Computer Cooling - qty 2, corsair

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Pros: Rivals the some of the best air coolers out there, no maintenance like traditional water coolers, SUPER easy installation, seems to be good quality.



Cons: Instructions are lacking (see my installation tips below), must buy additional fans to unlock its full potential (I didn't ding it for this in my rating because I knew this when I decided to purchase it), no screws for a second fan, an intake setup will screw up the airflow in your case so expect to play with the case fans a little to get it right. Ideally, I would like to knock off half a star for the instructions.



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General comments: The build quality is excellent however I did notice that a couple of the fins were slightly bent right out of the box. The threads on female thumb screws and the male thumb screws did not match up very well, so I still had to use a screwdriver after tightening them as much as possible with my hands. No big deal. The included fan has an annoying whining noise at full speed but I had planned on replacing it anyways. As with any high speed fan, I think the noise level would be reduced significantly by an anti-vibration gasket which can be purchased for about $5. At the time of writing this review, they are not on Amazon but Frozencpu has them (Feser 120mm Xvibe Noise Absorber).



I didn't keep the stock fan. I ended up doing a push/pull setup using two XIGMATEK 120MM XSF-F1252 Case Fans which are rated at 75 CFM and seem to have pretty decent static pressure. They also make a whining noise but its more tolerable than the stock fan. If you want to run a two fan setup, you will need to run to your local hardware store and pick up four 6-32x1-1/4" screws and four #6 washers.



The performance seems very good. With my OVERCLOCKED setup below, I am getting about 26C idle and 65C load with an ambient temperature around 22C. With the stock fan setup, you can expect a 4-6 degree increase in temperature. Pretty sweet if you ask me.



CPU: 2600K OC to 4.7 GHZ at 1.365v

Cooler: H60 with a push/pull intake

Mobo: Asus P8P67 Delux

RAM: Corsair Vengance 8gb 1866

Graphics: 2 x SLI MSI GTX 560Ti

SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120gb

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint 72 1tb

PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 1000w

Case: Cooler Master CM 690 Advance



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Installation tips: There are two sets of thumb screws required for the installation, one set with two male ends, one set with female threads. To get the perfect installation, all these screws need to be evenly tensioned so that the cooling block sits evenly over the CPU. To do that, attach the back plate to the mobo using the male thumb screws. Tighten them by hand, a quarter turn past snug should do the trick. The cooling block is secured by the female thumb screws. Put the cooling block on top of the cpu and barely thread the female thumb screws on, just enough so that they are on (one or two threads). Then, in the X pattern shown in the instructions you want to tighten each about 1.5 turns at a time until they are all tight. This should ensure even tension. Don't over-tighten the thumb screws as this may mess up the contact between the CPU and the CPU pins on the mobo. A quarter turn to half turn past snug should do the trick. Remember, if you are unsure, its better to err on the side of caution.



Intake or exhaust? The instructions recommend intake for best results. I agree because cool air from outside your case is used to cool the radiator. If you run a exhaust setup, the hot air from inside your case is used to cool the radiator. Keep in mind that an intake setup will probably mess up the airflow in your case since most cases are set up so that the air flows from front to back. You will need to change the orientation of some of your case fans so that the air flows from back to front. Its important to have good exhaust fans to expel all that hot air being blown into your case by the H60. In addition to the two 120mm intake fans for the radiator, I have one 120mm side intake to keep my graphics cool, two 140mm exhausts in the top of my case, and one 140 exhaust in front.



The instructions tell you to plug the fan into the CPU fan header on your mobo, and the pump into any available 3 pin fan header. Since the power going to each of my 4 chassis fan headers cannot be adjusted independently, and because the pump needs a constant 12v supply of power I found it easier to plug it into my CPU fan header and change the fan setting so that it constantly gets full power. I then plug the fans into a regulated 3 pin fan header on the motherboard so that they, along with my regulated case fans, only kick into full power when needed. Or, if you prefer, just plug the pump directly into your PSU and save that CPU fan header for something else.



The thermal grease included with the unit is very good. I recommend trying it out before running out and buying some fancy $10 tube. Corsair Cooling Hydro Series All in One High-performance Liquid CPU Cooler CWCH60

I've only had this cooler for a little while, so I'll update this later on to



For starters, I'm currently running a three year old Quad 9550, so the option to upgrade to a 2nd Generation i7 processor and use this cooler is a real bonus! I've tweaked around with my clock speed on the 9550 and found that I can push it all the way past 4.2ghz before it becomes unstable. I'm currently running at 3.4ghz, and this cooler will keep my temps under 60°C even under 1-2 Hours of maximum load bench tests. My average idle temps are about 38°C, and average load temps while playing games are now at about 50°C. Comparatively, my old idle temps with a stock cooler were 40°C and my load temps maxed at about 75°C.



Overall, installation was a breeze, and the mounts for Intel boards are much better than the silly push-pin things that come with LGA755 stock coolers. Word of advice, though: the water block that mounts on the CPU is actually kind of big, and if you don't have a motherboard that was build with a large cooler in mind, you might find that it doesn't fit. In my case, I couldn't mount the cooler in the direction shown in the picture; it ran into a few capacitors on my board, and I had to rotate it 90 degrees in order to make it fit. However, I'd expect that this cooler will fit on almost any modern gaming board.



Other than that, I'm very satisfied with this cooler. It does its job very well, and I won't need to worry about my CPU temperature again! - Corsair - Qty 2'

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32gb Sdhc

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This is one of the first Class 10 SD cards that is actually affordable and doesn't cost much more than Class 6 cards. At regular price it can be a bit expensive, but catch a sale and it's a great deal.



Performance wise the card is great. I have tried it on 3 separate devices, all of which take HD video. The first was a Panasonic Lumix point and shoot camera. Set to take 720p 30fps video, the recording start and stop times were noticeably faster than my previous Class 6 card. When I performed a Delete all content, this card cleared a bit quicker than before. I also used the card in a Canon T1i and there was no lag for shooting both 720p and full HD video. With a previous Class 6 card it worked well, but occasionally there would be a hiccup in recording, especially full HD. The last was a HD pocket camcorder and again, no issues as recording was smooth and starting and stopping was instant.



Download performance is also improved with this card. I would say data downloaded to my computer at the very least 25% faster than with a Class 6 card, which may not seem drastic, but when moving several GBs of data it makes a difference. I also uploaded data from my computer to the card and the same difference was evident.



Overall it is a great memory card. Is it worth updating from a Class 6 to Class 10? If you are using a point and shoot camera and do not take HD video, then probably not. If you are using a quality DSLR camera and/or shoot HD video frequently, the upgrade to Class 10 would be worth it. If you are getting a new camera and will be shooting HD, go for the Class 10. If you will not be shooting HD, a Class 6 will be ok but if you can get the Class 10 for close to the same price, go for the 10.



Overall I can highly recommend this Class 10 PNY SD card. PNY 32 GB SDHC Flash Memory Card P-SDH32G10-EFS2

I bought this card just to give PNY a try since Amazon lowered the price again. I also have the popular Transcend 16GB class 10 so I decided to do a quick test. I did read and write test with a full DVD ripped movie which is about 5.58GB and has combination of large and small files.

Test setup:

- Ripped full DVD 5.58GB

- Intel workstation, dual quadcore Cpus

- External USB card reader.

- Stop watch

- 64bit Windows 7 ultimate



My result



Writing test:

PNY............Transcend

14.2MB/s......17MB/s (Speed reported by windows)

7:00 mins.....5:45 mins (stopwatch)



Reading test:

PNY............Transcend

19MB/s........19.2MB/s (Speed reported by windows)

5:19 mins.....5:18:55 mins (stopwatch)





So far the Transcend beat the PNY in writing test.

I put both cards in my Canon 60D, both started slowing down after 20 frames, frame size is M-Raw. I also noticed the time to clear out the buffer is about the same for both.

Overall, both cards are fast enough for my Canon HD camcorder and Canon 60D video capture.

I bought this card for my Canon HD camcorder so the slow writing is not a problem to me and there is no reason to return for the Transcend.

I would recommend the Transcend if the PNY is more expensive.



Correction:

I had the read test result swapped. In reading, the PNY is bit faster but it's negligible.

Reading test:

PNY............Transcend

19.2MB/s.......19MB/s (Speed reported by windows)

5:18:55 mins...5:19 mins (stopwatch)



Update 5/27/2011

Some reviewers complained that the card doesn't work in FXP and MXP mode. I found that both my PNY and Transcend class 10 don't work with my Canon HF200 which released long time ago, works with class 6. I don't think it's the cards fault but Canon cam doesn't support. If you have newer camcorder then I don't think it's a problem. Otherwise, get Transcend class 6 instead and problem solved.

Not much to say...........compatible with everything I've tried it in including older digicams from Nikon and Canon (works great in my Canon TX1). Love having the 16gb for HD stereo video - up to 4 hours of video goes on the card! It writes fast and so far has performed flawlessly. The best thing is though that it was $29.99 from J&R for the first couple of days it was up on Amazon - I ordered 2 and the price went to $46 quickly.

I have PNY RAM in my computers, so I decided it was worth trying out their SD cards for my camera. The other card I had was a 8GB class 2 card. Stepping up to class ten was a revelation, it is truly a performance increase for my pentax k7. Video recording is much improved (more responsive, faster start and stop) and the stills are almost instantaneous. I'm quite satisfied with my purchase, especially given the price being very competitive for a class 10 card.

Tried the formatted card in my Canon T1i/500d. It took about 14 seconds to refill the buffer of 9 RAW photos (each was 16.3 MB). This leads to about 11MB/sec write speed. I've read that my camera's internal circuitry is capable of at least 17 MB/sec. I also tried writing a file to it using my SD reader on my computer and I get 11.5 maximum sustained write speed. For the price and 16GB capacity the card is good but PNY advertised this sucker as 20MB/sec sequential write speed. Read speed I get 16 MB/sec.'

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Waste Of Time And Money - radio

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My son falls asleep to cassette recordings from his grandmother.

Well, my ex-wife took his cassette player to her new house and I had to go out and buy one. The only cassette player in the store was Coby. It worked fine for the first two days, then began eating tapes. I couldn't get the tapes untangled and they kept breaking. I finally gave up and figured out how to record the tapes to CD and threw away this piece of junk from Coby. I also had a Coby DVD player as a free giveaway promotion. That device lastest exactly one day. It too had to be junked.

Coby is absolutely the worst manufacturer of any product that I've ever encountered. I really wish Amazon would let us give zero stars. They forced me to choose one. Coby Portable AM/FM Cassette Player and Recorder CX244, Silver/Blue

Bought this unit as a Christmas gift for my adult brother mainly for the cassette unit. The first two attempts to play prerecorded tapes resulted in both of them being destroyed. The only distinction this unit has is to be the first Christmas gift to be discarded!

My bro gave this to my mom as all her oldies are on cassette. It worked for about 5 months or so. I don't recall exactly how many months, but not even a year. It started chewing the tapes. I am technical and tried to see if the rubber was out of alignement etc. I messed with it, and it still continues to eat the tapes. I'm going with a known brand this time thus I'm hear searching for another one, and definetely want to give Coby potential customers the real heads up.

I just needed a cassette player because the new vehicle I just purchased only had a cd player in it, and I have many cassette tapes that I used in my old vehicle. I have a long drive to work, and often listen to books on tape. I thought this would be a good way to still be able to listen to them. It works fine and the sound is very good, and you can't beat the price. NOTE: In amazaon's product description, it says that the unit takes 4 "D" batteries, it actually takes "5".

I received this cassette player and it chopped clean the tape in the cassettes. This pile of tapes hadn't been listened to for a long time so I thought it was my old player. But then it ate a couple including one of my favorites. The player it was supposed to replace was a $15 player that worked for years. Boycott them.

The radio is easy to use! The sound is great and loud for its size. Excellent for hearing tapes of all kinds. One thing that I'm not to happy about is the lack of a LED light for the FM stereo.Great buy, and with dual voltage you can travel world wide!

This is by far the very worst excuse for a cassette recorder. I tried using it to record some guitar chords and all I got was a constant humming during the playback completely distorting the music.

The radio plays fine but if you want to do some recording using the "MIC" please think again. It is a complete waste of money. I wish I could eturn it but it will be too costly. It may make better economic sense to purchase some other brand that can do the job. Sorry folks but my rating is Zero for this product

Got this as a gift for someone of an older generation who have not transitioned to CD players yet. The negatives of it are pretty much what every one-star review have stated: terrible cassette player, eats tapes, poor volume control, eject button malfunctioning. If there's a plus to it, it's that the radio actually works.

If all you want is a radio/tape player this might suffice, as long as you don't want very precise volume control. If you want to record from an outside source, buy something else. The slide controls for volume, function and band selection ate sloppy and the tape recorder buttons fell out the first time I tried to use the recorder. This product is a total waste of money! - Radio'

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Hdtv Lcd Projection Tvs

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When our TV's lamp went out, I was a little concerned about how hard it would be to change this thing out... I'm a computer geek by trade, but I honestly don't know a lot about HD televisions. I took a quick look at my TV's manual, and had learned how to pop the lamp in and out in just a few minutes.

Basically, you pop open one panel, turn a lever and pull out another panel, grab the old lamp by hook/finger handle, gently pull up and out. Push the new one in until it pops into place, make sure you replace the inner panel properly (the one with the lever, if not secured properly, the TV won't turn on), then pop the outer panel back on and there you have it, a TV again.

Our lamp has been in for several months, and the image quality (especially brightness) seems to be as good as I remember the stock lamp. Having said that, it may be the stock lamp.

Summary: if your WEGA or whatever goes black and this lamp fits into your unit, then get one. I like a bright TV in a dark room, as does my wife. We've both put this replacement lamp to it's paces, not to mention we leave the TV on when we're not home. Sony XL-2400 Replacement Lamp for Grand WEGA 3LCD Rear Projection HDTV

This lamp came from a third party vendor named VANN'S. I got it on time with no issues. Installation was extremely simple. It literally took me longer to open the box than it did to replace the bulb. This product includes the entire assembly. If you're handy and want to save a few bucks, you may consider purchasing just the bulb and reusing the old assembly that is not affected when the bulb burns out. I will do that next time.

Just received my replacement bulb. Took all but one minute to replace. Spent more time cleaning dust then replacing bulb. Replacement bulb was a perfect match. Immediately I was able to adjust the brightness on my TV from 92 to 50. The color of the picture is back to the same quality as when I bought the TV 4 years ago. Thank you [...]. Excellent company to do business with.

My lamp went out several weeks ago. I called sears and sony who wanted way to much for it. I came to Amazon and found it for about half of what they were asking. Once it arrived it was easy to swap out and what I wasn't expecting is that the brightness and contrast apparently were dimming on my old lamp and it was instantly corrected when I placed the new lamp in.

Item came in quickly. Was packaged very well. Installation was easy and worked like it was supposed to. Only complaint, is that I would have liked for instructions to be included in the box for replacing damaged lamp. I looked it up online and it was very easy.

The lamp I replaced was around four years old. It still worked. I felt the quality of the TVs picture had dropped but I didn't know how much until I swapped the lamps. Tremendous improvement. The lamp is of the quality I expected. My best endorsement is that I would buy from this seller again.

This was a complete unit, not just the bulb that some offer. Very easy to install. Important to remember you do have to firmly secure the unit when putting back in. Before taking out the old unit, make a mental note of where it was lined up. The whole procedure took less than five minutes. Great Seller. Fast and efficient service.'

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Noise Cancelling Headphones

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Bose QC15 vs. Sennheiser PXC 450 vs. Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b



Disclosure: I have tried all these on an airplane. I am not an audiophile. Noise Cancelation is the most important attribute to me.



The Carrying Case: All three are quite durable and stiff.

1.) Bose- the smallest, a low profile, room for an Ipod, accessories too.

2.) Sennheiser- Square shape, low profile, however not a lot of room for anything else in case.

3.) Audio Technica- Nice big case if you want to carry extra stuff (Nintendo DS, ipod, etc).



Build Quality:

1.) Sennheiser- you can tell this is built VERY well. Strong plastics, good components, thick cord. Top notch. You feel like you are getting something really high quality.

2.) Audio Technica- Nice solid construction, appears durable.

3.) Bose- If this had a Sanyo logo on the side, I would not have flinched. How can something $300 be so incredibly cheaply made.



Size:

1.) Bose- as far as over the ears go, these are pretty small.

2.) Audio-Technica- mid-sized.

3.) Sennheiser- These are big. No question, but they store flat.



Comfort:

1.) Sennheiser- Very comfortable, will fit almost any size ears. Keep on for hours.

2.) Bose- Also comfortable. I did not experience "highs" discomfort.

3.) Audio-Technica- Perfectly satisfactory. Larger opening than previous AT model.



Sound:

1.) Sennheiser- I actually wore these at home too, simply to hear parts of songs I had never heard before. Astounding. My 10yr old music collection sounded totally NEW.

2.) Audio-Technica- Well balanced, good sound.

3.) Bose- Great sound, but very heavy on the bass. I listen to a lot of rap and pop, so it was mildly annoying. I ultimately had to turn my treble settings up on my ipod to balance the sound.



Features:

1.) Sennheiser- nice cord, push to talk button (temporarily mutes NC and sound which is great for interruptions on airplanes).

2.) Bose/Audio Technica- just the basics. Bose simply an on/off switch.



Price:

1.) Audio Technica- $150 to $225 depending on how you shop.

2.) Sennheiser- $200 to $275

3.) Bose- Hard to find below $300+.



Noise Cancelation:

1.) Bose- No question here, far surpassed the other two. Best Noise Cancelation.

2.) Audio-Technica- Good Noise Cancelation.

3.) Sennheiser- Not sure what happened here. Incredible sound, satisfactory noise cancelation.



Summary:



I ultimately kept the Bose because I was only using these for flying and the Sennheiser's (as much as I loved them) let me down in the Noise Cancelation department. The Sennheiser's had by far the most superior sound, but the Bose Noise Cancelation was night and day. The Bose are made very poorly for a $300+ product, it was disappointing.



Final assessment:



Audio-Technica- best balance of value for money

Sennheiser- Best sound and comfort

Bose- Best Noise Cancelation Audio Technica ATH-ANC7B Active Noise-Cancelling Closed-Back Headphones

I've been toying with the idea of getting a set of active noise canceling headphones for a while. Both my wife and I are having to fly more for our jobs, so I can certainly justify this expense. While I hadn't directly tested anything else, I've read reviews both at Amazon and other places for a number of different headphones. The predecessor to these, Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones generally scored well in the reviews, and seemed favored even over the venerable BOSE Quiet Comfort models, the several low rated reviews about sound leakage gave me pause.



Seeing these supposedly new and improved versions recently come to market, I decided to take a chance with the hope that this one negative would be fixed for what is otherwise an excellent product.



I've not been exposed to the original to know first hand how bad the "sound leakage" issue is, but it is something I wanted to test for. I can say that, when I have my Ipod cranked up full (almost at a painful level) and the ANC turned on, it is pretty easy for someone outside to hear what is playing, particularly when there's not a lot of noise in the area. However, in a more "real world" test, I had my wife listening with them while we took a trip with the kids in our minivan. While not up to aircraft levels, the van can generate a decent amount of noise, especially at speed and on noisy asphalt. In this case, I had her turn it up as loud as she could comfortably do. I managed to barely be able to hear something from the headphones, but not even to the point that I could tell what she was listening to. That test was enough to allay my concerns about the "sound leakage" issue as a practical matter.



My wife greatly appreciated using the headphones on our road trip and found them very effective and damping down the road and engine noise. For the most part, our trips don't happen at the same time, but I can already tell that, if we are traveling together, I'll be adding a second set to our house hold. While not as good sounding as some of my dedicated over the ear heaphones for music, especially with the ANC on, the sound quality is still well more than acceptable and a fair compromise to go along with the ANC capability. As is typical of the technology, most of the sound reduction comes at the lower frequencies, with higher vocal level frequencies getting much less attentuation. These will knock down the low level engine rumblings, but not silence a conversation.



As for the package in general, it's very simple and elegant. The battery compartment takes a single AAA battery and it is easy to rotate the cover on the right earpiece to expose and replace the battery. While it doesn't lock, it is firm enough that I don't think there's going to be an issue with accidentally opening the battery compartment. The headphones use a standard 3.5mm stereo connection and the package comes with both a short (good for having a player in your hand or on a belt clip) and longer cable that would be suitable plugging into a set of desktop speakers and allowing you to move about your desk. There are also 1/4" adapter plugs for use with a typical home stereo/AVR as well as the typical two pronged airline connector. The case has a zippered internal pocket to hold all of these, along with extra AAA batteries (one Energizer even comes with the package). The case is pretty compact, which is good for using with a carry on bag. Even so, there is sufficient room to easily hold my Ipod 5G 60GB inside. There's space still for something a little wider and a good bit longer, so I suspect an Ipod Touch or Zune would fit with no trouble. The case itself is pretty sturdy with heavy inserts in the back, front, and sides to hold the case's shape.



When I made my purchase, the price difference between the new model and the old one was effectively the same. Even as of this writing, there's only a net $10 difference. With that in mind, if you have looked at the previous generation, I see no reason to get it anymore. This unit incorporates at least two year's worth of improvements over the original and comes in at a very competitive pricepoint, especially compared to BOSE and some of the other high end ANC headphones.'

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Dell Ac Adapter - laptop charger, dell ac adapter

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The adapter is really big and bulky and mine only worked for about 2 weeks and then stopped working. I tried another adapter from my work laptop and that worked so I know it's an issue with the adapter, not my laptop. Laptop AC Adapter for Dell Inspiron 9100 XPS, Precision M6300 M90 XPS M1710, PA-15, D2746, ADP-150EB

I purchased this because my Original one would no longer charge the Batteries on my Dell Inspiron 9100. This will be my 2nd review since I now have had this for quite some time.



Word of Warning: This Adapter gets VERY HOT under full load (Using the laptop while you charge the battery). After about 2-3 weeks, one of the capacitors inside it, a "Chang 2200uf 25v" exploded & left its Juices all over the insides this adapter, & the other 2 caps (same type) looked all ready to pop as well. I replaced all 3 them with Rubycon caps & Drilled some vent holes in the plastic housing to let it vent a bit. If there was ever a AC Adapter that needed venting holes & a Fan inside it, it would be this one.



Final Conclusions:

1: Only buy this as a emergency spare to hold you off while you buy a real one!

2: Do not use your Laptop while Charging the Batteries at the same time. Wait until your batteries are charged fully before running your Lap Top, or it will overheat & die!!





NOTE: The following is dangerous & should NOT be tried if you do not know what your doing!

I was able to use this Adapter under full load by opening it & aiming a small fan at it to keep it cool, then it ran perfectly! If only I could find a small 20v Fan, I'd add it myself.

I bought this supply when repairing and testing an Inspiron 9100 laptop. It met my expectations, supplying the needed voltage and current at a reasonable price. I am not sure that the BIOS single-pin read of the model/serial brought in the expected data - but that feature was not relevant to my usage and I did not explore it farther.

Whoever said it was the exact same thing as the one that came with their Dell computer is either lying or got a cheap knock-off with their Dell.



1) the cords are much shorter.

2) all the materials look and feel much cheaper. The adapter itself is about 1/3 as heavy as my previous one.

3) it would not even provide a constant power supply. It would cause my computer to flicker from battery power to plugged in repeatedly, especially when doing something "strenuous" like watching a movie or playing a game. This causes the screen to flicker on and off every time and then lag the computer for 1-2 seconds. Makes games unplayable.

4) did I mention it's super cheap? It fell off my desk once (a whopping 2 foot fall) and now will not provide any power at all. I am currently typing this with the last 47 minutes of battery I have left on my computer.

This AC Adapter is identical in every detail to the adapter that came with my Dell. It works perfectly with no problems at all. I am very satisfied with this product.AC Adapter for Dell PA-15, D2746, ADP-150EB - Dell Replacement Ac Adapter - Charger - Dell Ac Adapter - Laptop Charger'

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Macbook Pro Cover - macbook pro, clear

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I got this case because it was cheap. It's a nice case. Snaps into place, just like it should. BUT, it was obviously designed for the old Macbook powercords. The new macbook pro that I got (May 2010) has a different style of power cord where instead of the cord coming straight out of the plug, it is perpendicular. The plastic case was obviously designed for the old laptop cord, because now, it is really sensitive when you use plug the cord in one of two ways. It's kind of hard to describe. It's a slight annoyance, but still an annoyance. iPearl mCover Hard Shell Case for 13" A1278 MacBook Pro (Crystal Clear)

after seeing that this shell had "feet" (something that the speck cases that these are copies of, lack) i was sold. Sadly, i learned the hard way... you get what you pay for.



a few of the downfalls of this case:

- one of the feet on the bottom has already broken after only a week of use.

- the top of the shell has lines where the plastic was molded together, making it look extremely cheap.

- the thickness added to the laptop is just too much. (but thats personal opinion)

- the front edge is sharp... my wrists are raw from resting on the laptop while typing.

- it "clamps" onto the lid and bottom of the laptop... these little plastic holders have started to scratch my beautiful macbook pro.

- the magsafe connecter hole had little shreds of plastic that i had to cut off with an exacto knife just to get the connector to fit.



all in all, its not worth it. the ONLY thing this cover has going for it is the price. if you care at all about your mbp, get a real case. leave this cheap import stuff alone.

I bought this case rather than the Speck, which looks much nicer and appears to be better made, because it's noticeably lighter weight. The MacBook is already heavier than the PC it replaced, and this is a factor for me when lifting a full travel case into the overhead bin. So this mCover case is an acceptable alternative. It's a little tacky but protects the exterior adequately and was less expensive. As others mentioned, the shell has to be cut away (with a razor blade or exacto knife) in order for the power cord to seat firmly. I like the feet on the bottom that raise the angle of the keyboard, but be very gentle with them, as they can stick, and I can see that they could break pretty easily if forced.

The case is very sturdy and made of a thick plastic, perfect for protecting my macbook from scratches. It took about 20 second to snap onto the macbook, and fits like a glove. the case has openings for all of the usb and plug ports, and the dvd slot. Also, the bottom of the case is vented so it helps prevent too much heat build up. I dont think many cases have this feature. this is a must have for any macbook user, esp if you are constantly moving your laptop around to different places.

This cover is great except that with the new ac adapter, it only fits one way. (toward the computer rather than away from it, therefore partially blocking the ethernet port. Other than that, it is a very nice case. It's great that the top cover is all one piece without a cut-out for the apple logo. I feel that it is durable and will protect my computer from scratches. A keyboard cover is included.

I loved the case! It was the perfect size and the perfect clarity! It fit great and is a wonderful protector. I also love the fact that there are little "lifters" to elevate my mac at an angle which is sweeet!!! Also the company was wonderfully And shipped my products super fast! If I ever need another accessory I will check these guys out first!!! Loved loved loved it highly reccomend

I really like the shell that I received for my laptop. It was very easy to put together and snapped right into place. It did not add any weight to my laptop and the shell stays in place. My mind is at ease now that I know my laptop is protected. I would definitely buy another shell in a different color.

The case fits my Macbook Pro 13 perfectly with accessibility to all peripherals connections. Easy to snap on and taking it off takes some care and knowing where the notches are located. THIS CASE DOES NOT OPEN TO FULL RANGE of the MB Pro design. The bottom edge of the the screen hits the back corners of the laptop making it impossible to open fully. Still gives a normal viewable angle, but if you put it on your lap you will not get a good optimum viewing angle.



The flip out feet is a good idea but it tend to slip on a smooth desk. The bottom front feet/risers are stuck on with foam padding, it's only good on some surfaces and not durable.



I have to put more money on a different case, cause this one is unsatisfactory.

Wish I would have bought this product a long time ago to protect my computer. I tend to terrorize my tech product and this case protects while aesthetically preserving my lap top. The product does tend to get even hotter than without the case so make sure you power it down not leave it in sleep mode when carrying with you. Dust/Dirt does get trapped under the case but doesn't scratch the computer which is a major plus compared to other cases. Overall very pleased especially considering the price. - Macbook Case - Macbook Cover - Clear - Macbook Pro'

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Dual Action - logitech, usb controller

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I was looking to grab a second controller for my computer, as I had just ordered my dream laptop. I'm a pretty big fan of Logitech's gamepads, so I looked into that before anything else.



I have a Dual Action from them at the moment, and I really enjoy it, the only problem being that the analogs are surrounded by a square instead of a circular shape, making going completely straight take a bit more effort. I saw the F310, and noticed it was essentially the same, with circular surroundings for the analogs. So, I decided to take it for a spin.



I received the product, and ripped open the box, and after noticing the switch on the back (I'd forgotten about 'game' modes while waiting on the product to ship), I read through the directions. I apparently, it seems to be that 'Xinput' mode is useless on XP. In fact, the controller is essentially not recognized in Xinput mode at all. Took me about an hour to actually realize that was the problem, and thought it was just a faulty driver issue.



After that however, I tried out a few games I've got on my computer, seeing as I'm waiting on the laptop, and: It works great.



It's extremely responsive aside from 2 buttons. I've had no issues doing combos or whatnot in any of the fighting games I regularly play. My only gripe is that the L2/R2 Buttons are actually triggers. Well, not that they are triggers, but rather, triggers that require a bit more effort to push. Other than that, it's a great product, with a good, simple design, a nice, responsive d-pad and face buttons, but a little bit more info should be put into that instruction manual about Xinput/Direct Input Modes.



Overall, a great buy, and I really suggest reading this before purchasing just so you aren't wasting time trying to get it to work. Logitech Gamepad F310 with Customizable Buttons

Since I had two Best Buy gift cards that I needed to use, I naturally decided to buy my controller at Best Buy. I actually wanted a Logitech F510. But here's a fun fact: the only two PC gamepads Best Buy has available are this one and the XBox 360 controller, both at the store and on their website (which, by the way, has a terrible search engine)! So, I decided to just deal with the lack of rumble a rumble feature and buy this one. After all, I had to get rid of those damn gift cards!



The controller is essentially a Logitech Dual Action controller (the one shown on Logitech's website, not this piece of crap), but with the main difference being the possibility of switching to XInput, i.e. be used as an XBox 360 controller, in addition to DirectInput. This also means that the second set of shoulder buttons have been changed to analog triggers and an extra "Logitech" button is added to the center, which acts as the button in the center of the XBox controller.



Let's start from the ground up. First of all, the "floating" D-pad is fantastic, and that alone makes the controller great. It might take some time to get used to, and it's harder to quickly press the exact opposite direction than on a "normal" D-pad, but it is great because it tends to "click" slightly, making it almost impossible to accidentally press a diagonal, something which I always found to be annoying. If you were to take the controller apart (I have done so with my broken Dual Action, which has the same D-pad), you would see that it is essentially just a traditional D-pad which is raised and separated from the switches with plastic tubes, which I gotta say is an ingenious design.



The buttons are also perfect, making an obvious, but not distracting "click" when pressed. I am not kidding when I say they put old Nintendo controllers breaking down from years of use to shame.



The one gripe I have with the buttons is the shoulder triggers, which are quite stiff, enough so that they are distracting and uncomfortable. This may seem like a minor thing, but it's not; it's impractical to hold the button for more than 20 seconds, which is a huge problem for racing games where you need to hold the button constantly. If analog triggers are important to you, do not get this controller. Get an XBox 360 controller instead.



And lastly there's the control sticks. Unlike the Dual Action, this controller has circular moldings surrounding the sticks, thank god, because that square shape was horrendous. The sticks themselves work perfectly, easily putting the DualShok 3's stick to shame. There is very little natural deadzone present, and even after extensive use they only require a small deadzone (about 2-3%, which is small enough that it is often ignored anyway). The buttons beneath the sticks work perfectly as well.



Logitech's "gaming software" is completely useless. It basically allows you to make a button press emulate either another button press or a key press. At least, that's the theory. In reality, it is difficult to use and I have found that it never works. Besides this, it seems to have absolutely no support for emulating mouse movement or buttons. I suggest skipping out on Logitech's software and going with JoyToKey (or Joy2Key if you're on Linux), which is easy to use and actually works, and very well at that.



Here's a breakdown:



Pros:

+ Excellent quality buttons, d-pad, and analog sticks.

+ Familiar Playstation-like button layout.

+ Can behave like an XBox 360 controller.

+ X-Input/DirectInput switch allows better compatibility with games and joystick drivers.

+ The MODE button, which flip-flops the d-pad and left analog stick, can help with games that have no d-pad support.



Cons:

- Slightly odd shape which almost makes your fingers feel caged.

- Analog triggers are incredibly stiff, rendering them nearly useless.

- It's corded, so if you don't like cords, this is not for you. :)



Overall, while the Dualshock 3 is better than this, and the XBox 360 controller may be the best for 3D games that don't need a d-pad, this controller is perfect for retro-gaming (16-bit era and prior) due to its excellent D-pad and quality buttons. Its nearly-perfect analog sticks also make this controller great for many 3D games; in particular, any N64 game you can name, and probably a good chunk of Gamecube games as well (Shadow the Hedgehog comes to mind). I recommend this controller if you're a classic gamer and don't have a Dualshock 3 or Wii Classic Controller (or don't want to take the time to connect them to your PC), as it is fairly inexpensive. As for its sister controllers, the F510 and F710, no. You're much better off with an XBox 360 controller, since any game that would benefit from the rumble feature probably doesn't extensively use the d-pad anyway. - Usb Controller - Controller - Logitech - Pc Gamepad'

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Ipod Accessories - ipod clock radio, volume

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Whats to say, it's average, which I'm surprised it's not better being made by Sony, however, it does what it's designed to do. It's decent sound for an alarm clock. That's basically what it is, an alarm AM/FM Tuner that happens to have an Ipod dock. without the Ipod dock it's worth I'd say about 10.00 bucks. Compared to others though it was definatley reasonably priced. Sony ICF-C05iP Clock Radio for iPod (Black)

When I went to the different stores I was looking for a small, minimal space occupying alarm clock that I can put by my bedside that would charge my iPhone, an adjustable buzzer volume that would wake me up with the buzzer, and not illuminate my whole room. If you're looking for that, then this is the product you need. In my shopping in stores I found them all to be too large, or the clock too bright, or the buzzer wasn't loud enough and didn't give you the option to adjust the volume to a level suitable for yourself. If you're looking for a high quality sound system, I doubt this is product for you because even though I didn't test the sound, I can't see it being used to provide music for a house party because it is so compact. I also really like that the ability to adjust the brightess of the alarm clock is real easy to find because it doubles as the snooze button when the alarm isn't going off. So, if it happens to be too bright you can adjust it easily. It has 3 levels of brightness and the option to completely turn the backlight off. I also am going to like the one touch button on back that will adjust up and back for daylight savings time. So basically my need for an alarm clock-iPhone charger was finally met in this product. Set up quickly and so far very happy with it.

Love it, and it is even better than the description makes it sound. I love that I can set the volume for the alarm itself so that I can listen to music while I fall asleep and not have to worry about it being to low in the morning to wake me up. I also love that I can turn the backlight off at night. The only issue I have with it is that it is really easy to accidently snooze for longer than you would like. If you push the snooze button more than once it increases the snooze time, so be careful with that.

This clock radio from Sony does the job. It is easy to understand and use. You can listen to your iPhone/iPod or to the radio - your choice. I put my iPhone in it each night and use the alarm on my iPhone to wake me up. Each morning my iPhone is fully charged and ready to face another day. There are no extras here so don't expect them. It simply does what it is meant to do very, very well.

Bought this for my IPod Touch (4th gen) to use at the office and it works great. Sound is good for a clock radio. It's not something you'd use for your main sound system, but for music in the office, it's great!

We were looking for a smaller option to go on the nightstand that would accommodate the iPhone or iPod and also be just a radio alarm clock if needed. So far we are happy with the quality of the sound and how it works. The option to turn the light off is nice and the radio reception appears to be better than the regular radio alarm clock we already had. It is easy to set up and use.

After trying a really crappy iHome iA5 and a confusing Jensen JiPS-250i, I went for simple-but-elegant with this Sony. Worked beautifully right out of the box. Don't want apps, don't want bells and whistles, don't need concert hall-quality sound. Just want an iPhone clock radio that will reliable charge my device and let me listen to my podcasts in bed at night without generating a bunch of error messages about how "this accessory is not optimized" for use with my iPhone. This one does the job. Small footprint on bedside table is a nice bonus.



Highly recommended.

Loved the size of this for next to my bed. It was ideal and I was so happy when I got it. 3 weeks later I woke up and no time was displayed and my iPhone wasn't charged. It just no longer worked. You need to save the box for the return period. Aggravating and so disappointed by the waste of money.

This little machine is great! It's compact, the speakers are pretty good and the dimmer light is good for me....I like a very dark room when I sleep. It's very easy to set the clock, set the sleep timer etc. I have had some clocks in my life that took a college degree to figure it out. And the best part is that my iPhone is always handy and charged. Great product. - Ipod Accessories - Ipod Clock Radio - Clock Radio - Volume'

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Kohler Diverter Spout - tub diverter spout, kohler spout

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This spout has a misleading Technical Description. K-15136-S-CP is a slip-fit (o-ring and set screw). K-15136-CP is a NPT connection (threads onto plumbing fitting). The technical details state that it is NPT or Slip-Fit but when you receive the item, you will realize that you can only use K-15136-S-CP for a slip-fit and K-15136-CP for a NPT fitting.



This product is nicer than any of the individual diverters that Home Depot and Lowes sell (I visited both this past weekend). It is all-metal construction and has a very nice finish. Just make sure you order the correct one for your plumbing. KOHLER K-15136-CP Coralais Diverter Bath Spout, Polished Chrome

I'm no expert, but this is a very nice tub spout. I replaced our ten-year old one due to calcium corrosion, with this one from Kohler. A neighbor told me that his H*me Dep*t one didn't last a year, when I mentioned I was looking at Kohler. I wouldn't have found this product at any local home store, so thank you Amazon.



Easy to install once the old one was removed. I recommend doing this while the hardware stores are open, just in case you need to fix the pipe that comes out of the wall.



Made in Taiwan.

One issue is the limitation of brass fixtures in the building warehouses. I tried 2 replacement brass shower diverters and they didn't work reliably. I saw the Kohler and purchased it online. It arrived on schedule and works perfectly. - Tub Diverter Spout - Diverter Spout - Kohler Diverter Spout - Kohler Spout'

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Accessory Combo Packs - blackberry, accessories

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The wall charger was somehow destroying both of our phones, it took a while to figure this out, but the second we stopped using it our phones were fine, then we used it again and the both froze up. Since we stopped using it no problems. Didn't receive the antenna booster, and the case is fine, and the car charger works fine. IF everything worled and I received everything, I would've given four stars just on how inexpensive it all was. Cell Phone Accessories Bundle for Verizon RIM Blackberry Storm 9500, 9530 Thurder (Includes; Premium Leather Side Carry Case, Custom Screen Protector, Rapid Car Charger, Home Wall Charger, Generation X Antenna Booster)

i am very impressed with the screen protector. makes the storm screen sharper and does not inhibit the functionality of the touch screen in any way. i also like the carry case and the car charger, very handy. the storm comes with a number of home wall chargers so you might find yourself not using the bundled wall charger

This is a great bundle, but just one little thing. I expected the "holster case" to lock my phone once the phone is inserted, but I have to lock it myself... unlike the OEM holster versions. I didn't check to see it was an authentic BLACKBERRY holster.

WITH THE BALCKBERRY SO FAR I HAVE NOT HAD PROBLEMS BUT IS A MACHINE NOT ORIGINAL AND REPAIRED OF MANUFACTURES. With respect to A memory of 8 gb MICRO sdhd never ME was sent in the PACK nothing had memory

None of the items in the bundle is really for blackberry storm. The pouch is outrageously large, the antenna can be used in any phone, the car charger is in a mess, you have to hold it while charging and the so called super charge is not so super again.

All products work well except the plug-in charger and the antenna. The charger does not work. The company is sending me another charger. I cannot tell a difference in my cell phone coverage since installing the antenna. The leather case is great. I really like it. I think I got good value for the price.

I keep the wall charger at work for the times I don't charge the phone at home. I was disappointed the other day when I plugged it in and it didn't work.



All the other items are working well. I guess you have to be careful when buying a bundle pack. - Blackberry Storm - Accessories - Blackberry - Accessory Combo Packs'

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Tiny Video Camera - panasonic, pocket camera

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Arrived at Amazon August 17, arrived at my house August 19. Today is August 21, 2010.



Panasonic USA website still has this new camera on "Backorder" so Amazon seems to perhaps be the first place to have this! I placed a pre-order and have been waiting weeks for this . . .



What's in the box:

*Camera

*USB "Extension Cord" About 40-inches long

*"AV" Cable about 4-feet long (composite Video-yellow connector, mono sound--white connector)

*Attachable hand strap

*Manual, misc. addenda, warranty/return survey



Stuff I wanted to know and could not find on web:

*(Real) Compatibility with IPAD--no direct support (the highly touted Apple iFrame capability means nothing as far as I can tell as to easily shooting video and directly bringing it into the IPAD). Of course moving any video into the IPAD is a big challenge. I own the Apple CCK Camera Connection Kit and was hoping this would allow me to plug the USB plug of the camera into this CCK adapter or the SD-card itself and import the video into the Apple photo app. I did easily get the still photos into the IPAD and it seems maybe the video too--but the video won't play (so how good is that). I believe this is because the high def 1920x1080P I was using at 12 Mbps (VBR) over exceeds the Apple allowable spec. (And it did not work with the iFrame content I shot at 960x540/30fps (approx 24 Mbps) (VBR). Perhaps if I had used the 640x480/30fps (approx 3 Mbps) (VBR) it would have worked--but who wants to save their precious moments in low def? (I believe the IPAD max bit rate is limited to 5 Mbps in the published spec). But don't dismay, here is the workaround: you can watch your videos on the IPAD (at the highest quality setting) by bringing them in through iTunes, directly into the GoodReader app (you can buy on iTunes). It's a fairly hidden capability of GoodReader (probably not to upset Apple too much)--but GoodReader allows you to play videos AND at higher resolutions and bit speeds than the Apple specs . . . but shhhhh, don't tell anyone, don't think we are supposed to know this. I was also able to import the video into iMovie and FCP 7.



[Addition Aug 28, 2010: Been using the above GoodReader technique on my vacation. It works, but is not perfect. There is an occasional stutter. If you demand perfect, stutter-free video on the IPAD, you will need to transcode the 1080P content to an IPAD compatible resolution/bit rate, then bring it into the Video area of the IPAD.]





*How long can your really shoot--apparently the references to 29min 59 sec (startlingly low) are the "single clip" time. Once you click stop, you seem to be able to continue to shoot (perhaps a total of 45 minutes as described in the manual)



[Addition Aug 28, 2010: The battery MUST be charged in the camera hooked up to a PC. Purchased a USB car cigarette charger for my road trip and it does not work. Also purchased an iGo portable USB charger and it did not work. Confirmed with Panasonic Tech Support you MUST charge the battery connected to a computer. If you choose to experiment with other in-camera charging techniques and the battery starts showing weird amounts of power in the on-screen meter, you will need to pull the battery out of the camera and wait 1 minute for it to sorta reset--before trying again.]

[Addition Oct 21, 2010: See important new info below on a $13.38 knock-off battery available through Amazon . . .]



*The AV out (I believe is called mini-USB connector) is only composite--no higher def cables or instructions on using it for higher def.



*There is no external microphone jack



*There is no external earphone jack



*Lens has no screw threads for attaching other lenses (see Flip Ultra HD lens wide/macro hacks on net)



[Addition October 21, 2010: Purchased magnetic Wide Angle Conversion lens from Amazon seller New World Video Direct = Panasonic TA-1 (HM-TA1) 0.45x Wide Angle Lens (HD) Black Finish W/ Macro (Modification Style) Magnetic Type. $59.00 Worked great. See my review on its product page on Amazon. Includes magnetic rings which have peel-and-stick super glue of some kind.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041IWMPI/ref=oss_product



*Manual does not reference any other accessories other than a spare battery and SD-type memory cards (what I still found today on the Panasonic website).



*UW Housing - I am still dying to know if Panasonic will offer a low cost underwater housing for scuba diving (100 ft.)--and as of today, there is no sign that this may be a future offering.



[Addition October 21, 2010: Discovered a cool looking Underwater Housing from Ikelite on Amazon $246.95. Have not purchased at this point. On the manufacturer's site they show you some cool looking tiny video lights which go with it.]

Ikelite Compact Video Underwater Housing for Panasonic HM-TA1 Camcorder





Pros:

*Video quality is awesome--what I'd expect from Panasonic (I own a Panasonic AG-HMC150--the AVCHD camera the Indie film makers love) and I am sorta a novice wanna-be indie video maker (it sometimes seems almost comparable in quality to images from this $4K-ish camera). Although this mostly automatic camera has few adjustment options, if you optimize lighting and other conditions it looks great. Certainly acceptable for point-and-shoot video kinda stuff. I am hoping I can use it for risky camera shots in future productions, where the camera might get damaged--then use the clips in "higher grade" productions.



*Still pics--seem good. Have not done extensive still pic study/comparison, but some quick looks confirmed they seem very adequate.



*Sound quality--seems good. Again note the sound is mono.



*Simplicity--more buttons that a FLIP, but they are logical/straight forward.



Cons:

*Design/build quality--disappointing for a Panasonic Camcorder. It has two user access doors: Battery/SD-card and USB connector ejector. Both are very "flimsy." They have what appears to be a thin rubber "string-like-thing" holding the door on. Now as I told my buddy, in the past on many devices these would break in a few days. But I've been noticing on more modern electronics, these are more frequently being used--but now seem to be made of higher-tech materials so they seem to not break. Time will tell. This is my biggest concern over the longevity of this device.



*EXPENSIVE BATTERY--This camera (of course) seems to have a proprietary and very expensive battery--almost half the price of the camera ($74.95 list on the Panasonic website VW-VBJ10)--this is plainly price gouging. Shame on you Panasonic. And the manual scares the heck out of you, if you are even thinking about a clone/equivalent battery (threats of potential explosions, etc.). I searched and searched for the closest equivalent, but when it arrive the specs seemed like a 98% match, but I am not an electrical engineer and afraid if I use this $14 battery I'll damage the camera.



[Addition August 28, 2010: According to Panasonic Tech Support you can purchase other equivalent batteries but they MUST be 3.6 V/940mAh. The charging time when connected to a PC is 4 h 10 min for "45 min actual recording time." If you plan to use it on a vacation where you shoot more than 45 minutes of video per day, you will probably need a second battery . . .]



[Addition October 21, 2010: Purchased from Amazon $13.38 Battery from by "Panasonic Digital Camera Battery" = "Battery King" and it worked great. 3.60V, 1000mAh, Li-ion.] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003N6O02W/ref=oss_product



[Addition October 21, 2010: Purchased from Amazon $28.00 Charger for above battery "Synergy", ships from and sold by Super Deal = Yan Kwong Leung and it worked great.]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001YHGPE8/ref=oss_product



*"Exposed" lens--The lens does not have any fancy barn doors to protect it, like many of the modern digital still cameras (wish it did). There may be some kind of protective glass over it--but this old fashion, perfectionist is nervous over this. I'd feel better if they would have at least had a protective lens cap.



*No lens hood capability(?)--I'd love to put some kind of lens hood over the lens to protect the lens from reflections/glare, but again, there does not seem to be provision to attach one. And yes I know this is a "low cost" camera.



*Software--Is preloaded into the Camera and is nothing impressive as far as facilitating the use of the video on mobile devices, etc. (transcoding/conversion, etc.)



Discussion:

The build quality of the Flip Ultra HD--far exceeds the quality of this device. The USB connector ejector slider should win the prize for "Best throwback to Plasticky Trash to come out of Japan since 1960." I am embarrassed for Panasonic. This is definitely the Panasonics equivalent to the Toyota debacle of 2010. Sliding this "slider" to pop-out the USB connector, inspires me to prayer every time I go to use it--I am terrified the slider itself will break off at the almost microscopic stem/mount.



The anti-shake feature was another concern--since the few of these style camcorders which seem to have it, have not implemented it very well. This seems to work ok, but I need to shoot more video with it. I also just bought a camera stabilizer for this camera--since I want rock steady shots and want to achieve some Hollywood crane/action style movement . . . check this out . . . had to buy it from the UK and it ended up costing more than the camera, but WOW this is soooo fun "Mini Motion-Cam" [...]

(You also need a special adapter piece for ultra light cameras . . .) I would expect that future reviewers will complain about the shakiness of their video from a small camcorder like this--ATTENTION, all video cameras need tripods if you want to shoot rock steady video. No small hand-held camcorder to my knowledge shoots rock steady shots, becasue our arms/hands move! So calibrate your expectations accordingly. (If you surf the web, you may find video shot on a Flip Ultra HD camera using a tripod--that had the production value/quality of a Hollywood/Indie production . . . the FLIP I believe produces 720P video--this does 1080P and the image is even better.)



My dream camera for this genre would feature two user selectable resolutions/ qualities. High to allow you to watch on a big screen TV and low for today's super small screen/mobile devices. They would both be shot in parallel, so the user would not have to convert/transcode for instant gratification on a mobile device. After all, isn't this camera a mobile device? It is sorta implied that these quick, point, shoot and watch cameras are all about this. "Fast watching."



Conclusion:

Would recommend this camera to friends and family without reservations. It does provide very high value and fun. Gave this 4 out of 5 stars due to the flimsy feeling doors/design/build quality and the outrageously expensive proprietary battery.



[Addition Oct 21, 2010: I am loving this camera more and more. None of the cheesy looking doors have given me any problems. The sound is pretty good. I took it to work and recorded a telephone conference call with it, then later transcribed the audio track. It was great--worked like a mini digital audio recorder. Also used it in this mode to record a narration for another movie I made. Pretty good quality sound--not as good as using pro microphones on a PC, but good enough for home movies. I've also learned about how to work with the MP4 files in FCP 7 Apple Final Cut Pro for editing. The MP4 files must be transcoded from the MP4 "capture codec" to Apple ProRes 422 (LT) "editing codec." Then, once you finish editing, you need to transcode again, back to an "output codec" (e.g. something which you can burn to a DVD or Blu-Ray disk, etc. I created a "Droplet" using Apple Compressor and now just drop my raw MP4 files onto it and it converts it to ProRes 422 (LT). Using the correct file format will save you from stuttering and hair pulling. And please use all video cameras on a tripod, hand-holding even with anti-shake still makes most people dizzy.] Panasonic TA-1 Ultrathin HD Pocket Camcorder Enabled with Skype and iFrame (Dark Grey) - Panasonic - High Definition - Pocket Camcorder - Pocket Camera'

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Hdmi - hdmi, high definition

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Disclaimer: First I'd like to say that I do not have the equipment to view this set's 3-D picture yet. I bought it as a hedge against 3-D. I'm not sure if 3-D is going to take off, but if it does I know I'm ready for it. I thought I would get that out of the way so while you will know I cannot review that feature of the TV, I still have a lot to tell. Now on with the show...



The Panasonic comes shipped in a conveniently designed box where you simply punch out four inserts and lift the box top off of the base. Sort of like when you get a cake from the bakery in a plastic container. Inside's the TV, the stand, the remote (and batteries), the power cord, and the owner's manual. Attaching the swiveling base is very simple and involves screwing a metal fork onto the base then slipping the TV onto the fork and screwing it down. The whole process takes 5 minutes and I was able to do it without any assistance. Also, I'd like to mention that Amazon shipped the TV through a company called HomeDirectUSA. They were very professional and opened the box for me to make sure the TV was undamaged.



Looks wise the Panasonic isn't much. It's framed in a piano black trim and is about 3 inches deep. The base is also done in piano black with a chrome band around the edge. At the bottom of the TV's frame is a bronze colored streak. Overall it's a classy look, but also nothing special. On the lower edge of the TV are the 3-D glasses' transmitters and the remote sensor. On the left side of the TV are various buttons (channel, volume, menu, input, and power) along with a few inputs (HDMI, composite video, and an SD card slot) and two USB ports (for hooking up the wireless dongle amongst other things). On the back of the set (on the set's left side viewed from the front) are two HDMI, two components, one composite, one RF/coaxial, and a PC input. There is also an optical audio out. The TV's build quality is very good, the materials are nice, and it feels sturdy overall. Lastly, the included remote is long and narrow, but well laid out with large buttons that light up.



Using TV is straightforward and easy. It guides you through the set-up, scans for channels, sets up the network, and sets the clock. The menu system is logically laid out and easy to use. The picture controls are many and allow you to fine tune precisely, although the pro-setting are only available in Custom picture mode. Besides Custom mode there is Vivid, Standard, THX, and Game modes. Each mode can be tweaked individually and set up differently for each input. Some of the features included with the Panasonic are 5 individual timers to turn the TV on and off and a sleep timer. There is also VieraLink that, if the TV is connected to the Internet, allows you to view YouTube or Netflix among other services (I have not used this feature since I stream that content through my Blu-ray player). You can insert an SD card or a USB jump drive into the set and view photos, videos, or listen to MP3 files as well. This feature worked well when I inserted an SD card from my Canon camera and the photos looked very nice on the screen. Another nice feature is being able to set channels as your favorites so you can jump to them more quickly, or have the channel only scan favorites when you go up and down channels. Features to reduce burn-in include a pixel orbiter (which very slightly shifts the picture to prevent burn-in) and a scrolling bar pattern that wipes a white bar over a black screen for 15 minutes. While burn-in is much less of an issues with plasma sets then it used to be, if you like to watch non-high definition TV with the bars on the side, or play video games and pause them for a long time, plasma may not be the best bet for you. Finally, there are light sensors on the front of the TV to allow the set to adjust its brightness based on ambient light conditions.



Picture quality on the Panasonic is where this TV shows it mettle. I have the set hooked up in the following manner. My LG Blu-ray player and Nintendo Wii are hooked up to my Onkyo receiver, which is in turn hooked into the Panasonic via HDMI. The Blu-ray is hooked into the receiver using HDMI and the Wii using composite video. For cable, I use the RF/coaxial input. I am not a videophile and tweaked the picture menu myself where I settled on the Vivid setting with some adjustments to make it considerably less vivid (usually I hate vivid mode but I like it on this set). I find the picture looks best when I leave the automatic adjustment for ambient light on. I also have the TV set-up to show 95% of the image where the edges are cropped off so I don't view any image breakdown at the picture's edge. Watching any high definition content, be it Blu-ray, cable TV, or streaming Netflix, the picture looks its best with great detail and clarity (this is especially true when watching Blu-ray discs). Watching standard definition content doesn't look bad either, obviously it doesn't look great stretched out to 50", but the details hold up well and it's more than acceptable. Regardless of the source, the colors are accurate, the dynamic range is great with deep and detailed shadows, and there is no motion blur even when playing video games or watching animated content. My previous television was a 32" 720p LCD and compared to the LCD the plasma Panasonic looks more "fluid" and "film-like". The details don't jump out at you like they do on a high end LCD set (sometimes obnoxiously), but the picture is clear and sharp none the less. The screen has an anti-reflective coating that seems to work well. I have the set in a room with two big windows on the west side and I adjust the blinds when necessary to keep the sun's reflections off the screen. In the end, a plasma is no worse in this regard than a traditional tube television. Overall, I am very pleased with the picture and am a plasma convert.



The TV's built-in speakers are fine for casual viewing, but if you want a true big-screen experience you're going to want to hook this set up to at least a 2.1 system, if not a full blown 7.2 system. Mine is hooked up to a 5.1 system.



Speaking of sounds, I don't notice any humming from the set. Occasionally, if I have muted the sound and a bright white scene comes on I hear a slight hum, but it's barely noticeable and goes away as soon as the scene changes. Also, the set does not give off much heat as far as I can tell.



There are only a few negatives I have about the set and they are as follows: 1) The piano black trim on the set shows reflections much worse than the screen itself. 2) The set only has 3 HDMI inputs, most have 4. 3) The remote sensor is very low on the set and I have my center speaker in front of the TV so I have to angle the remote upward in order for the signal to reach the TV.



All in all... a great plasma set, with tons of inputs, features, and adjustability, but an especially great picture quality.



P.S.: Sorry for the long review. There is a lot to cover. If you'd like to know anything else leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer.



11/24/2010 Update: Hitting the sub-menu button on the remote allows you to quickly change the behavior of the channel up/down button. For instance you can have it scan only your favorites, or just the digital channels. This is a nice touch, and a nice shortcut.



02/26/2011 Update: The television is still going strong and has maintained its excellent picture quality. I left a menu from my DVD player paused on the screen for about a half hour by accident, and after about a minute the retained image was gone. No issues with burn-in, humming, or anything. Great set. Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT25 50-inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV, Black - Panasonic - Hdmi - Panasonic 50 Inch Plasma - High Definition'

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