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Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Platinum FATAL1TY Champion Series (eng/fr) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Creative's Sound Blaster X-FI Platinum FATAL1TY series gives you high-end audio performance for your gaming or media center PC.All of the elements combined provide you with a total high end audio experience.

The card has 7 independant channels in addition to the subwoofer, making it capable of 7.1 surround sound configuration.Of course you will need a 7.1 speaker set in order to take advantage of this.

The card has 64MB of onboard memory that enables it to process even the most complex audio sequences.From a physical perspective, the rear connectors are high quality.High quality cables are necessary in order to take advantage of high quality ports, so don't skimp there either!

The signal to noise ratio (SNR) is listed at 109 dB, meaning the noise distortion level is very low at about 1 percent.Systems can have up to 5% and still be certified.

This card is 24bit and provides some nice sampling rates (96kHz ADC & DAC or 192kHz DAC).

Ample ports are also provided via the front console I/O Drive.In addition to line-outs for front, rear and center/subwoofer speaker channels, there are line in ports for standard audio/microphone in, auxiliary in, and cd in.Headphone jacks are there as expected.There are also optical and coaxial ports available both in and out.NICE!!

To accomodate the I/O Drive you will need at least one free drive bay, which means that this set is best for a tower or media center enclosure if you intend to keep your DVD drive installed.

The remote control comes with batteries and has all the standard functions you would expect.There are also 2 MIDI adapter cables included, just in case you don't have spares.

Creative chose not to include some legacy ports here. It's hard to fault them on that, especially at these prices.Installation is pretty standard for those who regularly build or upgrade PCs, but average users will want to get help here.

Creative's claim that the X-Fi Crystalizer will make MP3s sound better than CDs is an exaggeration.It's like comparing apples and oranges.This may make your music files sound better than other systems, but anything that's been digitally mastered and non-compressed should sound better when played on the same system.Don't get me wrong, it still sounds great.Just have realistic expectations and don't replace your home audio system just yet.

Overall, if you demand high end sound for gaming or media center applications, this is the set for you.Enjoy!

Pros
+ Front and rear ports
+ 7.1 surround sound capable
+ Nice high-end sampling rates
+ Solid connectors
+ Nice remote
+ Nice price point

Cons
- Space eating software
- Installation time / difficulty
- Legacy ports missing

Click Here to see more reviews about: Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Platinum FATAL1TY Champion Series (eng/fr)

Product Description:
Designed to meet the performance demands of the worlds best-known professional gamer, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS sound card provides stunning 109dB SNR audio quality, accelerates gaming performance and includes 64MB of on-board X-RAM for high performance gaming. With support for EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0, the latest version of the EAX Environmental Audio standard, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS card utilizes X-Fi CMSS 3D technology for stunning audio realism over headphones in LAN gaming. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS features a convenient front-facing internal drive bay for easy connectivity, plus the X-Fi IR remote to easily access and control all digital entertainment, and to control the X-Fi 24-bit Crystalizer, X-Fi CMSS 3D, 3DMIDI and EAX. In addition to providing outstanding gaming performance, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS includes all of the standard features, application software, power and performance capabilities of the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum and Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic.

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Epson Stylus CX9400Fax Color All-in-One Printer Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this printer from Amazon for under 100 dollars, no tax, no shipping.Here's what I got: an excellent photo quality printer, copier, scanner, pdf creator and fax machine with auto-feeder.I am baffled by the people who post one or two stars about this machine.Go to any store and you can hardly buy any printer, any copier, any scanner, any fax machine, or any pdf creator software for 100 bucks, and this unit has them all built into one nice looking box.There is also a very capable OCR application.

I am very tired of hearing how much ink costs. A printer should not be measuredby the price of ink but strictly by how much it costs to print each page, and Epson tends to be at the low end of the spectrum.I also don't care how much ink is left in the tank or if it has a chip, again the issue is how much a page will cost me.I do not work for or represent Epson, and hope to point out the negatives as well as the positives.I own 3 Epson printers and 4 HP printers.I don't own Canon or Brother because at the lower end of the spectrum I think their products are very cheesy.Let's talk about the CX9400Fax.I doubt if a better value exists anywhere near the price range.My experience is that individual tanks are the better choice but I'm not sure it really makes a huge difference.

Don't even think of rating a printer by how "fast" it is, with inkjets that spec is a ridiculous fantasy ... there is just no such thing as 32 pages a minute in real life!I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised how much faster this unit was than just one generation ago. In photo mode I would estimate real-life printing to be four times faster than the CX7400 and at least as good, if not better.Epson has always excelled is photo quality and the CX9400Fax is no exception.As a fax machine it is adequate for home office use and the small number of faxes people send from home.Same with it being a copier and scanner, for the price it does a good job.It seems built a little sturdier than most competitive models.It sounds, well, like a printer.I don't know how anyone could expect a mechanical device to be totally silent.Ease of use is pretty close to flawless.

Here's a couple of "secrets" that address concerns some of the other reviewers had.First, if you think the printer is running out of ink too often and you swear you don't print that much, you are probably right.Epson, like some other manufacturers, has to prime the heads every time you turn the printer on, which uses ink.That costs money and I wish there was a better way.But, simple solution, leave the printer on 24/7.There is no logical reason to turn it off between each use , especially if you are using it as a fax machine, since it automatically goes in to a sleep mode.Another well documented Epson feature is that you can force it to print using only black ink.There are a lot of reviewers who say they ran out of all colors when they think they only printed in black and white.While they may be right, it's hard to blame Epson.The manufacturer clearly has a "black" only setting in the print options, plus they offer a high-capacity black tank for those who do a lot of text printing.

It is important to note that if you want to fax from a document that is on your computer you need to have the CX9400Fax connected to a phone line, just like any fax machine.It won't magically send a fax through your internet connection.There are ways you can do that but not with a traditional fax machine.

So, what is the image quality?In "draft" mode it is marginal but that's what draft mode means.Draft mode is not intended for quality printing, just to quickly print a document that you intend to throw out.
As you increase the quality settings, the Epson magic sets in.Normal mode is as good as any printer on the shelf.Photo mode is almost as good as it gets.The highest quality modes are marginally better, you have to have a fine eye to tell the difference,but the real story is that it is very hard to beat an Epson photo when printed at the best modes with the highest grade papers.Moral?If you print in draft mode and expect high quality you are seriously fooling yourself.

The final observation is that many people complain that a set of ink tanks cost as much as the printer or that printer manufacturers don't include an USB cable.Those complaints just can't be taken seriously.Can you remember paying over $500 for an inkjet printer only 10 years ago and how badly it printed? We have demanded that our consumer electronics be made by cheap labor in China, which has brought hardware prices down to a cost almost equal to the cost of materials.100 bucks for a machine that does as much as the CX9400Fax is ridiculously low!Sure, it may be a throwaway, but that's what people want.The USB cable issue is even funnier.How many USB cables does the average person own?The percentage of people buying a printer who have never bought a printer before is near zero.And if you seriously don't have a USB cable you can find one for a buck-and-a-half right here at Amazon.And complaints about ink costs?They have stayed the same for many years.When you buy a car you need to fill it with gas, when you buy a printer you need to fill it with ink.It's what you choose to do.Gas prices have risen a lot more than inkjet prices.

My final somewhat negative comment about this printer as well as most competitive brands, is that they just try to do too much.Yes, I want a printer/scanner/fax/copier but the media card slots and LCD screens are overkill.Fine if you want them but I believe most people know how they can do the same thing and more directly from their computer.

MORE: read this carefully

After a few weeks of owning this printer, using it daily to print normal business documents, the ink level had hardly moved.Then one day the repair people were here to check the air conditioner and turned the power off for a few minutes. Ok, it wasn't a surprise to me because I know that printers need to "charge" when powered up, but when the power came back on a full 20% of the ink was used to prime the printer when if turned it back on.I have to repeat what I said in my review, NEVER turn this machine off, it uses almost zero power when in standby and I guarantee that if you turn it off every day you will use a ton of ink needlessly like so many reviewers report.After the power off incident, I am back to printing lots of normal documents each day and the ink indicator hasn't even moved.Verdict?It's not the printer's fault that some people go through a lot of ink, it's because they didn't read the instructions.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Epson Stylus CX9400Fax Color All-in-One Printer

Product Description:
The Epson Stylus CX9400 Color All-in-One printer makes it easy to print, copy, scan, fax, and even print photos PC-free, all with one easy-to-use machine. Tackle important business and personal projects with this sophisticated printer that features a high-speed fax that is able to handle multi-page documents through its Automatic Document Feeder. Creating color copies is also faster than ever, and the printer makes it easy to reduce or enlarge images before selecting and printing photos with a maximum 5760 by 1440 dpi. These photos can be previewed and printed PC-free from digital cameras or memory cards via a 2.5-inch tilt LCD and multipurpose card slot. Use the Optical Character Recognition scanning software included with the printer to transform pages from books and magazines into editable text, and print using one standard ink set for both documents and photos. Best of all, documents printed on the Stylus CX9400 resist fading up to six times longer than other printing machines.
Other great features--including one-touch color and black-and-white copying, high-quality scanning, and individual replaceable ink cartridges that are smudge, fade, and water resistant--make this streamlined 18.1 by 18.9 by 10.6 inch printer amazingly versatile, easy to use, and able to produce great results in little time.
What's in the Box
CX9400Fax ink jet all-in-one, 69 black ink cartridge (T069120), 69 cyan ink cartridge (T069220), 69 magenta ink cartridge (T069320), 69 yellow ink cartridge (T069420), documentation, CD-ROM (drivers and software), phone cable, and power cable.

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HP Photosmart c6150 all-in-one - Multifunction ( fax / copier / printer / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 32 ppm (mono) / 31 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 32 ppm (mono) / 31 ppm (color) - 100 sheets Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I looked for a replacement for my Canon MultiPass F50 and needed a Mac-compatible printer that has Ethernet connectivity, an auto-document feeder, and could print 4x6 photos. It came down to this versus the Canon MP830. I chose the HP since the Canon lacked an Ethernet interface.

PRO's:
First, the unit is very attractive and matches the style of my Mac Mini. Second, it has both an Ethernet and WiFi built in, which is great for sharing it amongst all the computers in our house, both Mac and PC. Third, it has a built in slot to hold 4x6 photoprints, which it prints directly from a camera or PC or memory card. Fourth, it has ADF, which is great when you have 10+ pages to fax and hate to feed them in one by one. Fifth, print quality looks great, nearly the same as the Canon 830. Sixth, I got it super cheap at Costco for $239 (they were running a rebate). Seventh, the unit is smaller than most multi-function printers, Eighth, it has a little color LCD for viewing prints off a memory card.

Cons:
It cannot scan 35mm slides (which the Canon is able to).Also, unlikely that it scans an 8.5x14 document. The print cartridges do not look like they can be manually refilled with ink kits (not that this is always a good idea). The included Mac software was wrong (it was for a 7100 series), so make sure you visit the HP site and download the right software, then it installs easy. Once I had the right software, it took me no time to configure it on a network with 2 Mac Mini's.Lastly, print cartridges are not exactly a bargain: the color ones are $10 ea (you need 5) and the black ink ones are $18 ea. The cartridges look really small, so it will be interesting to see how much print output I get. Buy refills at costco, where they are $56 for a complete set, and $46 for 3 black cartridges.

I'll play with it more, but so far, I am impressed it with the speed and quality, and the cost versus features is simply unbeatable. Especially if you are a Mac user, finding a Ethernet and wifi enabled multi-function printer with ADF is pretty much impossible at this price.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP Photosmart c6150 all-in-one - Multifunction ( fax / copier / printer / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 32 ppm (mono) / 31 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 32 ppm (mono) / 31 ppm (color) - 100 sheets

Product Description:
Use the HP All-in-One to quickly and easily accomplish tasks such as making a copy, scanning documents, or printing photos from a memory card. You can access many HP All-in-One functions directly from the control panel, without turning on your computer..................Networkable, easy, speedy? Connect your whole home computer system, with or without wires2to go wireless, plug it into the Ethernet port of a wireless router? Print efficiently with the 50-sheet automatic document feeder and automated 4 x 6" photo tray? Fax fast, in color, with or without a PC, plus eliminate unwanted junk faxes? Get quick prints and copies with the world's fastest All-in-One: at up to 32 pages per minute black, 31 color; get photos in as little time as 12 seconds? Save ink and money: with the six individual HP Vivera ink jet cartridges, you replace only the ones that run out......Photo versatility? Print photos and reprints without a PC using memory cards4? Print rich, realistic photos and laser-quality text using HP's Vivera inks? Print quick snapshots from your PC via the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connection5? Do borderless shots 6 and panoramas? Make professional-quality reprints with consistently accurate color reproduction, no PC needed? Do superb scans of photos and documents and restore damaged photos with the 4800 x 4800 dpi scanning resolution7, plus remove scratches on images? Easily print, e-mail, and save photos using the HP Photosmart Express software? Resist photo fading 8 for generations and retain document clarity for decades9? Remove red eye and enhance detail with the touch of a button using HP's convenient Photo Fix feature? Get creative: do artsy projects using the HP Photosmart software

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Ihome Ipod Clock Radio Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was looking for a dual alarm clock and got the bonus of the use of my ipod with this item! Wake to ipod,(or radio)also keeps the ipod charged at all times. It also has enough presets for any radio stations you might want. It puts out a pretty good quality sound too.A really great feature is the daylight savings time button... just a quick switch..and you can either add or subtract an hour. It was very easy to set up.The time is easy to read, very bright, but you can dim it. Comes with the battery back up and the remote even comes with a battery already in !!I received it NEXT day from the shipper. (requested standard shipping) Very satisfied overall !!!

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Product Description:
IHome TI700 Space saving iPod Clock Radio with Dual Alarm.Plays and charges docking iPod models.Dual Alarm for two individual wake times wake to AM/FM radio iPod or buzzer.Sleep to AM/FM radio or iPod with Programmable Sleep.Battery backup maintains clock and alarm settings in case of power failure.Indiglo display.Full function remote control Aux/MP3 line-in cord included - DST switch for quick easy Daylight Savings Time adjustment.Universal dock to fit docking iPod models.

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Panasonic KX-FL501 Plain-Paper Laser Fax/copy Machine Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)It performs reasonably well.It can be fussy about feeding multiple pages to send, so it's generally best to feed them through one at a time.That's really a pity, because the quick-scan feature, when it works, is total gold.

But the toner.Oh, god, the toner.

I'm used to laser printers whining at me on the message display about low or "out" toner, and I'm just as used to ignoring them.The helpful people at Panasonic have decided that they don't like people ignoring those messages, so they include a pleasant beep.And when I say "pleasant", I mean it gives me nightmares.When the time comes for the machine to be replaced (and it will come, oh yes, it will come), I may run an extension cord outside so it can actually be actively beeping as I go Office Space on it.

Anyway, toner.To guard against the possibility of someone with super-human will tuning out the beeping (or perhaps to guard against the deaf), they also have included a helpful print out.On this print out are several large bars of varying shades, designed, presumably, to illustrate visually to you exactly how low your toner is.

I have never seen this page print in anything but a perfect, pristine manner.The bars are wonderful in their consistency, with nary a hint of lightness.While this would be an excellent demo of print quality, as a notification that the toner is low, I must admit to some confusion.It's *perfect*.It *never prints light*.So as far as I can tell, the only function it actually serves is to *use more toner*.Quite a bit of toner, consideringthe large black and near-black bars.

In amusing phone conversations with Panasonic, I've determined that either A) there is no way to disable this helpful function or B) there is, but they require a more substantial bribe than I've offered to offset their loss in toner revenue.

It gets better.

After it's printed two or three of these frame-worthy gems over the course of a week, it decides to play hard ball.Now it claims that the toner is gone.Out.No toner remains.This is communicated in two ways.One, the beep.Only this time it's incessant.The beep just goes on and on until you replace the toner, unplug the machine, or throw it out the window (and perhaps even then).It also...*prints out a notice*.That's right, you read that correctly; to inform you that there is no toner, it *uses toner*.I'm sure you've guessed the best part already - this notice, like the joyous banners of greyscale earlier, also prints perfectly.It's never been even a little light.

Now we engage in a little off-broadway production for the benefit of the fax machine."Ahh, pity," we say, opening the machine and removing the toner unit."We're out of toner.Guess I'll have to get more toner.I'll just open this package over here," we continue, as one of us makes crinkling noises in the background, and the other grimly shakes the toner unit from side to side."Ah, good, I'll just pop that in, then," we say, winking, as we remove the toner drum, whisper an incantation over it, and pop it back in."Whew, good as new.I'm sure glad we don't have to worry about any light printing thanks to the Panasonic engineers," we shout with glee, as we put the toner unit back in and close it up.

If we've said the incantations correctly, the fax machine accepts our tribute and pretends everything is ok for a couple days, when the process is then repeated.Usually we perform the ritual twice successfully before it tires of our blandishments and insists the toner is out, despite the repeated evidence of our eyes.At this point we surrender to its whims and put a new drum unit in.

We lived with it...until we upgraded to the KX-FL511, which works *exactly the same way*, except it is much better at scanning in multiple pages unattended.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic KX-FL501 Plain-Paper Laser Fax/copy Machine

Product Description:
Offering a convenient package of phone, fax, and copier in one sturdy casing, the Panasonic KX-FL501 provides home offices with impressive options from all three of its functions.
As a copier, the laser technology brings you 600 dpi print quality as well as the ability to enlarge or reduce. As many as 99 copies can be made in one batch from a single original.
The telephone is ready for a variety of fee-based options from your phone company, including caller ID and pager call. Straight out of the box, you can use the 100-number speed dial and the one-button switch between phone and fax. If you do have caller ID, you can print a complete log of callers at the touch of a button.
The fax offers several options as well. Its 2 MB memory allows storage of over 100 pages, while the 14.4 Kbps modem delivers your pages at an average of eight seconds per page. With subscription to an Internet faxing service, IQ-Fax can send your pages while keeping your telephone line free. The paper tray has a capacity of 150 sheets in either letter or legal size. Panasonic provides a one-year warranty on parts and labor.

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NETGEAR HDX101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been looking for a way to avoid running network cabling around my entire home. I tried the wireless route, and did not find the technology quite there yet for VoIP, Online Gaming and HD Streaming. When I stumbled upon the new PowerLine HD products. While this technology has been around for a while, this was the first time it looked mature enough to be "acceptable" in my network. After a little research I settled on the NetGear HDX101's.

This product has performed marvelously. I am using them to bridge various local LANs (PC/Gaming, 360/Entertainment Center)I have in my home to the broadband router. At each HDX101 I am getting at least 100Mbs tx and rx. I then use a switch for each local network to connect all of the networked devices at that location. VoIP, online gaming and normal web surfing all going on at the same time worked great. Streaming media to the 360 from the PC, flawless.

I heartily recommend this product to anyone who wants a fast network and doesn't want to bother running cable through the house.

Click Here to see more reviews about: NETGEAR HDX101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter

Product Description:

The NETGEAR HDX101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter offers:

The NETGEAR HDX101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter turns any electrical power outlet into a network connection. If you're looking for a fast, easy way to provide Ethernet connectivity to just about any device in your home, then this handy adapter is an excellent solution. The HDX101 gives you the bandwidth you need for high-quality video streaming, gaming, and VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), without the headaches of running expensive Ethernet cables all over your home.


Creating a network connection is as easy as plugging the adapter into the wall. View larger. With simple plug-and-play installation, this device turns any electrical outlet into a network connection. This compact, handy device delivers up to 200 Mbps to any outlet, and with no software required, you'll be ready to network your home right out of the box.
This is an ideal solution for connecting PCs, game consoles, digital media adapters such as NETGEAR's EVA8000, or a Skype cordless phone such as NETGEAR's SPH200D to your home network. Here's how it works: plug one HDX101 into your router and a nearby electrical socket, then plug a second HDX101 into any electrical socket that is conveniently located near the device you want to network. Each HDX101 has a built-in Quality of Service (QoS) that enables smooth streaming, awesome gaming performance, and uninterrupted VoIP telephone calls. The bottom line is, you get a powerful, seamless home network that runs on your existing wiring.
Please note that this product comes with only one HDX101 adapter. You'll need to buy at least two adapters to start your network, or you can purchase the NETGEAR HDXB101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter Kit which comes equipped with two HDX101 adapters.
The Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter makes it a breeze to transfer large files to a network storage device, such as the NETGEAR Storage Central Turbo SC101 or the ReadyNAS NV+ RND4250. It supports up to 16 HDX101 units on one home network; and it easily coexists with a host of NETGEAR's HomePlug compatible products.
System requirements include a device for connection, e.g. an available RJ-45 Ethernet port, and Microsoft Windows Vista, XP or 2000 to modify encryption and settings. Microsoft Vista drivers are available at www.netgear.com/vista.
Note: Although the HDX101 may coexist with HomePlug 1.0 products, it is not compatible or interoperable with NETGEAR's XE104, XEPS103, XE103, XE102, or WGXB102 Powerline products.
In addition, this device can deliver up to 200 Mbps of throughput. The actual data throughput will vary depending on network conditions and environmental factors, such as network traffic volume, building material and construction, and network overhead.
What's in the Box
One NETGEAR HDX101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter, Ethernet cable, installation guide, setup CD, warranty card, and support and information card.

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Canon PIXMA MX700 Office All-On-One Inkjet Printer Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this to replace my HP Photosmart 2710 that died after 2 years.I had spent 400 bucks on the old HP and for only 200 this thing blows it out of the water.A few specifics:

SCAN:The scan quality is noticably better than the HP and I also like the software a lot more.Note that I am using this machine on a mac so I can't speak to what the PC experience is like.

FAX:The fax is much smarter.I used to have to unplug the HP so it wouldn't answer the phone when I didn't want it to.The Canon can simply be told that phone should take priority and it won't pick up... at least not before my answering machiine does on ring number 4.This is nice because it means I don't have to mess with phone cords when I want to send a fax.

PRINT:Works great.Set up three different computers to access on my network, although it did take me a minute to realize I had to use the "Canon IJ Network" option in the drop down for my computer to see the printer.If I had bothered to read the instructions it probably would have been quicker. ;)

COPY:Also seems to work great.Similar to the HP here although the quality of the print seems a little better.

I'll try to come back and add more detail after more use, but since there weren't any reviews yet I thought I'd add one now.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Canon PIXMA MX700 Office All-On-One Inkjet Printer

Product Description:
With this networkable PIXMA MX700 All-In-One Office Printer, you'll be able to print photos right from compatible memory cards, selecting and enhancing images on the 1.8" color LCD display or directly from a digital camera or DV camcorder. You'll achieve up to Super G3 fax2 speed in color or Black & White and the expanded memory can store 40 speed dial codes and receive 100 incoming pages. Copies will be remarkably true to the originals, and when scanning photos you'll produce impressive 2400-dpi results with vibrant 48-bit color depth. The automatic document feeder holds 30 originals, making it easier to copy, scan or fax large documents. Dual Color Gamut Processing Technology automatically optimizes quality based on the type of originals you are copying. The Ethernet interface lets you establish or connect to a home or office network.Produce beautiful scans with vibrant 48-bit color depth Scanner Max Resolutions -Optical 2400 x 4800 dpi, Interpolated 19,200 x 19,200 dpi 8.5x11.7 Max Document Size Fax Modem Speed -33.6 Kbps (Super G3 color fax), Black 3 seconds per page, Color 1 minute per page Print wirelessly right from your PictBridge enabled mobile camera phone Quick Start -Powering up your printer is now much faster Paper Sizes -Credit Card (2.13x3.39), 4x6, 4x8, 5x7, 8x10, Letter, Legal, U.S. #10 envelopes and Photo Stickers Compatibility -Windows Vista, Windows XP, 2000 and Mac OS X v.10.2.8 to 10.4.x10

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Linksys SPA3000 Analog Telephone Adapter 1 Port FXO + 1 Port FXS Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is a powerful product, but with lots of settings, no manual, and some complexity to configure.Once configured, it works beautifully.I've configured it so that our local calls go out through our regular local phone company on the regular local phone line, but our long distance calls seamlessly go out via SIP on our VOIP provider.My non-technical wife just picks up the phone and dials any number, and it automatically figures out how to place the call for a good rate.Incoming calls just come in seamlessly.Caller ID works fine.It took about five evenings to get it set up properly, and I have a degree in computer science and lots of computer networking experience.

There's no manual provided with the product, and Sipura has not made the manuals easily visible on their website.If you're thinking about this product, do a web search for help in figuring out how to configure it.This is NOT something you'll just figure out without documentation.

Some embedded documentation would help this product tremendously. It's mostly configured via a web browser; while configuring, I should be able to click a "help" button for an explanation of what the various fields do.Even a well-written paper manual would help (the .pdf file I found wasn't so great).If this product were documented properly, it'd almost certainly rate 5 stars.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Linksys SPA3000 Analog Telephone Adapter 1 Port FXO + 1 Port FXS

Product Description:
The SPA-3000 continues to deliver on Sipura Technology's mission to provide market leading, best-in-class VoIP end points providing freedom and opportunity to service providers and end users.The SPA-3000 features VoIP adapter functionality found in the SPA-2000 and SPA-1000/1 with the additional benefit of an integral connection for legacy telephone network "hop-on, hop-off" applications. SPA-3000 users will be able to leverage their broadband phone service connections more than ever by automatically routing local calls from cell phones and land lines to a VoIP service provider and vice versa.A typical user calling from a land line or mobile phone will be able to reduce and even eliminate international and long distance telephone charges by first calling their SPA-3000 via a local phone number or by using a telephone connected directly to the unit. The advanced authentication and call routing intelligence programmed into the SPA-3000 will connect the caller via the Internet to the far end destination with security and ease. Using the SPA-3000 at the far end, calls can be answered immediately or further processed as a local call to any legacy landline or mobile phone allowed by the SPA-3000 dial plan.

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HP LaserJet 3055 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax (White) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Note added October 15, 2008: Amazon still won't let me change my rating, which now would be 1 star (the lowest) based on horrendous quality control. I bought two of these and both had hardware failures within a year or two, of course outside of warranty. The one I bought for my daughter had its network card fail. She can still use it via USB, but not over the network. The one I bought for myself recently failed to scan, fax or copy when using the document feeder, which uses a separate sensing window from flatbed copying and scanning. As a flatbed copier or scanner, it still works. But when using the document feeder, the copies or scans come out blank. And, yes, I've put the paper in the right side up. I suspect that there's a separate sensor or light for that window and it's broken. On top of the horrible QC this seems to imply, my email to HP took them eight days to answer and then all they said was "this case is a hardware issue so our recommendation for you is to call 800-HP-INVENT (800-474-6836) so you can talk with a Hardware technical agent that can guide you through some trouble shooting steps to determine the cause of this problem and also give you the best solution." OK, I call and after over a significant wait time, I learn that they can help trouble shoot by phone for a fee, offer me a trade-in on a new model, or repair this one. No way am I going to waste more money on this disaster. While maybe I've just had a bad run of luck, this does not appear to be the HP I used to know, where quality was top notch.

Note added March 19 2007: Amazon won't let me change my rating from 4 to 3 stars, but I would do so if I could due to networking problems that resurfaced. I suspect that this is an issue with networked printers in general, not HP, but the time it took to solve the problem makes me wonder whether I would have bought this printer if I knew then what I know now. When the network access works, it's great, but if your network undergoes a change (I had to replace a Linksys router that went bad), be prepared to do some work. It took me several hours to get things working again. Before I had this problem, I bought one of these as a gift for my adult daughter, living in another state. She had to get the "geek squad" in to solve her similar problems, at a cost of roughly $200. The problem seems to be changes in the IP addresses in the network, and the manual didn't make it easy to figure out how to even find out the IP address that the printer currently is using. (Hint: Print a Configuration Report from the printer's front panel, using the menu. The manual does tell you how to do that, and the IP address is part of that report.) Once you have the IP address, I think getting the printer back up would be a lot easier -- but I'm not about to bring it down and find out! Hoping this helps.

I have several Macs and one Windows machine and had been using two separate printers for the two "tribes." I also had a fax machine, an old flat bed scanner, and a copier -- all taking lots of real estate. When the Samsung ML1430 that I was using on an Airport Extreme USB printer sharing system broke after three years, I decided to go with a networked printer that could be shared between the Macs and the PC. I wanted a major printer brand, and HP was at the top of that list. Why? Because Samsung had stopped supporting the Mac and, as I upgraded my OS, I had had difficulties keeping the printer working. The old driver didn't work with some OS upgrades. I hoped that a networked printer would make sharing among the Macs and the PC easy -- and to a large extent it has.

I did have minor problems getting the printer to work with the PC since I had to turn off all firewalls during the installation and Dell had two. After about an hour of on-line research and fiddling, I got it to work. Getting the Macs to recognize the printer was a snap -- sorry Redmond, Apple's ads seem on target here, though part of the problem may have been with Dell putting two firewalls on the PC.

After the initial hassle with the PC, which has nothing to do with the 3055 per se, I am very happy with all functions -- with one minor caveat below. As a printer or copier, it's fast (almost 20 pages a minute and less than 10 seconds to first page). The automatic document feeder has worked flawlessly so far -- often the Achilles heel in my experience. Some other reviews (elsewhere, not here at Amazon) noted that half-tone copies weren't the greatest and I'd agree. The pictures come out a bit dark.Some of those reviews noted that changing the default setting from text to picture (or whatever HP calls it) helps, but I haven't tried that yet which is a sign that it's not a huge problem.

I haven't used the scanner much yet, but did a few test scans which looked good. On color photos, the 300 dpi scan was poor, but setting it to 600 dpi did a nice job. The level of JPEG encoding changed from 300 to 600 dpi, with the 600 dpi scan being a much larger file, so it's not clear how much of the poor quality at 300 was due to the scanner and how much to the JPEG encoding. I also have a Fujitsu ScanSnap and will keep it since it is much faster than the HP -- but it cost as much as the HP and just does scanning, so that's not an indictment of the HP. The ScanSnap is intended only for sheet scans, not books or other flatbed material, but is excellent at what it does.

The fax features work well too, and I got rid of my fax machine, freeing up space. I haven't yet gotten rid of the copier, but might. The 3055 will enlarge and reduce by up to a factor of four -- a nice feature. Having only one toner cartridge to keep track of, instead of the three I had before (printer, copier and fax), would be nice. HP toner is about 3 cents per page, a bit more than some laser printers, but much less than ink jets and OK in my book.

The 3055 is also good on energy usage. I hooked up a power and energy meter and, after about 180 continuous hours of light use (only two of use it and we're not heavy printers), it averaged only 8 watts. When the laser engine is working, of course the power peaks up to about 500 watts, but HP has been good about making sure it doesn't use too much power when idle, while still allowing it to start up fairly quickly. I've seen the idle power drop down as low as 6 watts at times.

I'm not sure if I should have given four or five stars to this unit, with the one star loss being mostly due to my networking problems mentioned above. As I said, that's not an HP problem. So if you're looking for a networked all-in-one, consider this five stars within that category.

Note added February 22, 2008: My network did come down again, and this time I set up a static IP address for the machine. With what I'd learned in the interim, it wasn't such a big deal to do and has been working well for months. Now, I'm not worried about the network coming down and causing major problems. But you need to learn what static IP addresses work with your router (it varies!), how to set it (from the Menu on the console on the HP 3055 and choose Network Configuration, TCP/IP, Manual), and then how to tell your computer to find the device (hint: Intel Macs need the newer HP Setup Assistant and will not work with the one I had; accessible from HP's support site). On the negative side, the one I bought for my daughter seems to have a bad network card now. That cost her another $200 geek squad visit to figure out, plus now we have to figure out if it's worth fixing. My rating would now be 3-4 stars (depending if her bad card is unusual or not) if you understand networking really well or can rope a friend with that knowledge into helping you, but no stars otherwise.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HP LaserJet 3055 All-in-One Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax (White)

Product Description:
The compact LaserJet 3055 All-in-One prints, copies, faxes and scans. Produces 19 pages per minute with 1200 dpi for printing and with 600 dpi for copying. Instant-on Technology delivers first page out speeds as low as 8 seconds. Scans black and white with an optical scan resolution of 1200 dpi and an interpolated resolution of 19200 dpi. Multifunction machine features 64MB, 33.6Kbps faxing (v 34, Super G3) with digital storage for up to 110 pages, standard with a 250-sheet input tray, a 10-sheet priority feed slot, and a 50-sheet automatic document feeder. Features built-in support for all popular print languages, including HP PCL5e, HP PCL6, and HP postscript level 3 emulation. Easily connect multiple users with standard 10/100 TCP/IP networking and take advantage of simple direct connections with the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port. Control panel's intuitive, two-line, 16-character backlit display makes the product easy to use and maintain.

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Sharp Aquos LC42D64U 42-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)After researching for 3 weeks, I was set on a Sharp TV.Sony was too expensive for my price range, and while I read a lot of good things about Samsung, this TV's features for the price sold me.After having it for a little while now, this is how I would rate it.

Price - Excellent. 4.5/5Sharp was the cheapest prices between the top 3-4 brands I looked at that had a familiar name and plenty of reviews.I did examine other brands with lower prices on 1080p TVs, but I couldn't really obtain enough informational reviews or enough good ones to justify purchasing any of them just for the lower price.

Picture - Excellent. 4.25/5.I'll be honest, I was a little worried when purchasing a Sharp TV.First of all, I saw it's previous model (the D62U) at a Best Buy and a Circuit City and was not totally impressed with the picture, but I had heard that sometimes bad feeds or other issues can make a store-display not as attractive.However, my real concern was if my TV would have the infamous "banding" that seemed to plague some of Sharp's earlier models.You can easily find out what banding is by searching something like "Sharp banding issues".I won't go into specifics myself about that.Anyway, I had read this model of TV -can- have banding, but that it is not near as common nor as significant in earlier models.My TV has no noticeable banding issues at all, and I'm not going to go out of my way to nitpick and search for any small issues that may be there as I can't see them now.

As for the picture itself, it is great.Much better than the store displays for the earlier model that had me worry.Obviously, out-of-box settings aren't the best.At first I tried to change picture modes (of which there are several) to a User setting and tweak it using recommendations from some tech forums.This became tedious as people posted different specs and none were really quite looking right for me.So I gave up on that and just tried them on the default settings for what I was doing.I set my HDMI PS3 input to Gaming picture and it looks great.I see no reason to change it beyond that, it looks exactly as I was hoping for.Same with the Movie setting as well for my DVD input.No dead pixels and a crisp clear picture with good contrast black levels and brightness make it a great choice.

Plenty of options available for picture adjustment as well.

Features -Very Good. 4/5Plenty of inputs.You can read the specs in the item description.My only reason for docking it a point is because the 3rd HDMI and 2nd Component are located on the side and stick out when plugged in.I can understand this could be an eyesore for those wall-mounting it or just not wanting to see them sticking out.I am not using that 3rd HDMI port (yet), but I do have 2 component items hooked up and the cords sticking out the side and noticeable from looking at the TV straight-on plus the location of my TV itself does make it a tad annoying, but I am getting used to it and it's not really bothering me as much as it might others.

Overall - Excellent. 4.75/5 (note, the overall is not meant to be an average of the other scores).Overall, it's definately a great buy.There is more that I could say and some things I have probably forgotten about that I wanted to say, but that's ok.I don't want to make this too awful long a review.So, yeah, basically my experience with this TV is amazingly goodand I would easily recommend this TV to anyone who asked me.It's price, features, and picture easily won me over.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sharp Aquos LC42D64U 42 Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Product Description:
The AQUOS(R) D64U Series raises the bar by fitting large screen sizes into incredibly small footprints. Depth is reduced by 36%, allowing placement in virtually any setting. The D64U Series utilizes Sharp`s proprietary Advanced Super View/Black TFT Panel with multi-pixel technology, providing 10,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio with Enhanced Picture Contrast Technology and 4ms response time. The D64U Series are HDTVs with built-in ATSC / QAM / NTSC tuners and include 3 HDMI(TM) inputs, compatible with 1080p signals, a PC input and 2 HD component video inputs. Side terminals are included for convenience as well as RS-232C input for control. The D64U Series features a sleek piano black cabinet with subtle, recessed bottom-mounted speakers.

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JVC KD-AVX40 El Kameleon DVD/CD/USB Receiver with 3.5-Inch Monitor, Proximity Sensor, Touch Panel Controls, Built-in Bluetooth, and iPod/iPhone USB 2.0 Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I love the display on this unit it is really bright and fun.It sounds great too.But it is a seriously dangerous toy to have in your vehicle.Trying to adjust the volume or anything else on the unit while driving is near impossible.It is super touchy and you have to be very accurate where you touch the pad to change things.That means you have to take your attention off the road to work it.The remote works fine for volume and source but who wants to fumble with it all the time. Besides there are no audio controls on the remote.To change the sub or EQ settings you have to go through 3 layers of menus and about 10 key strokes.Who ever designed this disaster must not adjust the sub and EQ for different types of music like the rest of the world.

Bottom line is it looks very cool but it is very difficult to work.I used it for 2 weeks and replaced it with a boring Alpine 9886 that has a wonderful big volume knob and 1 touch access to the audio controls.It has a lousy display but much safer and more functional.So anyone want to buy a slightly used JVC?

Click Here to see more reviews about: JVC KD-AVX40 El Kameleon DVD/CD/USB Receiver with 3.5 Inch Monitor, Proximity Sensor, Touch Panel Controls, Built-in Bluetooth, and iPod/iPhone USB 2.0

Product Description:
Both innovative and stylish, exclusive El Kameleon technology provides the ultimate anti-theft security advantage. The KD-AVX40's faceplate converts to a stealthy black appearance when the power is turned off--appearing unnoticeable to potential car stereo thieves. Once powered on, the KD-AVX40 comes to life as a full function Multimedia player--complete with a unique electro-static touch panel operation interface and 3-D graphical menu system.
A full-function multimedia player with electro-static touch panel operation. Click to enlarge.
The KD-AVX40's faceplate converts to a stealthy black appearance when the power is turned off. Click to enlarge.
Includes wireless remote. Click to enlarge.
Includes high-quality external wired microphone.
El Kameleon Control Panel
This single-din receiver's 3.5-inch widescreen monitor is constructed with a high-resolution 211,200 pixel TFT panel capable of over thousands of display colors. This TFT panel displays a 16:9 aspect ratio for a widescreen viewing experience. The monitor can also display multimedia video and AV input content at the same time in split screen mode. The wide viewing angle virtually eliminates screen glares, making the monitor clearly visible from every viewing angle. Another new feature is full touch screen capability, which allows the entire TFT panel to dual-task as the receiver's control panel. This receiver also features a built-in electrostatic proximity sensor, which illuminates the screen when the user approaches it with their hand. Otherwise, it's pitch black--El Kameleon.
Built-in Bluetooth Wireless Technology
The KD-AVX40 features built-in Bluetooth for hands-free calling while driving. Phone calls can be made easily and received directly through the receiver, while voice recognition technology enables immediate dialing from the driver's cell phone without the distraction of handling the phone while driving. Phonebook entries can be stored and accessed on the receiver and text message notification can also be displayed on-screen.
JVC also includes PBAP, or "Phonebook Access Profile" capability. This feature allows direct view and selection of phonebook entries without requiring any additional action or information transfer. PBAP also allows access to all phonebook entries, regardless of how many number entries are stored in the cell phone's memory.
Bluetooth connectivity also allows music enthusiasts to listen to their favorite songs and artists wirelessly from iPod/iPhone, cell phone, or other Bluetooth enabled devices through the receiver.
CD and DVD Playback
Enjoy your favorite CDs or watch some video on DVD, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW or VCDs. Use the gold-plated video output terminals to send video to a passenger screen.
AM/FM Radio
The KD-AVX40 features an AM/FM radio with standards like automatic presetting. You can also add SAT or HD radio with additional accessories.
GIGA MP3 MULTI--Play MP3, WMA, and WAV Files Burned on DVD
The KD-AVX40 features GIGA MP3 MULTI, which plays MP3, WMA, or WAV files burned on DVD. With MP3 and WMA files, the 4.7GB capacity of a DVD can store up to 2,500 songs on a single disc--equal to 250 pre-recorded CDs. If you want even more superior sound quality, WAV files can be burned onto a DVD. WAV is an uncompressed PC music file format that delivers CD-quality sound. A single DVD disc can store 100 WAV files--equal to 10 pre-recorded CDs. Now you can enjoy non-stop entertainment with CD-quality sound, without an additional CD changer.
USB Port
Stream WAV/MP3/WMA files from USB thumb drives and other devices via the included USB port.
iPod Connectivity
You can also operate your iPod via the USB port. Control your iPod/iPhone from either the player itself or from the receiver's controls, while allowing song and artist information display, play, pause, skip, or back commands from either device.
MPEG 1/MPEG 2 Playback
Play MPEG 1 and MPEG 2 video files burned on DVD or CD, TV programs recorded from a PC, or personal footage from digital camcorders, without the hassles of authoring or decoding.
JPEG Pictures
JPEG digital still photos can be displayed on their own or as slideshows.
Expandability
With its 50W x 4 MOSFET amplifier, the KD-AVX11 packs a lot of punch. But if you need more, two sets of preamp outputs (front, rear, and sub) are included.
A/V Input
Connect external devices like video game systems with the A/V input.
What's in the Box
JVC KD-AVX40 DVD/CD Receiver, external wired microphone, trim ring, sleeve, remote control, wiring harness, installation hardware, installation manual, instructions

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Flat Coaxial Cable Coupler Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have a TV inside and a satellite dish outside. I needed a cable that could be flattened to fit through my patio door. This item is perfect. My patio door can still close and my cable doesn't get bent.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Flat Coaxial Cable Coupler

Product Description:
This flat coax lead is bendable for running a coax cable under a window sill or beside a door jamb without drilling holes through a wall. Female "F" connectors are attached on each end. Dimensions: 8" L x 5/8" W x 1/8" T.

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Dish Network 625 DVR Dual Tuner (2 TV) Satellite Receiver Video Recorder Dish Player Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Here's some info from someone who had this for 13 months.

This DVR has two modes. In Single Mode, the same video is shown on both TVs at the same time. Use this if you only watch one of the sets at a time, or if you don't have a TV2 plugged in, or if the person watching TV2 just wants to watch whatever the other person has on. You can use Picture-in-Picture in this mode, and do whatever you want as far as using the tuners to record.

In Dual Mode, each TV can operate independently, and each TV has only one tuner at its disposal. When you schedule a recording, you can choose which tuner records it (so you'd select either the TV where you'll be watching it live, or, the TV where you *won't* be watching something else live). In this mode you can also watch two separate recorded shows on the two TVs, or two separate live channels, or a combination one recorded show and one live channel.

There are three different ways of scheduling recurring recordings: Dish Pass, regular scheduling, and Manual. The most important thing to know is there's a limit on how many scheduled recordings you can have (300 if i remember correctly) so keep tabs on that when you read this. Dish Pass searches titles and descriptions for what you specify, and records it whenever it sees a match on any channel. Regular scheduling works a bit differently, and is probably more appropriate for most needs. Regular scheduling can record a particular Title, either on any channel, or one specific channel:
All Episodes - Records anytime that show comes on
New Episodes - Records only episodes that aren't reruns
Weekly, Mon-Fri, Daily etc. - records during whatever timeslot you say ONLY IF THAT SHOW IS ON.
This last one is best for most shows that come on multiple times a day, for example, if you only want the show recorded in one particular timeslot instead of all of them (e.g. I only want my Seinfeld reruns recorded at 5pm, not at 10 or 12:30).
And Manual Recording - You can set a schedule (either one-time or recurring weekly, or daily, or mon-fri etc...) and that way it will record WHATEVER is on during that time period, instead of recording only if one particular show is on.
*****
VERY IMPORTANT
*****
If you record shows that come on all the time, it's very important that you don't use "All Episodes" for those! For example, It will find about 50-60 episodes of Seinfeld within the upcoming 14 days or so and this takes up 50-60 slots in your 300 limit that I mentioned above! You will find yourself being told you have too many recordings scheduled or something, and won't be able to add very many recordings. Instead, record a show like that once or twice a day (use two separate timers if necessary, there's no limit that I know of on number of timers), then you will have like 10-15 coming up. Much better.

The good things about this DVR:
* Never fails to record shows. I never missed a scheduled recording the whole year (though I did once lose all my recordings when I had a hard drive crash--Dish replaced my DVR in about 5 days or so).
* Robust options and settings. Dig deep into the menus and get things set up just the way you like it.
* Priorities lets you decide what shows are can't miss (one-time recordings, first-run programs) versus shows you don't care about but record just in case you need something to watch (e.g. syndicated shows etc).
* Very responsive and fast
* Monthly $5.99 DVR fee--lower than TiVo ($13) or what Comcast charges ($10) for their junky thing.
* 30-second-skip-forward button--that you DON'T have to hack to enable like certain other (*cough* Comcast!) DVRs. Nice.
* 2-TV support on one box as described above means you have access to the same library of recordings from both TVs. Sweet.
* Big 100-hour capacity.
* Smart enough not to record an episode you already have of a show.
* Lets you "Edit" in batch mode--so you can select 20 shows and delete, or protect, them all at once.
* Lets you rename shows. Especially great for Manual Recordings.

The things I wished were better:
* No way to get your recordings off there, except in real-time using a VCR or set-top DVD recorder.
* Sound cuts out for about 0.5 seconds when you unpause. You end up just always having to hit "skip back" (that's 5 seconds back) when after you unpause. Still pretty annoying. This was with both the original and my replacement, so I know it's not just a defect.
* 300 upcoming scheduled programs limit - before I figured out just what the limit was (the error leads you to believe you are trying to make too many TIMERS when it's absolutely NOT that. It's how many PROGRAMS are set to be recorded in the upcoming couple weeks that's limited). Once I figured this out I was able to work around it (and optimize my drive space usage in the process) by reducing my use of "All Episodes" and "Dish Pass" so I'm not recording so many throwaway programs.

That's all I can think of for now. For what it's worth, when I moved I was forced to switch to cable, and bought the LG LRM-519 (which I'll review here eventually)... It doesn't have any of the bad things about this one, but it lacks a LOT of the good things about this one. It's a trade-off! If I ever find the perfect DVR I'll let you know.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Dish Network 625 DVR Dual Tuner (2 TV) Satellite Receiver Video Recorder Dish Player

Product Description:
Product Features Independently watch and record programming on two TVs Convenient On-Screen Caller ID with history Record up to 100 hours of standard definition On-screen Electronic Program Guide (EPG) with easy access to program listings and information for up to 9 days Single Mode: Picture-In-Picture (PIP) available on any TV.Dual Mode: View separate programming on 2 televisions Technical Details Model: 625

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Creative Zen V Plus 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black/Blue) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)In summary why I picked Zen V Plus:
-Good price/performance
-FM radio and voice recorder
-Small, scratch resistant and cool design
-Drag and drop capability
-Compability with different music stores
-Very easy and quick navigation
-Previous positive experience

If you want a more detailed comparison to IPOD-Nano and Sandisk Sansa C200 series, continue reading and scroll down, if not stop here and get back to what you were doing, or want to do or whatever... :-)First off, this is my second Creative product in less than a year. No, no the old one is still good (ZEN Nano Plus) indeed the best one I've ever had, but I decided to go with something with color and a more navigation-friendly menu. I am not new to digital music.I've had a pleuthora of MP3 players within the last 5 years. Starting with a 32MB RCA (terrible), a 128MB Samsung (Good), a HD based Dell DJ(died on me,) two 6GB Apple Minis (one's Hard drive died, the other's click-wheel gave up), a Zen Nano Plus (excellent) and now this cool 4 GB Zen V-Plus. Before deciding on my new ZEN, I had two other serious considerations :

1) IPOD NANO - 4GB or 6GB :
Although I really loved the look and the price (not much above its competition)of the new IPOD NANO, I could not go with it because of previous (baaaad) experience and the required slavery to it's ITUNES software. It just is a pain in the neck when using my own MP3s (non i-tunes songs) and other music stores' products. Plus it did not have FM and voice recording, which are, I admit, pretty cool features.

2)Sandisk Sansa E250 (4GB) or E270 (6GB):
This was my clear favourite before actually going into a store and physically feeling it. Sandisk is the lead flash card memory manufacturer and its memories are really hi-Q.That and its clearly lowest price among peers made me consider this one more seriously. It had the voice recording and FM radio options and did not have the dreaded mandatory music software. Had even a bigger screen (1.8 inches) than Zen V Plus (1.5 inches). So why did Sandisk got eliminated? Easy:

i)Extremely hard to use click-wheel, even if one has small hands (I don't,I am 6'2" and 200lbs, so in my case a total "forget it"). The wheel is elevated from the surface very little, you accidentally hit other buttons while trying to operate.

ii)Overall size and design. Sandisk looks like a fatter and less slick IPOD Nano. It does not have the different (shorter,squarer, more compact) feel of the Zen V Plus.Bottom line it is bigger and bulkier than both.

iii)Icon based menu.That is a total no go for a small screen gadget. Just stick to line-based menu like all the previous and current IPods if your screen is less than 3 inches accross.
So, cheaper, equipped with features like the Zen V Plus, with a bigger screen and comparable battery life, The Sandisk Sansa still got eliminated.

After a month, what do I think about my Zen V Plus (4GB)?
PROS:
-Great size, look and feel.
-Great, optional very easy to use Creative software.
-100% Drag and drop compatible.
-Vibrant colors.
-Easy to navigate menu.
-Easy to use joystick and buttons (except one, see below in CONS)
-Decent battery life.
-Great FM receiver.
-Price

CONS
-Hard to see the screen (OLED's curse) under direct sunlight.
-Charging through USB (the only supplied cable) takes forever.
-The placement of the "back" button. It should be on the left of the "play/pause" button not below. When the unit is in your palm unless you have a hyperextending thumb, it is hard to press this button - though possible.
-Screen is not big enough for video viewing. Although video playback is seamless and vibrant, the size is just too small.Don't let the video capability be a deciding factor if you are inclined.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Creative Zen V Plus 4 GB Portable Media Player (Black/Blue)

Product Description:
With a tiny, eye-catching design, smooth contours, and a discreet size, the Creative Zen V Plus 4 GB Portable Media Player fits perfectly in your palm and slides effortlessly into your smallest pocket. With 4 GB of storage space,

A 1.5-inch OLED screen displays rich and vibrant photos, as well as the easy-to-use Creative interface. View all Zen V Plus features.

Not much bigger than a pair of earbuds! (black and orange model shown) See the Zen V Plus in 3D. the Zen V Plus holds up to 2,000 songs, and the 1.5-inch OLED screen displays rich and vibrant photos, full-color menus, and album art at any viewing angle. Another great feature built right into the Zen V Plus is the tiny device's ability to support subscription services and pay-per-download music. Plus, you'll never sweat formats--the Zen V Plus plays the broadest selection of MP3 and WMA music. And browsing your music collection has never been easier with Creative's innovative interface that enables effective and intuitive navigation and track selection. The Plus has an extra feature that it's predecessor lacked: the ability to play short video clips. With the Zen V Plus you can watch short clips in transcoded video format and impress your friends with the latest tidbits from the web or a brief glimpse of a home video.
Another great feature is a Direct CD Recording function that allows you to record songs directly from a CD player or other audio source without using a PC as an intermediary. You no longer need to burn CDs to your PC then download to your MP3 player. Just connect an audio device directly to your Zen V Plus, and record your favorite CDs, records, beats and more, direct from the source. Meanwhile, automatic track detection separates each song for you--a handy feature when you're converting analog (records and cassette tapes) to digital. If organization is a high priority, the Zen V Plus's Personal Organizer will help you stay connected and in-sync with your Microsoft Outlook information. Just connect the Zen V Plus to your PC, sync your Outlook information, and you'll be ready to carry around your contacts, calendar, and to-do lists right in your pocket. Plus, the Zen V Plus uses a handy built-in microphone to double as a voice recorder, so you can capture notes, record lectures, and more.


No matter how you hold it, the Zen V Plus is just the right size. Creative knows that sporty is sexy, and this player is ideal for any workout junkie. The skip-free playback is perfect on your morning jog or your most rigorous workout at the gym. The optional armband and case fit comfortably on your arm and keep your Zen V Plus safe and secure while running or lifting. The Zen V Plus player was designed for people who appreciate style and function. Don't be surprised when people take notice of your cool, colorful music and photo player. You can proudly announce that your device carries up to 2,000 songs, and you can show off your favorite photos and video clips that you've stored on this pocket-sized powerhouse.

What's in the Box
Creative Zen V Plus, earphones, drawstring pouch, lanyard, USB 2.0 cable, line-in cable, neck strap, installation CD including user manual, and quick start guide.

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Panasonic KX-TS730S 8-Microphone Conference Speakerphone with Caller ID and 120-Minute Recording Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Setting this up was simple and took just a few minutes from opening the box.The sound quality is about as high as from the mega-$$ Polycom systems in corporate conference rooms.People on the other end do not suspect that you are on a speakerphone.

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Product Description:
Digital Duplex Executive Conference SpeakerphoneFull-featured speakerphone records conferences up to 120 minutes. Digital circuitry reduces echo and dropout; allows for more natural-sounding conversations. Features audio output for external recording devices, call waiting and 100-station phone directory and dialer. Keys include mute, redial, flash, pause and program. Offers support for Caller ID with 50-station caller ID memory and call back. Four built-in corner microphones.

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