Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Mini Video Recorder Spy Helmet Tiny Camera Car DVR CAM
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Yamaha DVX-CSC1 900 Watt 5.1 Cinema Station System - A/V Receiver with Integrated 5-Disc DVD/SACD P
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Denon DBP-1611UD Universal Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Player, Black
- Exclusive Denon technology provides universal playback of popular audio and video disc formats, including Blu-ray, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD and music CD
- 3D-Ready via firmware solution (planned for Fall 2010) BD Profile 2.0, BD-Live enabled via Ethernet with 1GB on-board memory, expandable via USB port
- DLNA 1.5 Certified for audio/video/photo streaming over the home network. Netflix* and YouTube streaming (*subscription required)
- Wide range of picture adjustments for optimum player/HDTV matching
- 12 bit video D/A conversion. 24 bit/192 kHz Burr-Brown PCM-1781 premium audiophile D/A converters. Dedicated 2 channel output with multi-channel mix down
Additionally, as of January 2011, the player does not have 3D playback capability despite its promised release via a firmware update in the fall of 2010. This is a big disappointment considering it is actually well-advertised on denon's website as a key feature.
Lastly, the power-up or initial ready times have nearly doubled from its predecessor (the 1610) from 14 seconds to 26 seconds. In layman's terms, the player now takes nearly half a minute to open the disc drive when powered off. This is the longest time I can remember in a modern blu ray player.
Outside of these two complaints, Denon has made strides in more compotent DVD playback; the 1611 excels with deinterlacing and cadence recognition, although most cadences require a momentarily lock-on. Video deinterlacing is still mediocre and aliasing does occur, but it's head and shoulders over the 1610. The player's source direct function is ideal for mating with an AVR with a proper video processing chipset (like the Denon AVR-2311ci and above models).
That said, after a week of ownership with this player it is clear Denon rushed production and did not "work all the bugs out." Bit disappointing considering many lower-priced players offer 3D playback, more streaming options, wifi connectivity, and do not require unplugging for five minutes when you want to turn it on.
Buy Denon DBP-1611UD Universal Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Player, Black Now
I bought this unit because of Denon's reputation and because I have a Denon receiver that I like. It's convenient to be able to control the player on the single receiver remote. The player is simple and handsome in appearance. The picture seemed really good on my 54" Panasonic plasma TV.There were a couple of annoying things about its behavior, though. First, the disc drawer is very slow to open and close. I realize that there might be a lot of thinking that the electronics has to do, but it's exasperating to have to stand there with the disc in your hand for so long ( almost 10 secs sometimes). Second, this player has a noisy transport. You can hear the thing clunking from across the room. Finally, it had a strong smell of burning plastic when operating. I thought sure it was burning up, but nothing happened--for four months of light usage--until finally it died and would not power up. I guess it was burning up -slowly.
Then when I went to get service repairs, I found out that Denon contracts its warranty service to a TV repair shop across town that was only open on weekdays. The shop said it would be one month minimum to even find out what was wrong with it. They said that Denon does not support "board level" swap repairs which as a result requires that the faulty components on the circuit boards be identified and replaced with... whatever components the shop can find that will work--Denon does not provide their warranty shops with factory component parts for repairs. Overall, this unit was not worth the headache and I would not buy it--or any other Denon product again.
I think that the quality is generally good for the money, but I would suggest that if one wanted to buy it, it would be wise to call the local Denon warranty repair shop and find out what kind of repair support Denon is providing to them--and to you the buyer, just in case.
Read Best Reviews of Denon DBP-1611UD Universal Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Player, Black Here
Pros: A Netflix-streaming 3D-ready Blu-Ray player that also plays Super Audio CD's and DVD-Audio disks, plus a USB port to play MP3 files from external storage. Great sound and picture. Great value for the money.Cons: Does not decode playlist files, FLACs, WMA lossless or Apple lossless codecs. Youtube not yet working (but firmware upgrade expected). Outputs limited to HDMI, Coax, and stereo analog (as opposed to discrete outputs for each channel).
I have been waiting for the release of the 1611UD for several months, having missed my shot at the Oppo. Denon is a great brand, and this unit replaced my older (and much heavier) Denon SACD/DVD-A/DVD player because we needed Blu-Ray and Netflix in the living room. The new player had to be compatible with an existing library of SACDs and DVD-Audio disks. (I download high-rez music tracks from HDTracks.com and Bowers & Wilkins' Society of Sound, then burn those tracks to DVD-Audio disks.)
The unit was easy to set up, and my first action was to test the surround sound with some favorite movie scenes, including the lobby gunfight in "The Matrix" and the truck chase in "Terminator 3." Though these were just regular DVD's, the sound and picture were terrific. The only Blu-Ray discs around were "Amadeus", "Fool's Gold" (stupid movie, but beautiful scenes), and "A Single Man." All played flawlessly. Sound and picture were terrific and I quickly forgot about the system and just got into the movies without further adjustments. I did test the picture quality of the HDMI cable against a full set of HD component cables, and saw no difference. That was great because I was able to pull all of those component cables out from behind the system. This unit is making me a believer in the sound and picture quality capable with just an HDMI cable.
For SACD's, the 1611UD lets you choose between multi-channel output (through the HDMI or Coax), or stereo output through two analog jacks. If the disc is multi-channel (like Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" 5.1), the Denon will step it down to stereo if you want, or you can listen to it in multi-channel surround. (If you just want a pure 2-channel analog experience, there is a "Pure Direct" button on the front panel that shuts off all digital and video output, and will even shut off the display, so that the Denon is working solely to produce the clearest 2 channel signal.) My home-burned DVD-A's also worked without a problem and sounded great.
While playing stereo music, I jumped back and forth from the HDMI output to the analog outputs, and the analog signal was louder, though not necessarily any clearer.
We don't have a 3D television, so no comment about that.
The network hook-up was truly plug-and-play. I use a Linksys Powerline system (using the house's internal power wiring). All I had to do was plug an ethernet cable into the back of the Denon and it took care of the rest. I activated the unit for Netflix and was streaming a movie inside 5 minutes of set up. I do not yet have a home network set up, so have not tested the Denon for playing files directly from my PC.
My only real gripes are with the functionality of the USB jack. The jack is on the front panel, which makes it very accessible. I plugged in several thumbdrives and even a 250GB external hard drive that were loaded with music files. While the Denon takes a few seconds to analyze each folder when you open it, 320kps MP3 files were played without a problem. In fact, they sounded really good. The Denon would not play FLACs, WMA lossless files, Apple lossless files, and would not play high-rez m4a files, even though WMA and m4a are listed as supported codecs. (Denon is not alone here. Other devices that claim to support WMA always fail when I try the WMA lossless. Glad I spent a whole week ripping my CD library to WMA lossless.)
Also, if you create a playlist on your computer and put it on the external drive, the Denon will not recognize it. (I tried both WinAmp and Windows Media Player to make playlists.) You can create a playlist on the Denon, but as far as I can tell there is no way to save it. Once you unplug the USB storage device, your playlist disappears.
Come on, Denon! Let's fix these things with a firmware upgrade, especially if we could use these great processors to play high-resolution FLAC files. If Denon fixes that, then this unit coupled with a 250GB external hard drive would be the perfect media server. Sit back and call up 600 CD's worth of music from the remote control.
Still, as it is now, if you're having a party and know the songs you want to hear, just load a bunch of MP3's in the same folder on a thumb drive, plug it into the Denon, set it to random, and you're good for hours of music with no CD's to fuss about.
For and free shipping, this unit is a great value.
Edited to add: the HDMI signal is actually louder when listening in 2 channel. I've discovered the one main advantage to putting out 2 channel music through the HDMI cable (rather than just the analog cables) is that it includes the subwoofer in the mix (so it's really 2.1 channel). So, you have all the versatility you could want for your own particular system.
Want Denon DBP-1611UD Universal Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Player, Black Discount?
I had an opportunity to pick up one of these as an open box at Best Buy for a great price, so I decided to replace my Sony BDP-S580 in my AV system. I wasn't wild about the SQ from the Sony model and I have a collection of both SACD and DVD-A discs the Denon is a universal disc spinner (i.e. it plays everything).As it was an open box model, I had to 'reset' the system to erase the Best Buy demo account settings, but the System menu has a nice feature to 'reinitialize' the unit, as well as to de-authorize the Netflix account. Right away, I was asked to upgrade the unit. That went smoothly, but a second upgrade was required, which I have to manually check for (I suspect that eventually, I would have been prompted after the first update).
The updates make all the difference for this review if you read the reviews on Amazon and/or any of the AV forums (I am active on AVS), you will know about the horrendous issues with this device, prior to the updates. For example, not powering back on after switching to standby. Anyway, I had no problems using this unit over the weekend to play discs of all types (DVD, BD, SACD, DVD-A everything worked fine). Update and you can ignore the previous reviews about quality issues.
Blu-ray Playback I was pleased with the video quality with both BD and DVD playback. The BD playback looks as good as anything I've seen (from my experience, all of the current generation BD players play Blu-ray discs with similar and stunning picture quality). I watched the new Blu-ray release of Alien and was really impressed with the image (nice transfer, BTW, for that film).
DVD Playback I was satisfied, if not impressed. I have looked at a number of spinners and this unit has pretty good DVD upscaling. I don't have a large panel a 32" Samsung LED/LCD) that I sit about five feet away from so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. However, I have a critical eye and I haven't seen *any* DVD upscaling that I was really impressed with there is just too much missing information on a standard definition video and there is no pixie dust that will correct for that, IMHO.
I will say this: the Denon DVD upscaling was noticeably "better" than what I was used to watching on my Sony BDP-S580 fewer artifacts, less fuzzy but not really sharp either. There are controls to adjust the image (BNR, MNR, et al.) but I never felt the need to play with these. I watched "Underworld" on SD DVD and after a few minutes forgot I was watching a DVD something that never happened with my Sony unit. I also watched "Fish Tank" on SD DVD (a newer release in 4:3) and loved the look of the image.
DVD-A Playback wow... this is where this device earned its pay. I have a small collection of DVD Audio discs and I've never heard the high-resolution layer on these discs. I have a Yamaha RX-V667 with Klipsch Reference speakers (RB 61 II/RC 62 II) and I cranked Metallica's Black Album to reference volume. Yeah... this spinner does a nice job of transporting bitstreamed audio for high-res music via LPCM.
SACD Playback again, the Denon was able to read and transport DSD to my AVR and it sounded wonderful. My SACD collection is almost all classical, however, and my listening system upstairs does a much nicer job the Klipsch speakers are incredible for movies and Metallica; not great for Hillary Hahn (you can read my review of the RB 61 II for more details).
Device Build and Noise Issues well, I guess you get what you pay for (and I didn't pay much for this box). The box looks nice, like a real AV component and the display and buttons are easy to see/use (unlike my previous Sony). However, the box is surprisingly light when you pick it up. And, all of that empty cabinet space resonates / amplifies internal mechanical sounds. On the positive side, the spinning disc sounds are minimal less than my Sony, which had been driving my crazy. On the negative side, the fan noise and the sound of the laser tracking is louder than I've ever heard on a Blu-ray player. It's infrequent and acceptable, I guess, but something that could have been corrected with some internal buffering material.
Usability Issues OK, some negatives here: activating 1080p/24 play back took some time to figure out (not on by default), in addition to the 'Auto' HDMI setting (which was also not on by default). These are settings that should be enabled by default and I had to read manual to turn these features on. My Sony, on the other hand, had an 'Auto' setting for just about everything. Lastly, the 'Media Player' is almost unusable, due to lack of responsiveness.
Don't buy this player for external (USB or DLNA playback); buy this player because it is a great universal disc spinner at an attractive price.Bought this Blu-Ray player as an upgrade (Sony BDP-S500) hoping for faster load times on Blu-Ray's,I did get what I wanted,
but was missing optical and 5.1/7.1 analog outputs. Loading time is faster than my 3 year old Sony,Picture/Audio quality is just about the same as well,
the CD tray is nothing like it used to be on DENON,it's super thin and and bends crazy (would not recommended if you have toddlers who can reach it).
It will play DVD Video in no time but when it comes to Blu-Ray it will load fast but with one very annoying feature,
the player is giving out a high pitched buzz that messes up all the quiet scenes in the movie. Remote controller is nothing like Sony wish it was,
Denon has one of the worst remote controller of any high end machine.
DENON 2 Decades ago was something else,they were not cheap like today for a purpose, you could not buy cheap made DENON like today.
I still own old Denon components that sill work today like out of box from dates when DVD's did not exist.
The old Japanese Godzilla machines with gold plated connectors were just about bulletproof,something you can't expect today.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Archos 5 Sleek Premium Weather Proof Grey Neoprene Carrying Case - For ORIGINAL and ANDROID 32 / 60
The Archos 5 is simply not a player that you just walk around with in your pants pocket. It's a bit too big for that. Mine either sits on my desk at work, in the car mount, or on the mini-dock at home. This case works great for transporting it between those locations because I don't have to worry about dropping it or having anything penetrate the neoprene. It's pretty thick neoprene and provides a bit of cushion.
I would give 5 stars, but the case is a little bit larger than I expected. I thought the Archos was going to fit snugly inside, instead there's a lot of room for it to move around. This may be a good thing for people that want to put their ear buds in the case with the player.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Ion Tape2PC USB Cassette Deck
- Quickly transfer music on your tapes to MP3 format on your computer
- Dual dubbing cassette deck
- Plug and Play USB audio interface, no drivers needed
- Metal and CrO2 tape selector
- PC and Mac compatible
- Metal & CrO2 tape selector
- PC & Mac compatible
- Plug & play USB audio interface-no drivers needed
- Quickly transfers music from tapes to MP3 format
I was wrong. The ION is a bad-investment for a number of reasons:
1. The ION is huge.
2. The software included with my ION was defective (Chinese characters appeared when I tried to load the application) -and although the folders opened in English, they still didn't load.
3. The recording software for MAC users is available FREE on line.
4. If you have an old tape deck, or any cassette player with audio-out ports, you can go to Radio Shack (which I just did), buy a standard issue "Y" connector (1/8" stereo plug on one end and a white (male) and yellow (male) plug on the other end and (voila) you are done -you now have precisely what the ION gives you: all for about about $15.
Believe me, I am no computer/tech genius. I'm a forty-something mom. But buying and plugging in the "Y" connector was super easy.
The ION merely gives you an old-fashioned, basic cassette deck, basic software (and, in the case of Audacity, something that is free from the Internet) and a USB connector (which does exactly the same thing as the $15 Radio Shack Y-connecter).
After that, you are on your own. I found the steepest learning curve was figuring out how to use the audio recording software. When I was stymied by the defective ION software, I discovered Garage Band was already on my iMac -but I have since downloaded and use Audacity (on both my husband's PC and my iMAC).
The ION directions are so basic as to be nearly indecipherable. And as far as the Audacity software goes, the ION literature says something like: if you've never used audio recording software stick with the EZ converter software (which I believe only works on PCs).
Please also note that the ION literature doesn't tell you the next most important step you must take to make the ION work (goodness knows how any of the other reviewers were able to use their ION w/o a good working knowledge of their computer and/or audio recording. In short, you must go into your Control Panel (PC) or System Preference (MAC) and make sure you change your sound input option to in-line audio port (if using a Y-connector) or USB (if sticking with the ION).
Buyer Beware: think twice before you click to buy the ION. If you have a cassette player (or access to one) with output audio ports (most have them), you can buy the Y-connector and download the software for free.
To Amazon's credit, it appears they will refund my money and cover the cost of return shipment because of the defective software contained with the ION I purchased.
Buy Ion Tape2PC USB Cassette Deck Now
I have several old cassettes made during my childhood that I really wanted to preserve. I found the ION Tape2PC USB Cassette Deck and thought it looked like a good solution for converting those cassettes onto CD. The device was easy to install and easy to use as well. I don't know how to do anything "fancy" with it and just basically let it do it's thing, which has been good enough without using all the fancy options. I am impressed that the sound quality turns out better than if I just played the cassettes on a regular cassette deck. My cassettes are very scratchy sounding because they've been played over-and-over through the years but the ION Tape2PC is able to filter a little of that scratchy sound pretty well. I am happy with my purchase and I didn't need any special tools or anything to install it.Read Best Reviews of Ion Tape2PC USB Cassette Deck Here
I feel obligated to review this item since I bought it and returned it after being unsatisfied with the sound quality. If you're like me, you're trying to get your tape collection onto your computer. I was looking for the best sound quality first, and if possible, an easy way to make the transfers. The Tape2PC didn't do either.My recommendation is to buy yourself a new dual tape deck that offers auto-reverse and relay play. Most new decks have both features, including the new Sony deck I bought.
The Tape2PC boasts that it comes with Audacity audio software, but you can download Audacity for free (just google it). Hook up the tape deck to your computer's line-in jack using an RCA to 1/8" adapter. 99% of computers already have a line-in jack and the ability to record with relatively little white noise added. The Audacity software is easy to use and will let you convert files to MP3 or WAV. If you're comfortable using a computer, the entire process will be easy for you.
Reasons to buy Tape2PC:
Tape2PC is good for beginners who don't know much about computers. The included software has a wizard that walks you step by step through the process. It will help you name the files and even help split the tape into separate tracks, provided you sit through the whole process and click a button at the exact moment you want to split the tracks (who has time for that?)
It auto imports files into iTunes, and from there you can sync to your iPod easily.
Reasons not to buy Tape2PC:
Number one reason is quality. I thought a USB device would eliminate interference and hums and lead to the best sound quality, but it was less of a factor than I originally thought. The key is the tape deck itself. The Tape2PC deck is a cheap deck at best and even if the USB connection adds no noise, the sound from the deck is lousy to start with. It's mostly noticable on the high-end frequencies they sound muffled or missing altogether.
The Tape2PC is a dual deck, but doesn't have auto-reverse. That means you need to come back to the computer every 25-45 minutes after one side as been recorded, flip the tape over, and start recording the other side. On the other hand, a dual deck with auto-reverse and relay play means you can load up 2 tapes, and have both sides play in sequence. Set your computer to record and come back and hour or two later (or 200 minutes later if you have 100min mix tapes, for example). You can split the tracks manually in the audacity software after the fact. Most computers nowadays can handle recording 200 minutes without running out of disk space.
Lastly, using the built in Tape2PC software was sort of a pain because it requires iTunes to be installed and it always converts files to MP3s at a low bit-rate. I wanted to convert them to WAV files (i.e. lossless format) and to do that I couldn't use the included Tape2PC software. I was required to use Audacity, but again that's free so what's the advantage to buying this Tape2PC system?
Want Ion Tape2PC USB Cassette Deck Discount?
I have a number of irreplaceable cassette tapes that I've been trying to figure out how to convert to CD for the past few years. I'm on a Mac and pretty technical but nothing I've looked at previously seemed quite right. I had looking into the Crossly all in one but that didn't have very good reviews and I looked into the iMic but it seemed a little complicated.When I read about the Tape2Pc I was very hopeful. I've had it for a few weeks now and it was very easy to set up. If you're on a Mac you'll have to go to the Ion website to download the EZ Tape Converter and Audacity soft wear, the included CD is supposed to be for PC or Macs but the files are .exe which Mac's can't use.
I decided to try the EZ Tape soft wear as I don't have time at the moment to mess with the files and was hoping that it would be simple, and it was! Just Open the program, click a few buttons and press play on the Tape2Pc deck and you're recording! *Important Mac note before you start, you need to go into your sound playback file and choose: USB audio codec this is the opposite of what they say in the booklet. It's mentioned on the Ion forums too.
The sound quality is wonderful seems the same as on the cassette. You do need to stay nearby your computer when your making the file because if the CD has tracks that you'd like to keep separate for your CD, you need to press a 'track' button between each one, then you need to press 'finish' when it's over. After that it automatically uploads and converts the tracks into your iTunes (or any other CD burning program you choose).
Finally an easy way to convert your cassettes thanks Ion!I recently returned an ION Tape2PC deck to Amazon. It was the worst product and experience with a product's manufacturer I've had in a long time.
Amazon, good to its word, accepted the return and quickly credited my account (ION should learn Customer Service from Amazon.)
My deck seemed to have some kind of odd circuitry problem. Every so often it created loud interference during recording. I isolated my iMac and the ION from any and all interference in the room I was in, meaning no Wifi, no wireless connections open, blackberry in a different part of the house, cordless phone unplugged. I disconnected and reconnected everything. I rebooted the iMac. I tried different cassettes (all commercial grade). Nothing worked.
I called ION Customer Service. After three attempts, each with a hold time of more than 15 minutes, I called back and spoke to the receptionist who told me there was only one tech support person. When I mentioned I needed to speak to someone or return my product to Amazon, the receptionist essentially said to go and return it just the friendly, helpful customer facing employee you want to encounter.
The software was not very good. The EZ Tape Convertor requires real-time attention to capture individual tracks. The included CD had no Mac software though the website did. Audacity is far better but requires a learning curve. What is really annoying is that before purchasing this deck, I actually spoke to someone at ION who told me the software could discern track breaks and therefore I did not have to watch it which is why I made my purchase.
The deck itself seems of insubstantial manufacture. The USB port is great and that's the only reason to even remotely think about buying this deck.
The documentation that came with my deck referred only to turntables.
All in all, a substandard in my opinion product from a company that does not seem to value the customer or the customer's experience.
I'm going to take the suggestions of others here and buy a proven brand and some RCA-to-line/in jacks and use Audacity (free) or Garage Band.
Do not buy this deck.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Panasonic SAT200 Blu-Ray DVD CD Player Receiver with Ipod Dock and SD Card slot 1000 Watts
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
8GB Touch Screen Ver 2.0 multi media mp3 player mp4 Video Digital Camera miniSD slot
- 2.8" 8GB Touch Screen MP3/MP4 Player PDA Ver 2.0
- 8GB internal memory.Expand memory Via optional miniSD slot. 16GB microsd tested.
- Built in Digital Camera, Video Recorder, Speaker, eBook(.txt) reader, FM Radio (earphones required as antenna.)
- Easy drag and drop computer interface.Player is not locked to one computer.Use it with several computers.
- Create up to 5 on the fly music playlists.Supports 320x240 avi video.
Buy 8GB Touch Screen Ver 2.0 multi media mp3 player mp4 Video Digital Camera miniSD slot Now
As an MP3 player it Works great! Earphones leave a little to be desired. radio function doesn't pick up even local stations. Camera works as specified. Other functions are more or less standard offerings.First of all,Why there was two five star customer reviews?...
I really don't understand.
Much fuction? The Quality of fuction?
It means nothing because the LCD of gr8er1 is really,really,really bad.
The LCD is so dark, blur..etc.,
I barely can recognize the character.
Anyone who want to try to buy gr8er1 must remember what I said.
I threw it away in less than two minutes after I got the item.
$89.96 ... why did I burn it up...
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I am surprised that such products are being sold on Amazon. This is a below a basic grade which cannot pass quality testing.Having said this, I am not sure what more to talk about the product performance. Just a rip-off your money.
The manual is so cheap, that it is not even legible. To make it better, this could be made available online and save the environment.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
MUSTEK DV5300SE 6-In-1 Multifunctional Camera (Silver)
There are some problems:
1) the stabalization in the video mode does not work very well and is too shaky.
2) the menu to change the settings is awkward in places and not easily figured out.
3) in bright light the LCD screen is not good and very, very hard to see.
For under a hundred bucks it is a great camera. I bought additional memory and the camera is more than serviceable. It goes without saying that if this camera was 200 dollars it would not be a good camera or a good value, but for a first camera it is excellent.So, I had to replace my 17 year old Panasonic palmcorder. I knew I wasn't going to be continuing with a camera that utilizes a c size cassette. And, seeing as how christmas just came, I didn't want to spend a lot of money, or make a permanent decision on what kind of format to go with. I made my decision after reading many reviews on some of the cheaper models. At $59.50, how could I go wrong. From reading reviews, i knew I was buying a camera that wouldn't be great indoors. But, outdoors, the video it shoots is really quite good. And, even though I wasn't buying it for still shots, I was very impressed with the two shots i took of my daughter. The camera is tiny, and almost feels like a toy. The doors to the memory compartment, and where you hook up the wires are very flimsy, but, so far, so good. It does eat up batteries big time, but, if I decide to use this for a while, I'm going to get rechargeable ones. I've read some reviews on this model where people were complaining that it doesn't have enough memory. I bought a one gig memory stick for under 20 bucks. At under a hundred bucks you can't go wrong with this camera. Just don't have high expectations of using it indoors. Although, I did use it recently in an indoor situation with a lot of natural light coming in, and it came out much better than i expected. Combined with the price I got it for, I give it an excellent rating, but be very gentle with compartment doors. I am amending this review to 'good' on March 11th 2007 because one of the compartment doors is now in two pieces. And all I did was remove it the only way you can. And it just came off in two pieces. It does still go back on. It's the cover for the spots where the different input wires would plug in. I should also mention that the software with this camera does some pretty good things. I was able to edit out a short clip from a video and email it to a neighbor, and you can also make a jpeg from a video still shot. The zoom on this camera is digital, which I have now learned, is pretty useless. I've now learned the hard way that you need an optical zoom to be able to have any clarity as you zoom in. But, at under 60 bucks, it's still a fun toy. I even have mp3 clips loaded in and it does work well as an mp3 player. You can fill a memory card with music, and have a cheap ipod. But, who knows how long this thing will last?? It's a good way to learn the world of digital recording. And I didn't even get to the voice recorder...it works well.
Buy MUSTEK DV5300SE 6-In-1 Multifunctional Camera (Silver) Now
Feels cheap, parts don't fit together, won't start with memory card in camera. The screen is smaller than the picture would have you believe the screen doesn't fit when flipped down the memory card door doesn't stay put the over all feel is of really cheap plastic. Batteries last all of 20 minutes..not worth a dime.
Read Best Reviews of MUSTEK DV5300SE 6-In-1 Multifunctional Camera (Silver) Here
I would suggest buying a video camera that holds more memory because this one only allowed us to tape about 15 minutes worth of video and then it was full. The pictures were also dark. I would suggest shelling out more money to get a better product cause this just wasn't worth it.Want MUSTEK DV5300SE 6-In-1 Multifunctional Camera (Silver) Discount?
This was my first digital camera and the quality of the pictures were OK. But everything else about it was a surprise... The batteries burn out extremely fast, just after taking 9 or 10 pictures or playing a song for 3 minutes. The video playback was choppy on the LCD screen and wouldn't even play on my PC. The audio was really hard to hear out of headphones, and so on... In my opinion, this camera is OK just for taking occasional pictures of stuff, but it's a really cheap camcorder and MP3 player. This product was completely unsatifactory to me, so I had to return it. I wouldn't buy it if I were you...Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Panasonic VDR-M53 DVD Camcorder w/24x Optical Zoom
You need a software to convert the DVD to something els to be able to edit it on your computer though (to edit movie and make copies)
I like that it write direct to DVD so if you don't want to edit it, there is no need to bother with the computer.
Be aware it only works with certain types of DVD's. Won't work with DVD-RW. Has to be DVD-r and only a certain typre of RAM disk.
Buy Panasonic VDR-M53 DVD Camcorder w/24x Optical Zoom Now
If you buy this camera, remember to buy also additional DVD copy software (IntelVideo Copy around $70), plus only Panasonic DVD-Ram mini DVD disks (also expensive). Also, after my experience, if you erase one DVD-ram disc at least twice, on the third use the movie will have many video or audio problems. Not knowing this problem, I ruined my friend's baby shower video. Panasonic customer service is not helpful at all. A representative was even surprised that my camera does not have USB cable!!! Other then that let's say, once you cannot return this camera to the store, because I opened it and used it, you can still enjoy lightness of the camera. One more thing: you need to purchase the light also; this camera does not have built-in light you will need it. ... So, how much does the camera cost after all???Read Best Reviews of Panasonic VDR-M53 DVD Camcorder w/24x Optical Zoom Here
Has good features, but the biggest downsides are it does not have a USB port and it uses DVD-RAM discs (re-writable) which do not work on most of the DVD players.Note that it does not use DVD-RW discs that come with most notebooks and desktop computers and allow re-writing.
So there seems to be virtually no way to transfer your videos to your computer, other than buying a DVD Multi drive that can read DVD-RAM discs.
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I bought this camera because of consumer reports great reviews. But I'm bound and determined to get my images onto my PC. I purchased a DVD-RAM compatible drive for my PC and still can't get it to recongnize either DVD-RAM or DVD-R disks. Do I need special software? And if so what? Roxio DVD builder is not doing the trick.Other than that, the camera works great, images and sound are clear, and camera is easy to opperate. If you figure out a new cell phone, you can figure out this.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Sony AC-E30A Worldwide AC Power Adaptor with Folding Plug Blade
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I have 6 Sony MX-20 digital recorders and I got tired of replacing AAA batteries so I purchased 3 of these AC adapters and they work just fine. The cord is extra long so it is very convenient to use.Read Best Reviews of Sony AC-E30A Worldwide AC Power Adaptor with Folding Plug Blade Here
Have an old Sony Walkman and this adapter is a good match, works fine. The instructions on the package say not to use with a radio due to interference/static. WTF I said to myself, It was listed by Sony as the model for my radio. Well, I get no static except with AM stations. FM stations are clean. This was a good price and I'd buy it again but forget AM stations on the radio.Want Sony AC-E30A Worldwide AC Power Adaptor with Folding Plug Blade Discount?
I purchased this as a backup to the batteries because I was using it for interviewing. If the battery is drained the quality of the recording is affected. So you may be better off using the adaptor to play it safe.Monday, June 9, 2014
Defender Connected 8CH H.265 500GB Smart Security DVR with 8 x 600TVL IR Cut Filter 100ft Night Vis
Sunday, June 1, 2014
HONEYWELL 6160 DELUXE 32-CHARACTER ALPHA KEYPAD
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This panel works great with my Vista 20 alarm system. The old panel beeped and this one "bing"s, so it's a bit different, but I'll get used to it.Read Best Reviews of HONEYWELL 6160 DELUXE 32-CHARACTER ALPHA KEYPAD Here
The female voice that describes the various devices that have been tripped is awful...essentially unintelligible if there's the least bit of ambient sound in the room. The quality of the audio is extremely poorkind of like a cheap shortwave radio.This aspect of the keypad is worthless.
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Saturday, May 31, 2014
Digital Sound Level Meter
The only complain is the size, because he need to hang in a window and keep this huge toy in his pocket.
The precision is perfect compared with other brands that he used to work.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Aiptek DV5100M 5 MP Pocket Digital Camcorder
-Video and Audio tracks are exactly synchronized (i.e., audio talking matches video of talking).
-Audio microphone is very quiet, and does not have any hum or hiss noise (like some other small camcorders).
-Accepts highest memory of 2 GB Compact Flash (SanDisk Ultra II and Kingston Elite Pro), and video records for about 3 and 1/half hours.I ordered this camcorder and gave it a test drive for a couple of days. I sent it back to Amazon because the sound was awful. It picked up a narration from the camera operator, but anything from a dog's bark to a conversation five feet away...forget it. Saying the sound was muffled isn't strong enough. The other reason I returned it is because it was obviously previously owned. The box had been opened, the batteries had been inserted, and, the biggest clue, it had someone else's Christmas movie on the internal memory. So if you order this (don't) and yours comes with an out-of-focus silent Christmas tree and a long shot of someone's bathroom, that's the one I sent back.
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I got this for my 13 yo daughter, who really wanted a video camera to play around with. The Aiptek seemed to be perfect; simple to use and not too expensive. Well it's not particularily easy to use: The picture was very difficult to get into focus (manual focus that doesn't seem to make much difference). It is faily inexpensive, but you will want to expand the memory (Compact Flash) which now is fairly cheap, but you will need several at 64mb. Sound is barely audible. If your budget is tight and this is all you can afford; wait a year until better products fall into this price range. You will be much happier and won't have to dispose of this unit. Our solution was to buy a well rated low end dvd unit for around $400. This is for the family, but she can use it. She's happy with the "awsome unit", and I was able to upgrade from my 8mm unit, so it's a win-win. (With her using it, her being a teenager and all, I got an extended, free replacement type warrantee, however.)Read Best Reviews of Aiptek DV5100M 5 MP Pocket Digital Camcorder Here
It's OK if you own a PC computer running Microsoft software. It should have been plainly stated in the description that the video file won't download and run on a MacIntosh.I bought mine in the summer of 2005. With a 2 GB CF card, I can take a 3 to 3 1/2 hour video. The still pictures come out as clearly as digital cameras costing 4 times the cost of this unit, and this camcorder is smaller than most digital cameras. Of course the video quality is not as good as a larger, much more highly priced camcorder, but the videos come out well. It comes with accessories, which, for this price I'd not have expected, i.e., the carrying case and tripod. I don't know if they changed tripods, because someone posted about the long plastic screw: my tripod has a very short metal screw. All in all, considering price, ease of use, and quality, I have to give this 5 stars.Thursday, January 9, 2014
Encore ZQ-PC8008CG Small Clock Camcorder with Motion Detection 4GB TF Card
PROS -
I. The video isn't bad and is in color. Keep in mind you need sufficient lighting.
II. Will pivot from a straight up view (lying flat) to 135 degrees from flat. So with 90 degrees perpendicular to the table top, you can look down (or up) to some extent.
III. Covert. Appears to be a tech-ish desk clock. The lens is very difficult to see. Even if you examine it, the lens looks like a fastener.
IV. The 90 minute run time is better than many cordless DVR-style security cams.
V. Also has audio (however, see item 3 below).
CONS and a mini tutorial...
1. I've tried a few Encore products, the user's manual is always both sketchy and only somewhat helpful. Much of the camera's secrets must be unlocked by your own persistance. If you insist on Plug-n-Play look elsewhere (although see below for tutorial).
2. While the clock does work the GMT dial next to it does not. Not even sure why it's there. To set the clock pull the knob that protrudes more (of the two). GMT can't be set.
3. More on the clock aspect the camera audio picks up a constant TICK TICK TICK. Very prominent and can make dialogue difficult to monitor.
4. Camera operation you didn't buy it for the clock is VERY confusing (with the manual giving you little help).
>>>>> Here's what I discovered via trail and error...
++NOTE++ Charge until red light on clock face is solid (blue light stops flashing). Note that it doesn't hold a charge long so charge immediately before use. Fully charged it will record nonstop for about 90 minutes. Video will be broken into clips of equal length.
A. Press the power button above the memory slot camera boots and a red light on the front of the clock face becomes solid red. It's ready for use.
B. Photos: Press the camera button just above the USB once (briefly) and it takes a JPEG photo.
C. Vid (Motion): Press and hold the same camera button and the red light flashes SIX times then goes out. I learned that means you are now in motion detection mode. In motion you aren't constrained by the 90 minute battery life YET while the range is supposedly 3 meters mine is less than that and takes considerable motion before it becomes aware. I can see it used for this only if the area of interest is close to the clock and the expected subject is large enough (i.e., a person, vehicle, etc.).
D. Vid (Always On): Once you've entered motion detection mode, you can then move to "always on" video. You can't go straight there. You have to do the motion thing first. Same operation press and hold the camera button until the clock face light starts to flash. When it finishes 6 flashes you are recording nonstop. So, press fast photo. Press and hold 6 flashes, motion. Press and hold 6 MORE flashes, always on.
E. When finished, press power (over memory card), the red light flashes 3 times fast and you're done.
I'm still exploring how this thing works but it's been much more tedious than I hoped. Also, my experience with Encore products has NOT been positive when trying to load their drivers or use the cameras as webcams. I've come to just pulling the memory card and using an external reader. I keep the camera away from the computer since that has more than once ended in disabling the camera completely.
THE BEST PART -- AMAZON allows return of those units that just won't cooperate. Without Amazon Buyer Protection I'd stay away from Encore cameras. With it, I keep hoping Encore figures out how to make the interface aspects better. The concept of their products is nice their design and manufacture need work.The package came on time and the clock works. I have no idea how to get the camera to record. I tried to follow the directions and I even attempted the directions that the last reviewer spent a lot of time writing, but it still didn't record. No matter what i did, every time I put the SD card into my SD reader on my computer it said it was empty. The record lights blinked on the camera, but it either never processed onto he card or the card was faulty.
In addition, half the time I put the micro SD card into the SD converter and popped the thing into my computer, the computer didn't even register it. Then randomly it would.
I can't say this product is bad or broken, I just couldn't figure out how to get it to work.
On the good side, the clock was nice and I contemplated keeping it just for that, but in the end I returned it.
Buy Encore ZQ-PC8008CG Small Clock Camcorder with Motion Detection 4GB TF Card Now
Sunday, November 24, 2013
HTS 5.1CH 1200W 1080IUP IPOD CONN SLIMR
the sound is very good the unpowerd sub-woffer is very louad for its size
it has a i pod dock works very good you can connect a usb flash dive to it and play the mp3 audio and some video not much
i paid under 500.00 for mine very good price for what you get
all speakers are 200 watt each
fills a mid size living room with lots of sound
i have it connected to a DLP mitsubishi 73737 the picture looks great
dvd player is ok not the best but it works good its a little slow loading
the unit upconverts your dvds to 1080p makes them look good on a hdtv
you must use a hdmi cable to get the dvds to play in 1080p
Thursday, October 17, 2013
SimplyVibe SV-X6U1-White Rechargeable Portable Multifunctional Speaker and MP3 & FM Player (works w
- LED Display shows the name of song, singer and support 20 kind of language
- FM radio: Auto search stations and support FM recorder that can play back FM songs/programs
- Turbo bass Technology w/ DSP subwoofer bass blaster, High fidelity sound!
- Plays FM radio, MP3 from a USB Flash Drive or a SD Card!
- Headphone output jack and 3.5 mm input cable: works with and amplifies all Android/iPod/iPad/BB devices
The unit is powered either by USB, or by a Nokia BL-5C type lithium battery. Battery life varies, depending on how high the volume is set, but is rated at up to 10 hours. Recharge time via the furnished USB cable is a couple of hours.
A 38" long audio cable is provided to connect an MP3 player, computer, or other audio device to the speaker. The auxiliary input jack is on the rear, next to a headphone jack. The Simply Vibe SV-X6U1 also plays MP3's on other media, and has an SD card slot, and USB connector for flash memory drives on the right side panel. The "Mode" button on the front is used to cycle between the different sources (FM, Line In, USB, and SD card).
While the device can be utilized many ways, as I have a number of spare cards, I will probably use it mostly for playing files on SD cards. Even MP3's burned at 80KB sound fine, so it is possible to cram a lot of files onto a card HDSC. Although the unit has a display, unlike most MP3 players, there isn't a convenient way to navigate through the files, and select the specific songs or artists you want to play. Unfortunately, about all you can do is skip through the files one by one, which is no fun when you have several hundred files. Interestingly, files seem to be read and played not in alphabetically order, but in the order that the files were transferred to the card.
Most times the unit resumes playing where it left off. If you are playing files on an SD card and insert a flash drive, the speakers will switch and play any files on the flash drive. The same is true if the situation is reversed and you are playing files on a flash drive, and insert an SD card.
The controls are visible on the front, below the display. What may not be clear is that the buttons are very small, and can be a little hard to operate. The instructions are not very well written, and figuring out how to set the date and time could be something of an adventure. The sensitivity of the buttons isn't the greatest, and there is a delay in response time for of some of functions, which can be frustrating at times. Skipping through files can get tedious, so it might have helped if a couple of the buttons were a little larger.
You probably need to crank up the volume on your MP3 player or computer almost to the maximum, in order to get decent volume on the SimplyVibe. If there is available memory on an SD card or flash drive, the unit can record ambient audio. This can create issues, as the WAV files that are created are "protected", and erasing them can be a little inconvenient. Tone can be adjusted by selecting one of the preset equalization settings.
I have several external speaker systems, but have yet to find a one that has the kind of convenience and portability I am looking for. Because it utilizes a cord connection, I don't find the SV-X6U1 ideal for use with an iPod, but when used with SD cards, you have a unit that is small, easy to carry, delivers good quality sound, and has a battery that lasts for a decent amount of time. It's perfect for taking around the house, or on a trip to the park or beach.
It is not without flaws, but the SV-X6U1 is a great value in this price range, and would make a terrific gift. I plan to get another one at some point. The Nokia battery it uses is readily available, and inexpensive. The speakers are available in either black or white finish. I also considered the SimplyVibe SV-X7, but decided against it because it accepts micro SD cards rather than SD cards.well I just got the unit, is much better than the old model, sound is loud and clear, the battery life is longer about 9-10 hrs. I have not encounter anything wrong with the unit yet.I got this little device for my Mother-in-law. She has her favorite radio stations that she listens to and this little radio has a great big sound. Since it will play files that are on SD cards I have recorded all he favorite music and put them on SD cards. I have the Bible on Sd cards also. I bought enough SD cards that I put One chapter on each card. It has really worked out well since it is easy to chose an album, Chapter or station and in seconds be listening to it. This is one of my best purchases online ever. SimplyVibe and Amazon both have outstanding customer service since I had some early issues using the SD function. I would definitly recommend this product. Both SimplyVibe and Amazon did every thing in their power to resolve my problems.I'd say that the review by trebe from Feb 2012 is good and accurate, but I feel that someone needs to say "buyer beware" as well as "you get what you pay for".
I bought it to use as an alarm clock that would play my tunes from USB or SD chip at the time I set. I have yet to figure out how to set the alarm, and 2 other people haven't been able to either. The manufacturer ("Simply Globo" hasn't responded to my email for help, and I fear that it will be in the same broken English that the user manual is written in. This device is really cool, but it's makers don't know how to describe it or explain it's use in any language that I speak.
If I ultimately find out the magical and strange combination of buttons and menus to get it to play my music when I set it to, I'll love it....
So how do you rate something that does plenty cool stuff, but not what you were told it would do?I though that the sound quality was not going to be so good for it is a very small speaker. However, I was totally wrong about that because the sound quality is amazing. Also, you could set it up as an alarm and it works as a radio. And you can put it next to you while sleeping without worrying about turning it off because it has sleep timer. Wonderful product!
Monday, October 14, 2013
POV ACG20 Action Video Camera Sunglasses (Black)
It came as ordered. Awesome.
After unboxing...Well, I do not know where to begin.
1) item clearly was different than the photos.
2) Item listed on amazon says 3.0 mega pixels, manual clearly states 2.0, this is a false listing on amazon.
3) Item clearly has two buttons for recording, the one I received had 4 with mp3 headphones. None of which I ordered and obviously more noticeable and bulky.
4) attempts to ask manufacturer about the microsd slot, does it use microsdhc or is the older type, have gone unanswered. There is no way to tell if it actually takes a 8gb or not.
5) item listed as 30 FPS, manual states 25-30 FPS with no way to adjust that.
6) Resolution listed on amazon is 736 X 480, manual clearly states this is not so. The actual resolution in manual is 640x480.
7)I set it up to charge, blue light came on, hours later blue light is still on, but nothing works at all. Cannot see it in the computer, cannot change 'mode' etc..this item appears dead.
All in all, I feel like I bought an item off ebay from a d-bag seller who lies and cheats. For this price I expected what I bought, not some old fake pair that does not work.
Stay away from this seller and their products. Me? I am starting the dang refund/return process, this is dung.These glasses are being shipped back to the vendor. The video camera function did not work. When I tried to record a video it only captured the audio for playback. In addition the still shot pictures were not very clear. Also the manual does not conatain any customer service number or warranty information.
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The battery died while I was using it today. Contacted Amazon for a refund and they will send UPS to pick it up tomorrow.This is my 4th purchase of this from different vendors and this has the best quality so far. The video and sound qualities were good. Unfortunately, the internal battery did not last long. There should be a way to replace the battery myself in case the warranty expires. Not comfortable if I will recommend this to buy. Another thing, I got this for $86 3 weeks ago and now it is on sale for $57 :(
I might try the i-Kam extreme. Hopefully this will last longer...
Read Best Reviews of POV ACG20 Action Video Camera Sunglasses (Black) Here
I bought two of these glasses as gifts. We charged them up for 12 hours as described in the rather brief "manual" and then tried to turn them on and record a video. Immediately we noticed the buttons hurt our hands when we tried to hold them down for 3 seconds (power on) or 5 seconds (record) according the instructions. Both glasses powered on, but neither went into a recording mode. One of the glasses did not power off at all. We tried doing a reset of both glasses to no avail. The glasses do not work and we are returning them today. It is too bad because they are a fun concept. Perhaps another vendor will eventually get it right but in the meantime ... avoid this product.Want POV ACG20 Action Video Camera Sunglasses (Black) Discount?
What a cool toy/gadget! Until it stopped working after about 2 weeks of respectful use. =(
I've attached a "before and after" video. The before video shows how the video looked before the camera arbitrarily stopped working... The after video shows the hopeless pink and green stripes, which is all it will produce now. I treated the glasses with the greatest care, kept them in their case and never dropped them. They just went flakey on their own.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Mini Gadgets HCBluetooth Earpiece Covert Camera/DVR
The product is pretty cheap, and is kind of a "rag-tag" device.
When I first recevied it in the mail (shipping was very quick) I thought it was broken because I heard a slight ratteling inside when I shook it gently. Then, when I plugged the device into my computer with the supplied USB cable, nothing happened. At first, I was upset because I figured it was defective. But with some quick trouble shooting I realized it was the supplied USB cable that wasn't working. I own a Play Station 3 and the charging cable used to charge the PS3 game controller is the exact same size you need for the ear piece recorder. Lucky for me, it worked!
Now the directions, are obviously translated by someone who didnt look closely for grammar errors or have english as their primary language. I would HIGHLY suggest you use my comment as a tool to help you understand how to work the device, and save yourself about an hour of playing around. Heres how it works: There are three buttonsthe big one on the side that looks like the "answer/hang up" button, and two little ones ontop of the device that would normally be the audio volume up/down buttons. When you first have the device all charged up, you press and hold the "answer/hang up" button on the side turn the device on. Here is where it gets a tad bit tricky: The little button closes to the camera lens part is the button that toggles between "picture" mode and "video with audio" mode. The little button farthest away from the camera lens part is for "Audio Only".
To take a picture, press the front "volume up" top button (closest to the camera lens) until the yellow light on the side is flashing between yellow and blue. This means your in picture only mode. Press the "answer/hangup" button to take a picture. It will take about 2 seconds to take the picture and another 2 seconds for it to save.
To take a video, press the front "volume up" top button until the yellow light on the side is a constant yellow. This means you are now in video with audio mode. Press the "answer/hangup" button to start taking video (the light on the side will be a constant blue when recording) and press it again to stop the video. The first second or two will seem a little laggy, but it should quickly clear up after a split second.
For audio only, press the rear "volume up/down" button. Now, for this you DO NOT need to press the answer/hangup buttonit will automatically start recording audio only. To stop it from recording, you would press the same back volume up/down button again. You will not press the answer/hangup button at all. And the camera will automatically default BACK to video mode when you are done audio recording.
Now, the only real complaint I have, and Im not sure if its because I just have kind of a chubby face, but about a third of the video is of the side of my face. I'm sure that with a little clever thinking, you could put something soft toward the front part of the camera to help push it out so you can get none of your face in the video. But for starters, I am VERY please with my device. One other thingthe part of the blue-tooth that holds the camera on your ear is very cheap. I reccommend being very careful because if that breaks, your screwed. It does not bend or have very much give. Also, the camera uses .AVI and only audio will process in Windows Media Player. The device comes with a small cd that has the VLC application on it that you can quickly download to your computer for your viewing pleasure.
This is a great little device to have! Dont expect the world from it, but with a few slight modifications that would be relatively in-expensive and a bit of practiceI'm sure it will do whatever little sneakiness you need to accomplish.
Recording a game of fetch is fun and hands-free using my new earpiece cam. Video quality is good but will not playback on Windows Media Player, use VLC Media Player to watch recordings.
Buy Mini Gadgets HCBluetooth Earpiece Covert Camera/DVR Now
It's next to impossible without having a lot of patience and time to just play with it in order to figure out how to operate the device because the directions are not written/translated by anyone that comprehends English.The device does not clip to your ear very well at all, and if you wear glasses cannot be worn.
Read Best Reviews of Mini Gadgets HCBluetooth Earpiece Covert Camera/DVR Here
this product looks to be a good product but it doesnt work. Im returning it to see if i can get another one. hopefully that one will work.Want Mini Gadgets HCBluetooth Earpiece Covert Camera/DVR Discount?
I know I already wrote a response about this gadget and I am being asked a second time to rate this product. It wasn't TRUE plug'n'play like a spy pen I have that worked as expected right out of the box. But with this gadget I had to load drivers, use a different media player that wasn't the Windows Media Player and couldn't get any movies to play the recorded video because I couldn't see any files in any pop up windows like my spy pen. So I decided to return the defective product. Wish some manufacturer would invent a covert earpiece recorder that would work as easy as my spy pen.Monday, September 16, 2013
Harman Kardon AVR 310 Audio/Video Receiver
- Delivers 50 watts of power x 5 channels
- MP3 decoding with coaxial or optical inputs
- Multiroom/multisource operation
- Ultrawide-bandwidth amplifier
- EzSet remote balances speaker levels
The only downside to this receiver that I have found is the lack of component video input/output, but this wont be a factor for the majourity of people. One thing I was very happy, and actually suprised about, was that this receiver not only does a superb job at digital surround (DTS, Dolby Digital), but it also puts out transparent, crystal clear stereo sound from your favorite cds. So many of those "home theater in a box" setups, with mini speakers and a subwoofer are able to nicely reproduce movies, becuase no single speaker/pair of speakers has to carry the load the entire time. During Stereo listening, on the other hand, these setups really falter. Sound becomes distorted, volumes are not very capable, and the sound is very tinny. The HK avr 310 exposed to levels of ambiance to songs that i've been listening to for years.
The inclusion of Logic7 and the best Pro Logic I have ever heard on any receiver, make watching tv a whole lot more fun. I've owned this reciever for about three monthes now, and have only spent probably twenty-five minutes total setting it up, and I get great results. In this price range, I challenge anyone to find a receiver that even comes close to the Harman and Kardon avr 310.
PS: This receiver comes with a two year warranty from h/k if something were to go wrong. In past experiences with Harman Kardon, they have been exceedingly helpful in terms of repairs/replacements.
Buy Harman Kardon AVR 310 Audio/Video Receiver Now
What a piece of pure JUNK!I have had nothing but problems with this thing. My first one broke within 3 weeks. I took it in for service and they never could figure out what was wrong with it so they gave me a new one. Get it home and the same things are happening. No display sometimes and totally sporadic other problems. I call HK and they tell me I need to reset it. Ok... I pretty much have to reset it every time I want to use it. It goes close to 6 months with no use while I design my theater room at my new house. Go to use it and...nothing! I give up!!! I try to call but the service is closed for a week.
Never again. :(
2 HUGE thumbs down on the HK BLUNDER!

