apple TV at 720p didn't work at all, frequently loosing signal. I can't really explain why these components behaved differently. It's odd that the components negotiating at higher resolutions performed better. That seems counter-intuitive.

Modification to original setup:

Due to the issues I experience above, I moved the IOGear transmitter to our family room which is on the first floor of our house and is closer to the master bedroom. All components stream flawlessly now, at near-hard wired quality.

Final thoughts:

I'm impressed with the IOGear unit. Wireless technology is so often disappointing. I can honestly say this product lives up to its claims. I will say, however, that the 100ft distance it has is presumably within line of sight. In my installation, I'm getting about 20 feet through a floor, walls, carpet, wood, etc.

Purchased this product a couple of weeks ago from another retailer because it was significantly less expensive. I have this device connected to my TiVo box in the living room so I can watch and control the TiVo from the bedroom. The distance is about 50 feet on the same floor. Took me about an hour to setup completely. Both the 52-inch TV in the living room and the 25-inch in the bedroom have a great picture with no interference. Both TVs work at the same time, but of course they are both displaying the same thing. This device saved me the cost of another TiVo box ($100+$20/month TiVo service fee).

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This kit worked great right out of the box. Usage is super-simple. There are almost no controls to worry about. There is no manual channel selection or transmission quality option, which may be good or bad depending on the person. 1080p video and DD 5.1, DTS, and stereo PCM audio transmitted well 20' through one floor. I could not test transmission of uncompressed LPCM.

After plugging it in, I left it on and continuously transmitting for 24 hours. Today the transmitter was dead and would not power up. I'm having the whole kit replaced by Amazon and will revise my review negatively if it has the same problem twice.

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There are some excellent reviews for wirelessly connecting a HDTV in a separate room to watch cable/satellite or bluerays using IOGEAR Wireless 3D Digital Kit. Instead of repeating aspects of them I will focus on my primary reason for purchasing this device, PC gaming within the living room using a wireless Xbox 360 controller. Steam (a gaming and software distribution system) has recently come out with a beta version of their platform that includes "big picture" mode, which is essentially a controller friendly media center experience for playing and purchasing games. People familiar with Steam might of heard rumors that they were toying with the idea of coming out with a hardware box that would compete with Microsoft or Sony, and I assume with Apple at some point in the future. After playing with this device I can say with absolute certainty that Steam will never do this. This hardware makes playing the ever increasing library of controller friendly PC games within the living room EASY. Benefits include not needing to worry about PC fan noise or distracting LEDs while watching a movie, playing a game, or streaming content to your HDTV.

In my case I am transmitting my HDMI signal through a normal (read no stone or fireplace) house wall and the subsequent distance is about 20' to a 50" HDTV. Some of the competing products have an ability to transmit 30' and this distance, while within my range, concerned me since I needed to go through a wall. I am eager to try two going through walls for the bedroom TV. IOGEAR claims 100' max distance and while I haven't tested out further than 25' the time to connect and connection stability has been exceptional so far. Picture quality within games has been great as well. I really can't tell a difference in quality, if there is one. IOGEAR claim no compression, as do some other companies, but I noticed some products utilized standard wifi frequency that could go 100' but used image compression, which I did not want. The audio syncing just works without any fuss. However, right now I can either have my desktop's sound come out of 5.1 speaker setup in the living room or through my stereo monitors within the study, not both. Setting the default audio device to either use the HDMI on the IOGEAR or using the soundcard isn't bad, per se. I just couldn't find a way to have both on at the same time. I am not even sure I would want to do that, but I just noticed that I couldn't with minimum amount of effort that I put into it. One of the biggest issues for me was concern of how bad the latency could be. IOGEAR advertise

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Coby TFDVD7752 7-Inch Portable DVD Player

• Dual screen system allows you to share entertainment easily
• 7 inch widescreen TFT DVD
• 480 x 234 display resolution; NTSC/PAL
• DVD, DVD±R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, JPEG, and MP3 compatible
• Dolby Digital decoding
• 7-Inch widescreen TFT LCD Dual screen system allows you to share entertainment easily
• Anti-skip circuitry, Convenient on-screen display,Multiple language, subtitle, and camera angle support
• DVD, DVD±R/RW, CD, CD-R/RW, JPEG, and MP3 Compatible,Dolby Digital decoding
• Digital and analog AV outputs,2 headphone jacks for private listening
• Parental lock controls,Car kit included

We have had this unit for 2 years now and has it is still running well. It has lasted longer than any other portable DVD unit that we have bought in the past. We did have to change the fuse once in the cord, but other than that no issues. It is heavily used with our long drives and no hiccups yet. Would definitely buy again.

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This DVD player system is a good deal for the money. We have used it on several trips with no issues.

Some drawbacks are needing to take it out of the headrest mount to change disks and a shared Video In/Out.

I would recommend this system to someone wanting a system for occasional use.

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I'm still amazed its working. My daughter has had it for 3 years now and it still works fine. She had dropped it a number of times, the face is scratched, BUT it still works. We bought it for her first plane ride when she was 18 months and now she is four and still loves to use it in the car or on her lap. Going to buy another one soon since she has a little brother now and you can hook them together in the car.

Got what I paid for and more!

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The second monitor stopped working the second time we tried to use it. There was sound, but no picture. Would be a good system if it worked. I am returning it for a refund.

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I read the reviews of the other Coby products but thought since this was a newer version that the kinks would have been worked out. I took it out of the box and plugged it in to the wall. It worked fine that time. Then I hooked it up in my car, and the second monitor wouldn't work. There was only sound and no picture. I'm going to spend the extra money and get a better brand. We bought this to use on vacation for the kids and I'm so glad I got it in time to check it out before we left! I won't bother with anymore Coby products.

Disney PC700D Pirates of the Caribbean DVD Player

• Includes full-function remote control
• Dolby Digital (AC3) Audio Output
• On-screen display user setup menu
• Audio language selection
• Subtitle selection and multi-angle zoom

Item was received in great shape and performs great. Thanks for a good caring seller. Rich. The only trouble I have now is getting the tv guardian code to activate the tvg. Any info you might have in gettiung the code would be most helpful.Thanks again Rich.

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Produplicator DVD Duplicator Build in 24X Burner 1-7 Target Copier Tower Replication Recorder + Fre

The product did not meet expection. The product malfunctioned after 4th use. Also the product was not accompanied with any operating manual.

I bought this and it seemed to work fine at the beginning. However, when I took it to an event to duplicate event videos, the unit malfunctioned after less thgan 100 DVD's and could not make it work no matter what. Not only did I look bad to my employer, we lost money from missing sales. Not good.

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After 30 days this THING wont burn. I just threw away $50 in badly burned disks. Is it the burner or the companies products? NO GOOD AT ALL

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This unit works and is pretty easy, but I cannot get the top drive to work so I have to set the 2nd one down to be the master. It wasn't worth sending it back, I can still make 6 at a time.

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Excellent experience from the order process all the way until the deliver and use of the product. I use this to duplicate DVDs and CD's that I create for customers. I professionally shoot and edit videos so this is very handy when I have to produce many for my clients. The duplicator is fast and easy to use. The only regret was that I did not add the USB interface for connecting it to a pc. Other than that it's great.

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Sony HDR-SR10 4MP 40GB High Definition Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 15x Optical Image Stabili

I bought this camera from Circuit City on the day I was to fly out on a 2 week vacation. I have a Sony HI8, but I wanted a better quality camera to archive my children's activities.

Overall, the camcorder is light, highly functional, and meets my expectations. However, I will probably return the camera. I'll go through my pros and cons:

Pros:

Lightweight

5.1 sound is great

still pictures are nice, but don't use the zoom. Zoom stills are grainy

touchscreen lcd is nice and intuitive.

Quick power on is a nice feature.

Cons:

The required codec to play the files are tough to comeby. I found that Cyberlink's PowerDVD Deluxe is the only 3rd party application to play these files.

The included software is very basic and proprietary. It doesn't share the codec with media player.

The 40gig harddrive is not sufficient for the HD recordings set at the highest resolution. Why would you get an HD camera and record at low res?

I used my laptop to download. Later, I found trying to play those downloaded files to be a pain.

Focus in low light conditions is poor. I found myself zooming in and out to try and get the auto focus to work properly. Looks like the SR11 has a manual focus knob.

The videos, although much better than SD, are not sharp and realistic like HD TV. The colors are dull and the details are not eyepopping.

Battery life: I bought the 5 hour battery and I got 1:30 life day after day.

No neck strap, but big deal.

The menus were not intuitive. Too many choices and screens.

All in all, for a $1000 investment, I didn't feel I got the best value. I am not looking at a Cannon HG10, but I wonder how the still pictures are?

This camera performs poorly in low light, as a matter of fact, when I used my 6 or 7 year old Sony TRV17 I could not tell a difference between the 2 pictures on my 50" Plazma TV. At least not for interior and low light video. Outside the picture was very bright and there was definetly a big difference between the two.

I returned this one and splurged for the SR11. You get a 60gig HD, 10MP digital stills, and just a huge difference in picture quality indoors and out. And with a 10MP still camera built in, I almost don't even need a digital.

The camera fits nicely in the palm of my hand, all the controls are convienently located.

The menu's can be a little confsing at first, but after a few minutes it becomes pretty easy to navigate around, and if you're not too tech saavy, there's always the "easy" button.

Oh also to save battery life and if you're recording in bright sunlight, the SR11 has a viewfinder which this model doesn't.

I guess I should be leaving this in the SR11 reviews pages, but definetly save a few more months, or just spend the extra money on the SR11, it's well worth the expense.

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I bought this camera with a little hesitation because of some of the so-so reviews, but was more than happy with the purchase. The videos look amazing. Using the HDMI cable to hook up to LCD TV makes it completly worth the money. Bought this to record my wedding and am fully satisfied. The only con is the AVCHD format is not widely supported yet. My laptop won't play the files without jumping like crazy, but you can still burn the movies directly onto a DVD and play them in Blu-Ray Players like the PS3 and loose no quality. I would not let a new technology hold you back unless you plan on keeping your older computer for an extended period of time. (Then you should prob look into VHS)

Great Camcorder

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Overall, it is very satisfactory.

Pros: Light weight Easy to learn and operate, Good video picture quality (I like the slow motion video quality), Big storage (40GB is big enough)

Cons: Included battery (FH60) is ok, but FH70 would be better. AVCHD format to MPEG is not perfect. Uploading from computer hard dist to camcorder hard disk is not possible (in order to play on TV, I need to bring my laptop to TV). No view finder (but, it is ok since the SR11 w/t view finder costs lot more than SR10).

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I got it for $750 at Dell actually, which was the best I found without a risk of using potential fraud-sellers I found on google selling it cheaper. I think it is a good entry model into HD filming. It is probably the cheapest of the decent full-HD ones.

I am satisfied with the quality of the video. I believe that the more expensive models might have better video quality supported by better sensors, bigger lenses and better lower compression/quicker memory write times, but I think it is a good toy that will allow me to watch family videos 20 years from now without laughing at the quality of SD camcorders.

I am not very satisfied with the quality of the stills, but hey, I have a compact Canon S3 IS for that, so I would not count it for the rating. My S3 also records videos that are decent, but not perfect that's why I am getting an HD camcorder. Otherwise I'd say the S3 beats SD camcorder.

The 40GB HDD allows for too many hours of videos and can be accessed as USB Mass Memory device, so you can put other stuff there too.

The battery life seems a bit shortish, but you can get a bigger replacement battery for $30 a cheap upgrade.

It also lacks a carrying case, so I recommend getting at least the cheapest sony one. Overall Sony accessories are very pricey, but you can get cheap replacements that work OK.

The AVCHD format does not have a lot support yet, but that will come eventually, since Sony seems to be winning the HD formats war. I believe new Macs should be able to play AVCHD. I also ordered Sony Vegas software for editing (less than $100), that looks OK from the trial version, so you might consider it, unless you want to convert to AVI/WMV before you do the editing in Windows Movie Maker and lose quality through repeated compression. I also considered Pinnacle Studio, but read the reviews with complaints about crashes and decided to get the software from Sony (through Amazon :) ).

There are probably better cameras, but they are more expensive. Sony wants to rip you off with its accessory prices, but that's their right and you can choose replacements. It's not perfect so I guess it is worth 4 stars

Remember to get that carrying case, a tripod and a battery somewhere. A mini hdmi cable might be of use too.

VideoSecu Day Night Built-in 1/3" Sony CCD IR Outdoor Dome Security Camera 540TVL Vandal Proof 3.5-

This camera was not as good as I had hoped, I have installed systems for over 30 years, and this was the first time I had tried this product. The zoom/focus is a joke and even at its best resolution it is not that great. Stay with a 600tvl if you need to make out who is in front of the camera. The color shows browns as a baby blue and gets worse from there.

Enough said about this product.

It's a great camera and I've been using it for sometime now at the front of my house. The only thing I would say to would be purchasers is consider the area in front of the camera you wish to place this. The IR lights are sooo bright there is actually a halo at night visible in a clear circle. So it lights up the bushes as bright white approximately ten feet in front of it. Best to use this camera where objects will not get close to it at all as it will wash out with no detail at night due to this. When I get around to buying another camera I'm going to replace this one with one that has less IR's and move this to the back yard.

All in all I would recommend this, just consider the area you will use it in as there is no way to dial down the power of this light. They aren't joking when they say out to 50 feet at night as you can clearly see how powerful they are in situations less than that. I considered creating a light diffuser to go over the IR's but just haven't gotten around to it. So I could correct the issue I have but it would be far nicer if you could control the power of these IR's to begin with.

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Sony NSZ-GT1 Wi-Fi-Enabled 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Featuring Google TV

• Google TV brings TV and Internet together, and seamlessly searches your device, the entire web & apps
• Blu-ray Disc playback capability, along with DVDs, CDs, and digital files via USB or network devices
• Intel Atom Processor (1.66GHz) for world-class HD video, audio, and advanced graphics
• Surf the web while watching TV using Dual View, stay up to date with an upgradeable OS
• It has full HD, 24fps playback. Upconversion of lower-resolution sources and 3d compatible

I don't normally write reviews for products. However, in the case of the Sony NSZ-GT1 GoogleTV Blu Ray player, I decided to do so. The many one-star, bad reviews for this device almost convinced me to not buy it in favor of the Logitech REVUE which I would have purchased instead. I saw the GT1 at Best Buy but bought it from Amazon because of a better price. At my local Best Buy, no one knew how to make the device on display work. That too almost changed my mind. I went to another bigger Best Buy across town where they had a working GT1 which the sales guy demonstrated and then let me play.

So, to the review. The Geek Squad guy came and installed it along with a new Yamaha receiver and 55" Sony TV. I already had a home theater set ufrom when we built our house so the Geek guy was just replacing old equipment. While this is not a review of the Geek Squad, the guy did do an excellent job and gave my wife and I instruction on how to use all the new devices. When he left we stumbled around a bit following our notes and after an hour or so began to get the hang of it. While the GT1 is not without some warts. It does take some getting used to after which it is a pretty slick little device.

The PROs for me are it is a Blu Ray player (not my primary goal). While my new SONY TV is "internet connectable", I need a Blu Ray player to get Netflix etc. The GT1 allows this plus being a DVD/Blu Ray player. The real bonus is it allows me to surf the net. All in all it fits well into my surround-sound home theater. [Actually, the Geek guy got my sound system working better than it has ever been.]

The CONs for the GT1 are: small size of the controller and keys on the key pad; my 70 year old finger tips are big and blunt. The manual that came with it is practically non-existent. It would have been a real chore without the Geek guy's kick start. Even after he left, I had some questions he didn't touch on and not explained in the "manual". I went to the SONY online "help guide" where I got a phone number that put me in contact with a guy to easily explained the solution. There is an FN key on the controller that needs to be used in combination with other keys; this is not labeled or explained in the manual. Once I saw that, I understood more about the controller. The SONY help guy was excellent.

So, I am giving this device a four plus rating to counter the very negative reviews. It seems that some of these folks had a SONY axe to grind or were too impatient to try to work through the bugs. I like the device and have no trouble recommending it. It will no doubt get better as it evolves.

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Wow, I was so surprised to see the 6 negative reviews of this product. Seems like they focused on one negative topic and just got stuck on that without really looking at what this product CAN do. So I will give you all MY pros and cons, then you can decide what is right for you.

First of all, I went to purchase a Blu-ray player with wireless internet. Why? I wanted to get Netflix in my bedroom and I wanted to be able to play DVDs too. I knew I was looking at spending around $200.

I walked by this in the store and gave it a whirl and was already impressed. The menus are not confusing if you have a smart phone with apps. It is pretty much set up like that. Even the keyboard is reminds me of my android cell phone. Then I found out it wasn't that much more money for this than a decent internet blu-ray.

I bought it and took it home. I wanted to wait for my hubby to come home and hook it up, but I was too excited so I gave it a go. I followed the easy start up guide in the box and I had everything set up and running in about 15 minutes. Now this was impressive. It was easy to follow instructions, great on screen commands, super duper easy remote set up. I was set to go. The remote that comes with the unit flawlessly controls my TV/Cable box DVR and this unit.

Now for the best parts of this unit. I can get my Netflixs with no problem. I can even read, send, recieve emails. I can look at my facebook and post and do anything else I normally do. I got an email from my dad that had a photo attached and I was able to pull up the photo on my 37" tv. I love being able to search the internet right in my bedroom on a very nice 37" monitor. It also has a pic-in-pic feature so I can watch my show and google at the same time. I also have a chat forum I am fond of and go there and post. Don't forget Youtube. This is a prime feature of this also. I store my family videos on youtube so now I can view all the family videos in the comfort of my bedroom. I love the optical thumb mouse thing. It is just cool! So easy to use.

My kids also love this unit. While one is on the laptop, the other can still be on the internet if they want to be. My kids are 7 and almost 9. My daugther loves to go to Barbie.com and play the games online there. She wants to go InnerStarU.com but it says that it 'cannot support it'. My son likes to Lego Star Wars and play games there. But he wants to go to some Clone wars thing and it says the same thing, 'cannot support'. Forunately for me I did not buy this unit for them to play video games in MY room. This unit is not really a 'gaming' type of unit. I do not think this is a con. Some people might. Not me.

Okay, so the cons for this unit. I can't seem to figure out if I can 'print' to our wireless printer, but it looks like we may not be able to. I say this because I was googling a recipe the other day and wanted to print it out and nothing happened. Not a big deal, but it would be nice. Another con is that the menus are a bit different than what I am familiar with. It will take some time getting used to.

The biggest CON I can see right now is this: I can't wait to get sick and stay in bed!

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At first, I was pretty skeptical with all the negative reviews but I decided to give it a try. I am very pleased with what I am seeing so far.

Right out of the box I notice there wasn't any in-depth user manuals, just a few Quick Start setup guides. I wasn't afraid of this knowing that the OS in the unit shares much with Google's Android and if you own an Android smartphone then you are already half-way to understanding how this works.

Looking at the back I ran into my chills... only HDMI ports and an optical audio connector. Uh oh. I own an older Hitachi projector HDTV that does not have HDMI, it has DVI and RGB component hookups. I had to figure out a way to get sound into my TV since my HDMI-DVI adapter on the back of my TV won't channel sound through (DVI ONLY supports video, no audio). I ran a RCA connector cord directly between my cable box and my TV so when I'm watching cable I get sound just fine. All other sound comes through the optical connection to my Sony AV receiver. I could have knocked off 1 star for the lack of any other audio connections, but in reality I'm dealing with a 7 year old TV, HDMI is the defacto these days, so it's not Sony's fault.

With that one bump dealt with, now I became a very happy camper.

Seeing previous months-old reviews I was a little scared that it wouldn't support any TV source other than satellite. Nope we're good here. After an initial update, it found my cable box and was able to control it just fine using the IR blasters. It integrates itself very well with my Time Warner Cable set top box. The setup for controlling my cable box, Hitachi TV, and Sony AV receiver was fast and simple. Even easier was the wireless configuration to my Netgear router with support for both G and N wireless.

Once setup was complete, I spent a few hours getting down and dirty with this marvelous little invention. The search functionality was amazing it gives results for both what's on TV and what's on the Internet. I can turn on the Picture-in-picture feature to scoot my TV viewing to the side while I quickly surf. The PIP allows two different window sizes and can be moved to any corner of the screen. I was watching recorded shows on my Cable DVR in the PIP and surfing the same program or updating my Facebook status on the web at the same time.

I was a little scared at the little amount of apps at first, but I did not find any lacking for them as of yet. Besides, Google announced at its last convention that it will open an app store within the next month or so based on Android's Honeycomb release, so just when I think I will have discovered everything with this device Google will add more to play with.

My two favorite online TV watching sources were found with no problem: Amazon Video on Demand and Revision TV. Both came through with flying colors with a special hat-tip to Amazon's VOD that automatically switched to full-screen upon playing a video in my video library.

As for the remote, I love the fact that very little is IR, rather it's mostly RF transmitted. The IR blasters connected to both the cable box and the AV receiver take care of that. You can have the IR blasters control your TV too, but I found that to be cumbersome in my particular setup and just let the remote remain IR-based for my TV only. The only thing I was a tad disappointed about the remote was no special buttons for my Time Warner Cable box. This isn't Sony's fault, it's TWC for choosing remotes using special buttons over the years that NO universal remote manufacturer has ever put on their remotes. Until I find a work-around, Time Warner still has me reaching for their inferior stock cable box remotes. Maybe Sony will one day add an upgrade for TWC's lack of perception? Probably not, but it's wishful thinking.

Turning to Blu-Ray... again, no problems here. Some have knocked a star or two off their reviews here because the price was a little high. I don't think so at all. Logitech's Google TV unit retails at $200 and for a nice Sony Blu-Ray player you'll spend another $200, so combined those two into one unit and the price is very fair. The BD playback was good, straight-forward, no hiccups, and performed as it should.

A final fun spot: controlling this guy with my HTC G2 phone. A novelty at best, but in case the kids run down the batteries on the remote, I will have my phone as a backup. In case you're wondering: no, you cannot control your Google TV from your phone while sitting at the beach (at least not yet at the time of this writing...). Your phone must have the Google TV Remote app installed and it has to be connected to the same WiFi network connection as your Google TV unit. However, I still find this intriguing and will likely expand from novelty to useful option if/when Google incorporates more to the phone app.

Overall, does one really need this device seeing how so many already own a computer? I think this adds a fourth dimension to TV viewing. It's really nice to not have to drag out a laptop or go to the home office to jump online. I find it to be a great product and in all fairness to my own out-dated TV's lack of inputs and my cable company's persistence to keep using specialized buttons, I cannot find any reason not to give this product 5 stars. Recommended with much enthusiasm.

9/8/11 UPDATE -

I am still very pleased with the unit. It still works just as great as when I first set it up. I am eagerly awaiting the upgrade I have been reading about that will allow GoogleTV to install apps. When that happens, I will update my review here.

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I researched a number of Blue-Ray devices and narrowed my search to the Sony NSZ-GT1. I purchased mine just over a week ago and I have no regrets whatsoever. Prior to purchasing it, I read some of the negative reviews here on Amazon and trade websites such as CNET, etc. I typically don't give CNET a lot of praise for their technical reviews as I often find them to be inaccurate. I suggest reading the negative reviews with skepticism as there is always the possibility of someone simply grinding an axe or in the case of sites like CNET, brand bias. With that said, and without further delay, on with my review ...

First, this device is primarily designed to play Blue-Ray DVDs. Second, it is also designed to utilize Wi-Fi (or LAN) to access the internet and display it on your TV much like a PC. It does both reliably.

SETUP: Easy. You must have a TV that accepts HDMI connections. If not, you cannot use this device. I have DIRECTV (and obviously the required receiver box), so the connection was simple: [TV]-to -[Sony Blue-Ray]-to-[Receiver]. Once the connections were made and I powered everything up it was ready to go! It automatically requested access to my wireless home network; after I entered the security code, it was off and running. The device accessed the internet instantly and began [snore] a long update sequence. Now, I'm forced to rely on a DSL internet connection, so your experience may be different; however, after about 30 minutes it was updated and ready to play.

HAND CONTROL: Unconventional. But I think it's intuitive. Maybe that's because I use a Blackberry all day and I type text messages and emails using the teeny-tiny QWERTY keyboard provided on it. You need some type of interface to utilize the internet functions, and Sony consolidated the TV remote and necessary internet controls (aka mouse, keyboard) all into one item. It does take two hands, but it's a great design. I had it all figured out in less than ten minutes and it operates my TV, DIRECTV box and of course, the Blue-Ray player. Some of the controls are small, so if you have large fingers or have difficulty seeing small print it might be a problem for you. Not so in my case.

FUNCTIONALITY: Awesome. I really like the Picture-In-Picture feature which allows you to continue watching TV while you access the internet. The menu is straight forward if you have a device running Android you'll have no problem with this. It uses Google Chrome as a web browser and it functions much like IE or Firefox, so web surfing is just like sitting in front of a PC. Finally it actually plays DVDs in the Blue-Ray format! I found the playback to be excellent. Mind you, I upgraded from a standard DVD player, so I suppose I was easily impressed. However, I thought the picture on my 50" 1080p Sony television was great.

Overall, this is an excellent product that does exactly what it is marketed to do. I did not experience any of the issues reported in some of the negative reviews and I purchased it for $249, which is $150 less than what CNET reports. If you are looking for a Blue-Ray player with internet functionality, I highly recommend the Sony NSZ-GT1.

I never considered buying one of these things, but recently received it as a gift. Overall, it's a step up from the Roku box I've been using for the past few years--you can use it to web surf and watch many online videos, in addition to easily run apps like Netflix, Amazon video on-demand, and Pandora. Even though most of this was available on the Roku, the menu structures are way better on Sony Internet TV and they provide a lot more information much more quickly. On the other hand, the menu structure of the internet TV box itself is insane. The current version takes a shotgun approach, doing lots of things, but not doing any of them particularly well. Somebody needs to go back to the drawing board and figure out what this thing exists for and set up its content accordingly.

Specific annoyances that may improve over time include Comcast DVR compatibility (now I need to revert to my old controller for anything DVR related), accessibility of web content (practically every network prevents you from watching web material that's freely available to users of laptops and ipads), and the complete absence of an "On Soon" complement to the "On Now" feature, which is actually pretty awesome--no more fishing in the Comcast on-screen guide, which is slow, clunky, and foolishly segregated into completely separate HD/SD sections.

There's a lot of potential for greatness here, though, and if Google continues to refine its offerings, as Roku has done, I think I'll be very glad to have the box.

Hd720p Traffic Recorder Car Dashboard DVR Dv Vehicle Camera

This product is SOOOOO close to being a great product, the problem is that these are just made too cheap: everything feels super cheap, the instructions are worthless. Mine died after a few months.

even the layout is bad, you have half the buttons on one side and half on the other, actually navigating menus to replay a video is very challenging due to the arrangement. also has no emergency "save" button to keep a clip from being overwritten.

The image of the device sitting with the screen above the body is faked, the device will not rotate the video around, can only record with the device mounted with the screen down if you want the video viewable on a computer to be rights side up.

Living in northern NJ many of the drivers don't seem to care who they're about to hit. I have been involved in many arguments involving near-misses. Installed the camera about 3 weeks ago and recently it not only settled an argument as to why a drive drove threw a stop sign and nearly hit me, but I was able to let him know that the video was admissable in court and the ticket he would get would be just as if a police officer gave it to him. The offending driver had an instant change in attitude. I'm sure he'll be a better driver now as he'll never know who has a similar camera.

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This camera is very light weight (which makes it feel cheap), but it should be light weight since it hangs on a suction cup. I'm only on day 2 with it, but so far it is doing what I expected it to do. Only 4 stars because the audio is way overpowered and sounds terrible when playing it back on the computer. It creates little AVI files and seems to record about 15min/GB, so you may have to buy a big SD card if you want it to record for a long time. I'm not sure this will be used all the time, but I got it to try, and that part worked just fine. At this point I'd recommend trying it if you don't need super good sound quality inside the car while you're driving (I drive a new Honda civic that was built more for fuel efficiency rather than how quiet it's interior is so the quality may be better in a quieter car).

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I think there is no night vision or infrared lights because while driving at night you can almost only see your car's headlights and other lights around. You will not see anything else during driving night. Daylight recording is fine, the highest resolution/quality setting is your current cell phone's worst recording quality.

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VideoSecu 4 Pack 100ft Feet Video Power White Cables Security Camera Extension Wires Cords with bon

Worked well with all of my cameras, the signal is strong and the images are crisp and clear, quality seems quite good and the shipping was fast, I would recommend the seller to my friends or other customers.

Not happy with quality of cable, I have my original cables and added cameras with these, the video is getting lines probably from poor shielding,swapped with old cable and all is fine again http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054NX4UG/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

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Toshiba Camileo S20 Full-HD Camcorder Bundle - Silver/Black

The whole premise behind pocket video recorders is small size and portability assures accessibility and more spontaneous use when compared to a full size video camera. For the size and ease of use, however, you make some sacrifices. I did a fair amount of research into this product class to find a pocket video camera that was loaded with features and had the fewest trade offs when stacked up against a full size video recorder. I pulled the trigger on this product and absolutely love it. Here's the highlights:

1) Size. This thing is small. It's only a few millimeters bigger than the Flip and Kodak offerings. It's sized just right to hand hold comfortably, but not too big that it takes up too much valuable purse or bag real estate. It also comes with a very nice cordura carrying case! It's only about 4 oz. and some reviews have criticized the Camileo for a "plasticy" feel. Not so, this unit feels solid yet light. True the body is made of plastic, but the weight trade off is worth it, and who cares as long as it's solid. Plus a lighter plastic unit is much more likely to survive the inevitable drop than a heavier metal one (lighter and more pliable).

2) Video Quality. I don't own another pocket video camera so I can't intelligently comment on the video quality compared to other units. That being said, the video looks fantastic on the big flat screen. I actually use the 720p mode mostly to have the option to zoom and image stabilize (both not available at 1020p), and I cannot tell a difference between the two modes when displayed on 52" flat screen. The video is honestly as good as my three year old full size HD video camera in normal light. In dim light there is a little graininess to the video, but there's an integrated light to help with this and I really don't take many recordings in dark conditions anyway.

3) Ergonomics (including the screen). The fold out screen is awesome and I have no trouble viewing it in direct sunlight. It's great to preview videos and twists around for the ubiquitous self portraits too. The Flip and Kodak models are just little boxes that you hold up facing "out" to record. The Toshiba Camileo S20 feels like a real video camera (albeit a really small one) in your hand. It just feels natural to me to record video in this manner.

4) Features The built in LED light is a nice touch but it's really only useful in very dark conditions for close up subjects. I think it's main utility is to augment the light in low-light situations like around dusk or in a dim room. Useful under some situations and a good feature to have when you need it. The time lapse and slow motion are really fun. You won't find yourself using them very frequently but capturing a great sunset or cloud movement is pretty cool. Why not have the option? The YouTube upload button is a big "who cares?" for me, but users that are interested in this sort of thing may like it. The digital zoom is smooth and doesn't pixelate stuff too much. I'm also surprised at how much I DON'T use the zoom on this camera. The default capture angle is pretty good. Kid's sporting events are the only time I've found that I've used it a lot, and for this application the digital zoom works fine. If I know I'll need the intensive use of optical zoom ahead of time, I bring my regular HD camcorder anyway. The built in 5MP camera isn't great. That being said, I've yet to see a camcorder with a decent still camera integrated into it. It will do for snapshots, but you won't be using the pics for your holiday cards. I'm not sure why this is, probably something to do with the image processing and metering on still cameras. Anyway, I didn't expect too much here as my regular size HD camcorder takes stills that are pretty bad too. Bottom line with still pics is that we always have a small point and shoot camera with us in our bag or purse anyway, so this isn't an issue for us. Other features are great, like custom white balance (think skiing or other situations with unique light) and ISO settings. Also the battery is removable and one could conceivably get extra batteries to use when chargers aren't available.

5) Price at $150 this is a steal, especially when compared to the Flip SlideHD Camcorder which is presently $280! The Sony MHS-CM5 bloggie HD Video Camera has optical zoom but is much larger and more expensive. (It also does not image stabilize in HD mode). The Sanyo VPC-CS1 High Definition Camcorder, which also has optical zoom, is big enough at over an inch thick, that I don't really qualify it as a true pocket video camera model. It's also over one hundred dollars more expensive.

6) Extras. Wall charger included, mini-HDMI cord included, mini tripod included, RCA AV cord included, ArcSoft software included (it's actually pretty decent too), nice case included. What's not to like here!

7) Recording Media and Format. One great feature is the SD card format which means that on vacation you can take multiple cards with you rather that a laptop for archiving. The Flip doesn't have removable/changeable media, which for me was an absolute deal breaker. The recorded file format is AVI which I like for video editing applications. Oh also, the lack of an integrated USB connector is actually a big plus for me. I'd rather use a cord to connect to the computer, and the USB mini port doubles as a charger. Our cell phones use this format, so I already have car chargers for this camera! Who want's to struggle with plugging the recorder body directly into the computer my computer is on the floor in a cabinet. The Arcsoft software is pretty darn intuitive for burning DVDs and uploading to the web. Any minimally computer literate individual will not have an issue and the user manual for the camera and software is really quite good it was obviously written by a fluent English speaker and not software translated from Japaneses.

Criticisms:

A lot has been written in on-line reviews about the confusing menu system. The menu system structure is fairly intuitive and resembles that of most full sized video cameras, but the navigation buttons within the menu tree are not. OK, so I had to remember that when in the menu mode one of the buttons advances, a different one goes up one level, and the record button selects choices. It's really not that hard or big a deal. As much as we find ourselves using this video recorder, we have no issues with remembering navigation buttons and navigation.

I wish . . .

1. there were optical zoom (but I'm willing to live with digital zoom and a much smaller unit a trade off that's worth it in my opinion. I've found that I don't use zoom all that much anyway.)

2. there were zoom and image stabilization available in 1080p mode. (Most pocket video cameras don't have this either. . . no big deal to me really as I've found 780p mode looks great and saves on recording space on the SD card. The recorders that have the features at 1080p are much larger units and really not honestly classifiable as "pocket" video recorders)

3. this took better still shots, but as I mentioned, no video recorder does this well. If you want to take still photos, use a camera that's made for the job.

In all, I'm very satisfied with this purchase. This unit is small and light and packed with features, some you'll use and others that you may experiment with once in a while, but are nice to have when and if the need arises. Compared to other models referenced and linked in this review, this model has almost every feature but optical zoom, and the ones having this are much larger and not really "pocket" models (and they are a lot more expensive). I expect to get about 2 years out of this product and by then the next generation of pocket video cameras will integrate even more features (wireless transfer, optical zoom, smart phone integration etc. . ). Until then this product is perfect for my needs.

I was looking for a mini cam that was priced well and a good value. When I took a look at this Toshiba, it only had one review of 5 stars, so after doing a little research on the FlipHD, which is what I was ready to buy, I decided to take a chance on the little-known Toshiba. I'm definitley glad I did. If you're looking for the same high quality from this as you would a mid-full size video camera, you will not find it in any mini cam. Again, they are just too small. If you are looking for something that is well made with a large screen that rotates, good picture quality (especially outdoors!!), reasonable 5x zoom, and a decent price, this is the one for you. The fact that this comes with a case, stand, hdmi cable (some things that you have to buy separately for other minis), etc., is just icing on the cake. I couldn't give it a full 5 stars because in a perfect world, the interior video quality would be sharper. Overall it's a keeper.

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Have friends that have the new Kodak model Z8 and I have had the Flip ultra. My neighbor has the new Sony model PM5. Here's the thing on pockets. You are never going to get great pictures with the 1080 in that small of a package. The Kodak does not hold up for the long haul as friend had two that broke with in three months and my Flip gave up the ghost in about eight months and battery charging was a joke! It may charge and it may not....it was a crap shoot. Neighbor has sent his Sony back three times in five months with problems.Sony takes pictures in low light are just terrible. My little Toshiba just plugs right along. Picture quality at 720 is just fine and low light is certainly acceptable. This little unit is tough and a work horse. If your looking for a pocket camcorder that takes a good picture loads right up with no prblem, another issue I had with the Flip and simply does a good job for a reasonable price.......well the Toshiba is the way to go. It is well made and tough, which seems to be the big issue with pocket models. Sadly, not many reviews on this model but believe me I did my home work and I will admit I did purchase this camcorder simply from my experience with Toshiba. Man, I am so glad I did becuase this little work horse is really the way to go. You want something small that takes good decent movies and is very simple to use and most importantly hold up to much use..........this little guy is perfect. I hope more folks pull the trigger on this little camera and give their remarks as well. If you want high picture quality then don't waste your time with any pocket camcorder regardless of what the company or others tell you. If you want something that is light, small, well made and takes good picutres but nothing on a grand scale.......well this little camcorder is it! Bar none!!!! Oh.......and got it in three days from Amazon with their usually dependable delivery.

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I was considering purchasing either this Camileo S20 or the Flip 2nd Gen Brushed Metal model. Obviously I ended up choosing the Camileo S20, and here is why:

**I looked at the many reviews of the Flip model, and didn't like what people had to say. Many reviews complained about the bulit-in USB connector not fitting any of their USB ports for uploading or charging to the PC. Eventually Flip finally responded to this major concern, after denying the issue for a long time, leaving their early customers out to dry according to the reviews. Not great customer service in my opinion, and others that had their FLip break down had much trouble with customer service in getting it fixed. Read the reviews for yourself. There are many complaints BEYOND the supposedly resolved USB issue. The Camileo doesn't have many reviews, but the ones it has are good.

**Even if the Flip's USB arm is truly fixed, I prefer connecting my camcorder with a USB WIRE. It sounds much better than expecting your Flip to float in the air while connected to your PC. Using a wired connection you can set the Camileo camera in the floor, on top of your PC tower, on your desk, ect.

**The Camileo can shoot in 1080p (without zoom or stabilization) or 720p with these features enabled. The Flip max resolution is 720p only. (And now that I have the Camileo for myself, both of the higher resolutions look absolutely brillant in bright outdoor environments. As others have stated, the low-light indoor video looks OK at best. This is how all pocket cams are apparently though, and reviews of the Flip's low light video doesn't sound any better.)

**Camileo has a 3-inch LCD screen, the Flip is only 2-inches.

**Camileo has a much greater value. As of this review, the Camileo is $50 dollars cheaper than the Flip. The Camileo does not have the built-in 8GB storage like the Flip. Once could buy a 8GB HDCP card for $15 dollars here on Amazon, equaling this Flips spec. Even better, you could expand the storage all the way to 32 GB if you want, while the Flip is locked-in at only 8GB forever. Let's say you buy the 8GB card for the Camileo. You are still saving $35 dollars in comparison, and we haven't even got to the other great things packed in the Camileo box....

**Superior Accessories. The Camileo comes packed with an AC adapter, perfect for when you don't want to lug around your computer to charge up the power. The Flip not only does not come with an AC adapter, the official model costs $13 dollars, and multiple reviews of it say it is faulty, and causes the Flip to shut down because of overheating, defeating the point of this accessory altogether. The Camileo also comes with a free tripod. Flip owners have to pony up an extra $9 dollars for one. HDMI cables for direct HDTV viewing? Free with the Camileo, $14 dollars for the Flip. USB cables are also free with the Camileo, and $14 dollars for the Flip if you are like me and don't like the idea of the built-in arm attatchment on the Flip. I am not sure if the Flip comes with a standard AV cord for older TVs, as it isn't a listed accessory, but the Camileo DOES come with one free as well. You also get a free travel case with the Camileo, the FLip cases start at $7 dollars and up. Doing the math, the Flip costs $86 dollars more, and you are still stuck with a faulty AC adapter and may not even have standard AV cables.

**I cannot speak to the video files on the Flip, but the Camileo videos save to the PC in AVI files, which can be edited either with the included software, or better yet, Windows Movie Maker easily and immediately after upload with no conversion needed. Maybe the Flip does too, I don't know. Both have instant Youtube uploads, so that one is a wash.

**CONCLUSION: The Camileo has better specs with the larger LCD screen, and higher 1080P video resolution.The Camileo is $86 dollars cheaper after considering the need to purchase an 8GB card for Camileo and purchasing a boatload of accessories for Flip.Camileo can be expanded to 32GB, the Flip is locked in at 8GB. The Camileo USB connection is superior and more accessible than the FLip IMO. Flip has a spotty customer service department, Toshiba has always been good to me in the past, and I haven't even needed them with the Camileo. This Camileo model does not have the massive advertising campaign that the Flip does, so Toshiba is able to pass the saving on to consumers. Flip might have the "coolness" factor due to being all over television, but I would rather have a superior camera at a cheaper cost, so I went with the Camileo.

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This camera just isn't very good, period. The price is cheap, the size is small, but if you are planning to shoot with this thing after 4pm, forget about it... The led light on the camera is practically pointless... If you are looking at this as a somewhat combo-camera thinking you can shoot stills, have fun with that...blurred images are essentially all you will capture... However, all is not bad on this camera. If you are filming with daylight this thing is actually quite impressive...But as an all around pocket camera you're better off searching elsewhere... I know it looks cool but resist unless you're only planning on filming in daylight.

RCA DRC99390 Portable DVD Player with 9-Inch Screen

• DVD player with 9-inch widescreen LCD display
• Built-in rechargeable battery
• Built-in stereo speakers and headphone jack
• AV output jacks to connect to external TV
• Remote control, AC and car adapters included
• 9" widescreen TFT LCD DVD player
• Built-in speaker & headphone jack
• Plays DVD, CD & JPG
• RCA A/V output jacks

We had this dvd player for a year and have had nothing but problems with it. Sent it back to the manufactor twice already and it still won't work. Don't waste your money on this. Trust me. Buy Sony or PanasonicI've learned my lesson!!!!

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I bought this DVD player at Walmart, not through Amazon.com

I can't give a very accurate review of this DVD player, as it didn't work from the start there is audio but no video. I tried several different disks, but no picture. This is the second item I purchased recently that was broken when I got it very frustrating. For the price ($100) you would think they would test them before they stick them in the box (the box had not been opened, so it hadn't been purchased and returned). At least I can return it to Walmart tomorrow and try a different brand.

Update: Tried to return to Walmart, but they only have a 15 day return on electronics and it had been 16 days :(

Contacted RCA, mailed it to service center, got it back after about 2 weeks and it works now. It was under warranty, so I didn't have to pay for the repair just the hassle factor. Next time I buy electronics I'm going to make sure it actually works when I'm at the store.

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I did not purchase this item via Amazon.com, but did find it on sale last week at one of the big box stores at a fantastic price so I purchased one before it went off sale. The next day I played a dvd I had been wanting to watch and had no problem. Last night I went to play/watch another dvd and it did not work at all. I have had the item less than one week and it is going back to the big box store with me after work. Very disappointed. Thought that purchasing a well known company name's product meant that it was a quality item. I should have read the other reviews online before I purchased.

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I have only used it once so far, but my first impressions haven't been great. The picture quality is pretty crappy, it's very loud when playing a disc, and it just feels cheap overall. I'm glad I got it on sale, but I'm still considering returning it.

I purchased two of these players. The first worked for half an hour, the second not at all. I exchanged both of them and neither of them worked. I refused to try again.

Blue Microphones Spark Digital Studio-Grade Condenser Microphone for Apple iPad and USB 2.0

• Features Blue's legendary studio condenser capsule and electronic components
• iOS compatible with iPod touch (4th Gen), iPhone 4/4S, iPad/iPad2/iPad (3rd Gen)
• Use the Apple Lightning Adapter (sold separately) for compatibility with iPhone 5, iPad (4th Gen), and iPad Mini
• Work with Garage Band and other recording applications
• Focus Control switch offers two sonic signatures in one mic, plus onboard control for volume, gain and instant mute
• Headphone jack for zero-latency real-time monitoring

This is the best mic. on the market for the money. It is truly a studio quality product that produces studio quality results. If I worked for a competitor, I would give it a bad review. It is a plug and play that is so easy to use. The results are far beyond what any other mic. under $500.00 will achieve. You will not regret this purchase.

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The sound quality I get from this mic is the best I've had so far in a usb mic. The best mic you can get at this price. For people who are having trouble with the low input levels, you need to hold down the microphone button for three seconds to switch over to the mic input level. I was surprised at the average of three stars this mic got in reviews and reading over them, I must shake my head at these silly people. It does come with an adapter to use with an iPad, but the sound quality you get with an actual computer doesn't compare and the high quality mic just goes to waste.

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I love Apogee and I love my MiC but when I saw that Amazon had this Blue Spark for a mere $155 I jumped all over it (even added the mere $3.99 for next day shipping cuz gear lust has a way with me).

I am in my third decade of project studio singer/songwriting and God only knows how much has been siphoned off the family budget for "tools". Along the way I have sang through expensive microphones and also through telephone receivers. One lesson learned is that it takes a good tune to grab an audience. Another lesson is that we live in an incredible time period.

What used to cost hundreds, thousands to record and produce can now be (somewhat clunk-illy) recorded on the go with a "smart phone". I realize it's not for everyone, but if you wish a fairly portable, nearly high-dollar sound...then order the Blue Spark Digital.

Combined with a USB OTG cable, this puppy makes me SO glad I returned my iPhone and got the Galaxy Note 2. That said, it comes with the 30-pin if you still am an iPerson. I have also connected to an i7 Windoze laptop via USB and it works great with Mountain Lion as well.

Now, for brass tacks...the Apogee MiC isn't a Neuman. I know. I'm not stupid. Neither are you, though. So, if you like Apogee and want portability--buy both! You'll find good use for them. I am sure of it. The "focus" button you will either love or loathe. I personally am afraid of how much I love it. It is best for voice podcasting but I've recorded vocals on a song just to see which camp I am in.

All serious musicians are bleeding cash. Bleed some toward Blue this time around. You'll never miss it!

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I enjoy working with this microphone, but it took some time for me to learn how to use it. I often get better results when I use the focus feature and keep the gain low to get a cleaner sound. It is definitely a step above the previous usb microphones by Blue. Would not recommend for professional use if you are making music. This is good for demo making. If you are singing you MUST get the pop filter.

I bought the Blue Spark Digital as a way to quickly lay down rough tracks & demo quality recordings for an upcoming record I wanted to have professionally done. The Blue Spark met and exceeded my expectations so much, that I'm considering making my album using this microphone and my iPad!

Sounds great for acoustic guitar and vocals (no other instruments attempted).

For less than $200 and $10 purchase of Garageband or another premium multi-track recording app on your iPad, it's tough to recommend a product other than this one for on-the-go or quick recording.

(Used with iPad Mini and the 30-pin to lightening adapter worked just fine.)

Pyle PSPL01 Mini Digital Sound Level Meter

I just got this today but wanted to get the word out that this unit(at least the one I received) is C-weighted, not A-weighted like the description currently states. The "weighting" has to do with the frequency response and the different versions are intended to match the human response to noises under different circumstances. A-weighting is more common and typically used for noise ordinances and OSHA requirements. There's a general consensus that A-weighting is not appropriate for anything over quiet room levels, but from what I've read, A-weighting is used as the standard for many situations (for better or worse).

That said, C-weighting is probably better for my purposes anyway. Often you have to get a more expensive unit that has both A and C to get C-weighted response.

As for the unit, for the price, it feels solid and looks like it could handle a drop or two. It has an automatic back-light, min-max functionality and a 1/4-20 threaded boss for mounting to a tripod etc. The unit is basic, but I'm happy with it. I don't have reference equipment to test the accuracy, but the values seem to match what I would expect for different environments.

I have been taking speech theraphy. My therapist uses one of these to measure my voice output volume. She suggested I get one to practice with so I'll know when I'm getting the proper output volume. The Pyle was reasonably priced and works well.

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I purchased this sound level to measure and setup my new 5.1 home theater setup. My receiver has an auto calibration utility, but I wanted to validate the sound levels and as to tweak the settings as needed.

The measurements were in line with the receiver's calibration utility, and allowed me to further adjust the settings as I wanted.

It performed as expected and for the price it is well worth it.

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The item I received is not "A" weighted. The packaging even says "C" on the back. If you are looking to pick up noise from your noisy neighbors, this product is not for you. "C" weighted is more ideal for musicians or music clubs checking their noise levels. It randomly skips around numbers below 60 unless it's really really loud. The only plus is that the screen lights up so you can see the numbers if you are in a dark place. I am returning this item. Fix your information Amazon.

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Very easy to use.I especially like the digital readout as it seems to be very accurate.We used this to level out our sound system for each of our prerecorded

music cds.I give it an A++.

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Hands Free Action Video Camera - Extreme Sports High Def Digital Camera

This isn't an awesome camera, but for the price, it is a good camera. I use it on my bike and and boat. The quality of the video is ok and it is easy to operate.

My main complaints are:

The battery last less than 2 hours and the only option is to charge it with a cable. The batteries can't be changed.

The memory card can become unseated easily when installing and removing the waterproof cap.

The instructions for setting up the camera are poorly written and the interface is unintuitive.

Still, I gave the camera 4 stars because it works as advertised and it is so inexpensive.

I got this as I wanted a pov camera with ir/night vision for ghost hunting..... I got this and tried it out only to be very disappointed

1) there is no way to swap battery so after the battery would die it had to charge instead of being able to put in another battery like some cameras

2) the night vision mode is not truly ir/ night vision. Yes it does have a couple ir lights but it still leaves a few white led lights on as well. Thus it would actually light up the room ..... Not what I need and not truly night vision

Needless to say I shipped this back within a day

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VideoSecu 1/3" Pixim WDR Vandal Dome Security Camera Outdoor Day Night Varifocal CCTV Infrared Zoom

This camera is of good quality. The images are very sharp but the colors are faded. I contacted the seller for an explanation; Here's the response I received:

Thank you for your business.

This camera is special designed for wide dynamic range for night vision. There is filter on the CCD chipset, which cause the color shift.

Color shift???? There are no adjustments to correct this defect. I was offered an exchange but decided to keep it.VideoSecu Wide Dynamic Range Security Camera 1/3" Pixim DPS Sensor 690TVL 6-15mm Varifocal Lens OSD Infrared Day Night Outdoor Weatherproof CCTV Home Surveillance CAG

This camera has both pros and cons. I decided to keep this camera which I had purchased for $119 + s&h.

Update: The picture shown does not reflect the item I purchased.

The night vision is incredible; it is the same as daylight in brightness (because of its 36 IR Leds). Great resolution! The image quality is so good. It works without any problem. It works well and cost me a decent price and that's all I was asking for. I would buy again.

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VideoSecu Wide Dynamic Range Security Camera 1/3" Pixim DPS Sensor 690T is sharp but the video colors are off. colors are faded with a big clear bar in the top and bottom of the picture. but picture is still clear; night vision is great. That's what this camera is meant for night time. The focus and zoom are not really helpful. think it doesn't really work. turn zoom dont mess with any of the setting or the picture turn red. Would have return but i need a good night time camera. day time ok. Thanks Warehouseseller for your fast delivery and great price.

Read Best Reviews of VideoSecu 1/3" Pixim WDR Vandal Dome Security Camera Outdoor Day Night Varifocal CCTV Infrared Zoom Here

The camera was used indoors had OK quality color, a pretty good wide angle and good night vision. However, it stopped working in 1 day. I really did not want to have to take it down I tried hooking it up to several different cables, but nothing worked. I filed online claim to have it replaced at Amazon but, I did not get a response from the seller the distributor of this brand. After a week I contacted them directly and they issued me an RMA and said I had to pay the shipping cost back. Then I decided to get a camera from someone else. They issued a refund less the shipping charges to me and said it was fine and complained that I did not return the screws and wall anchors! Would not buy again.

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The camera has a narrow field of vision even at the setting that gives the widest angle. I mounted the camera under the overhang on the front of my garage & it didn't offer enough coverage to be of any use. The $40 Clover camera it replaced was much better. At night the VideoSecu image was spotted with randomly shaped white patches. The lens was clean so the camera was obviously defective. I removed it, obtained an RMA, and sent it back. Not only did I have to pay the return shipping, I was also hit with a 15% restocking fee. How do you "restock" a defective camera? Their return policy apparently is not on Amazon. Only a message to "contact" the seller for information. Why can't they just put it in writing? I've since replaced the VideoSecu camera with a similar model from one of their competitors. It has an outstanding view angle and good night vision.

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Propellerhead Reason 4.0 Recording Software

• Thor Polysonic Synthesizer: Thor is a semi modular synth with interchangeable oscillators and filters. With its six oscillator types, four filter types and endless modulation possibilities, this synth comes with a sound like nothing else on the planet.
• RPG-8 Monophonic Arpeggiator: A powerful arpeggiator with multiple play modes, pattern function and much more.
• ReGroove Mixer: ReGroove mixing is a way to work creatively with grooves, timing and feel in real time. Hands-on access to 32 channels of groove parameters will make this an essential tool for any musician who is serious about their beats programming.
• The New Reason Sequencer: With a whole new look, a ton of fresh features and a completely new way of handling sequencer data, the Reason sequencer still offers the streamlined workflow Reason is famous for, but with a new level of sophistication.
• Thor Polysonic Synthesizer: Thor is a semi modular synth with interchangeable oscillators and filters.
• With its six oscillator types, four filter types and endless modulation possibilities,
• ReGroove Mixer: ReGroove mixing is a way to work creatively with grooves, timing and feel in real time.
• Hands-on access to 32 channels of groove parameters will make this an essential tool for any musician
• The New Reason Sequencer: With a whole new look, a ton of fresh features and a completely new way of handling sequencer data
• The Reason sequencer still offers the streamlined workflow Reason is famous for, but with a new level of sophistication

Reason Version 4.0 Mac Review 9-15-2008

In order to give a meaningful review of Reason 4.0 and the major improvements in this latest version of Propellerheads' music creation software package, I first need to state exactly what Reason is, and what it is not.

The most descriptive definition of Reason is that it is basically a "virtual rack mount studio", complete with a built in sequencer, faithfully simulated in a single software package.

For those who are familiar with rack mount studio units, Reason incorporates most (if not all) common hardware rack mount units you would find in a typical recording studio. This includes mixer boards, effects processors (such as reverb, distortion, chorus and flanger units, etc.), two very robust digital samplers which can use samples and wave files as instrumental components, a drum sequencer, a drum sequence sampler/playback tool, and several analog synthesizer units as well and much, much more. Each of these devices can be "cable patched" into one another within Reason in almost any conceivable combination, and all of the units look and act like their hardware counterparts would in an actual recording studio.

Also, you can "create" as many of these virtual hardware components as you need and the only limitation you have on how many you can effectively use is limited only by your computer's processor speed, RAM, and the sound card hardware in your computer. Since Reason 4.0 uses software to simulate the functions of these virtual hardware units, having a high-end soundcard is NOT necessary to get the most out of the Reason package. Any decent PC or Mac sound card or chip is capable of getting near perfect sound quality out of this package even the basic sound hardware found in a standard off the shelf Mac laptop such as the MacBook Pro will do just fine.

As a digital music creation platform, Reason has been very good for years, with one noticeable feature missing: The ability to record "live" instruments, such as guitars or vocals.

While this lack of live recording ability has always made Reason a questionably "complete" DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software package, what it lacks in recording capability it more than makes up for by what it does best: Be a one-man-band/studio in a single box. For those who are already using another software package such as CakeWalk Sonar Studio for live recording, Reason does have the ability to be "rewired" into other packages that support rewiring, such as Sonar. As an add-on component to other DAW software packages, Reason adds a some huge capabilities to other programs and can more than stand on it's own for creation of any conceivable type of electronic music from hip hop to classical to jazz and far beyond.

If you are looking to do a lot of live instrument recording, you might want to look at another software package, but if you are doing something "instrumental", say composing a music piece for a television commercial, look no further. Reason has you covered in a very big way.

This basic description of Reason as a "one stop recording studio" was accurate for version 2.5. While Reason Version 2.5 was very robust, there were several features that were noticeably missing:

The ability to easily combine samplers or synths into "layered" instruments (more than one type of sound being controlled by a single sequencer track)

A coherent and robust piano roll / track view with typical visual components (e.g. as found in other DAW packages such as Sonar)

A mastering suite of tools for controlling final mix down of tracks into a final polished and well engineered song

The ability to change tempo within a music project by measure

A very robust and complex synthesizer capable of producing a huge range of different sounds

Starting with the last drawback first, Reason 2.5 and 3.0 contained 2 main synths: The Subtractor Analog synth and the Malstrom Graintable synth. Reason 4 also still contains these two instruments. While these two synths were plenty capable of producing a host of "vintage" style synths sounds, they lacked the kind of customization that can be found in other high-end digital music packages such as Apple's Logic audio software, making music such as "trance" or "techno-electronica" style music incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to do in Reason. This has now changed in a radical way for the better. More on that in a minute...

Reason 3.0 was a huge step in the right direction for Reason users. There were two major advances in Reason 3.0:

The addition of a FULL suite of recording and mastering tools including a parametric EQ unit and a compressor unit, (among others). The mastering suite units were a huge leap forward for Reason because they allowed composers to control exactly how a finished song should sound and even how individual instruments within the song should sound and these units also greatly reduced the occurrences of audio-clipping which can ruin a digital recording. As with all other Reason "hardware units" the user has the ability to create and use as many mastering units as needed for any given project, limited only by processor speed and the amount of RAM in the user's computer.

The addition of a new rack unit called the "Combinator". The Combinator was another giant improvement on the Reason package because it allowed users to "group" any other kinds of Reason units into 1 "package" or "group" and then assign the entire group to a single sequencer track. This meant that a user could now throw a mixer, some effects units, and several instruments into 1 package and treat the entire package as a single instrument from within the sequencer. Obviously, this stretched Reason's sound producing capabilities much further and allowed the user to create multi-layered polyphonic instruments with ease.

Reason 3.0 was a great leap forward, for sure, but there were still the problems of having a somewhat limited synthesizer capability (there were still only the 2 synth units, and Reason was still fairly limited in that respect), you still couldn't change tempos mid song (you were pretty much stuck with one time signature per song) and the sequencer still had several problems that made it difficult, frustrating and often time consuming when working within the sequencer itself. With respect to the sequencer issues, there were several other problems, but rather than go into all the details of what was still wrong with Reason 3.0, let's just get to the new version of Reason: Reason Version 4.0 and go over how any and ALL drawbacks of Reason 3.0 are now completely eliminated in Reason version 4.

Reason 4.0 is probably the first version of Reason that has finally eliminated any and all potential weaknesses with this software package, and Reason 4.0 is truly a devastating creative tool for musicians looking for full-featured music creation, recording and engineering package for less than a thousand bucks. This is especially true if you are looking to do any kind of techno, trance, or industrial music as the new "Thor" polyphonic synthesizer utterly SLAYS anything previous versions of Reason had in terms of synthesis of sound or synchronized sequences of sound.

Probably the biggest instrumental leap forward for Reason 4.0 is the addition of the "Thor" Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer as a new instrument found only in Reason version 4.0. The Thor synth is an amazing piece of "virtual hardware" that allows the user to create literally thousands (if not millions) of possible combinations of sound generators, oscillators, filters, envelope controls, and even automated or hardware controlled sound parameters, which can handle almost any aspect of sound generation. While Reason 4.0 ships with a fairly decent amount of Thor "instruments presets" pre-created, these prefabricated presets really only scratch the surface of what Thor is truly capable of.

When the sequencing hardware found within Thor is combined with various parameters of the Thor sound generators and controllers, Thor completely blows away any kind of synth found in previous versions of Reason, and now the Reason software package has the capability of producing the deep and complex types of sounds and sequence loops that are often only found in hardware synths costing nearly two thousand dollars or more. The sequencing generator in Thor can be used to create delays, arpeggios, small instrumental sub-sequences and all other manner of complex sound effects found in a lot of high-end keyboard synths, and this places Reason 4.0's synth sound generation and control squarely in Apple's "Logic" audio software territory as well as now putting Reason 4.0 on the same turf as higher end Korg and Roland keyboard workstations. By using Thor in combination with Reason's Combinator and the already built-in digital samplers, the sky is no longer the limit for sound creation in Reason. The Thor Polyphonic Synth is a HUGE addition to Reason version 4.0 and alone is well worth the price of admission by itself, but Reason version 4.0 doesn't stop there.

The second, and another very significant upgrade to Reason version 4.0 is that all of the previous drawbacks of the Reason 2.5/3.0 sequencer have been completely eliminated in version 4.0.

Like previous versions of Reason, you can color-code your track labels with a right click on the track header. You can now toggle between track view and sequence piano roll view with a single mouse click; each of the tracks can now be viewed with the sequence elements (such as note placement in the piano roll now visible in track view as well) as well as effects controllers and note properties fully visible with a mouse click or two. If you are a person who uses the visual cues of your sequence elements to keep track of what is what in your song, Reason 4.0's sequencer is now on par with the robustness of other software packages such as Sonar Studio. Also, you can now actually see the instrument (or Combinator unit) as a visual element of the left hand side of track view very clearly, and each track is now expandable individually, or as a whole. Also, all of your automation tracks are now controlled by "automation lanes" contained inside the track header for quick and easy navigation of automation channels within each track. Just these changes alone make working with Reason's sequencer fun, easy and very intuitive, and all of the sequencer controls now make sense from an ease of use and robustness standpoint. You want to open up a sequence segment in piano roll? Simply double click the sequence and Reason takes you right into piano roll, and places you exactly within the right measures Reason even color codes and highlights the appropriate measures in question so no more hunting around for "those particular measures" you want to edit.

There is also one other consideration here: You can now toggle piano roll in your main reason rack-mount view window easily. This is a huge feature enhancement for Reason 4.0 because now you can test your patch creations within the main rack mount window simply by playing the keys in Reason's piano roll, and you can switch between track and your Reason hardware units with a couple of mouse clicks without ever having to leave the main Reason window. This almost totally eliminates the need to hook up an external MIDI controller keyboard to test out your new sound creations. Of course, Reason has always included MIDI-capable hardware control via an external controller such as a MIDI keyboard, but now you don't need one to edit your sounds quickly and efficiently.

Another welcome addition to the Reason 4.0 suite of components is the brand new RPG-8 Arpeggiator which allows you to create custom arpeggios that can control various aspects of other Reason instruments. This is another great tool for people looking to create techno-trance music or musical effects for instruments, and again extends Reason 4.0's capabilities further.

Having said all this, I haven't even touched on Reason 4.0's continuation of previous strengths such as the built in vo-coder, the robustness and flexibility of the NN-XT built in digital sampler unit, the Dr.Rex drum sequencer, the myriad of effects processors and the incredibly intuitive and visual design of the virtual hardware units in Reason. What Reason has done extremely well with previous versions is now a whole lot better in version 4.0 while still retaining all of the elements that made previous versions of Reason great.

At $400, Reason 4.0 is an absolutely incredible value being basically an entire recording studio in one box and its previous weaknesses have been seen, faced, and dismissed outright. If Reason 4.0 supported live recording and VSTi compatibility, it would basically do anything and everything you could possibly want, no matter what type of music you are looking to create. Even with these two features missing, $400 is still a "steal deal" for this software package. For $400 bucks you basically get a $2,000+ keyboard, oh, and that keyboard also happens to come with a complete recording studio.

Try and beat that, for the price? You can't.

If all of this still isn't enough for you to get the job done, it is worth mentioning that there are literally hundreds of free downloads that you can get off the internet to "plug in" new pre-created instruments into Reason's various components and there are many commercial packages both from Propellerheads and other companies that can add whole new dimensions to Reason's sound capabilities that go far beyond the basic package you get from Reason "straight out of the box". Not to mention the fact that Propellerheads also have several other software packages that expand Reason's capabilities even further not that you would need any of them if you learn how to use Reason itself, but even a great program can get even better with add-ons.

If you are a beginner just getting into the hobby of digital music creation and recording on your PC or Mac, Reason 4.0's intuitive and visual interface can get you into music creation easily, and is a worthy product just based on that. However, even a seasoned professional will find Reason to be a hugely flexible, robust and powerful application for professional quality sequencing, recording and engineering. And, while Reason may not be able to record vocals or live instruments on its own, Reason's powerful re-wire capabilities and sampling units can easily integrate Reason's powerful features with your existing DAW software. For example, you can create your instrumental tracks in Reason, then simply export the loop you created (or even the entire song) as a *.wav or *.aiff file for use in another application. Conversely, you can record your "live music" audio files in another application, export them as *.wav files, then import them into Reason's NN-19 or NN-XT digital samplers and then engineer and mix down your entire song in Reason alone. Bam! Done.

When you are done with all of your hard work, you can export your entire song straight to a *.wav or *.aif file and go from there. Sadly, Reason 4.0 still doesn't have a direct song to *.mp3 encoder, but that's not really a big deal since most computers these days have some easy (and often free) way to convert *.wav or *.aif files to *.mp3 format or to CD audio tracks. Mac OS X, for example has a free *.mp3 converter as a feature of ITunes.

All of that aside, Reason 4.0 is still an awesome program and a significant upgrade from version 3.0, and Reason 4.0 probably gives you more bang for your buck than any other digital audio workstation package out there (minus the live recording and VSTi compatibility issues). Reason is an amazingly powerful, robust, flexible and comprehensive music-making package worthy of addition to any home/PC-based recording studio.

The bottom line? Believe the hype.

Buy it, and try it, learn it, love it.

Reason 4.0 aims to please, and you won't be disappointed.

One final note: If the geniuses at Propellerheads give Reason 5.0 the power to include live instrument recording and native support for audio tracks it might be "game-over" for the competition. Competitors take note...

Buy Propellerhead Reason 4.0 Recording Software Now

Reason 4 is possibly the best "production" software in the market today. The new additions (you can look at the item description) are a very helpful, specially the ReGroove function. Which lets you apply a groove (swing) to your tracks.

I can keep going on and on about the new sequencer, Thor, the new Automation and time shift capabilities. But to the the most underrated addition to Reason 4, is the revamped "sound driver." That alone is worth the price to update.

The new sound is warmer and richer. This is what separates Reason from other apps, the sound and "sounds" that are built in.

The sounds are so much warmer and richer, I've stopped using refills and soundfonts. I can't say enough about the quality of the sound.

I demoed a couple of expensive RTAS and VST instruments. And the same instruments coming from Reason sounded as good and in many cases, better than those from the RTAS and VST's.

Buy it now!!!

Read Best Reviews of Propellerhead Reason 4.0 Recording Software Here

If you check out what people were saying about PROPELLERHEAD Reason 3.0 ( Windows/Macintosh ), then you'll get an idea of what this software can do.

Reason 3 gave a lot of bang for the buck if you're a first timer, you get Reason 4 for the same price, and that's a steal.

True, you still can't run VSTi plug ins or record live (miked) sound in Reason.

But the addition of the Thor synthesizer and RPG-8 Arpeggiator plus the significant enhancements to the already well laid-out sequencer make Reason 4 a tool/toy that will keep you out of trouble for a long time to come.

The new features add to the learning curve, but Reason's rack analogy still make it one of the most intuitive applications of its kind. For the most part, it's just like noodling with real hardware (watch your volume levels).

I would suggest that anyone running this program should have at least 1 gig of ram, preferably more, because Reason 4 has finally started moving the CPU meter on my 1Gb pc for some projects.

Other than that, you can't go wrong with this miracle of software design.

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If you see this product on sale for $279 from a seller named Musician's Advocate, be advised, it is the ACADEMIC version. When I bought it, I emailed to double check and received a response telling me it was the full version, but when I received the confirmation email with the tracking information, it gave the product code for the academic version. I called to verify and was told it's the same as the full version. This sounded too good to be true, so I called around to double check. I found out that the academic version is limited in that you have to repurchase the software when upgrades come out. So when Reason 5 comes out, instead of buying the upgrade for $130, you have to buy the whole thing all over again. There may be other limitations I'm not familiar with, but this is what I found out from people who actually know what they're talking about.

Why this academic version is listed under the actual product and not the academic product, who knows? Just be careful you don't get scammed.

P.S. You can buy the academic version much cheaper than what they're selling it for and probably get free shipping, too.

Reason 4 Academic

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I've always been into music, from the days when I did pause recording with a double deck to mix songs, to mixing records and CD players, right up to video editing involving the laying down of audio tracks. I strayed from music for a few years and went into design and photography, but when i asked a friend how i could get back into it in a good way he introduced me to Reason.

I needed to be able to try my hand at beat production but without the expense of a drum machine and a mixing board, as I was unsure about investing that much money to find out I was just so so. When I discovered that Reason had elements needed to put music together and could also be linked to other professional software like Pro Tools I knew I found a gem.

Considering myself an amateur to music production Reason has taught me a lot about all the various tools and tricks that go into making music that people will want to hear over and over again. I recommend it for anyone looking to get into music production on a small budget and for professionals who want to scale down their business and still get the same sound that they have had for years.

Also with a laptop you can produce music with reason anytime the mood inspires you. That is a key thing because inspiration for creative people comes at any point and Reason 4.0 helps make it a reality.