Showing posts with label portable digital recorder review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portable digital recorder review. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Samsung EPL3PHPBEGCAN Tablet HDTV Adaptor 30pin

Samsung EPL3PHPBEGCAN Tablet HDTV Adaptor 30pinThis adapter works by allowing me to plug my Samsung Tablet into my tv using an HDMI cable. The only thing that was not mentioned in the product description is that you have to plug the power source into the adapter in order for it to work. So, you will need a dedicated outlet for the adapter to work.

Works great! I am able to see everything clearly. Really satisfied with this product. Very easy to use and to connect.

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It's good but it's pity that this doesn't work with Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. I hope this kind of product will have better compatibility to work with similar devices.

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Good product, easy to use and works every time. Would recommend for anyone looking for the flexibility to watch video from your tablet on hdmi devises.

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Friday, October 10, 2014

ZMODO 8CH H.264 Security DVR Video Surveillance System with 4 Day Night Cameras & 500GB HDD

ZMODO 8CH H.264 Security DVR Video Surveillance System with 4 Day Night Cameras & 500GB HDDGreat picture, easy to set up. Just make sure you run the wire in the right direction. We ran all four wires through the attic and then discovered the ends of the wires were different. We had every wire backwards..

Decent system for the price. However, the camera mounts are extremely limited in your mounting options. The mounts in my opinion limit you to only a couple camera angle options, and in some installations I could see the mount having to be replaced with one that would allow you to mount the camera properly. Also ZMODO, why would you not at least include one or two Video Surveillance warning signs or decals in the box? That way when you have it installed you can be ready to go legally. Not having to order in or go purchase a sign off the get go, I can understand not sending a dozen signs in the box, but at least one or two would be of some help. The quick setup instructions are lacking, but if you have a day to kill and want to read the included complete owners and setup manual you have that option available to you as well. It's okay for the price, and with the camera's and warning signs in place hopefully it is more of a deterrent than a system I will have to call upon if needed.

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Easy to set up, all the cameras work well, really nothing wrong with this as far as an inexpensive system.

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Excelent product good quality, the shipping excelent, and the description is really like the publication, i am happy with my order and everything is excelent

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I am very happy with my system the picture quality is better then I expected and the DVR is easy to set up and use! This is a great buy!

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Friday, October 3, 2014

TosLink to Mini Optical Cable, 2m

TosLink to Mini Optical Cable, 2mAcer Ferrari newbook wouldn't tell me from customer service but THIS is the proper cable to get digital audio output over to my outboad DAC. My little netbook now has place of pride in a second small but very "high end" audio system in my study. The tip of this headphone jack cable has a hidden fibre optic wire to send digital out of the Acer using spdif-optical. The other end is your typical optical fibre optic spdif plug for audio "in."

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Roku SoundBridge M500 Network Music System

Roku SoundBridge M500 Network Music System
  • Wireless digital music receiver for streaming music from a PC or Mac to any home stereo or surround sound system
  • Native support for Apple iTunes and Rendezvous, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Player 10, and Rhapsody
  • Compatible with Windows Media DRM 10 music services, including Napster, MusicMatch, and Walmart.com
  • Easy-to-read 40-character, 2-line LCD display shows artist and title info; built-in WiFi card slot (card included) and Ethernet interfaces
  • Ultra-fast 400 MHz Blackfin DSP; measures 10 inches wide by 2.37 inches in diameter; 1-year warranty

Roku's Soundbridge units don't work with all routers, so before you think wireless music is within your sites, do your homework. To Roku's credit, they offer a list of, and rate compatability factors for, most of the common routers consumers are using at home. CHECK THIS LIST CAREFULLY before you buy this product or you might end up with some expensive audio equipment that only works if you go WIRED. Also, Roku has a nice discussion board forum on their site, and you can get a realistic idea about issues concerning the pros and cons of their products. If you do buy something that doesn't work, they do offer a 30 day-no-questions-asked return policy. Bottom line is CHECK OUT THEIR SITE b4 u buy anywhere else.

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Received this unit last night. Had it set up in minutes! Instructions were simple, configured to my wi-fi with encryption, no problem. Found my computer, no problem, didn't find my napster library added the folder with my music to the shared folder, then worked no problem. Internet radio station no problem. It will drive headphones directly if you want, has volume control on remote. Would be great driving computer speakers. Even shows time and date when off.

With napster it is really great. I can load up my computer with thousands of tunes and then put the M500 anywhere in the house and have access to all the tunes. One of the few devices that can do this with "rented" music.

I highly recommend this device.

The 500 has all the features of the bigger brothers but not the slicker display. However the LCD is plenty readable. The VU meters are a bit slow (not a big deal). It comes with the Wi-Fi card (which you install used to be an option I guess) so it is really ready to go out of the box. If you have napster, rapsody, yahoo music or a lot of your CD's ripped to MP3, WMA or AAC than you should consider this.

What you can't do (maybe true of all "streaming" devices) is fast forward or rewind inside a track. This can be problematic with long tracks if you want to hear a section again.

Finally I have napster to go and an Iriver player. On the Iriver the gaps between tracks are long while the player loads the next track, this can be annoying on classical or spoken word works. The Soundbridge doesn't have this problem. I think because the computer can stream the next track faster than the portable Iriver could. (this is a DRM WMA issue, for the Iriver and not an issue with MP3's).

Read Best Reviews of Roku SoundBridge M500 Network Music System Here

Within 20 seconds of plugging it in I was playing music from my iTunes music library on my Powerbook. Simply could not have been any easier. Excellent sound quality. Streams internet radio stations (including any in the iTunes Radio tuner and tons more) -it more than replaces XM or Sirius anywhere you have internet access.

Minor downsides: Remote could be designed better, and would be nice if it used 802.11g instead of b (since tests have shown that one "b" device slows down the whole "g" network), but these are minor complaints in relation to how well the SoundBridge works and how easy it is to use.

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Finally bought after several weeks on research. It works well; easy to connect to ITunes and Rhapsody (my two favorite music servers).

Just a few notes

1) The manual is a bit hard to follow especially concerning wireless connectivity.

2) Will not stream Itune files ripped using Apple lossless really big deal for me since I use lossless as my default.

3) 802.11b instead of g no big deal to me; my network performance is mostly gated by the speed of my DSL connection.

The biggest problem is setting it up. If all works well when you first plug it in great. Else be prepared to search through the tech support documents and the user forums.

Everything the other reviewers claim is true.

It was easy to set up, was found instantly by my wireless router and is reliable and responsive. It is served music by my PC's Windows Media Player and Media Connect which you must download if you're using WMP 10.0. If you're using WMP 11.0 the music server is already built in.

The unit will show up as an icon in your 'My Network Places' window and by right clicking it (the icon) you can Invoke' a web page to configure your settings, see what you're playing and cut, copy and paste Internet Radio Station urls of your choice.

Yahoo also has a cute (did I say that?) little Widget to control the Roku from the Server PC or any other PC that's on your network....and with album artwork too...So if you're in one room with the Widget and the Roku is in another, you can advance, replay, pause and adjust the volume from the PC that you're at!

Music is such a large part of my life and this little gem teamed with either MusicMatch, Yahoo Unlimited Music or my own 'ripped' library give me complete control over my music listening needs.

Do not pass go, do not consider any other music client...I promise that the Roku of any numeric ilk will do exactly what you want.

If need be, please eMail me for further info about this or any other item that I've reviewed.

Peace Out,

Warren

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Genius DVR-FHD590 Full HD Vehicle Video Recorder with 128-Degree Wide Angle and G-Sensor

Genius DVR-FHD590 Full HD Vehicle Video Recorder with 128-Degree Wide Angle and G-Sensor
  • FHD Vehicle recorder for high definition video recording
  • 2.4" panel for focusing and video file playback
  • 128 degree wide angle, no video distortion
  • Built-in high power LED for low light conditions
  • G-Sensor prevents emergency recording overwrite
  • Motion detection function enable dynamic recording

I searched and searched for an affordable HD dashcam and this was one of the products I found during my search. I previously owned a Genius dashcam and it worked fine but it was not a true High Def. but this FHD590 was very impressive. The video during daylight was very clear and I was able to read license plates of vehicles in front of me and to the side of me. But what was really impressive was the night video quality. Wow! It was almost clear as day. I am 100% satisfied with this product.

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We conducted a complete review of this unit and found it to be very impressive. Rear TFT LCD, high power LED for low light and HDR technology for ideal light were very strong aspects of this unit, although the features continue to impress.

http://technologyx.com/digital/genius-introduces-dvr-fhd590-vehicle-recorder/

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Sony DCR-SX40 Palm-Sized camcorder with 60X Optical Zoom (Silver)

Sony DCR-SX40 Palm-Sized camcorder with 60X Optical ZoomMy first impressions of this small camcorder are very good. The size is perfect as it fits in your purse so it is available at all times. How many times have you thought I wish I had my camera. The battery last about one and a half hours,it is a infolithium battery, which means that you can see how much time you have left on it. Plus it will hold and retain its charge over time. The record time on sp is about 85 minutes. This camcorder will accept up to a 16 gig memory card. And, you can purchase additional batteries with longer record time. The number of the batteries range between np-fh50 to np-fh100. The touch screen is simple and easy to use. It is powered up when the lcd screen is opened. The controls all have a good placement.The zoom is great works quietly and quickly. The sound is also very good(I could hear every bite the cat ate,the screech of the rocking chair and even the tv which was turned low.)No it is not hd but the picture is very good. This camcorder has a quality build and a Carl Zeiss lens. Because of the features, you would expect this small beauty to be more expensive. So in the end you get quite a lot of bang for your buck.I wanted to add that with a 8 gig card you get an additionl 174 minutes(nearly 3 hrs. additional record time.The npfh50 battery gives you 3 hrs of additional charge. When this two items are added you have nearly 4 and a half hours of record time. Also, the camcorder allows you to choose to record on the internal memory or the memory stick. Plus Amazon has the best prices on the battery and memory card.

I was torn between the Sony SX40 (or SX41) and the Canon FS200. They were similar in price, and the reviews here and elsewhere offered comparable raves and rants. I went with the Sony SX 40 because it comes with internal flash memory: even if you lose or corrupt your data stick, you can still film right to your camera. For the Canon you can only film to a data stick; this adds about $50 to the price because you must purchase it separately. Also, the Sony SXs save their files as MPEG-2s, which I have heard are more compatible with various software than the Canon's MOD files.

I love the SX40's compact size, the feather lightness, the intuitive simplicity of filming, and the clarity of the movies on our TV screen. I do not love the short battery life and long recharge time.

I was also troubled by camera's filetype and the bundled Picture Motion Browser software. Other reviewers have made similar complaints, so I was ready for the glitch but still frustrated. The problem here is that the MPEG-2 files the camera creates have special DVD encoding. They require a top of the line computer system if you want to view them and edit them, even with the included software.

I'm running Windows XP Service Pack 3. My film files appeared in the Picture Motion Browser as a white screen with a grey "broken" icon. I had to download DirectX9 from Microsoft, and also download the most up-to-date graphics card driver, in order to view my files through Picture Motion Browser. I had no luck at all viewing the files in Windows Media Player. You can pay Microsoft for a download of the correct decoder for Windows Media Player, however:Everything worked fine on my husband's newer Windows Vista system -no tweaking required.

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Tried for the first time at a school concert where I sat at the back of the auditorium as I do not want to disturb others as I might be fussing with the unit. With the 60x optical, it came out very well. Even managed to zoom into the individual face. Picked up the music played clearly without any problems. The battery that came with the unit has maximum of abt 1 and half hours. Not enough for most and would need to buy a higher capacity battery. Would need additional memory as 4Gb would not be enough at least for me.

The unit is so small, it fits onto your palm nicely. Probably too small for those with big hands!! When watched taped movies using my analog TV, it is much clearer than the old tape camcorders. Still pictures taken was just as good, obviously without the results as a still camera.

No conversion issues/problems. The software that came with the unit simply provides the managing of the taped contents to your hard drive with ease.

No frills, great simple camcorder that takes good movies without the worry of messing with controls, settings etc.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCR-SX40 Palm-Sized camcorder with 60X Optical Zoom (Silver) Here

Hopefully this "review" will be helpful to other Mac users, as it took me several hours to figure this one out. I thought I could just drag and drop the files from the camera to my Mac. While you can do this, there will be no audio on the files.

Here is the fix:

Import the files directly from the camera using iMovie. Once imported, the files will be .mov and you can do what you want with them. That's it!

(Note: I was using Mac OSX 10.5.6 and iMovie 7.1.4).

P.S. As of 5/27/09, the photo showing the "silver" version of this item is incorrect. Chose one of the other colors to see what it really looks like.

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Pros:When I opened the box I was delighted to find that it is so small and light (with battery). The zoom is too good. Got some great pictures outsides but insides best results require manual adjustment of the exposure. Like the fact that there is HD. Sound recording is also amazing. It was recording both distant and nearby rumbles. The image stabilization helps a lot.

Now the Cons: Battery life of 1 hour... When traveling I will for sure need an extra battery. The other downside is that although this has photo and video function, the photo function is too poor. Any ordinary camera will do a better job. I have also read reviews of some 'other' camcorders where people complained about photo functions. This is my first camcorder so I don't know if there are good ones that takes both picture and video. You cannot rely on this camcorder for pictures. If you owned this MAKE SURE you carry a camera for important ceremonies/pictures. The other option is to take still pictures from video. But I have not tried that so cannot comment on that.

I will be using it for home videos so it is a very good buy for $300.

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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

NowBible, The Word of Promise NKJV Now Bible, Audio Visual, MP3, PDA, Dramatized Electronic Bible

NowBible, The Word of Promise NKJV Now Bible, Audio Visual, MP3, PDA, Dramatized Electronic BibleFunctionally this is a great product and contains many well thought out features, but it contains many typos and mistakes in the text portion. You cannot rely on the text as correct. IT IS NOT AN ACCURATE TEXT BIBLE. I notified the manufacturer 5 months ago about the errors and they said an update that corrects the many mistakes would be available in May, 2011. It is now July, 2011 and Now Bible Customer Service has stopped responding to my email inquiries. Do not purchase this product if you want an accurate Bible!

UPDATE on May 10, 2012: I believe that Leonard Williams, who wrote a review for this product on Feb. 2, 2012, is Vice President of Sales/Marketing at the Danteck Group (mfg for the NowBible,) and is also President and General Manager at The KJV Store. For him to post a review of this product without disclosing this information is misleading. If he is in fact the same person, he will be biased and readers should take his comments with caution. Before you purchase this product do yourself a favor and look at their web site to make sure they have made necessary corrections available. NowBible's home page is While on the home page click on software updates. Leonard states an update would be available on March 1, 2012, which as of this posting is now over two months past.

It is beyond my expectations. I'm just finishing the four gospels and they really come to Life! Terrific theater of the mind! Lou Gossett Jr as John is wonderful. Superb cast! Music isn't overbearing and really adds to the mood. I walk a mile a day, and this is what I listen to. I dropped it once, no problems. Case is slippery. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that when I'm active, it's very easy to hit the cross reference button (which is a great feature.) I learned how to hold it so I don't bump that button anymore. Long battery charge, and replaceable rechargable battery! You can add a micro sd card for 8 more G's.

I've been listening to the NIV dramatized for several years, and this is a refreshing change, even more enjoyable.

I've already recommended it to a friend who wants to use it while she is crafting.

Indoors it's very easy to read the text with the audio. You can change the text size for older eyes, and can even change the red text (Jesus) for normal text color if you have problems seeing it.

This unit is very well thought out and user friendly.

The back of the unit has a not-so-bad speaker! I've used it while sharing the audio with someone.

It also has an FM transmitter, so if you have a new car-not like my old buggy-you can plug it into your radio and listen to it through your car's speakers. It doesn't have an FM reciever, but you can download podcasts to it via a computer. The manual is TINY! There is a PDF version of the manual at their website.

This is one of my favorite purchases!

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This is an absolutely brilliant product with a battery life of 8 to 10 hours approximately. However, I ended up purchasing it at an online auction site with a buy it now option that was twenty bucks less than what this seller is asking.

The dramatization really keeps my attention and draws me into the stories. It's as if you are there watching the events literally unfold before you. The music is spectacular with beautiful orchestration that is tastefully done; it doesn't overpower the voices or distract from the dramatization at all.

Read Best Reviews of NowBible, The Word of Promise NKJV Now Bible, Audio Visual, MP3, PDA, Dramatized Electronic Bible Here

After reading the former review, I was skeptical about this Bible so I wrote directly to the NowBible company. I received a speedy response. The rep was very professional, kind and thorough. He explained the situation which was not as it seemed and certainly miniscual. I purchased The Word of Promise NowBible and have listened to it for a couple hours now. I am thrilled with it! The Word IS life, but this audio Bible brings further lifealmost a 3D effect. One can tell there is true passion and anointing! I was able to search quickly for verses. The entire Bible is contained on this. I could read and listen at the same time. The voices were a joy to listen todefinitely not monotone. The soft music and other effects in the background are perfect and I could almost visualize the words coming to life, as they had long ago. I was an English Major, and I won several spelling bees growing up, so I had to wonder at the poor rating!? This is a tool of excellence! There are several enhancements on this compact audio Bible. It is quite portable and well made. Congratulations to all who labored to present this quality product!

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I am so happy with this!! the sound is awesome! I listen while I am relaxing! its wonderful I would recomend it to everyone!

Friday, May 30, 2014

Optical Quantum Coated, 4.7GB 16x DVD-R White Inkjet Hub Printable Using Taiyo Yuden DVD-R 100 pack

Optical Quantum Coated, 4.7GB 16x DVD-R White Inkjet Hub Printable Using Taiyo Yuden DVD-R 100 packI love the Semi Glossy look. Disc code, does show; Taiyo Yuden 03. But, I never got coasters, on TY products before. Wondering, if these are really is TY discs. Too many coasters. Got 6 in a row, during one burning session. 1 out of 11; today.

After these are gone, I'm Going back to TY watershed. Tried to save money, with these. Rough, going through a whole burn, then after verification, to find out the disc is no good. Usually burn @ 12X, using TY's. With these, after a couple of coasters in a row; I reduced the burning to, 8X; still got failures. Printing looks good, but I'm not in the coaster business; and who prints on a coaster?

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Olympus VN-1800 Digital Voice Recorder

Olympus VN-1800 Digital Voice RecorderReview for Voice Recorder VN 1800 and VN 900.

Pretty good machine, does basically what I need it to do !

Overall good value and functionality for the price.

Although this is not the perfect device of my dreams with all the features I would like to see

it is a good replacement for my old voice recorder...

I bought the VN 900 with advertised 90 min of recording time.

The fact is on high quality you get 22.5 minutes and that is plenty enough.

Before I had 11 minutes which I never used.

Remember this is a voice recorder to take notes and reminders that you would

otherwise put on sticky notes, not a recorder for whole meetings. If you look

for a recorder for meetings you are in fact better off with a tape recorder.

For taking notes it is great because you can do it while riding a bike, a car, on a plane,

where ever you are and want to take a note, without taking out a note pad and end up

with messy pieces of paper.

Best ideas usually come, when you least expect them so be prepared to take a note.

Record with high quality, I agree.

The use of low sensitivity on the microphone is very useful.

If low sensitiviy is used, it significantly reduces background noise.

With my old recorder I had problems understanding what I said when recording

notes on airplanes or in noisy plant setting. Not so with this unit on low sensitivity.

On high sensitivity the background noise is very disturbing.

If you talk into the mic low is you setting of choice if you want to record a whole

room then high is.

I agree that automatic voice recording does not work and so far never has on

any device I have seen. Just don't use it. If you use the machine for notes,

you won't need it.

Stop button on top is in deed confusing, but the logic is that it is right below the

record button. This takes some getting used to.

I did not find a use for the clip either but it is not in the way so who cares.

I agree that the hold button is somewhat of a nuisance.

However, if the unit is left on long enough it goes into a sleep mode by itself.

Unit works well with rechargable NiMH batteries so that it does not add to

the toxic garbage pile created by used batteries.

One hand operation is not a problem, not a problem to handle while driving.

Possible Improvements:

1. A feature I would like to see is an integrated stop watch.

2. Erasing is a pain because when you push it after the message has played

it erases the next message not the one just played. One has to be careful.

3. I would prefer if the machine stayed on the message just played

instead of jumping to the next one.

4. I would prefer if the unit would always come up with folder A instead of the last

folder that was open.

5. I would prefer to have easier access to the folders instead of having to cycle

one way through them.

6. I would prefer to always see the recorded date and time when on a message

instead of the current time. This makes it easier to know what the message

is and makes it easier to classify them.

7. I would like to just have plain alarm function for a wake-up call but it is okay

as it is, when the alarm sounds I get a message when I silence it.

8. Setting the alarm is the same problem as erasing. If you set the alarm once

the message has played you set it for the next message not for the one

you just heard.

Eberhard.

The new VN1800 from olympus is a very good product! I see it as a next generation compared to my older VN90. The most impressive differences to me are the smaller size and the better sound. There is also a fourth directory and buttons are more intuitive with the jogdial. The size is now about 3 inches versus 4 inches, allowing the VN1800 to hold in a pocket without deforming it or hurting. The sound quality in HQ mode is very crisp allowing to better recognize all kinds of sounds, even mixes of noises, voices and music. It is no longer a struggle to understand voicenotes I took in my car with ambiant city noise.

The consomation is low: i measured about 0.1mA standby, 40mA play (low volume) 30mA rec mode. So batteries must last a while

I also did a test of replacing the batteries within reasonable time (10sec) and thank god the messages were not lost.

The VN1800 will always be with me, attached to my keys with an extendable cord.

Note: sometimes under harsch frictions and pressure the tiny 'hold' button accidentally shifts and the unit starts recording. For this I simply cut off the 3 grooves of the button

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I originally purchased this recorder to take minutes in meetings. In both HQ and SP modes, the quality of recording is very good for this purpose, assuming use of headphones when transcribing. In an outdoor setting, with people seated around a standard size folding table and holding the recorder so that it can be pointed toward the person speaking, the VCVA (voice activation) function was an excellent performer, even with a few people who mumble, and saved having to deal with blocks of silence. In LP mode, the quality of recordings is awful, but still salvageable (laborious task of playing file into computer as a wave file, then performing noise reduction on file) allows use of such files. If the time provided by SP is adequate for your purposes, this is an excellent and cost effective choice.

Read Best Reviews of Olympus VN-1800 Digital Voice Recorder Here

Although this digital voice recorder's (DVR) customerand editorial reviews are accurate, they fail to identify one important flaw!

With a DVR, (unlike audio microcassette recorders) you can NOT rewind over an erroneous word and rerecord it. If you are using the DVR to dictate, you will not be able to back up and restate anything said in error.

This is a major drawback.

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I selected the VN-1800 after looking at many dictating devices on the Internet. I use mine for recording my thoughts and diary entries on the go. It's small enough to fit nicely into my pocket, and the Hold switch never accidentally slides open. It's large enough to rest comfortably and securely on four fingers of one hand, leaving the thumb free to operate the buttons.

HQ mode along with low mic sensitivity catches my voice clearly and holds 45 minutes of dictation, which is plenty for my purposes. I love the S folder, which has a slot for each day of the year. Because it knows the date and time, the recorder automatically points to today's slot for recording. When playing messages, all the messages for a day are played, making it perfect for transferring to a computer via the headphone jack for making mp3 files.

It would seem that manufacturers now think everybody is just itching for voice recorders to play mp3 music files. In my case, though, I already have a 20GB mp3 player, so I couldn't care less about mp3 playback capability. Why pay extra for something you don't want?

The ability to link digitally with my PC is not valuable to me either, because I have to listen to my dictation anyway so that I can categorize it, so the task of making mp3 files on my computer is no burdon.

The player is clean, rugged, and has the features that I want, without extra gimmicks such as mp3 music playback. This brings the price down, which is another nice feature. Sometimes less is more.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Sony CCD-TRV138 Hi8 Handycam Camcorder w/ 20x Optical Zoom

Sony CCD-TRV138 Hi8 Handycam Camcorder w/ 20x Optical ZoomI bought this camcorder 4 months after the sound on my other one stopped working and I was impressed. The optical zoom is good at 20x and the digital zoom (which is completely pointless) is 990x. The second thing I noticed is that the LCD screen moved to more places and that there was 2 record buttons. One was on the LCD screen, the other was next to the off button. The viewfinder can also move to different places but is still in Black and white. Another feature that this camcorder has is Nightshot Plus. This feature allows you to record at night with a brighter picture than with a flashlight or lamp. There are also many DSEs or Digital Special Effects that you can play with in recording or editing. They are:

Sepia: adds a brown old tone to the screen

Black and White: the way films used to be

Negative Art: reverses the colors in the picture

Pastel: makes the picture look colored in with a pastel crayon

Solarize: makes the picture out of basic colors

Mosaic: the picture made out of squares

Slim: stretches the picture vertically

Stretch: a lot like widescreen

When filming out or indoors there are different Program AEs you can use when the light in the picture changes. If you dont like switching them, you can set them to AUTO. The PAEs are:

Sports

Spotlight

Portrait

Beach/Ski

SunsetMoon

Landscape

If you want to buy this camcorder because it has great battery life, don't. It doesn't have a great battery life but it is still a great camcorder.

I bought this to play back old Hi8 tapes so I could transfer them to DVD. However, there is no S-Video out and no stereo out. Video quality was bad: output was noisey and reds were over saturated. I imagine this is because there is no S-Video out. I returned it and have ordered a Sony GV-D200. Hopefully it will give me better quality since it was more than twice as much. There are some cheaper used options available, e.g. Sony EVO-250.

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This is your basic video camera. I'd say it's good for those who just need a video camera for occassional video recording. It has the basic features, with NightShot as an additional bonus. The picture quality isn't as great as I thought it would be (it's a bit grainy on my 36" WEGA), it doesn't record in stereo, and I wish it could hook up on my computer, but there's no USB port. I guess for the price you pay, it's expected. I'd recommend it if you're not really looking for something too hi-tech. I wish I could've gone with something better, maybe the next model up, but hey, it gets the job done.

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Like other reviewers, I bought this SONY after my old machine refused to play back my antique but loved tapes. I was shocked at all the DVD complaints I read here.

Although I like to edit tapes on my computer, its a job or two sometimes. I burn DVD easily in real time with a free-standing Sansung DVD burner that cost me 100 dollars. Its got a list of about 125 or so. At the time I bought it at Fry's, and loved it so much I got another a few weeks later. ALl you do next is get Audio and video out from the itty bitty combo plug, and then use the round rca plugs to go to the burner. Yes, a totally free standing burner. Plug it in, and go to the bathroom or what-ever. Automatic performance once started!!!! Now I also use this burner to record TV shows and such. Its like a VCR for DVD media.

I use this for several formats of video. Now I am sure there is a loss of quality, but it does an excellent job of video transfer. FAR superior to recording to VHS tape.

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I purchased this camcorder knowing it was not digital "state of the Art". I have a Sony Hi8 camcorder vintage 1993 which no longer functions reliably in the playback mode, and I saw the TRV 138 as means to play my existing tapes and transfer them to DVD's. I found the TRV 138 to be half the size of my old unit and the batteries seem to last 3 times as long. Thus it functions well and is much handier to use. It has the fold out color viewer, my old one did not, plus some additional features such as a variety of fade modes. The only negative is my old unit recorded sound in stereo, the TRV 138 does monaural. This is not really a factor in my recording needs. I have recorded music performances and found the sound to be satisfactory

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Q-See QSU2DVR04 4 Channel USB 2.0 Digital Video Recorder Adapter

Q-See QSU2DVR04 4 Channel USB 2.0 Digital Video Recorder AdapterHi, I bought this USB DVR because it has two audio channels, so it is supposed to record audio, but this feature is NOT true!!! This DVR really sucks and Q-See tech support is really POOR, I have been calling for three days and they never answer. Please don't waste your money on this poor DVR and buy a real one.

That is what I was told by a service tech, after I purchased the unit, and after I spent many hours trying to get the product to work. It's not mentioned anywhere in the product information either.

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This product is easy to use. Install software, plug into usb port, attach cameras and your'e ready to go. I didn't want an expensive dvr system and this was perfect.

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Errors on dedicated write drive partition every reboot, inexplicable resource error issues, schedule config crashes, must reinnstall, no software updates available, cant even find QSDT4pcrc in support area. Wrong product choice and company.

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SCREW QSEE I have the same usb dvr... I upgraded to w7 x86. and no luck. I tried running in compatibility mode for all versions of windows.... I tried setting up windows xp mode... I trided using parallels AND oracle. I tried running it on an old laptop, but it wont let me save to a network path to my desktop...not even a mapped network drive. the vms dont work because of the "virtual video adapter" I cant install the driver for my video card because of this reason too. the support is the worst i have ever dealt with. I am currently dual booting w7 and vista... but I would like to somehow be able to load my vista partition while running windows.. is this possible? Is there a way to mod the firmare? is there software compatible with this 4 channel usb dvr??? CAN THE DAMN PEOPLE AT QSEE JUST POST A PATCH ALREADY?!??!? worked great when I had vista tho... but I will not return to vista because of 1 piece of hardware.

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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

DXG DXG-581V High Definition Digital Camcorder - Flash Memory, Memory Card - 2.5" Active Matrix TFT

DXG DXG-581V High Definition Digital Camcorder - Flash Memory, Memory Card - 2.5' Active Matrix TFT Color LCD - 4x - 32MB Flash MemoryI am glad I purchased this instead of the other HD camcorders in this price range.

I was about to return this and get an aiptek a-hd+ but its a good thing i found some raw MOV files of the aiptek a-HD+ on forums.

After seeing the quality of the aiptek a-hd+ raw MOV files I decided to keep the DXG 581v.

After comparing the raw MOV files of both camcorders, DXG 581v looked so much better, and sharper. The aiptek a-hd+ looked like it was only upscaled and was actually only 480p...the aiptek lacked sharpness and detail

The DXG's 480p at 60 fps is smooth as butter and still sharp and detailed. UPDATE: The 720p mode and the 1080 mode is also smooth change sure your frequency setting is set to "50 hz" and change "TV format" to PAL. This will smoothen out the panning...i guess the electronics inside are PAL but the software is set to NTSC because the unit is sold in the states.

The problem with the raw MOV files I saw with the aiptek was that it would sometimes skip frames. It appeared aiptek found a way to double the frames of its 720p at 30fps mode...it is a faux 60fps and doesn't look good.

If you want an HD camcorder that can catch a clear view of a car's license plate as it unintentionally passes by your camcorder's line of sight then get the DXG 581v.

Pros:

large lcd screen.

Sharp even at 480p

smooth 480p at 60 fps compared to the other HD camcorders at $130+

-UPDATE: also smooth 720p and 1080 after changing TZV format to PAL and frequency to 50

comes with cables:

> composite inputs and USB input.

> mini HDMI to HDMI

audio passes through the HDMI connection

good audio quality...very detailed and can pick up deep bass sounds.

can change resolutions on the fly pressing right on joystick

can change exposure on the fly pressing up/down on joystick

can turn on the LED flash during video recording press left on the joystick

very light

very smallyou can actually hide it in your fist.

comes with pouch you can attach to your belt.

720p and 1080i are very good quality. can catch alot of detail.

macro switch is firm and in perfect spot if you want to quickly change to macro and back to normal mode

autofocus does a good job of getting every detail.

works with my 16gb class 6 sd card

battery is rechargeable and only costs $3. It uses FUJI NP60 battery.

battery life long i will update this and do a battery test. battery gave me 2 bars out of the box. UPDATE: did a continuous recording at 1080i which lasted 1 hr 30 min. using my replacement battery gave me 2 hour recording continuous.

-voice recording is great. I was able to record a lecture 30 feet away from the professor and could hear his voice clearly during playback.

when camcorder is plugged into HDMI slot of HDTV it enters playback mode. Files will play continuously and will loop.

can upload the raw MOV files directly to popular video sharing sites

battery is secure...no wobble.

camera is more steady then other camcorders. (less shaking)

was able to attach camcorder to tripod.

able to keep camera stable without tripod.

Cons:

720p and 1080i run at 30 fps.

1080i only. it is not 1080p (1920x1080)...it is actually 1440x1080.

no lens cap

does not include an SD card.

movie mode and voice recording mode must be selected in the menu. After shutoff movie mode is set as default. you must go back into the menu to enable voice recording.

raw MOV files do not play on the xbox 360

only 32 mb internal memory. about 5 seconds video, or 20 photos, or 1 minute of voice recording.

Since I can change resolutions at a click of a button on the joystick, I use 480p when I am recording a fast motion video, where I know there will be alot of panning.

Then I will use 720p or 1080i, when the video calls for slower or litte to no panning, and details need to be captured. UPDATE: after changing TV format to PAL and Frequency to 50 hz panning is now smooth. so I use 720 and 1080 most of the time now.

In staples I was hunting for a laser copier. I could have used my phone to take photos of each copier and price tag but using the DXG 581v made it so much quicker and easier to review when i got home.

I used the 1080i resolution. took a full body shot of one copier then focused on the price tag while switching to macro mode and taking a shot of hte price tag. Did this for the whole aisle of laser copiers. It was quick and I ended up with everything I needed on one file when i got home.

UPDATE: Attended a trade show in Las Vegas and I have to say the DXG did an amazing job.

I recorded each workshop and seminar at 1080i and during playback the video quality was so clear. The power point presentation on the projector screen which I recorded was very sharp on playback.

Using the replacement battery I purchased for $4 here on amazon, lasted 30 minutes longer than the original battery that came with the DXG 581v.

UPDATE:

To hook up the camcorder to an old HDTV with the HDMI port that doesnt support audio.

1.) plug the usb cable with composite out and left channel out to the dxg 581v

2.) plug the left channel audio out to the audio input of the HDTV

3.) plug the HDMI cable to the HDTV

4.) plug the other end of the HDMI cable into the DXG 581v camcorder

You will now have audio while using the HDMI portof the HDTV.

Prior to a March 2009 vacation to Disney World, I was looking for an inexpensive HD camcorder to take along. I almost bought the Kodak Zi6, which records up to 720P. Then I saw an article from the February Consumer Electronics Show that mentioned the DXG 581V, which records up to 1080P. I had to make a purchasing decision before I could find any reviews of the DXG, but decided to purchase the DXG any wayfor about the same price as the Zi6. I was not disappointed. Shooting in both 1080P and 720P, the DXG captured very good quality HD video. The proof of this was provided by connecting the camera directly to my 52 inch Sony LCD TV via the provided HDMI cable. On the 52 inch screen, the 1080P video was crisper than the 720P, but not by much. Shooting in 720P means you can fit much more video on the memory card, and it greatly reduces the processing time if you are making a movie in Apple's iMovie or something similar. Until Blu Ray burner prices come down, I will continue to shoot in 720P.

Outdoor shots in sunlight are excellent, while indoor shooting in low artificial light is not great, but is useable for my purposes. The camera does not have image stabilization, and it is essential to really concentrate on keeping the camera steady when panning, etc. The camera is very easy and intuitive to use, except that the LCD screen is tough to see in strong sunlight (a common problem). The camera also shoots 5 MP stills, which are pretty good. However, at Disney World I carried a little pocketable Pentax digital camera that shoots 8 MP stills and has a 7X optical zoom for more versatility.

Battery life with the included 1200mAh battery is very good (20-30 minutes). I purchased an 8 GB SDHC memory card, and used only about 60% of its capacity in shooting 1.5-2 hours of mostly 720P video. The 4X digital zoom is useful, although an optical zoom would obviously be better. However, considering the $150 price, the features provided are very good in my opinion. The included belt holster is not much bigger than a cell phone holster and is convenient with its velcro flap.

My one complaint is that the built in microphone is extremely sensitive to wind, which can completely overpower any other ambient sounds. When wind wasn't a problem, the camera did a good job of recording music and other ambient sounds in the Disney World attractions. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the DXG 581V.

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Having gotten the camera a few days ago I sat back and impatiently waited for the 8gb memory card to come in. Once the camera battery charged and the card was in I started shooting and experimenting like mad. Now granted the only two camcorders I've owned previous to this were not to great, but nevertheless will be my means of comparing. The first camera I owned was JVC mini-vhs, the second being the original Flip. I've also seen the footage and sound that the Flip Mino or whatever you wish to call it takes.

Here's my verdict:

CONS:

The camera only films 60fps with the 480p setting (nevertheless the 30fps

doesn't look too bad with the 720p and 1080i)

films like a vhs camcorder but slightly better when it is DARK inside a room

same goes for outside footage. But outside nighttime footage is slightly better than most portable camcorders.

no image stabilization but holds up to being not NEARLY as watery and bouncy as other portable camcorders such as the FLIP.

PROS

Video format really easy to work with in quicktime

Video files don't take up a lot of space for the amateur filmmaker who

doesn't want to have to by an external harddrive to work his camera.

Very VERY nice detail and quality in well-lit and outdoor situations

VERY GOOD and CLEAN audio pickup

Not too small, and doesn't feel necessarily cheap

TONS of features [unlike the FLIP] not just one touch recording

white balance

brightness

display settings

playback of video and photos

films decent macro video and still pics

takes decent pics from 5mp-8mp

nighttime settings

choose between NTSC and PAL

comes with plugins for HDTV and for playing on regular TV

In summary the only reason I gave it one star less is because it's not necessarily 100% HD. I mean on your laptop when you just finished shooting in a

good lit situation outside it looks pretty darn close. But I can't imagine it looking like your Blue-rays when you play it on your 42 inch.

If your looking for a cheaply priced camera with quality, durability, and tons of features this is as best as it gets. From what I've seen THIS IS the best model DXG sells and I would highly recommend buying it.

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I like the DXG HD 581 Camcorder because of its light weight and ease of operation. You can just put it on your belt like a phone. I really like that. Unfortunately, my rating on the battery is not so good. I charged the battery when I got it and less than two days later without having used the camera, the battery was dead. I tried charging it again but to no avail. Unfortunately, I had to go and purchase another battery at the cost of $32.00. So with the price of the camera at $115 and a new battery at $32, I felt that I got taken on the camera. Unfortunately that is why I'm rating the camera so low.

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I purchased this camera because it seemed to have a lot of features for the price. I received the item, removed it from the packaging and found that it was dead. The only thing that works on it is the little green power LED. Really poor quality control.

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Monday, April 7, 2014

Stealth Cam Prowler HD IDVR with 54 Infrared Emitters, 60 ft Range

Stealth Cam Prowler HD IDVR with 54 Infrared Emitters, 60 ft RangeI live in the Northeast in a heavily wooded area, and I purchased the camera to take videos of critters visiting our backyard late at night. I mounted the camera on a large tree, low to the ground so that it's at the level of the animals. I've gotten great videos of red fox and coyotes in the yard. The images are high resolution and a lot of fun to watch. Low light sensitivity of this unit is excellent, and the weather seal is sturdy (the camera is right in the path of one of our backyard sprinkler units but has shown no sign of leaking despite being pounded with water 15 min/day, 3 days/week over the summer). This is a pricey, top-of-the-line, item, but if you can afford it, you'll get good results.

This is the second Stealth Camera I have owned. The first was stolen after two years of great pictures. The Prowler HD IDVR takes very good pictures. Night pictures are clear enough to count points on a 5X5 point Bull at 35 ft. The day light pictures are nice color and show all the detail you need for a scout hunting camera. The only thing it lacks is a viewer. You must have the SD card or the camera to view the pictures. I like this camera and would buy it again.

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The video quality is excellent as you would expect with the HD. Having audio makes it so much more amazing to watch. Really makes it feel like you're out there in the woods. Battery life seems excellent so far (I've been using the same set for well over a month and the batter indicator still says full).

The issue I have with the camera is the trigger definitely seems more sluggish than with my other two cameras, which are Stealth Cam Rogues that I bought a few years ago. I've repeatedly put both the Rogue and the Prowler in the same spot, one after the other, and the Prowler gets far, far fewer videos. If you're a hunter looking to get only deer then it'll probably be fine because they seem to be big enough and slow enough to trigger the camera. If you're trying to get any and all wildlife that goes in front of your camera, like I am, then this camera is not for you.

Here's a summary of what I've gotten with each camera having put each of them in the same spot three times:

Prowler: deer

Rogue: deer, coyote, red fox, opossum, porcupine, gray squirrel, bobcat, house cat

Read Best Reviews of Stealth Cam Prowler HD IDVR with 54 Infrared Emitters, 60 ft Range Here

This is a top quality camera, that has proven reliable over the last 5 months of use. It doesn't leak, has plenty of battery life, and takes outstanding audio and video of its surroundings. The optional battery is a must if you want lots of videos, and I suggest it. Currently, I'm using it for animal wildlife research, and it has proven to be very informative.

The only downside is that the trigger is a bit slow, and the temperature sensor seems to be inaccurate. Overall, a very good camera for the money.

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We like the camera. Just takes a little time figuring it out. Good night pictures. Well worth the money. Happy Hunting everyone!

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Saturday, March 15, 2014

Sandisk Sansa® ExpressTM MP3 Player 2GB

Sandisk Sansa® ExpressTM MP3 Player 2GB
  • It provides you with everything you need to play your favorite music, enjoy your best photos, and listen to your preferred FM radio stations
  • Able to play MP3, WMA, WAV, and protected WMA DRM music files, and supports JPEG, TIFF, PNG, BMP, and GIF as import media types
  • Screen can exhibit up to 64,000 colors, lets you choose to display album cover art for the current song via ID3 tag support or photo thumbnails
  • 2 gigabytes of built-in flash memory allows you to store up to 1,000 songs, MicroSD cards effectively expands your memory capacity infinitely
  • Comes in a stylish black, with earphones, a USB cable, and a rechargeable and removable lithium-ion battery

I did quite a bit of research to get this one. and here are the reasons, I arrived at this decision:

Pro:

Size: It is pretty small yet not hard to use the controls

FM Radio: That's pretty nice in such a small MP3 player. Top that iPod

Expansion slot: The micro SD card makes this player future proof. Have more music to upload? get a card and you are done. iPod doesn't have it.

Voice recorder: was not on my wish list, but nice to have.

changable battery: battery goes bad, you can change it. iPod can't do this.

If you hit a button by accident while listening to the music, the button just wakes up the device then you can tell it what to do. Small feature but saves a LOT of annoying moments.

Sound is pretty good, unlike some reviews I have read. It is pretty much in par with other MP3 players especially iPod which is the benchmark these days.

Price: half of iPod Nano.

Con:

The package only comes with a USB charger. I have seen some plugs that have a USB output, or you can get their optional AC adapter.

Memory slot although nice, but there is no dummy card in it to avoid things getting stuck in it, so I just put a cheapy micro SD to fill the hole.

The screen could use some more contrast or better color scheme to display the menu better. You get used to it right away, but I am being super crtitcal here.

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My 3 year old 512k Sandisk developed a lose earplug mount so it was to upgrade. The store I went to was offering the C250 model for the same price as the C240 model so I bought it.

The new unit is nice. The sound is better than my older model and the 64k color display is decent. You can view photos on it if you wish. It has a rechargeable lithium polymer battery which is a minus as they wear out over time, Sandisk makes up for this a bit by making the battery replaceable (although the kid at the Be-st buy store was wrong when he said it wasn't--maybe he was just trying to sell an extended warranty plan--bah). Still, I miss the flexibility my older player had with its AAA battery and the older one had a very similar battery life as my new one.

It has a passable FM tuner with decent reception. It won't work as well as a home receiver but it works okay. Sadly, Sandisk still does not sell a player with AM capability, another minus.

The unit has shuffle play but not random play. (By definition, shuffle play will potentially repeat a song already played, while random play will not). This is an OS weakness that would be easy to implement in the OS code, but most manufacturers don't bother.

Sandisk no longer uses a true FAT32 file system so their newer players have lost an enormous amount of flexibility compared to the older units. Now, I can only play music by "Artist", "Genre", "Song", and "Album". You no longer can pick a folder of music to play so you are limited by the predefined categories.

My old unit allowed the ability to play dance with pop by putting them in the same folder and simply playing from it. With the new unit that would be impossible without messing with the ID tags because now I can only select dance or pop but not both at the same time. It is "all" music or "one" genre, but not "some" genres. Clearly a big weakness.

From what I can tell, the unit uses the contents of the ID1 tags, so you need to have them properly populated. It does use playlists but I tend to not use them. I read that this unit only supports 1 playlist but I have yet to confirm that. If it allows multiple playlists then I could mix dance and pop but it would be pain to create a playlist for that.

In addition, the OS has been greatly dumbed down. You no longer can select the playback, display, or search speeds. You can no longer change the display orientation from right-handed to left-handed. You can no longer set left or right balance. You can no longer delete files from the device unless you are connected to a PC. The display no longer shows how much time is left on a song as it now only displays elapsed time, and you can no longer display what file name.

It is unfortunate that the newer units have been dumbed down as they have lost a number of very useful capabilities. Still, I like the new unit overall and I will adjust to the differences. It's a good unit for the money and the Sandisk quality is still there--my last one lasted 3 years under heavy use (3-6 hours a day) so I can't complain. If this will be your first MP3 player you probably won't be disappointed.

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The contrast level on the display is so low no matter how one adjusts the brightness and backlight that you will have a hard time seeing what feature/song you are selecting. Its genuinely bizarre that they used a very light-blue field against a white backround. Text is black so at least you can see that clearly. Other than that, the sound is good for such a cheap player and it has a built-in equalizer to adjust the sound to your own liking. It will operate in MSC mode, which simply means that you can load music files into the player directly from the My Computer icon. No software of any sort needed at all to load songs into the player. You lose the ability to make playlists in MSC mode but personally I prefer the speed and simplicity of MSC mode. You cannot use MSC mode to play digitally-protected music. Again not an issue for me. If you are looking for a cheap mp3 player, this is worth considering.

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OK. I've seen some of the other reviews for this product, and a few people have mentioned problems with the backlighting and contrast, but I don't have that problem. I have now owned my player three weeks, and I LOVE IT!

This player has incredibly simple menus to follow, the display is adequate for most people who will only use this to listen to music. I've had no problems with the display which does a fairly good job with the photos I've loaded onto it. The song text is in black against a light blue field which makes it easy to see at all times.

Straight out of the box, my Windows XP systems instantly recognized the device and installed the appropriate drivers. I did have a problem (at first) with getting my laptop (running Vista Home Basic) to recognize the device, but I realized that this was due to the fact that I had the player set in the wrong USB mode (it needs to be in MSC mode for Vista to recognize the device) Once I changed the mode to MSC (through the player's settings menu), all of my systems recognize it every time without a single problem.

I like the fact that you can change the battery in the player quickly and easily, unlike an Ipod, and that it has an expandable Micro SD slot, which the manufacturer says you can only upgrade by 1 GB. If you buy this, go ahead and spring for the Micro SD card so that you prevent dust and dirt from getting into the slot; you'll also expand the room you have available on the player. I just received my $20.00, 2GB (that's right 2 GB) expansion card from NewEgg.com today, and again, I popped it into my player, which connects to desktop/laptops through a provided USB cable, and it was instantly recognized by my work system as a separate drive.

Other reasons to like this player is the fact that it features a voice recorder, an FM tuner, an adjustable equalizer with presets (I set mine with a custom setting which sounds better than the presets)and it lets you record FM radio. Try THAT with an Ipod... Did I mention that it will let you plays songs downloaded from the most popular services (another thing Ipod can't do), in addition to .wmv and mp3 files?

A couple of people in other reviews have mentioned investing in a new pair of earbuds, which I would agree with if you're a serious audiophile, but again, for most people, the earbuds it ships with should more than fit the bill.

The only thing this player really lacks is the storage capacity that some other players on the market have. That's ok though, because at bit rate of 128 kbps per song, you can fit up to 1,000 songs. I doubled my 2 GB capacity with the Micro SD card, giving the player a total capacity of 4 GB. Since I use only high bit rate (160 kbps and better) audio, and I have about 450 songs with plenty of room left over for my work files and photos.

If you're looking for an economical, sturdy mp3 player this is the one. The price makes this a great gift for any occasion year-round, and for the money, you're not going to find a better value anywhere else on the market.

I was hesitant about buying an MP3 player because I am relatively inept when it comes to electronic devices. After researching different MP3 players I decided to take a chance on the SanDisk because of its reasonable price plus I had read that it was compatible with Windows Media Player (WMP). I had downloaded dozens of CDs onto the WMP and now needed something small and pocket sized that was inconspicuous to use at work. My profession affords me with occasional down time so I wanted a small MP3 player with ear plugs that would help me pass the time by dusting off a few musical neural networks encoded in the 60's. First of all I was surprised at how simple transferring songs was using the WMP and the Sandisk. You first open up the WMP and once the computer recognizes the "device" you click on the icon, which allows the WMP to connect with the SanDisk. Then you can either right click on selected songs and select "add to synch" or you can right click on the CD title and add the entire contents of the CD to the sync list. The WMP shows you how much room you have left on the Sandisk after each input. Pretty simple. The real surprise occurred when I placed the ear plugs in and listened to my old archaic music. I'm not crazy about ear plugs (can't use headphones at work), but the ones that come with the player are not uncomfortable. The sound quality of the SanDisk is extremely impressive for such a small device. Although the player comes with an equalizer I did not even find it necessary to adjust the sounds. I give this product 5 stars for the musical portion of the SanDisk. I cannot comment on the other options that this product has, but I am obviously impressed enough to leave a review on this item. I should mention that the device comes with a CD that I downloaded and it appears to assist in using the other features of the SanDisk MP3 player, but as mentioned I bought the player solely for listening to music and am simply commenting on the musical portion of the SanDisk Sansa c250 MP3 player. I hope that this helps you in deciding which player to buy. I am very satisfied with this product.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Panasonic TC-P65V10 65-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Panasonic TC-P65V10 65-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
  • 1080p Full-HD Resolution
  • Digital Cinema Color - 120% of the conventional HDTV color standard
  • THX Certified Display - Movie images as the movie creators intended them
  • Viera Cast - Exciting web content.No PC required!
  • 600Hz Sub-field Drive

Pros: 65" is a great size for my living room, and the picture quality allows you to feel that you're there. A seated newscaster looks the same size as if they were on the other side of a window. The custom pro pic adjustments make any source look great!

Cons: As with all plasmas, the light reflection can be annoying. It is certainly watchable in the daytime with the shades open, but a bit distracting. The THX mode default is "HD Size 2" 100% scan, which introduces some edge noise with some sources (cable)

Summary: I've been waiting for months for the 65 inch V10 to become available. Almost pre-ordered it online several times, but was leary of ordering before it was in stock. Happened into Best Buy on Fri Aug 21 and saw the 58" on display. Asked about the 65" and found out the store had just received one that day and intended to set it up for display the next day. After a short negotiation I had secured this first set for $3899 ($100 off MSRP) and had it delivered free on the following Tuesday. First thing I did after setting it up was to switch the picture setting from Vivid to THX and the picture was amazing. Flipped through a few channels and watched some dark scenes from shows on my DVR that I had been saving just for this purpose. The clarity in low light scenes better than I had imagined. I have played with the custom pro picture settings some, but haven't spent enough time to get it looking better than THX yet. I have enjoyed the Viera Cast features, especially the weather and YouTube. I was watching a movie on cable and started wondering what other movies had the same director. I paused the show, switched to YouTube and looked up the director's name and watched a few clips of him taling about the movie I was watching and a few others he had directed, then went back and watched the rest of the movie. It was nice to be able to do this without having to pull out my laptop. I was also impressed with the picture quality from YouTube, even when I put it on full screen (I don't think most YT videos are prepared to be displayed at 65", but it still looked pretty clear!) I haven't rented a movie from the Amazon download service yet, but I'll have to try it. I can't believe that the picture will equal BluRay thoughwhich reminds me... For some reason it was nearly three days of watching this set before I remembered that I hadn't see a BluRay disk on it. I had been too caught up playing with the settings and Viera Cast and setting up my Harmony report (which is a little tricky to get set up for Viera Cast because I wanted the direction pad to control the DRV when watching cable and to control the TV when using VC, but I figured it out.) Anyway, I finally got around to putting in a BluRay disc and the picture went to a whole other level like nothing I'd seen before. Going back to Comcast compressed 1080i HD signal after BluRay was like looking through a mist. Now I can't rent BR movies fast enough. I almost want to stop watching my favorite shows on TV and wait for the season to come out on BluRay.

Well, if you're still readingI love this TV -I want to stop writing now, go close the shades and start watching.

Buy Panasonic TC-P65V10 65-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV Now

Let's start by asking why you want this tv? LCD tv's are lighter, use less energy, costs have come way down, no screen burn in to worry about. However, Plasma tv's are still cheaper, have greater viewing angles, and produce vastly better picture quality. LCD's have come a long way, but they can not reproduce the deep, rich blacks of a plasma. I waited thru a back-order status to get this. Everything I read said that the Pioneer Elite is the best plasma you can buy(for $7000!). Not wanting to spend that, the second best was supposedly this tv. However, I still would not pay $4000. That's why I was shocked to see that my local big-box retailer had it for $2900!! For that it's worth every penny. LCD tv's produce pictures that are bright, crisp, and sharp. Well, I don't like that. Real life is not sharp and crisp, but soft and textured. The picture produced by LCD's seems fake to me. Most often, you'll find LCD's displaying animated films in store demo mode. The reason is b/c animated films are supposed to be sharp and creased and bright, and are good matches for LCD's. I like films, and plasma's do a much better job displaying them. So, why should you buy this model, and not a lower model? What are the main differences? Well, this model is capable of displaying 1080P 24fps(frames per second) at 24hz(the refresh rate of the pic), lower models do not have this capability. What this means, is that it is a perfect match for Blu-ray. Most films are shot in 24fps 24hz. If the tv can't display that, it must "convert" the signal to it's native resolution to display the film. That can mean less smooth motion, and can introduce "noise" into the picture. Broadcast tv doesn't run at 1080P 24 fps, only Blu-Ray films. So, this tv is for serious movie buffs only who will be playing plenty of Blu-Ray films. If you only want to watch tv, or dvd, you can easily get a lower model, such as the G10. This tv is not for the tech inept. It is loaded with features, and is capable of so many adjustments that non-pros can easily get lost. The remote is pathetic. It's non-universal, and won't control any other components, unless they are also Panasonic, and have the proprietary Viera Link. For a tv this expensive, it's expected you'll have a universal remote. Only the Vol and Chan buttons are backlit. There are 6 "modes" to watch. Standard, Game, Vivid, Studio-Reference, THX, and Custom. I use Studio-Ref, as I find THX too sepia toned, Standard too washed out, VIVID and Game too bright(tho Vivid is useful for brightly lit rooms). There is a C.A.T.S system, which automatically adjusts brightness depending on ambient lighting. I leave this off. You'd think that in bright rooms it would get brighter, but it actually gets dimmer?! These days, plasma's are less susceptible to burn-in, but jic, there's 2 modes of anti-image retention. You can have a scrolling bar go across the tv, or have a "random pixel orbiter" to help. There's an eco-energy saving mode, which puts a timer on the tv to turn-off if there's no signal for a certain amount of time. You can set different levels of block noise and mosquito noise reduction. You can set different black levels from dim to bright, and there are 2 different sizes for HD. Sometimes, broadcast tv has digital info on the screen edges that show up as a "crawl" on the edge. Adjusting the size can eliminate that. There are multiple audio settings as well. There's an automatic volume control that keeps the volume at the same level(sometimes commercials are louder-this prevents that). There's also a simulated 3d sound field. Let's face it tho, if you buy this, it's expected you'll have a surround set-up, and not rely on the tv's speakers. There's plenty of inputs;4 HDMI(including 1 on the side for ease in wall-mounting) PC inputs, sd card input, and plenty of analog. The worst con of this tv is reflection. This tv is supposed to have an anti-glare screen, but even when my small 25 watt lamp is on, I can see it reflected on the screen. Otherwise, the picture is outstanding. There is superb black level performance, great color quality, and smooth motion. With my Oppo BDP83, the picture is stunning. With regular tv, there is still false-contouring artifacts aplenty(best way to describe this is seeing "rings" of distortion when watching, say, a light in a fog bank). Watching HD Theater, a 1080i channel, the picture is amazing. There is very little "noise", colors are accurately rendered, and there are deep, rich blacks. I recommend this to anyone who wants the best of what's currently available. That means 1080P Blu-Ray movies, and HD TV, and surround sound with universal remote. If you just want regular dvd, and lots of TV, go with the G10 model, and save money. Oh, and I will definitely be having an ISF tech calibrate this, as it has so many adjustments that even a techno-phile like me is a bit overwhelmed.

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This is a wonderful TV. I used to have a 65" LCD (LC-65D93U) for the past two years and 10 days ago I upgraded to TC-P65V10. I used a set of break-in slides for 180 hours (to age the color phosphors and get it ready for professional calibration). Finally, it was calibrated today and WOW!!!! The picture quality is unbelievable. Maybe the best A/V purchase I've ever made.

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I received my 65V10 about 2 weeks ago and am very satisfied with the picture set on THX mode. I was able to find this review on the 50V10 which is very thorough .

Perhaps one of the best features is the THX mode. By selecting this setting I can pretty much rest assured the TV is at near peak settings. This means no calibration necessary which appeals to a low Video tech guy like me. My engineering degree is not in that field.

Also, if one Googles WHITE PAPER PLASMA one finds an excellent independent comparison of plasma, LCD and DLPs funded by Pioneer. I am moving up from a seven year old 57" Hatachi DLP. There is a significant step change in clarity, detail and color. I believe a LCD or even a DLP is brighter than the plasma but the plasma is sufficiently bright for my interior room. As they say the blacks are indeed very black.

With my DLP upgrade, I actually found the 65V10 used less space when one considers that all components can be placed under the TV while some components require side placement with my old DLP. The 65" does not look particularly big for my nominal 15' by 20' room with corner installation.

I am a little miffed with the TV's internet capability since I can get there anyway with the PS3 I purchased specifically for Blu-Ray, a choice I do not regret for a primarily non-gamer family. The PS3 has wireless capability right out of the box. Suspect I will understand the 65V10's capability better as time goes on and I have a chance to add a wireless receiver to the TV (it requires a hard connection to tap the internet connection)

The colors and detail are extraordinary are amazing and as I say I am very satisfied.

Based on the reviews and blogs I believe the burnin concern is a non issue. I am treating the TV like I normally would, a little running of games, watching programs including bars (to a point on this one, can't miss World Series and FOX News) and generally not babying it. No ghosts to date. I believe some people have lttle to do, sorry guys.

I almost went with the 77UM sharp LCD but am not looking back. I'm sure it is a good TV also.

I bought this via a different online store it was a few hundred dollard less at the time. I paid $2500 shipped and I now see Amazon has it for the same price. Here are a few paragraphs about my Panasonic V10. I have owned it for 2 weeks now and will update this review from time to time as I get more hours logged with it.

Picture Quality:

This is by far the most important reason for owning a large TV. We want to WATCH something, forget about the sound, the remote or any other aspect everything else is secondary. I was concerned about the black level fade but I have researched and found this problem to be mostly with the smaller sized Plasmas. I can only hope that this set keeps the blacks as they are. Additionally, I have read that most people cannot notice the change in blacks. I will update when I hit 1000 hours. Plasmas still have the best picture reproduction and black levels or they display the blackest blacks very well. This Panasonic does an expection al job. I watched Batman Begins (MANY dark scenes)and Star Trek in Blue Ray. Just AMAZING.

SIDE NOTE:

1. Something I didn't know is that any Blue Ray that was filmed in a different aspect ratio MAY still have BLACK BARS, some DVDs and Blue Ray movies are not transposed to 16:9 and so their are still black bars. You can ZOOM on the Panasonic but then you get some of the picture cut off and the zooming can cause less than perfect picture. NOT the fault of the TV, it was just disappointing that we still can't get the FULL screen experience in WIDESCREEN with a WIDESCREEN TV. Why can't the movie industry get onboard and realize that everyone is WATCHING in 16:9 these days. Small annoyance on my end. I don't like black bars or Letterbox formats.

2. REGULAR, STANDARD Definition TV LOOKS LIKE CRAP! I watch more standard definition TV. NOT the fault of the TV, just means I need to look at upping my DISH Network package. I think standard looks WORSE on this set than on a smaller set pehaps because it is blown up? Not sure. Too bad not all channels are HD yet. Wish it was just HD for the entire channel set and not just a few. ANd I wish it didn't cost so much extra.

Back to the review, DVDs look excellent as well. I have a Panasonic DVD/BLUE RAY (BD-60 or something) and it upscales nicely. I watch standard TV in Vivid with the color turned down a bit and a few other tweaks. I watch the movies and HD in THX with the brightness up a bit and add a bit more color and a few other tweaks.

The screen is massive and I really do enjoy the experience. I sit about 10 feet from my TV. I have it wall mounted. I wish this had a fully lit remote, other than that I think this is an awesome TV. No doubt it has the best picture I have ever seen and it is better than my brothers LCD Sony and WAY better than my old Sony 32 inch Standard. I will update when I think of any other review points that will help someone else make a purchasing decision. I think this model is being discontinued and 2010 should be the end of the V series. I think a new "model" is out now that is 3d and has a 5,000,000 infinate black ratio or contrast ratio... CAN you really tell? Happy viewing.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Rca Rp3504 Cassette Shoebox Voice Recorder (Voice Recorders / Portable & Personal Audio)

Rca Rp3504 Cassette Shoebox Voice Recorder
  • RP3504 Shoebox Cassette Recorder with Stand-up Microphone.
  • Automatic Level Control for Recording.
  • Automatic End of Tape Stop in Play and Record Mode.
  • Stand-up Microphone included; Headphone Jack.
  • Rotary Volume Control; External Microphone Jack.

I bought one at least 5 years ago. I use it mainly to record notes or business phone calls. It still works well. The mic that comes with it is great for directional recording to cut down on unwanted sounds. It also has a tape counter to help you index seperate recordings.

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love the now old school way of recording.the mic stand is perfect to what i need.i'm happy to have order this product.

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Much better recorder than I thought I would get for the low price. The Mike cord is a little short but works well. Very well packed and shipped quick.

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This looks like what I wanted, but that is about all I can say in terms of recommendation. Playback is terrible,the recorder itself makes so much noise it is almost impossible to hear the words. Last straw ... It completely stopped while I was trying to record, making a pffft sound no audio device should ever make.

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Although it isn't the highest quality, I only need it to playback old tapes. I plugged it into my power conditioner, and the tape hiss was much less than expected. I recorded two tapes from a 1981 recording session, and the quality was fine. The mic is a joke, but I won't ever record to cassette anyway.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Polaroid 4GB MP3 Player (PMP430-4) with Video Playback and 4.3" Touch Screen - Black

Polaroid 4GB MP3 Player with Video Playback and 4.3' Touch Screen - Black
  • MP3 Player Features: Built-In Speakers, Voice Control, MicroSD Media Card Slot, Touch Screen
  • Built-In Memory Storage Capacity: 4GB
  • Display Features: LCD Display
  • Display Size: 4.3"
  • Screen Resolution: 160 X 120
  • File Formats Supported: AVI
  • Music Management Software: Windows Media Player 10
  • Wired Connectivity: USB, Headphone
  • Battery Cell Type: Lithium-ion
  • Battery Charge Life: Up to 12 Hours
  • Operating System Compatibility: Mac, PC
  • Includes: USB Cable, Ear Bud Headphones, Instruction Manual
  • Language: Spanish, English
  • Dimensions: 8.19" L x 5.27" W x 3.8" T
  • Weight: 0.59 Lb.
  • Warranty Description: 1 Year Limited Manufacturer Warranty

Lot of models out there that are practically the same. The Polaroid website shows nothing about this product at all, not even listed on their website as something they offer. Very cheap and probably the market its shooting for especially with all the high end sony and apple models out there. Its a jack of all trades master of none, headphones were the worst that ever came with a media product, touch screen can be unresponsive at times, only charges the battery through your computer not an ac adapter, takes forever to charge the battery, camera is from 2004, external speakers not bad. Its not nearly worth what they are asking for, got it for 50% off from a local store 40 bucks which was a reasonable price for what it offers. Its not heavy but kinda bulky for an mp3 player. I think Polaroid is already out of the mp3 market so dont expect any support. But if is shows up your weekly mailbox ads for a fire sale price I would definitely pick it up.

Buy Polaroid 4GB MP3 Player (PMP430-4) with Video Playback and 4.3" Touch Screen - Black Now

I bought one like this for my daughter (this one has a camera that shoots around 480mp) at a local store during a Black Friday sale for $50. My main criticism is that the touch screen is slow and unresponsive at times and takes a long time to load your selection. That being said, it's not bad for the money. Since I just bought it I don't know how long it will last. It's pretty simple to drag & drop files from your home computer to it via USB cable. I like that fact that I can load video on it, since it's easier to carry than a portable DVD player and has more features. Not sure if this is the same model but the one I bought has expandable SD memory. I think it should work OK for my daughter, but I'm spoiled by my touch-screen phone that's much quicker and responsive. Don't expect it to work as smoothly as a high-end MP3 player or smart phone.

Read Best Reviews of Polaroid 4GB MP3 Player (PMP430-4) with Video Playback and 4.3" Touch Screen - Black Here

I got it for Christmas from my Secret Santa. I asked for it primarily because evidently I amongst my friends and family am the only one still stuck in the CD age. Not wanting to bust the bank on my Secret Santa, I saw this at a well known close-out store (!) here in southern Cali and thought hey, this would be a perfect fit to somewhat move into the current age of technology (Now, to be blunt I'm sure there are a multitude of better players out there, again, being that I wanted something simple yet something stylish this worked well for me) Anyway this definitely couldn't compare to any current top of the line mp3/4 players out there but I can say that it does do the job for the most part. With a good pair of ear phones (I agree with the other reviewer about the cheap wanna-be earplugs that came with it, Polaroid must have overstocked on them and figured they'd just drop them in the box as a gum-ball machine bonus) the sound is pretty good. I didn't have any problems charging it from my PC. I have a car charger with the same connection for my GPS so it works out for me very well. I did have to buy ... gasp... a cassette adapter! Since I drive a car from the year 2000 that has a dual cassette/CD player. Even with the adapter the sound is fine. There is a feature on the player that will allow you to boost the sound so you can probably play with it to if you so desire to get optimal sound to your liking. Overall it looks like a slightly wider smart phone. It does have a slot of a mini SD memory card so you can definitely add some major music. The touch screen seems more fitting for a stylus than a touch as I've realized a tap rather than a touch worked better, so another little quark on this little cheap-ee player but I can live with it. Also the camera is a measly novelty of sorts, without any light the camera is worthless, didn't really a care about this feature but I guess if you buy it for an young aged elementary school kid without busting the bank, it will suite just fine. There's also a sound recorder, again, this just seems to be no more than a nice novelty and should be regarded as that as well.

Now, here comes the part that I do take issue with, as it would seem that the loading process is a bit finicky, since I use my Personal Computer's Windows Media player I found this particularly challenging. It would be nice to just drag, drop and load, but I've had to tinker with it for the last couple of days to get the hang of it. The issue when loading is that it will automatically generate a folder within a folder when I sync any mixes from my PC's Windows Media Player (WMP) play list. You'll have to manually go back and bring it out of folder/sub-folder (which was confusing at first, not able to see where all my music had gone) now when I load it, it's just easier to drag and drop from the PC to the MP4 player and forget about using the WMP altogether. Also the inability to keep the tracks in order from my playlist is annoying. Now I'll note that this only applies to the mixes I've made. As for Cd's I've ripped from my collection, they are fine, all the tracks stay in order.

So in a nut shell you really pay for what you get! Though to be honest, the average asking price of $50 is steep buying it from Amazon. As I stated earlier, I got this as a gift and basically they bought it at half the price. I wouldn't pay no more than $25 at most. Best of luck!

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I was sent the wrong product. It had the correct model number on the package but had a different mp3 player inside. I had to call Amazon instead of doing the return online since it was a third party vendor but they were very courteous and e-mailed me a return postage label so it cost me nothing to send it back. It took a couple of weeks to get my refund credited to my account but overall it cost me nothing but time.

I bought this item for $14 from Fry's which is a good distance away. I would return it, but its not worth the gas money for the return trip.

The basic design is nice, it just lacks the basics to make it work well. The major one, any way to lock the controls. So any touching of the screen turns on the device. Of course the screen is resistive, so any touching done to the screen while its in a pocket, turns it on, changes whats happening, and runs down the battery.

Further..it seems to have a very short battery life, of about 2 hours I think. Hard to tell because of the previously mentioned issue. Beyond that, you can't use the device while its charging. You get to look at a charging screen, and no interaction is possible. It has a li-ion battery which is generally good, except you should charge these fully, so you HAVE to plug it in and not interact with it at all for hours at a time. (Thats just the suggested way to maintain that kind of battery for maximum life.)

oh.. and per the manual it doesn't seem to have an overcharge protection. The manual states to leave it plugged in for at least 4 hours, and "never more then 8".

These basic design flaws leave this not very useable. It could have been a kinda nifty device, but they really didn't pay attention to any details, and its obvious they did no user testing.