Showing posts with label olympus vn-8100pc digital voice recorder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label olympus vn-8100pc digital voice recorder. Show all posts

Sunday, November 23, 2014

VuPoint Solutions (DC-ST00-VP) 3.1 MegaPixel Digital Camera

VuPoint Solutions 3.1 MegaPixel Digital CameraI actually got this as a christmas present -and I haven't put it down yet.

The picture quality is amazing you can get up to 5MP for a picture or video capture!! 5MP! Most Digital Camcorders are around 3MP... so that'll bring a smile to your face.

I have recorded several videos and transfered them to DVD, and it is crystal clear when viewing it on TV. The only problem is keeping my hand steady, but a tripod fixes that in no problem.

Easy to use software, and camera menus. You even have nifty Black and White or Sephia settings. Also have web cam and direct print capabilities.

But for any first time buyers, if you get a digital camera must buy a memory card. Once you start taking pictures/video you won't want to stop!

Friday, November 21, 2014

ReplayTV 3030 Digital Video Recorder

ReplayTV 3030 Digital Video Recorder
  • Digitally records up to 30 hours of programming without videotape
  • Pauses live broadcasts and resumes play at your leisure
  • QuickSkip feature bypasses recorded commercials
  • Instant Replay plays back programming in 7-second increments
  • Free programming guide with no monthly service fees

ReplayTV is well worth adopting early and often. It took a while to set up the system correctly -due, I confess, to my anathema toward manuals no matter how simply written (and ReplayTV's is quite lucid). The customer service couldn't be better. They took at least a dozen calls as I worked my way through the setup and each time answered the phone quickly, knew what to do, and to a person exhibited a cheerful Job-like patience with me and the process. Wish that all customer service personnel were so well trained!

Others have already commented on the features... the biggest draw for me is the ease of use and the ability to create theme channels. I found VCRs to be fussy monsters ("plug and play," my arse). This is one technological advance long overdue. I can't wait to see what other innovations lie in the pipeline.

I took away a star because the screen gives off a blue triangle in the lower right hand corner whenever I play a recorded show. It's not a huge distraction, but worth noting.

post script: AOL bought out TiVo, yet another reason to choose ReplayTV.

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I first heard about the ReplayTV & Tivo (is it "tie-vo","tiv-o", "t-i-v-o" or "tee-vo"? I've heard all forms...) products several months ago from Sound & Vision magazine. I got really excited because I tend to travel from time to time & this new, user-friendly technology would definately help me keep up with my favorite shows something that you could never say about my VCR! Unfortunately, the money wasn't really there, especially for the available recording time.

Well, when the prices finally came down for the more capacity (especially consider that ReplayTV was originally $1500 for 28hrs when they first came out...), I started to do comparison research.

While the Tivo product looks pretty nice, I settled on the ReplayTV for the following reasons:

1. No monthly fees! I'm sorry, but I don't want another monthly bill in my life...

2. I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of the Tivo thing trying to learn what I like it might work for other people, but I like the control that I get with ReplayTV.

3. The ReplayTV interface is a lot simpler.

Anyways, I hope this helps anyone who is on the fence about this Personal Television category. It helps so much not to be at the mercy of some random television programmer as to when you watch what you want now it's all on my schedule!

Read Best Reviews of ReplayTV 3030 Digital Video Recorder Here

Basically both units due the same thing...they record TV programs on to a 20 gigabyte hard disk. The beauty of the systems is that they are a breeze to program, you don't worry about changing or losing videotapes, and you can pause live programming if someone or thing interrupts you, and not miss anything. The Replay was my choice because of the additional input and outputs compared to the Tivo, and the greater cache time (30 minutes versus about 10 hours). What that means is that should you miss part of a program, the Tivo will overwrite that show after 30 minutes of recording versus the Replays 10 hours. The prices are about the same after you pay for the Tivo's lifetime programming charge.

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I've had my ReplayTV 3020 for a week now and thought i would express my views on it.

The box has a lot of different setups, you need to choose the right one for you. Personally I just split my cable feed and ran it to both my TV and the ReplayTV box so i can watch live TV or ReplayTV. Then i have the Svideo out of the ReplayTV to the TV and treat it as a VCR.

First i gotta say, the compression ratings that ReplayTV would have you believe are not exactly accurate. Standard recording quality can be as good as a VCR/Cable tv or worse it dependson the video being recorded. If the images are big and there's not too much movement it's pretty good. But if it's a crowd scene or a sporting event iwth lots of movement, it's worse than VCR. It can be very grainy uniless theres little movement or it's a closeup. It looks like you're watching an internet realvideo playback most of the time.

The Medium quality is a lot better, i'd put it up there the same quality as a vcr using Svideo out. Highest quality is great, but if your'e going to record everything on highest you should get the 3060.

It has lots of outputs on it to go out to a PC for video capturing or a VCR to save to a permanent storage which is nice. Also it has a few inputs, rca or svideo so you could record a DVD movie if you rented one and didn't have time to watch it unlike the Panasonic model which won't let you do this.

The ability to control real TV is nice. It actually records as you watch live tv. So you can pause, rewind and replay a live broadcast that you're not recording. The bad part of this however is sometimes the audio/video get out of sync. I'm not sure yet why this happens but it happens very seldom and it does clear itself.

The one great thing with this box is it doesn't come with the $10/month bill that TiVo has. Who needs another bill? And if you work in the cost of a lifetime membership to TiVo you could buy a replay.

The box itself is pretty quiet and it's smaller than most VCR's. It does have an off button if you want to turn it off, but i'd recommend just leaving it on.

The channel guide is nice. It's really easy to navigate around and select shows to watch or record. You can use this to replace your cable box if you want, then you don't need a TV guide or anything. I wish the channel guide displayed more listings per screen though, and i wish it started back at the beginning of the list instead of your current channel. Overall though it's very easy.

I'd definitly recommend this box, it's been pretty good and i've enjoyed having it over the past week.

I was very impressed with this device. It will tape things you like even if you don't know they're on. I love it except for one flaw but to me a fatal flaw. It runs off of TV schedules which aren't always set in concrete. In the short time I have had it, I taped a football game that went a few minutes past the scheduled time. In this particular case it was no problem but how would you like to miss the game winning kick or TD.

On another occasion, I watched a movie (action) where the finale was cut off also because the movie (actually the previous one) ran a little longer then programmed. Thus in the first week of ownership, two shows that I had wanted to watch were cut short.

I wll buy this equipment in the future when they allow a buffer time for shows to be recorded.

Monday, November 10, 2014

VideoSecu Tilt TV Wall Mount for Most 32"-63" Plasma LCD LED TV Flat Panel Display with DVD DVR VCR

VideoSecu Tilt TV Wall Mount for Most 32'-63' Plasma LCD LED TV Flat Panel Display with DVD DVR VCR Wall Mount and bonus 7 ft HDMI Cable MP501BK WAD
  • Fits most 32" to 63" flat panel screens; VESA up to VESA710x450 (28"x17.7")
  • Solid sturdy wall plate provides strength and durability
  • TV wall mount supports screens up to 165 lbs. Adjustable 15 degree of forward tilt
  • Comes with one VCR DVD mount bracket, bonus 7 ft high-speed V1.3C HDMI cable and standard hardware
  • VideoSecu TV wall mount. Report to Amazon if received counterfeit mount not in VideoSecu box

I purchased 2 of these mounts and recieved them within days. They are Perfect. I mounted 2 Sony 40" Bravia Flat Panel TVs and the mounts worked perfectly. Some of the reviews noted concerns with the mounting hardware. I pre-drilled the holes into the studs and the mounting hardware was absolutely fine. I looked at many mounts in the stores that cost $99.00 and these are of the same quality for $30.00 each. This mount has all of the same attibutes. This mount is very sturdy and nicely constructed. This is an outstanding product and the shipping was with in days.

Buy VideoSecu Tilt TV Wall Mount for Most 32"-63" Plasma LCD LED TV Flat Panel Display with DVD DVR VCR Now

I ordered this so I could install my 50" plasma in my room. For many days the item said "Shipping soon" better to my suprise it still said that and I received it sooner then the estimate by weeks. So shipping service was good. This item says that it includes the DVD and DVR stand but mine did not come with any sort so I emailed the company twice and no reponse so I am getting a little irritated by the company, although the product is amazing.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

2GB LCD Digital Audio Voice Recorder Dictaphone MP3 Player

2GB LCD Digital Audio Voice Recorder Dictaphone MP3 Playervoice recorder has lots of uses. the instructions are a little vague, but adequate. this recorder even records telephone calls.

I had read the reviews for the 4GB version of this, and read that it is great foreveryday use.

I found that it is very slow to start up, and neaerly 5 seconds pass before it starts recording. There is also no brand, so I had nothing else to reference but the small booklet (which is very unhelpful) that came with it.

The main reason I bought this was for the MP3 fomat, but I couldn't figure out how to change the recording format, and like I said, the booklet that it came with was terrible.

Another thing was, neither my laptop nor my work desktop recognized the device, so I was not able to transfer the files. By recognize, I mean even popping up as a USB device.

I do not recommend this item.

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Friday, October 3, 2014

Outdoor Housing

Outdoor HousingNo complaints. I bought this housing to protect my home security camera outside in my carport. The housing is made out of alum. with a plastic window in front, it has a lock hasp to prevent tampering with the camera inside. It is well made and adaptable to a number of mounting locations. I would buy it again.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)

Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray Disc Player
  • Multiple playable disc types
  • Embedded content provides including Netflix and Pandora
  • Compact design
  • Region: Blu-ray: A, DVD: 1

I was finally forced to shop around for a blu-ray player when both of my older upscaling dvd players recently stopped playing dvd's reliably. After checking around EVERYWHERE, researching pricing, features, and customer satisfaction for under-$90 blu-ray players, I found this model here on Amazon (sold by Paul's Electronics in MA and Fulfilled By Amazon) for around $75.

First, it is important for all potential buyers to know that this Region 1 DVD/Region A Blu-Ray player has only an HDMI output connector; it does NOT have any component or analog composite output connectors. However, as all high definition televisions have HDMI input connectors (which "carry" both the video and audio signals together via one HDMI cable connection) this should not be a problem.

Like all HDMI-connected Blu-Ray players these days, video and audio quality is excellent, including its implementation of relatively newer HDMI a/v technologies like TrueHD and HDMI Deep Color. Upscaling of older dvd's, and automatic detection and correct display of all discs' aspect ratios and resolution output is equally excellent (actually, impressively so). Loading speed of Blu-Ray discs is decent for a Blu-Ray player of this price (Blu-Ray discs typically take *much* more time to load than do standard dvd's, regardless of brand of player). Internet connection (via wired Ethernet), data retrieval, and direct-to-player firmware updating is all very quick, easy and trouble-free.

As with almost ALL relatively inexpensive (under $150) Blu-Ray disc players, this one does NOT "auto-resume" playback of *standard* dvd's from where you last left off watching them after removing and later re-inserting them into the player (whether or not a Blu-Ray player will perform such "auto-resume" functionality with a *Blu-Ray* disc is in fact dependent on whether or not that particular Blu-Ray disc was manufactured to include that feature).

The player's currently-available sources of online streaming media are relatively limited, but its implementation of VuDu is TRULY excellent; even with a download Internet speed of less than 2 mbps/sec. you are likely to be able to consistently view a VuDu 720p HD stream without buffer interruptions (provided you connect the unit to preferably a 100-base T Ethernet router jack, using at least a high quality Cat 5e if not Cat 6 cable); if you connect it this way with an Internet speed of at least 2.9 mbps you'll likely be able to stream full VuDu 1080p (at least to begin with, just ignore the VuDu app's lower "recommended" video quality level VuDu allows you to sample the first two minutes of most videos at any of the resolution levels available for that video before committing to renting or buying the complete program).

Many streaming devices have idiosyncrasies regarding how they function with the various streaming services that come with them, and this Blu-Ray player has two such idiosyncrasies:

1) Regarding VuDu While VuDu allows all consumers to browse its catalog via a device's VuDu app, in order to actually rent or purchase a video you must go online to create a VuDu account and store credit card information to which on-demand charges (from a device's app) will be posted. After you've created your online VuDu account and stored your credit card info there, if you go into this player's VuDu app and check your account info (from within the app) you will see the app stating that you have a credit card stored online but that the card has "expired" and that you must go online to update your credit card info even though the credit card that you've stored in your VuDu account has *not* necessarily expired. This is a "bug" known to VuDu but it is purely cosmetic and has no effect whatsoever on the functionality of the VuDu service and app as long as the credit card data that you've stored in your online VuDu account is current and otherwise valid, the app will let you proceed with renting, purchasing and viewing videos.

2) Regarding NETFLIX If you set this player to *automatically* check for its own firmware updates (through its Ethernet connection), at some point the player will begin to "forget" your Netflix account login information and require you to re-enter the information. This is a "bug" known to Samsung; the only known "work-around" is to disable the player's automatic checking for firmware updates (within the player's Settings menu system: "Settings" -> "Support" -> "Software Upgrade"), thus requiring you to perform such checks *manually* (which you also do within the same Settings menu).

Lastly, Samsung now strongly recommends that consumers of this player do a "hard re-set" immediately following EVERY completed firmware update. This is accomplished by turning the player on, making sure that there isn't a disc in the player, turning your tv on such that you can see the player's "home" screen, and then pressing and holding in the "Play" button THAT'S ON THE FRONT PANEL OF THE PLAYER (*NOT* the Play button on the remote control) for about 8 SECONDS until you see the message that the player's resetting itself to factory default settings. Unfortunately, this will then require that you once again manually reset most of the player's settings to those which you need and/or desire.

NOTE: If you do a "soft" system reset ("Settings"-> "Support" -> "Reset", which leaves certain settings unchanged) you will be asked for a PIN. Using the number buttons on the player remote enter whatever Security PIN you may have previously set; if you have not set one, enter 0000.

NONE OF THE ABOVE IS STATED IN THE CURRENT VERSION OF THE PLAYER'S USER MANUAL THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE UNIT'S BOX, and it's *VERY* important that you register your product with Samsung online so that they can email you with important information regarding the product's firmware, features, and operational procedure updates.

So far I've only had the player for about a month, but I'm already convinced that in spite of these idiosyncrasies I bought the best under-$80 (delivered) blu-ray player currently available.

12/24/2012 I'm still extremely happy with this purchase; it still functions as well as it did when I first bought it over 7 months ago. Additionally, Samsung has been very good at notifying registered owners via email of when its streaming video services may be temporarily interrupted due to scheduled system maintenance. However, the last firmware update for this particular model was issued by Samsung a few months ago and I'm not expecting the company to offer very many (if any at all) additional firmware updates for it as they now seem to be concentrating their Blu-Ray player update efforts pretty much entirely on their newer and somewhat more expensive "Smart Hub" streaming services models.

Buy Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Now

The player played videos intermittently at first, I was ready to return it. Then my husband (being the techinician that he is) thought that a firmware update might fix the problem. So we connected the player to the internet and downloaded the latest firmware and that fixed the problem. We didn't encounter any problems anymore when playing DVDs. Fair price for a neat product!

Read Best Reviews of Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Here

This Blu Ray player the (BD-E5300) is perfect for me! I don't stream movies via the internet (Netflix, Vudu, etc...) so I can't comment on how well is streams or if it freezes or not. I just use the player for my currect collection of DVD's and Blu Rays and let me say it plays them all just fine. The Blu Ray player upscales so good that it makes my DVD's almost look like Blu Ray discs. I also like the remote because it has an eject button and the remote can control your TV's volume and source. There is nothing wrong with this Blu-Ray player, it's pretty basic and that's all I need to play my DVD's and Blu Ray discs. Oh yeah, it has the "full screen" mode too, so just incase you have some movies that won't fit your screen, no worries this Blu Ray players takes care of that with that "full screen" mode option on the remote. No negatives about this player. I love it!!

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My husband and are completely disappointed with Samsung and this Blu-ray player. We purchased this in August and have literally thrown it in the trash in less than 6 months. The Blu-ray portion stopped working just a few months after purchase. We spent hours trouble-shooting from updating the software, checking the connections, etc. We then called customer support who had us do everything we spent hours doing the day before with no luck. They said they would have a tech call us back...no one called. My husband then put in for a service request. We were then told that we had to go through the trouble shooting online site AGAIN. Then we were told we could ship it to them (which would cost nearly $20 out of out pocket) and if they "do not find anything wrong", Samsung then charges $55. Unfortunately we were already outside of our Amazon warrenty and Samsung was worthless to deal with. My husband and I will no longer be buying anything Samsung after the horrible service we received.

DO NOT BUY!!! We literally threw it away!

If you're looking for a BluRay player, and don't need 3D capabilities or a web browser, then this just might be the best buy available. As another reviewer has observed, it's the best player in this price range. I'm giving it 5* because picking some nits for something this good at this price just seems unreasonable.

I've been very pleased with my Samsung TVs and BD players, they have proved to be excellent in video and sound quality (which to me is 90% of the evaluation). I bought this one to replace an older Sony BD player that was getting cranky with newer disks (even after updating). With this unit after I plugged in HDMI, ethernet cable, and power, it automatically turned itself (& the tv) on, and presented a simple configuration screen, and followed with an online update. After that, it was a pleasure to sit back and enjoy a movie.

I cannot honestly tell you that the picture from this was better than the one from my 2 year old Samsung BD-C6500 player, If there were any differences, they didn't jump out at me. The box itself is smaller and lighter, and instead of LED controls, this one has little buttons. Although those LED controls are cool-looking, I have to admit that these clunky buttons are a lot easier to find and use. The remote is smaller as well, and comes with Netflix & Pandora buttons (I don't like that, but others might).

I didn't test the streaming features, and probably never will, since my TV has streaming capability as well, and I tend not to use streaming that much.

I like the way the Samsung BD players integrate with the Samsung TVs, automatically turning on/off, and setting the optimal picture settings. I wouldn't buy them just for that, but it's a nice plus.

Friday, September 19, 2014

RCA BRC3109 10-Inch Portable Blu-Ray DVD Player

RCA BRC3109 10-Inch Portable Blu-Ray DVD Player
  • 10-inch widescreen LCD portable player for Blu-ray and DVD
  • Built-in rechargeable battery - for use anywhere
  • Outputs: HDMI 1080p and AV jacks; USB ports
  • Ethernet for accessing BD 2.0 and BD Live
  • AC adapter, car adapter, carrying bag with headrest attachments, and remote control included

First off: If you are only going to use this player as a portable device and never hook it up to an external TV, then it works pretty well.

My needs: I work for a company that is selling an audio device and we want a small Blu-ray player for demos. The RCA was purchased to use at customer sites so we didn't have to call ahead and check to see if they had a HDMI-capable display. For comparison, we have the Panasonic DMP-B500 which works very well, but it is twice the cost. We also have about a dozen different standard non-portable Blu-ray players we use.

Firmware used: 2.0.7428 (latest as of this review)

Issues:

Does not play BD-R discs. Some of our test material is on BD-R, so this is an issue. For a home user, if you ever want to play back HD home movies, this is not the player for you.

Huge lip-sync problem when using HDMI output. When playing back movies that have audio encoded in Dolby Digital or Dolby TrueHD over the HDMI output, there is a large delay between the video and audio. This one issue makes this product unusable for our needs. DTS Master Audio and LPCM content seem to be fine. Also, if you are just using the internal screen, it is fine. This is only an issue when you use the HDMI port. So, if you ever consider plugging this into a TV, you may want to reconsider.

Does not "bit-stream" HD audio over HDMI. Almost all Blu-ray players have a menu option to allow you to either stream the original high-resolution audio (like Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master Audio) over HDMI, or have it down-converted into a simpler format (TrueHD --> Dolby Digital or Master Audio --> DTS). This player does not have that option and only sends the lower-grade down-converted audio over HDMI. So, if you have a sound system that is capable of these latest codecs, this player wont let you use them.

Conclusion:

If you just want to play Disney Blu-rays for the kids in the back seat, this gets it done. If you want to have a flexible solution that can be a portable player and work in the home theater, the only option is the twice-the-price Panasonic.

Other: Amazon seems to be showing the picture for the BRC3108, not the BRC3109.

Buy RCA BRC3109 10-Inch Portable Blu-Ray DVD Player Now

I have to say I was very worried about buying this item and regretting it. I was never able to find a demo model. I am happy to say I really like it. A LOT.

It has a fantastic picture. While I am sure that it is not a 1080P LCD screen it is far better than any portable I have ever owned. I have owned about half a dozen or more portable DVD players and this one is FAR superior in the picture catagory. It is stunning. I did some research before my purchase and was not able to get the specs for the LCD and that was my one worry. I am very glad that it was not an issue. And I am VERY piccky about picture quality. At 10" it is one of the largest screens in the portable catagory and it is great.

Sound wise we have an issue. There are no buzzing, humming, or beeping sounds out of this unit, but the volume is too low. I think some people will be upset with how low it is. It is very crisp when played through the speakers and is OK if there is nothing else going on in the background. I figured headphones would be better. And, they were. Barely. I will have to pick up some headphones that have a volume control on them. Don't get me wrong, with the headphones the sound is perfect but sometimes you want a little louder that what this unit can produce. It came out of the box and the volume was already maxed out. I thought maybe it was low and I was wrong. Not a deal breaker for me simply because headphones with volume controls can fix that.

I tested the unit with BD, DVD, and DVD-R and they all played great. BD takes a little long to load but not too bad. I am just too used to the PS3 loading immediately. I did notice that DVD does not look nearly as good as BD does. That is a great indication that the screen is far better than 480P. BD is extremely crisp.

If not for the low sound volume I would have given this unit a full 5 stars.

At this price this unit is well worth the purchase.

UPDATE: I am now on my 3rd unit. The first one stopped playing Blu-ray altogether after a few hours. It would still play DVD but not BD. I exchanged it for a new model.

The new one died within 2 hours. It stopped my movie at the very end and turned off and then back on. It became a cycle where it wouldn't stay on. It also made a loud noise like the motor was stuck. I exchanged it this morning for yet another unit.

I immediately noticed several things with the latest one. It was very quiet compared to the other 2. I don't mean volume either. The unit was very quiet and loaded my BD fast and with no strange noises. Second thing I noticed is that the volume was greatly imporoved over the last 2 . It was plenty load out of the speakers. I have no complaints about the sound now. We'll see if this one lasts. I will be purchasing the 3 year service plan from Target if this one lasts the next couple of days. I just think the Target I went to initially received a faulty batch. I still stand by my 4 star rating.

Read Best Reviews of RCA BRC3109 10-Inch Portable Blu-Ray DVD Player Here

This player has a nice LCD and looks great, you can tell you are watching blu ray in high definition, I usually don't use computer animation to test picture quality but can't help but to admire how "crisp" they look.

I have a few disc playing DTS-HDMA and it was able to decode or at least grab the downmix from it. I have tested the HDMI picture it works just fine, 1080P compatible. But I have not tested the HDMI audio whether it can pass the downmix or bitstream (I think not likely), there appears to be no options to toggle this. In most cases this is not an audiophile's player.

I noticed it seems to load BDs faster than my standalone BD player, which was Sony's 2009 model.

Although it may seem pointless, one of the reason I bought this player is because it comes with composite A/V cable output, which is important to send the picture to a car A/V system, or you go to a hotel with an older TV. It also comes with home and car adapter and a nice fitting carrying case/bag. You can convert the carrying case to strap behind a headrest in the car; I think it's a pretty crude setup, and there seem to be no room to plug in the side connectors with the unit sitting in the bag. A little flap that opens on the side of the case to make these connections would have been nice.

The built in speakers is a bit weak, as in not very loud, but still stronger than most laptop speakers by a margin, and it should work fine in a quiet environment. There are 2 headphone jacks which is a nice touch, be prepared to crank the volume control all the way up, the player plays full dynamite range so the dialogue is a bit soft and explosion is still loud, as intended. But I am concerned if the volume might be too soft on an airplane, but then again you are stuck on the plane with your own 10" screen and watching blu ray, I figure you are already ahead of most passengers. One might need to shop around for headphones with more sensitivity.

I have hooked up the headphone jack via a Y cable to stereo receiver, this is completely analog, the amount of hiss is acceptable unless you press your ears to the tweeter of your main speakers. I have experienced no buzzing. I have also used the A/V output in my car with good results.

A couple of things "cons" I noticed, the battery is not replacable, not officially anyway, but it is lithium so it should last nicely.

And it says do not charge using the car adapter. There is a charge/OFF/ON, so the car adapter can still power the player in ON position indefinitely.

In conclusion, this is a pretty nice product and surprisingly from a entry level brand like RCA. Still a hefty price tag for some. Most people who has not seen HD played on a small LCD like this will argue you cannot tell between DVD and BD, maybe if you walk 4 feet away, but I can definitely tell the difference. Target seems to have good customer service, but I won't be bringing it back unless something goes very wrong soon.

EDIT: Aug 18. I noticed the unit has problem playing the sound of a few Universal movie titles with DTS-HD-MA sound track (King Kong, Death Race, HellBoy 2), I would only get sound on the left side only on those movies. I went on the website () and found a new firmware which I put on a USB stick. This fixed the problem. The firmware was not there when I first bought the unit.

I put in the my latest blu-ray Avatar (2009), the jungle detail looks amazing, especially when the chopper first fly in to drop off the Avatars. I will have to try the included DVD to see the PQ differences. For equipment reference I have a 54" Panasonic Plasma for my "regular" viewing.

The only problem I have now with Quantum of Solace which have 4 vertical thin lines on the screen. The problem seem to only be with this title, I tried other Fox titles and doesn't have this problem.

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Had this product for 2 weeks and took it on a trip to Florida with me. During several movies the video would skip or stop completely, and this was when it was on the table in the hotel room and not in a bumpy car. Then after about 15 blu-ray viewings, the player would not read the blu-ray disk and would say "bad disk". Several disks were tried and many were brand new. Every time the player would read "bad disk". The dvd reader continued to work but the play would no longer play blu-rays. This item was returned and I will be purchasing another brand.

Just got done using for a plane trip. Worked fime for all the movies we took. Could use a vloume boost, but very good unit.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Initial IDM-7110 7 In Portable DVD

Initial IDM-7110 7 In Portable DVDExcellent product, comes with rechargeable battery, car adapter, a/c power cord and remote control. You only need a carry bag, for the price was a great deal.

Can someone who owns this item, please make a posting to indicate if it will play CD-G format disks and PROPERLY SHOW the video?

Thanks.

Buy Initial IDM-7110 7 In Portable DVD Now

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Mede8er Med500x2 High Definition Multimedia Player

Mede8er Med500x2 High Definition Multimedia PlayerI bought this unit in October 2011 (not through amazon). I placed a 2TB internal Seagate Green HDD. All types of movie files are played by this media player without any problem. Occasionally, I would upgrade to the latest firmware made available at the manufacturer's website.

Although, I've had problems with connecting the 500X2 to a PC via USB3.0, which I found out to be a file system problem but the online community has been of great support and the firmware is being released to address any bug issues.

Note, if you will just use the unit for watching movies only, then this for you. If you intend to use it also for bittorrent downloading, then you may have to look somewhere else, since BT function is working but I've encountered several issues when trying to use this function.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Insignia HD Radio Tabletop Radio Black NS-HDRAD

Insignia HD Radio Tabletop Radio Black NS-HDRADI've been wanting to try HD radio for a while, and when a friend gave me a gift card for Christmas I plopped it down for this Insignia tabletop HD radio. I'm really pleased. I live in the middle of San Francisco and have never had much luck tuning in analog FM signals. They would fade and drift, hiss and squeal. This radio is the cure for that problem. With the built in telescoping antenna not extended I received 10 stations, 9 of which also had a secondary channel, for a total of 19 channels. When I extended that built in whip antenna I received 4 more stations, which when including the secondary channels came out to 7 more listening choices for a grand total of 26.

The unit doesn't sound bad considering it's size, but one if the first things I did was plug it into a decent 2.1 sound system Altec Lansing VS4221 2.1 Speaker System Music & Gaming System with Remoteand it is quite impressive. The radio seems to be quite bass heavy, which while not noticeable with its own speakers, shows up when plugged into an external amplifier. I just ran the bass way down on the external sound system and it sounds fine now.

I was hoping that HD radio would sound as good as streaming Internet radio, and it does. Here in the middle of the city I get all of the local HD radio stations and receive them flawlessly. I DO NOT receive the station broadcasting from the College of San Mateo (23 miles away) or the San Jose stations (47 miles away).

Also, I did not realize that this was an FM only radio when I bought it. Makes no difference to me, but it might to you.

Only small HD I could find. Sounds OK with built in speakers but great through my Bose. Would be nice to have AM too

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I wanted this radio for work to replace a small AAA powered AM/FM radio. This radio has great signal strength, crisp sound quality and the additional HD stations are a wonderful addition to the normal stations I listen to. The telescoping antenna hasn't been needed to pick up stations clearly.

Highly recommended!

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There aren't too many radios that pick up HD stations. Insignia is one of the very few companies that include HD in their tuners. This is the best HD radio I've seen. It's compact, takes four AA's and is very selective and sensitive in receiving signals. You probably have to be thirty miles or so from the station transmitter to receive the HD signal and it's subchannels.

I live about 50 miles from Wilkes Barre,Pa and 70 miles from Harrisburg. Most of the signals come in where I live, but the HD signal does not. This morning I was 35 miles from Wilkes Barre and two HD channels registered. I look forward to bringing this radio with me on the road to see what I can pick up.

This radio also has an RDS feature that displays the call letters and the song that is currently playing on stations that do have that feature. Only other portable that has this is Sangeans PR D5. Now, if that radio had HD capabilities, that would make that model the tops in it's field.

Finally, an easy, convenient way to listen to HD radio. Now, only if there were more of these sub channels and the industry began promoting them.

This radio is FM only and also features an Aux In, which is a bonus.

At $30 plus on Amazon and $40 at Best Buy, this is a very nice receiver.

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Audio quality is excellent, reception far better than the table top boom box it replaced. Love being able to get HD stations as easily as regular stations. I use it every day

Monday, July 14, 2014

Hauppauge 1183 WinTV HVR-1600 Internal PCI Dual TV Tuner/Video Recorder Media Center Kit

Hauppauge 1183 WinTV HVR-1600 Internal PCI Dual TV Tuner/Video Recorder Media Center KitThe installation instructions were abbreviated...a little too abbreviated. The drivers didn't install properly and I was afraid I had made a mistakein buying this card. I downloaded the newest software from the website, and in the process figured out what the problem was with the original install. Once I had that done I started to receive some channels, but not all. It was through a trial error process I was able to figure out that in order to receive all TV channels and FM radio I needed an antenna connected to all three inputs. It's not an easy trick because of the limited space between the connectors. It also makes the back of the PC a little messy. The instructions for the operation software were also quite brief and very vague, and that took some time to work through as well

But I eventually figured everything out and I'm glad I did. Using a P4 2.99 ghz and XP Pro SP 3 and an HP 2207h HD monitor the picture is as clear as it is on my large HDTV. I am very impressed. I've used the record function and it works very well, as does the screen shot feature. Now that it's up and working I think my wife could sit down and watch TV on it with little or no instruction from me, so that learning curve is very short.

Don't expect to stick this card in and be up and running in 5 minutes. And don't buy this card if you are a computer or a/v neophyte you'll be disappointed. But if you know your way around software installs and enjoy fiddling around with something like this and the satisfaction of getting it working it is does a VERY good job.

This was my first MythTV install, Mythbuntu 8.10, in a leftover P4 system. The HVR-1600 worked like a champ out of the box. The only thing I needed was an external channel changing script to control the IR Blaster for changing channels on my cable box.

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I bought this tuner to put in my Windows 7 computer. I have basic analog cable and this tuner is perfect for it. The install was easy, windows media center found the tuner right away. The tuner discovered all my cable channels. Now my computer is my DVR. It is amazing how flawless this works. It is a must have.

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I'm usin git right now. I'll tell you this; it took me around 15 minutes total to install and configure it with Windows Media Center 7. The picture quality is excellent, it picks up about all the channels our expensive HDTV can get (using the same type of antenna), and it just generally works great. Um, this works well with Windows 7 if you're wondering. I downloaded the latest driver from hauppauge's site (about 1.1 MB) and voila. Here're my system specs:

Core i7 920 @ 2.66 GHz

WD 640 GB Caviar Black

HD Radeon 4870X2

6 GB of tripple channel DDR3

Intel DX58SO Motherboard

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I am very pleased with the HVR-1600 Media Center Kit. I initially had trouble with the analog picture quality (Very grainy w/ bad color) and almost returned the card but decided to do a little checking around on google. I eventually found the answer to my problem. I had used the included Composite to S-Video adapter to feed the composite signal from my satellite box into the S-video port on the card and when setting up the card in media center I chose S-Video as the source (because I was feeding the composite signal into the S-Video port via the adapter). It turns out this was a mistake and the cause of my woes. I went back into media center and set up composite as the source and now the analog picture is excellent. I wonder how many others complaining of poor analog picture quality with this card have made the same mistake.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Cobra MR HH475 FLT VHF Waterproof Two-Way Marine Radio with Bluetooth

Cobra MR HH475 FLT VHF Waterproof Two-Way Marine Radio with Bluetooth
  • Floating Waterproof Design and Orange Core Makes Retrieving Radio Easy if Dropped Overboard
  • Bluetooth Wireless Technology & Rewind Say- Again Feature
  • All NOAA Weather Channels & Emergency Weather Alert
  • Tri-Watch Allows Monitoring of Three Channels at Once (2 user selected & channel 16)
  • Unlimited memory channels allows programming for easy retrieval or scanning

After some research I found this radio very intriguing and purchased it. It had a high rating and a must buy through a sailing web site. Being into sea kayaking it is very important that the radios we use are water proof. Having the floating feature along with the burp feature is a plus then along comes the blue tooth capability, I was sold. I couldn't wait to get my radio. First day out on the water I want to see how well it floated and check out the burp feature. Well it floated great to bad it quite working with in a minute of being dunked. I emailed and called cobra and no response I called cobra again and talked to a live person who transferred me to factory service where I left a massage. No response. I called again and found out the return procedures and sent the radio back at my expense. Now I am willing to say that not everything comes out the way it should and that I was unlucky and got a defective radio. Well two weeks later I get a new radio. What do you do when you have a problem with a product? You go test it and see if it will fail in those conditions again. Well radio number two failed at being water proof to the JIS7 rating. This radio lasted a few seconds longer then the first one. Played the phone tag game again with Cobra. This time I made them pay for shipping so I had to wait another week for the label to make it to me. Sent radio number two in and three weeks later I received radio number three. So far this radio has lived up to the JIS7 water proof rating. I like the features it has. But I am just wondering if and when it will quit on me, if it does I am requesting my money back from Cobra, three times and you are out! Cobra could have done a better job communicating and calling me back. I never got a letter of apology about two radios being bad and I had to do all the work on trying to get the radios returned only once did they call back and that was after I left a message saying that I was not impressed with their product or customer service.

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I purchased this radio for using on my Security job, and it is fantastic. It offers the most features for a great price, amazing range, crystal clear voice communications, and since it's lightweight and waterproof, it's not a burden to carry around. Since I'm on search and rescues periodically on a lake, the bluetooth feature is nice, as I can leave my phone securely in its pelican case and not have to worry about the radio getting wet.

All in all, this is hands down the BEST marine radio I've owned.

(I've used 4 or 5 other kinds at work, and eventually got this one for myself to make my life easier, and it was well worth every penny. I'd do it again in a heartbeat)

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I have been using this radio for just under a year now. About 4 months ago I noticed that I was not able to transmit like I should, but I figured the range was just being interfered with by something. I use this in a kayak so I'm always sitting really low to the water. Today I went to my buddy's dive shop and tested this radio next to his. I could not hear anything coming through on his radio from mine. After doing everything I could think of to get it to work, with no success, I decided to open it up. Now, you aren't supposed to do this, but I did anyway. Upon opening it up I discovered that the entire circut board was covered in corosion. Waterproof? Hardly. Submersible? I wouldn't. You would be just as well off spending less money on a radio that doesn't advertise itself as waterproof, and keeping it in a dry bag or something. $100 dollars down the drain! Also, the bluetooth function never really worked like it should. I got it to pair with my phone ONCE. It never paired again after that. WASTE OF MONEY!!!!!!!

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Good price/performance/functionality for a hand held to be used on a kayak or a small craft where occasional splashing is unavoidable. Blue tooth functionality lets you store your cell phone in a zip lock case for water protection while still be able to talk through the handheld for incoming calls. Blue tooth pairing with a Motorola Droid was straight forward. Weather and other channel scans help you aware of traffic in the area. Bright orange visibility, flotation with the rechargeable pack, and burp functions are very nice to have. Included is AA battery back pack that can provide additional talk time in case of emergency. Comes both with 110V and 12 V chargers and one charging crate. Could have used a second charging crate to secure on my 18 ft outboard. Include belt clip attaches to my kayak PFD and reduces clutter on a confined space sit on kayak while paddling and fishing. Easy to maintain, just rinse off the salt after using and use the burp function to self dry in a remote location.

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Ill be short and sweet. Both radio's that I received had a malfunctioning mic. standing 20 feet away from harbor patrol, yelling into the mic, and they heard nothing. Take care and find another radio,

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Thursday, June 19, 2014

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

NBOX 2nd Generation True 720P TV Media Player Manufacture Gift Pack - Play MKV with Enhanced Chipset & FirmwareI was looking for a simple media player that would be compatible with my old tube TV. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it either. Once I received it, I just hooked up the AV cables to the TV and followed the quick installation instruction provided by the seller. Within minutes, I was playing my first video. It was so easy to navigate through the menu. I'm playing .mp4 and .xvid files mostly. I had some minor issues but when I contacted the seller that he responded back within an hour and all problems were resolved. He even offered to take back the product and give me a new one. But everything is working fine now so I'm keeping it. The seller was very helpful and I appreciate great customer service as much as the good product. This is a good product that I'll be using for a long time. No complicated setup. Very simple to use and good picture quality.

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

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

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

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

With the price of this device, very good deal!

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

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

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

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

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

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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Creative ZEN Touch 2 8 GB Android Based MP3 and Video Player (Black)

Creative ZEN Touch 2 8 GB Android Based MP3 and Video Player
  • Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) enabled, which lets you connect to the Internet on-the-go within any Internet hotspot
  • This means you can surf the net or log-on to your favorite webmail site and correspond via email.
  • The intuitive 3.2" touch screen allows you to navigate with ease and responds to your every touch
  • Android 2.1 web browser with auto rotate and double-tap zoom features.
  • Built-in 2 MP camera lets you take photos and record videos.
  • Bluetooth 2.1 Wireless Technology works with all compatible stereo Bluetooth speakers & headphones such as the ZiiSound D5 & Creative WP-300.
  • * This means you can surf the net or log-on to your favorite webmail site and correspond via email.
  • Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) enabled, which lets you connect to the Internet on-the-go within any Internet hotspot.

Addendum 1/29/13:

I've seen a lot of reviews for this MP3 player, where people are having trouble finding apps, since Google Play is not available with this product. Besides Amazon.com, I've discovered 1mobile.com. It's great and completely accessible with the Zen Touch 2 (as well as the ZiiO 7 & 10). The site offers free apps, many of which are on Google Play. They offer an app for the 1mobile Market, which gets you to the site quickly right from the Zen. I've found apps that I couldn't get anywhere else. And, they are the most updated versions (which is not always true with Amazon). Just remember, as pointed out in other reviews ... this is an MP3 player with internet access. It's not powerful enough to do what most tablets can do with the internet and various streaming sites. It will freeze and malfunction if pushed to those limits. However, if you enjoy it as an MP3 player with additional internet features, you should enjoy it a lot. The sound is fantastic, with wired headphones or with Bluetooth headphones/speakers. I also use it for reading ebooks (using the Bluefire Reader), recording conversations with ease and stealth (using Easy Voice recorder app), and checking out sites on the internet (as well as getting my email).

I have a lot of experience with MP3 players, having owned many Creative Zen players over the years. So, when it was time to upgrade and retire my older players, I wanted to find one with Bluetooth capability and the ability to play music saved on MicroSD cards. Using MicroSD cards allows me to carry all my music (hundreds of albums) with me while traveling, without having to put all the music directly into the MP3 player's internal memory. After checking the information available for Creative's Zen M300, I decided to give it a try. Although it had all the features that I wanted and more, it did something that was very annoying for me. Specifically, it played the tracks from my albums (each album in separate file folders) off the MicroSD card in alphabetical order. I experienced this problem once before (with the Creative Stone MP3 player) and have never understood it. Why would any player be programmed to play tracks alphabetically instead of by track number? I get the idea of playlists. But, sometimes, you just want to put an album in your player (so to speak) and listen in order (like a CD ... or even a record!). This is especially important if you listen to classical music and operas, in addition to all the other music that you like. So, I wrote to Creative tech support, and they quickly responded noting that this could not be changed with this player; they suggested looking into the Touch2 which uses the Android operating system. I liked this idea, owning 2 Creative ZiiO tablets (with Android 2.2) and enjoying them and their ability to play music in proper order right off the SD cards.

So, I sent back the Zen M300 and ordered the Creative Zen Touch2. Now, I'm very pleased. First, it was a breeze to set up. The Android 2.2 operating system is easy to navigate and works really well. Like I noted earlier, I have a lot of experience with this OS from the ZiiO tablets. There are a few differences, but nothing significant. The touch screen works very well, although it takes a little practice and time to get used to the feel and amount of pressure needed. It was very easy to set up the wireless connection and then to connect to the internet. I've worked around google play by using Amazon's App store in the past. It worked great with the Touch2 as well. Connecting the Bluetooth to my headphones and wireless speakers was simple and fast. And, as expected from Creative's MP3 players, the sound is fantastic. Oh, and I almost forgot to emphasize that it reads the tracks in order to track number, not alphabetically with the installed player. If I wanted something more elaborate, there are plenty of music players that I could download from Amazon or another site using the WiFi and browser. Battery life has been good so far; I own a Creative universal MP3 charger which allows me to use an electric outlet instead of my computer's USB. I read other reviews that spoke about the player freezing up a lot. My player initially was frozen after the first charge for some unknown reason; I used a pin to reset the player (next to the MicroSD card slot), and it started with no problem. There've been no other freezing up problems since. I think the updated firmware (which was already installed on my player) should help the earlier versions to fix this problem. Overall, I'm very pleased with this new Creative MP3 player, which now uses Android and allows internet access, in addition to playing my music properly.

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Mostly use it for gym, morning jogs, bicycling, etc. I've dropped it so many times and it has never stopped working. Had an ipod, dropped it once, died. If you are looking for a player that keeps playing, this is it. Plus, it's super easy to use and stores videos. So I can put my workout videos on here too.

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I bought this because it has Bluetooth, so I was willing to put up with just about anything so I could use wireless headphones excercising. The Firmware is really buggy so maybe there will be a fix later. The issue I would not expect is that it freezes up ALL the time. Powering down, at the end of an album, using the explorer etc. So much you need a permanent paper clip handy so you can reset the device every time you use it. When it freezes it will drain the battery so watch out.

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Our daughter wanted a "Touch" mp3 player, but Apple is outlawed in our house. (My husband is an IT mangager and will not allow iTunes on our personal computers.) We both own Android phones and love them, but don't want our 12-year-old to have a phone yet. So...this was the next best deal. This Android based mp3 player works great. There is some work-arounds we've had to do to get important components on it for her, but with our familiarity with Android we're able to do it easy enough. I found her a sleep timer app so it would turn off in the night. I also found her an app especially for listening to audio books. She loves being able to get to her email on the wifi. She can also read books via a Kindle app attached to my account. The cost was also much better than an ipod with the same attributes. The only trouble we have that we can't figure out right now is that once we upgraded the device using the file on the Creative website, her wmv files don't seem to work anymore. They play only the audio and not the video. They worked before the upgrade. However, I have contacted Creative and they helping us out. We are still in the process of finding a solution.

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I've had this item for about 2 months now. It's an adequate MP3 player, but don't expect too much. If you're expecting it to behave like an iPod touch or a higher end Android based device, then you'll be disappointed. Like other reviews have mentioned, the software is buggy and you'll have limited access to Android apps. I loaded the Android Market App from the web, which the device doesn't recommend, but it does give you more access. You don't have full access to the Google Play Store and some apps won't function correctly or at all.

WiFi capabilities is handy because a file manager app allow you access to local network storage. Mobile versions of the web is also available, but at times sluggish and the screen is not very big. Touchscreen response is also sometimes delayed or not very responsive.

The camera is not too spectacular, but it does have that capability of taking pictures and video (make sure you have plenty of lighting because it doesn't have a flash). The Micro SD expansion slot is a plus for storage.

Battery life is not like other MP3 players I've tried that only last for a couple hours, but it doesn't last for 24 hours if you use it continuously for any function whether for music or surfing the web. It does last about 8 hours continuously (more or less) as an MP3 player from my experience. Having Bluetooth and/or WiFi on will drain battery so it will shorten how long you can use it before charging again.

For my purpose as mainly an MP3 player with Internet and Bluetooth capability, it is adequate although some of the interface is at times cumbersome. Again, don't expect an iPod Touch replacement because you will be disappointed.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

SanDisk Sansa Fuze 2 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)

SanDisk Sansa Fuze 2 GB Video MP3 Player
  • Listen, watch, and play all day with 24 hours of battery life and room for up to 500 songs
  • Watch your favorite video clips or share your photos on the 1.9-inch color screen
  • Digital FM radio with 20 preset stations
  • Voice recording with built-in microphone
  • Expand your existing 2 GB memory with the microSD/microSDHC slot

I did a lot of research before purchasing the Fuze. My research led me to narrow my choice to two options. One being the Fuze, the other being the IPod Nano. In the end I bought both units. The Fuze I paid cash for from Amazon, the Ipod I redeemed credit card points to obtain.

After having both for about a month now I don't understand why anyone would buy an Ipod. Other than the beautifully designed packaging and product it is the most difficult proprietary product out there. You have to use Itunes to register the unit and load music. In my case downloading Itunes messes with my Windows Media Player which I use as a player linked to a hard drive which is my in home music server. In order to fix the software conflicts between Itunes and Windows Media I had to resort to uninstalling Itunes which by it self did not solve the problem. Only after defragementing my hard drive did the problem go away.

The Sansa Fuze was so simple to load with music I was amazed. Simplily plug it in and drag and drop. It even gives you the option of specifying what type of music file you prefer (ie compressed or not). With storage expansion via card and an FM player it is fantastic.

So while I appreciate the visual design of the Ipod it is extremely over rated to me. Don't buy an Ipod unless you are only interested in looks over performance.

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The SanDisk Fuze is a great MP3 player. The 2GB Fuze costs half the price of an iPod and has many more features and is easier to use. The Fuze has a micro-SD slot so it's expandable for more music, videos, pictures, etc. The Fuze has a digital FM radio so you can catch up on news, sports scores, and listen to radio music as well. The Fuze also has a voice recorder with built-in microphone so you just talk into the machine and verbally record memos. But the best feature...and this is what sold me on the Fuze... is that works with the ubiquitous Windows Media software found on most PCs. You simply click and drag your music from your computer's library into the Fuze file, which I find much easier than Apple's complex and propriety music file system. The iPod is an icon, and there are a zillion accessories for it, but it doesn't hold a candle to the SanDisk Fuze. Don't be a robot and follow the crowd, break yourself free and go for the Fuze. SanDisk simply makes a better MP3 player with more features for a lot less money. Whether its the very tiny Sansa Clip with 3-line display, or the Sansa Fuze with a full screen, SanDisk MP3 players are a much better value. I am very happy with my Fuze and highly recommend it.

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The san disk fuze 2gb player is the best player i have owned. I had many mp3 players including an ipod nano. Some were very simple and others had all the bells and whistles, but this one is my best buy yet. Very good sound quality and video quality. I been look for a multimedia player but didn't want to shell out money for an expensive player like the new nano. And I didn't want one that was going to break or not be to do what i wanted even if the price was reasonable. This one was exactly what i was looking for and the price was very reasonable. I especially liked that memory can be expanded up to 10 gb with 8 gb micro sd card. I enjoy my player and hope to get many years of use from it. I highly recommend it whether the 2, 4 or 8 gb fuze.

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I'm really not much of a music person, and put off getting an mp3 player until a recent vacation. My last portable music device is the Walkman, so bear with me. I was really impressed with this mp3 player, and thought it was definitely a great buy (especially comparing to Apple products). I also love that I can just drag MP3 files off my computer without having to use a proprietary format or a particular program in which to organize my MP3 files. It was very simple to just drag to the correct folder (music for most) and I was good to go. Vista recognized it as an MP3 player and allowed me to just open folders. There is a music organization program that came with it, but I just ignored that for now.

I did drag a couple of stories and put them in the Audiobook folder, as well as a few podcasts which have their own folder as well.

I honestly didn't listen to it a ton, but I was impressed with the battery life, and I didn't have to use my USB power adapter that I picked up just in case I needed to recharge on my trip.

You can also use a Micro SD card for more storage, but I haven't tried that out yet since 2 GB is plenty enough for me. I haven't tried out the video option, but that may encourage the use of a card.

It is a very sleek looking device that is simple to use, holds plenty of music, simple interface, seems to have a good battery life, very compact at a great price. I highly recommend.

I bought this because im not a big fan of Apple's iPod. When i first bought it, i loved it. Then when i sync my music, battery fried. Brand new, first day use and already fried up. So i went and returned it and i got a brand new one. 8 months later, i install a microSD and i fire it up with my new tunes, delete one song and battery fries again. So i checked my SD Mini, not a problem, so i know its a defect on the Sansa Player. If you buy this, get a warranty just in case. I'm gonna be RMA this one a second time. I'm pretty upset.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

First Alert D575 Digital Wireless Security Recording System

First Alert D575 Digital Wireless Security Recording SystemThis wireless camera w/dvr recorder is very easy to setup and use. I own a similar Lorex system and this budget red alert is almost as good. The range is great and pairs up easily additional cameras.

I use it at a small business to keep an eye on customers and employees as well and works perfectly even at night. Since it's a digital system it virtually gets no intereference, not even from the wireless router.

Cons

Doesn't record from 2+ cameras simultaneously.

SD cards won't hold much recordings, but then again no DVR SD system will.

Summary

I've read other reviews and it isn't bad as they say. I mean sure this first alert is a budget security system but i still believe that for the price is a great deal.

I purchased the First Alert D575 Security Camera System for at my seasonal campsite. I've had problems with a neighbor lady that has mental problems spraying my bushes with grass & weed killer. The camp grounds manager hasn't done anything about it. So my wife and I decided to catch her doing it on video. Then I plan on calling the State Police and filing charges!! I found the system fairly easy to install. I had it installed in a matter of a couple of minutes. When it came time to set it up; this was another story!!! First Alert advertises it as having "motion activated technology". I had a real problem trying to get it set up for motion activation only!!! There's a setting for X-15sec-10sec-15sec blasts. I couldn't get it to record without being in one of these settings. They sent a 2GB SD Card along with the system. It filled the card up in no time!!! I played around with it for about 3-4 hrs the next day. Still I couldn't get it set up to "motion only". I figured I had better get a larger SD Card if this was going to be the case. The next day I called First Alert to see what the largest size card was I could put in it. The guy at First Alert told me that he thought it was a 2GB SD. After I spoke with him I checked the "Users Manual" and watched one of First Alerts sales videos. The manual said up to a 16GB SD Card will work and the video also said the same thing. I explained my problem of not being able to set it up on "motion activated only" to the guy at First Alert. He told me that there was a "icon" about 12 o'clock that indicated it on the front of the reciever. At the time I only had my "Users Manual" in front of me and that there wasn't any thing like that on the front of the reciever. I was calling him from home at the time. He told me to call him back when I had the unit in front of me. I also told him that there were things like a "Power Saver" mode mentioned in the "Users Manual" but actually I couldn't find that setting on any of the settings!!!! He couldn't tell me what was with that!!! I returned to my camp site. Called this guy back at First Alert but thre was no answer at his office. I decided to play around with it for another hour or so. I found that the "camera" on the remote control has to be clicked on and the red "REC" and the red counter will flash across the TV screen when the motion sensor is activated!!!! When I first clicked this on it appeared that it was video recording all the time. So other users "Be Ware"!!!! First Alert needs to review or revise their "Users Manual"!!!!

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So the system itself works great for the price, the motion detection only has about 10ft of range so it's hard to put the camera in an inconspicuous location. The major issue with this system is that it advertises that it won't interfere with your wireless Internet connection it actually dramatically slowed down our Internet. We tried moving the camera, reciever, and Internet routers away from each other... As soon as the camera is on and communicating with the reciever, we lose 15mbps of speed, effectively cutting our Internet speed in half.

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

SquareTrade 2-Year Office Protection Plan (Below $50)

SquareTrade 2-Year Office Protection Planthis item did operate as expected. It was also marred by scratches on the cover. I have no more words for it.

I really like Square Trade. They offer great protection plans at an incredible price. I received the paperwork in record time and will uses them again anytime I purchase an item that needs added protection.

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We ordered net talk and so far so good.

I think it is good to have this protection plan as we didn't know what net talk was about.

So for that I am grateful!!

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I brought this to supplement protection for a cordless phone system I ordered. I give it 5 stars because it provided me with liability and damage protection. The best part about it is that I got it for a great price and it covers me for 2 full years. You cannot go wrong with that!!

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The coverage started before I got the product and I was not clear as to what I was to do with the email received. I finally got a piece of paper in the mail which indicated that my coverage was in effect.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

LG GW525 Calisto GSM Unlocked Phone with Camera--International Version with Warranty (Aqua Blue)

LG GW525 Calisto GSM Unlocked Phone with Camera--International Version with WarrantyWhile I wouldn't compare it with any of the high end phone, the GW525 gives lots of functionality for its price point. It has the touch screen like the KP500, as well as a full QWERTY keyboard for those who like a keyboard for typing.

The camera works fine, and after setting it up on the T-Mobile network, you can use the internet and send MMS.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

16 LED 140°dual Wide Angel Lens - X8000 Vehicle Blackbox GPS G-sensor Car Camera/car Dvr

16 LED 140°dual Wide Angel Lens - X8000 Vehicle Blackbox GPS G-sensor Car Camera/car Dvrthanks . this is a nice item and very usefull . perfect for a car when you are working or else

This device works very well. You can begin to use it once you get past the Chinese font characters. When you first turn it on you have 2 options in Chinese. Pick one, and when it gets to the next screen press the "menu" button. Scroll down toward the bottom and you will find a symbol of a "person with a dialogue bubble" that's where you can change the language. After selecting the language sub-menu you will see "English."

It's easy to operate, captures quality video and has a remarkably clear audio capture even outside the vehicle.

The playback on the computer is easy to operate as well and organizes all the footage seamlessly into individual recording sessions which are broken down further into 60 second segments. You can pick and choose which segments to save, lock (so it wont get recorded over), delete.

The SD card should be a "class 6" but I am using a "4" and it works fine. You cannot use computer playback directly from the camera, you have to take the SD card out and read it individually.

The night vision works, but after it's dark it pays to have brighter headlights in regards to the camera's visibility. Still, it will capture any evidence of an event that occurs to the vehicle via the built in G-sensor, and the camera does capture video from outside the back window if you point one lens that way so other vehicle headlights can be seen behind you at night.

It's a pain to un-clip it from it's mount. Sometimes I'm afraid to leave it in my car window and it's difficult to un-clip.

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