NEC Display Solutions NP-M300XS 1024 x 768 3000 Lumens LCD Short Throw Projector 2000:1

I've purchased 2 of these units. One for work and one for my church. This is a really nice projector! The short throw lens has finally allowed me to mount a projector in a location that was impossible before. The specs on this projector state the largest screen diameter is 100" diagonal can't be mounted farther than approx. 3 feet from the screen. For my church I'm using this to display a 130" diagonal image about 5 feet back. I can't get the sides of the image completely straight but it's very close and hardly noticeable by anything less than a trained eye. The unit I've placed in the board room at work is mounted 3 feet away from the screen and mounted very close to the ceiling. Presenters never get blinded by the light or get in the way of the image because it's mounted a couple inches from the top of the ceiling.

With short throw projectors like this the lumens needed can be quite a bit less because it's mounted so close to the screen. For my church we almost bought a 8000 lumens projector for $8500 mounted 13 feet from the screen. With this NEC projector we could have bought 8 of them for the same price and the brightness is acceptable in a room with a lot of light pollution. If your situation allows for any sort of way to reduce the light on a bright sunny day this projector mounted a few feet from the screen will project very nice bright image.

NOTE: Our church has floor to ceiling windows on both sides with no curtains to stop the light as well as bright stage lights so finding a projector bright enough was quite a challenge. This unit did the trick for us. Ideally we'd like more lumens as some pictures that are a bit dark and/or with dark skinned people do not display that well but for the price this can't be beat.

The best LCD I have ever bought. Looks great on my 14' screen.I highly recommend it. Buy one. You'll like it.

Buy NEC Display Solutions NP-M300XS 1024 x 768 3000 Lumens LCD Short Throw Projector 2000:1 Now

Own 4 of these units.

Use them for my entertainment company.

Great short throw and nice quality for a nice price.

I do own some SHARP models, but this one is the shortest throw and bright colors.

Read Best Reviews of NEC Display Solutions NP-M300XS 1024 x 768 3000 Lumens LCD Short Throw Projector 2000:1 Here

Micro HDMI (Type D) to HDMI (Type A) Cable For Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7.0 Tablet - 6 Feet (Package i

Bought this to connect my new Kindle Fire HD to the big flat screen TV. Works fine. I recommend it.

This cable works great with my fire hd and is the perfect length. It is a must have for your tablet and well worth the money. I highly recommend it.

Buy Micro HDMI (Type D) to HDMI (Type A) Cable For Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7.0 Tablet - 6 Feet (Package i Now

Shows a pretty good image on my tv from my kindle fire hd. Keep in mind, the screen of the kindle fire he is larger vertically than true 16;9, so it will be letter boxed. It looks super crisp though!

The cord itself is fine. Sturdy, well made, long enough not to be a bother, and easy to plug / unplug on both sides.

Read Best Reviews of Micro HDMI (Type D) to HDMI (Type A) Cable For Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7.0 Tablet - 6 Feet (Package i Here

I plugged one end in my Kindle, the other end to the HDMI port on the TV, selected the corresponding HDMI port setting on the TV and got great picture and sound for movies.

I love that I can start a movie on my Kindle away from home and finish it up at home on the "big screen", and of course it works great for "Movie Night" with the family at home.

I leave the cable hooked up to the TV for quick-connect and have my movie going just a few seconds.

Want Micro HDMI (Type D) to HDMI (Type A) Cable For Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7.0 Tablet - 6 Feet (Package i Discount?

Works great. I can connect to my tv and watch anything on my 55" television or surf the net on tv. great price. Gold tips, packaged nicely with tips protected. Would order again.

Save 83% Off

Bushnell Imageview 15-45x70mm 5MP Camera Spotting Scope

The Imageview is the only system of its class available as far as I can see. There are a few other scope/camera combos on the Web, but each fails at some point: some are discontinued or unavailable, some lack the essential zoom feature and are fixed magnification, the nearest is a Russian model that has a fixed screen which cannot be easily shielded from ambient light and a lower resolution camera...at well over twice the price for the Bushnell.

That said here's the quick overview:

Pros:

*One of a kind

*Inexpensive

*Light weight

*Good quality photos under optimum lighting conditions

*Takes inexpensive SD cards for unlimited photos per trip

*Includes cable release

Cons:

*Focus offset between camera and eyepiece cannot be corrected with diopter ring as manual suggests and may be distant dependent

*LCD screen required for a clear photo is almost impossible to see in sunlight (e.g. birding)

*Battery life can be measured in minutes, you can't get many shots from a set of AA batteries

*The included tripod is flimsy and cheap, if you use this scope in the field, you'll want a sturdier one

*Buttons, fit and finish are marginal at best

*It's difficult to remember to throw the switch from eyepiece to camera; you'll take some blank shots, especially at first

it doesn't not work like an SLR

*It's clearly not designed to be weather resistant

*The camera metering is particularly bad for birding. Birds are generally back-lit against the sky or a bright background. Spot metering helps take care of this, the Imageview seems to use an averaging algorithm which leads to dark birds on a bright background. Post-image work can recover some, but not all the data.

I have always been impressed with Bushnell products. O.K. they're NOT high end optics, but they're very very good, especially when you consider how economical they are. So, yeah, you could call me a Bushnell fanboy, that's fine with me! I'm not a wealthy man, and I'm not a purist, but I do appreciate quality. We own two different pairs of Bushnell binoculars, and are well pleased with the performance and longevity of both products.

I've owned this scope for less than six weeks, and I already feel like I've got my money's worth! Initially, I was looking to find an affordable spotting scope and the right accessories to use our old digital camera to do some digiscoping. I'm a budding bird-watcher, and I wanted a way to capture images of birds that I could not identify, so that I could study them at my leisure. This scope (along with an adequate tripod) came in UNDER BUDGET and FAR OUTPERFORMS what I could have done with our old digital camera!

Of course, there's no such thing as a free meal. There are SOME drawbacks to this scope, but I feel that they're FAR outweighed by the advantages. If you are looking to take high-end photos that you can sell to National Geographic, keep looking! If you're looking for a great spotting scope, with the built-in ability to take good quality photos as well as short videos (without audio) at an affordable price, then look no further!

A satisfied customer,

Brian Hart

Buy Bushnell Imageview 15-45x70mm 5MP Camera Spotting Scope Now

I bought this for the telescope not the tripod. Good thing because the tripod is almost useless. It's so flimsy that it's almost impossible to locate and lock onto a target. I purchased a good tripod and am now very happy with the telescope. The quality of the telescope is better than I expected in this price range. Through the lens the image is very sharp and clear. No as good through the camera. If you want high quality photos you'll have to spend more. They are fine for showing people the wildlife in my backyard.

Read Best Reviews of Bushnell Imageview 15-45x70mm 5MP Camera Spotting Scope Here

I have had this a while and it still works. The only down fall is that its old technology and memory chips/sticks are hard to find. This uses the old SD card max 2GB.

But for the money great spotting scope.

Want Bushnell Imageview 15-45x70mm 5MP Camera Spotting Scope Discount?

A photo of the view through a spotting scope or binoculars has instant appeal. The scope can be adjusted to your eye so that the digital image will be in focus too. I focused on an advertisement with lettering,about 30 feet away, then turned the eyepiece so the lettering is in focus looking through the viewer and on the LCD screen. The only problem is the LCD is dark and grainy, so it's hard to see focus. I had to upload to the computer to see the actual result. It's hassle, but it works, and once you have it, you don't have to repeat the calibration.

The images you get are low resolution. I wish Bushnell would offer this scope a with higher resolution LCD and CCD chip. Still, for the money, it's great.

Save 48% Off

Canon PowerShot A85 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

I have given the A85 4 stars although I would have given it 4.5 stars if possible and A80 5 stars. There are 2 basic reasons why I like A80 more than A85, but you may decide otherwise:

1)Bigger CCD Sensor 1/1.8" on A80 vs. 1/2.7" on A85 which means 5 million pixels compared to 4 million leading to better image quality.

2)Flip out LCD screen (1.5" on A80 vs 1.8" fixed LCD on A85)The flip out screen is very useful when taking certain shots. I typically used the flip out screen most when taking

-shots of crowds down the center and of tall buildings by holding the camera above my head,

-in tight spot situations on hikes/treks where I could not shift much by twisting the screen sideways,

-of children/smaller objects on the ground without having to kneel on a sidewalk etc.

And NOW the A80 is cheaper too at Officedepot.com. At Amazon it is selling for much higher than the price of A85 which alone proves its popularity.

What A85 offers over A80:

1) SCN modes (beach, fireworks etc.)which may not be useful for people who like using more mnual controls as they have many presets for ISO etc. which may not give the best shot. The A80 offered an extra customizable setting in place of the SCN modes which can be useful too.

2) A85 also offers 3 resolution settings for video including 640X480 (VGA max 30 sec)while in the A80 the highest setting is 320X240 (max. 3 mins). However, the 30 sec video seems a bit short to me. I usually use this feature to capture special moments of children when my video camera is not handy.

3) Print share button: The A85 has a print share button which enables direct printing of images /downloads for marked images. This feature is not very useful for most people especially if you have Windows XP which enables slection/rotation of images and direct download as soon as the USB cable is connected to your computer even without using any Canon software.

What all AXX series cameras offer which makes this series Canon's most successful consumer series so you won't go wrong buying any camera in the series:

--Complete Manual functions available shutter priority, Aperture priority, White balancing, Manual focusing etc.

--Photostitch For stitching together panoramic views. I have shot countless seascapes, 'bridge'scapes, landscapes etc using this function. It is really easy too!

-Tone settings (Tungsten, Sunlight, Cloudy etc.),

--Special effects (B/W, Sepia, Vivid, Nuetral etc.) I have used sepia a lot when taking potraits giving them an 'old world' feel. Vivid has been helpful in special situations like a red kite against a blue sky to bring out the colors.

--Free Canon software, which works well and allows you to edit images, stitch images, make fun photos, maintain an album, change camera settings, edit videos, upload images back to camera to transfer to another computer etc.

--Use AA batteries which are available anywhere in the world. A Sony Super Quick Charger (5hours) with 4 rechargeable NiMH batteries is available for under $23 on Amazon! Charge these batteries upto 1000 times. I keep the LCD on for all my shots and usually I get 270-360 shots from each charge from the A80 including the battery power used to download these images to my computer with the USB cable and playing back these images for friends! That is quite a feat by Canon.

--Macro mode Great for close ups of children or product shots

--Many other useful features in the latest models (including A80)like being able to edit the movies in the camera, being able to see multiple images on the LCD, auto rotation of images, ability to add voice notes to pictures, evaluative graphs on the LCD, and much much more. After thousands of shots I still keep discovering new features I haven't used or better ways to use existing features.

If you are considering the A95, it is a great camera and a upgraded version of A80, however at a hundred bucks less than the A95 (amazon price) the A80 (Officedepot price) is a great camera with almost the same features except a few differences.

-A95 offers 5 MP, and the extra MP may not be useful for you if you don't want to go over 8X10 prints

-a slightly larger flip out LCD screen which is great but it will also use up the battery faster

-SCN modes (see above)

-Print share button (see above)and

-Flexizone (you can set the focus in any one of 9 zones) which is a nice feature if you like being creative with your compositions.

Overall you have to decide whether you want to pay a hundred bucks more for these differences or any one feature may be the deal breaker for you.

In a nutshell, if you are thinking of buying the A85 consider the A80 too!

This is my first digital camera having used film cameras for a very long time and I must say that I have no buyer's remorse over my purchase of the Canon Powershot A85. I agonized over a month comparing this camera to many others like the Powershot A80 and the A95 but it finally came down to pricing and what I needed the camera to do, which made the A85 more than enough camera for me. I didn't need a 5 MP camera to start out with and so I figured this was a good starter. It's a solid camera that produces great pictures and videos. The camera is well balanced for someone like me who wants to experiment with camera settings and someone like my wife who wants a simple point and shoot. 2 sets of rechargeable Nimh batteries are a must. I've had a little bit of difficulty shooting pictures of people at night without getting a lot of red eye. Fortunately I think this is something that will require more practice to perfect. If not the software, ZoomBrowser EX, that comes with the camera totally corrects the red eye for me. It is an easy camera to use and navigate. Over the past month I've tried to take a variety of pictures ranging from portrait shots to landscapes and I have been very pleased with the pictures. Once again I highly recommend this camera for someone who is just starting out and wants a reasonably priced quality digital camera.

Buy Canon PowerShot A85 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Now

Eh, I don't really agree with the review saying that the zoom is very breakable. Yes there are quite a few items that will come up if you do a search on google, but considering how many millions of cameras are out there, the percentages are pretty low. I have a Canon A-series digital camera from last year that I took everywhere with me. I just threw the thing in my pocket without a cover or anything, and it never gave me any problems. I recently took this new one out to sea on a boat where it was very windy and nothing happened to it. I also read a comment in a review that battery life is so-so. Well, you have to realize that batteries come in all flavors, from cheap alkalines to NiMH and lithiums. The kind of battery used by the review was not specified. I recommend using rechargeable NiMH batteries at 2100 mAH and up. That'll be way more than enough to fill up a 256 mb card. Well, with that said, I'm going to rate this product based on performace instead of bad luck, and in terms of what it can do, it is really very good, even compared to cameras in a higher class. Picture quality is very good and there are more manual controls than any other camera in this price range. This really is the most bang you can get for your buck. It gives great results and is easy even for the beginner to use. I really do like Canon products, even at the "budget" level the A400 blows away the competition, and you really do get more than you pay for. I'm not saying that I'll only buy Canon stuff, but you gotta admit that they are pretty good. Oh by the way, if you're looking for a sealed up camera, the Olympus Stylus 310/410 has waterproof seals, but is locked in fully automatic mode. If you don't like the way your pictures are coming out, too bad. Some of the 4 meg Kodaks offer pretty good competition, with a nice amount of manual features and 4x zoom, but the trade-off is that you get a noticeable decrease in picture quality compared to the Canons, especially with shots taken at night.

Read Best Reviews of Canon PowerShot A85 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Here

The A75 and A85 are Excellent follow-ups of the A70, and offer some very nice improvements. The most noticeable is the larger LCD, scene modes for those who don't like to tinker with the settings, "C" dial position to save your custom settings, and the print/share button to make things easier. For those who don't know, scene modes are easy-to-access presets of a combination of manual adjustments, optimized for shooting in different situations such as when you are indoors, at the beach, taking shots of kids, shooting at night, or shooting fireworks, etc. The camera features full manual controls over shutter speed and aperture, manual focus, saturation, exposure compensation, custom white balance, ISO, metering, and a histogram in playback mode. I know most people think they won't ever use some of these, but when you have an important shot that just isn't coming out, you'll be really glad you have it (or wish you did). For those who don't know, control over shutter speed means you can use a fast shutter speed to capture fast action or you can use a slow shutter to avoid using a flash or for taking shots of night scenery.

The areas where the Canon A75, A85, and A95 really excel at are:

Being fairly small(small price tag too!) for a camera with this many features and having picture quality this good.

Creative shooting: this is a great camera for those who want to do creative shooting but can't afford to plop down $600+ for a Canon G6 or more for a Digital SLR. It's got all of the most important controls, and with your memory card, you can do all the creative shooting and experimenting you want virtually free compared to using film. It's even expandable with telephoto, wide angle, or close up conversion lenses and there's also the waterproof casing.

All Canon cameras also come with an excellent software package that lets you stitch panoramic photos, retouch photos or rescue those that came out wrong, add special effect, and view thumbnails of pictures so you don't have to open them up to see what the picture looks like (good for those who are using an older version of windows, I know there are still a lot of you out there). The best part is that it's free! It does more than Kodak's software(which is pretty decent), you have to pay $20 to get the better version of Olympus's software, and Sony's editing software is pretty much non-existent. Those who already have Photoshop won't be excited.

For those of you who are concerned that the camera doesn't come with rechargeable batteries, don't worry, it's really not a big deal. Good rechargeable AA's, type NiMH are super cheap at around $10-$15 for 4, compared to $50 for Lithium Ion battery packs, and at that price, everyone can afford a spare set, which is really important to have. I've seen people who bought much crappier cameras at the same price, just because they came with rechargeable batteries not a smart choice in my opinion.

Yes, there is the problem with purple fringing, but it's not a very common problem and most people either don't know what it is or don't even know think it's much of a problem when they see it. Some people think it looks cool. With full control over aperture, you have the ability to get rid of it or at least reduce it. Compared to the problems that other manufacturers have with their cameras, I'd take a bit of purple fringing over noise, soft/fuzzy images, and over-sharpening any day!

If you want 5 megapixels of resolution, a very useful rotating LCD screen, and Flexi-Zone (lets you choose an area that is off-center to focus on), then look at the A95.

Please note: my review of the A75 is the same as the A85 because they are pretty much the same camera with the 1 megapixel different. There are some differerences between my review of the A95 and this one.

Want Canon PowerShot A85 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Discount?

Absolutely amazing camera.

First a little backhistory. I owned Canon products for the most of my life. My first digital camera was an HP however.

After my HP broke about 2 years after purchase (hardware failure, nonspecific, 150 bucks to fix at HP) i went with this camera. The difference is amazing.

Canon products have always been a favorite choice of mine due to ease of use. Its settings dial makes it fast and simple to change from mode to mode for various uses.

Say for example your filming your son at the soccer field. you want a nice portrait of him with the field faded in the background. use the portrait mode. Then you can use the same camera to get a fast shutter shot of him playing on the field simply by turning the dial.

you can even shoot a 3 minute movie of him playing on the field using the same camera! All it takes is the turn of the dial.

In addition to the different settings modes, there are 'creative' modes that you can enjoy by changing the shutter speed and the amount of light the lens lets through (arpeture? value)

this can be used to create some amazing effects of sparkling and flowing streams and waterfalls, or of glowing fountains or fireworks... or even "Light trail" photos.

The creative zones are great when you've got plenty of time to play around, and the preset modes are top notch.

Its hard to take a bad picture with this camera.

The "auto" mode is so powerful that you can literally open the box and start taking photos immediately. After a quick read through the manual you'll know how to take photos like a pro, and with just a little bit of learning and experimenting you'll be taking some real artsy shots too ;)

The battery life is amazing, especially with the optional canon NIMH batteries. The batters that came with it are not rechargable, but i was able to shoot over 100 shots + film 5 or 6 highest resolution movies (30 seconds a shot) before the batteries were dead. My NIMH batteries fully charged have taken over 100 shots and are still hot.

Now, about memory. Flash memory is some of the least expensive and better quality memory for digital cameras. The fact that they've gone with flash memory cards here is ideal. It ships with a 32 meg memory card (retail of about ten dollars as of this writing) and getting 256 meg and up is generally under 50 dollars.

Finally we talk about printing features. The canon camera has easy printing and easy sharing with any canon printer with a camera dock. This is largely most Canon printers. You absolutely will love any canon printer you buy, i believe them to be the best printers you can purchase. Canon has entry level printers for well under 100 bucks, some under 50 bucks in some cases (as of this writing, the IP1500 sits on my desktop) and they're the best in their price range, across all price ranges.

I honestly think it would be difficult to make a mistake purchasing this camera.

My only suggestion is to consider the Canon a95 camera, which is 1 megapixel higher, and has a swivel LCD screen. I had no use for the swivel screen and the larger picture depth wasnt worth the extra cash at the time of my purchase, but its something to consider if you're reading this review.

HP DreamScreen 130 13-Inch Wireless Connected Screen

Lets first just get some things out of the way before I talk about the quality of what the device DOES do lets talk about what it does not, yet claims to do.

Downright Lies

--------------

The following quotes are from the HP site itself:

"The HP DreamScreen is a gateway to the Internet using your wireless network to access

weather info, Snapfish and your favorite web destinations."

This is just untrue. There is no integrated web browser. It has three web `apps' on it: SnapFish, Pandora, Facebook. That's it. It does not read RSS feeds, or do much of anything you probably want it to do, simple things like display news or recipes.

"Stay current with social network sites like Facebook"

`Like' facebook? There is only Facebook: nothing else.

"Be organized with a built-in alarm clock & calendar."

This is laughable. Wondering how to sync the calendar with outlook or google or anything; maybe even just add appointments, I finally consulted their online documentation. Here, seriously, is the feature list for the calendar `app':

"View the current month, press right or left to view the next or previous month."

BWAH HA HA HA... *sigh*

"Touch-enabled controls--Get fast, easy access to information and entertainment with simple touch controls embedded in the display"

This is referring to some buttons around the bezel of the screen and is just so untrue they would have to change the marketing campaign in Europe or get sued. This does however remind me of the old In Living Color sketch where the handcapped superhero always says he is `not handicapped, but HANDY-CAPABLE!'.

"Videos--Watch home movies and video clips in full screen Its simple!"

It's as simple as taking your video, recompressing it to a supported video codec, resizing it to a specific resolution, and then physically transferring it ot the device -so simple grandma could do it! (with gordian knot, virtualdub, CCCP, and all those other video tools she has)

The Screen

----------

Resolution

The thing is a frickin' 300 dollar photo frame, but it's resolution is 800 x 480, this equates to 0.38 megapixels, at the time the frame came out, the average cheap point n shoot ranks 9 to 10 megapixels: this is well over twenty times the resolution of the screen!

Because of this, it can take 10 full seconds to load a photo and downsample it to 800 pixels from it's original resolution. This makes browsing photos a pain, and loading photos from your camera cards nearly useless. Power users will use photoshop or xnView to batch all their content to 800 pixels.

There is aliasing galore, as 800 pixels is the resolution of many phones and handheld devices, not 13' photo frames!

NOTE: The official specs on the HP website and elsewhere say the DreamScreen 130 is 800 x 480, however, it's own documentation on the CD is came with claims a resolution of 1280 x 800. I called HP and they confirmed the lower resolution for the DreamScreen 130. There may be a middle road as some sites report: "13.3' Widescreen800 x 480 pixels upscaling to 1280 x 800 pixels", which would mean you purchased a 1280×800 screen and they didnt feel like making the software go higher res for the more expensive display. Jesus.

Color Reproduction

It is a cheap TN panel, the gamma of your images widely fluctuates depending on the angle they are viewed. I would be ok if they had a low resolution but used a nice IPS, SIPS, or OLED panel, but this is just unremarkable. The black point is a dark shade of grey, in all seriousness, the panel quality seems on par with something like the panels they use in the dashboard of a Prius, or other industrial UI readouts.

Streaming / Network

Streaming requires lots of Microsoft Windows Media software and services running on a PC server in your house that is always on, they relied on this instead of doing the footwork themselves. If you were under the impression from their marketing that it could read files off samba shares or work with Macintosh, you would be wrong.

Software / User Interface

The software is pretty terrible. It is very clunky and unresponsive. Many times it does not recognize that physical media has been inserted and must be rebooted. The UI graphics themselves show terrible compression artifacts.

When you bring up the on screen keyboard to type in, say, the name of the device, it clearly shows buttons like [ [ [.com], and others to make it easier to browse the web, however there is no web browser! There are other places in the print ads and UI itself that refer to features the device just does not have!

"Touch Screen"

The device claims to have a `touch sensitive screen', and IT DOES! A small area around the bezel of the screen has botons that can be pressed/touched! This product is in NO WAY a touch screen device, and has no touch sensitivity, other than the buttons on the bezel, the marketing is a lie.

Open Source?

On the CD that ships with it, they have a ton of readme files showing they used a lot of GPL'd code, however the source installer did not work on my windows 7, x64.

Conclusion

Pros:

* They used Linux and GPL'd code so they will have to release theirs soon, hopefully it will be taken under the wing of the open source community and all these issues can be fixed by hard working college students and kids in their spare time.

* The packaging/box is very high quality with a great look and feel

Cons:

* The screen is low res and low quality

* The device is way overpriced for the quality of it's screen and software

* The docs and UI refer to features that just do not exist

* No battery, it must always remain plugged into the wall

* Super-glossy, all you may be seeing is windows!

* Software-wise, the average cellphone is vastly superior in extensibility and quality (browsing photos, playing mp3s, videos...)

* The UI looks like a rip of cell phone UIs, but only in pictures... There are no smooth animated transitions, nothing in common with the user interfaces they seemed to want to copy. To an experienced person, the UI feels like something HP outsourced to Asia and sent them a poor art-bible of the end product they were expecting...

* The device seems unfinished

Photos look great on this and the widgets seem to work pretty well, though you're restricted to those that HP wanted to install. No Flickr? But there are serious problems here. Everything takes a LONG time. Opening up Settings seems to take much of a minute (okay, closer to 15 seconds). It's slow. And the user interface? It looks like it was designed to be a touch screen interface but then that turned out to be too expensive. So you're always scrolling around the screen getting to exit and open buttons. It's pretty painful.

Pros:

Looks nice

Good resolution

The Internet Radio bit seems to work well

Cons:

SLOW!!!

Only the widgets that HP wants

Dreadful and painful user interface, you're just going to be unhappy working with it

Bugs all over the place (radio station genres, spelling errors, sometimes the slideshow button works, other times it doesn't)

I'd wait for version two of this. Let the bugs get fixed, have them improve the user interface, get some more widget options, and install a faster processor. Then it'll be worth something like the asking price.

Buy HP DreamScreen 130 13-Inch Wireless Connected Screen Now

I got this for my mom as a Christmas present. I got her a Westinghouse 14 inch frame a couple of years ago and that set the size bar pretty high. With the HP Dreamscreen I hoped to improve upon the previous frame in several areas.

With the previous frame, found that having a digital frame is a lot of work if you have to change out the pictures on a memory card all the time especially if you don't live near your parents. So I was hoping to find a way to do this remotely. The Snapfish option sounded promising (but why no flickr, photobucket or imageshack?). Facebook seemed sketchier to me, as Facebook already crunches your photos when you upload them and doesn't even present them THAT well on a PC screen.

We finally settled on the snapfish option and save the images at 800x480 and that works very well. I am very pleased with the images on the screen. The odd size is a bit of a problem, but overall the images look great and are crisp and bright.

Pandora radio is pretty cool. The sound is above average but it only goes so loud and starts to get tinny at higher volumes. It is a neat "gee-whiz" feature though. I haven't played with HP radio yet.

Facebook has been buggy for me. I even updated to the latest firmware when I fired the frame up for the first time (and another bright spot was that the frame logged onto my wi-fi flawlessly and easily.) But Facebook is SLOW and the pictures don't look great from Facebook, as I suspected they would not. The Facebook feature would actually make the frame worth buying for that alone if only those pictures were better quality.

The remote control works well, the controls are ok. Not great, but there are worse out there.

I spent a bit of time trying to change the slideshow settings for the Snapfish account before I realized that you have to be in the PHOTOS section. Press options there and you change the transition, length of time each photo shows on the frame and various photo options for ALL of the different modules (facebook, snapfish, etc...)

One good point to HP is the packaging. When you open the frame, it is almost like opening a jewelry case. The box is well designed and everything inside is protected nicely and the presentation is outstanding. If the product lived up to the packaging it would get 5 stars all the way! As it is, I would rate this as 3 stars if you are looking for more than a picture frame, but as a wireless digital frame, it is a five star unit and it has exceeded my expectations.

Read Best Reviews of HP DreamScreen 130 13-Inch Wireless Connected Screen Here

After reading some of the reviews, I had low expectations. This is a great piece of gear. It really is no slower than your home pc would be. It is a great device for streaming music, photos, etc. The internet radio is worth the price. Hook to your stereo system and listen to hundreds of stations, many with cd quality. If you have a home network set up this is nothing else that compares. I have owned mine for only a couple of weeks and there have been 2 firmware upgrades which added enhanced features.

Want HP DreamScreen 130 13-Inch Wireless Connected Screen Discount?

Sadly, the digital photo frame market is mostly flooded with no-name products that are seriously lacking in several areas. One would expect a "world class" company like HP could offer a much better product, but so far as several others have reported in their reviews, HP has largely failed. This product looks great on paper but is disappointing in reality.

Consider this: You can buy (from HP no less) a very nice complete netbook computer with a better higher resolution screen, a much faster processor, WiFi, a full keyboard, expensive Li-Ion battery, hard drive, etc. for the SAME PRICE as this photo frame which has none of those things. So why does HP use a substandard 800 pixel display that makes your photos fuzzy? Why do they use a little toy processor that makes everything so slow as to be painful? Why isn't there a motion detector to turn the frame off when nobody has been in the room for a while to save energy?

Why also, isn't this device UPnP-AV or DLNA compliant so it can automatically pull pictures off your PC, NAS or home server? Other less expensive devices offer this functionality. The "internet" features of this device are severely limited. You can buy devices at a third of the price that do much more (but granted have a smaller screen). And you can buy devices at a third of the price with a better, higher resolution screen, than the DreamScreen.

I would suggest waiting until more companies figure out the "high end" digital frame market. There are new wireless offerings from Buffalo, D-Link and others that conform to home media standards (UPnP and/or DLNA) that put the DreamScreen to shame and can do much more. Hopefully such competition will force HP, and others, to get their act together.

Rock This Town Design Decorative Protector Decal Skin Sticker (Matte Satin Coating) for Kodak PLAYF

I like it. It does the job. It goes on easily, stays on and looks good. I've had it on for a couple weeks now, pulling it in and out of my pocket and doesn't show any signs of wear/tear or pealing. Will update if it does.

RCA CC9370 AutoShot Compact Digital Camcorder

I've really just started out with this camera, so my rating at the moment is based on the ease of use. It's incredibly easy to get up and running in no time at all. All the controls are easy to reach and understand, and the video quality is very good. The only problems I've had was the first time I attempted to hook it up to my computer through the FireWire. It took Windows ME a long time to "install" the camera, but once it did, it took next to nothing to download the video in Windows Moviemaker. I'll be exploring other software soon. I'll update this review when I'm more familiar with the camera, but for beginners like me, I think this is a great choice.

I recently purchased this camcorder for my wife, who will be taking it back to Canada when she visits her parents for a month. We've been trying it out, and have been extremely impressed by the ease of use, not to mention the excellent video/audio quality. The menu system is easy to get used to however, if you're anything like me, you'll probably be fumbling with it to get to the effects you wish to use it doesn't seem that there is any way to switch between them quickly. As well, the digital still (photoshot) function of this camcorder is wonderful who needs a digital camera? (Okay, so that comment will probably get me into some hot water).

The only gripe about this camcorder is that it is next to impossible to find extra/replacement batteries as the included battery only lasts for one hour (if that...), I decided to pick up an extended life battery unfortunately, the RCA.... website did not have anything listed! However, I did find one site ...which does carry both the standard and extended life battery, although you pay a premium for both of them (I expect that this will change, as this camcorder is a great product).

Great zoom functions, too. I love it!

Buy RCA CC9370 AutoShot Compact Digital Camcorder Now

It is easy to pay a lot more for a comcorder but hard to see why you would want to. This little camcorder is light and compact, has controls that fall readily to hand, and has every feature I can imagine the general user wanting. The LCD viewfinder is bright and startlingly clear, and the image recorded is excellent -light years beyond older VCR images.

It is best to read the instruction book carefully before getting started. A half-hour or so spent doing so will make everytihing else simplicity itself. One thing it took me a little while to figure out is that the important automatic features (focus, aperture, image stabilization) can all be made to work in the "Manual" mode, and the handy automatic use of random transitional effects between scenes (fade in out, etc) works ONLY in the Manual mode.

Everything else is pretty intuitive. Have only had this item a month or so, so can't speak to reliabilty, but so far am more than pleased with this camcorder.

Read Best Reviews of RCA CC9370 AutoShot Compact Digital Camcorder Here

As stated in an earlier review, you will have virtually no luck finding batteries under the RCA listing. However this camera is able to use all batteries compatible with the JVC DVL500U. (I believe that this camera is actually built by them.)

Haven't had it long enough to make any detailed comments. So far so good. I have been succesful transferring files/videos via 1394 to a PC running Sonic Fusion Video Factory. However, I did not have success using Ulead Video Studio that wasa bundled with my 1394 I/O card. (I believe that this is a problem with the Ulead software, not the camera however.)

Want RCA CC9370 AutoShot Compact Digital Camcorder Discount?

I bought this camera yesterday and everything with this camera is great. Considering price and feature. I haven't found anything I really don't like. I haven't tried to connect to my PC or anything but feel confident that it should go smoothly. My only complaint is finding a battery, like many other people. I final found a few sites but the best place is Radio Shack. Just ask for a 7.2v li-ion. They run around ...for a 3 hr battery. JVC batteries work as well.

Sharx Security VIPcella-IR SCNC2700W Wifi Wireless b/g/n IP network camera with MicroSD DVR and Tru

I work at home. My wife and I are usually downstairs, and our two little girls sleep upstairs. And we often want to see how they're doing when they're upstairs:

1. Are they asleep or awake? We wonder this (1) shortly after we put them down for naps or for bed, (2) periodically while they are supposed to be sleeping, and (3) when we anticipate them waking up.

2. Are they OK? We may wonder this if we hear a strange noise or hear them crying or simply want to check on them for peace of mind--whether they're playing or supposed to be sleeping.

We used to creep upstairs as silently as we could and crack open a bedroom door to check on them, but often this would wake them up.

So I researched baby monitors and security cameras to see if I could find one that meets five criteria:

1. Wireless. We wanted to mount it in our children's rooms, where there are no computers, modems, or routers.

2. Streaming. We wanted to easily stream the video on a computer (Mac or PC), iPhone (or other web-enabled smartphone), iPod Touch, and iPad--whether connected to the Internet via our home WiFi or another way when away from home.

3. Day/Night. We wanted a clear picture regardless of the lighting in the room.

4. Audio. We wanted the option to hear as well as see what's happening.

5. Secure. We wanted the video to be password-protected.

We decided to get a Sharx Security Camera, which meets all five criteria, and we love it. We use it constantly day and night. We recently added a second one.

The camera has other features beyond the above criteria (e.g., DVR recording, motion detection, timed emails, FTP uploads). Installation is not difficult if you follow the instructions, and the email customer service is prompt and helpful (info@sharxsecurity.com).

I bought this camera (white) due to user reviews. My main requirement was that the ip camera has to have its own DVR. The Sharx has that and on top of that user reviews raved about the Sharx customer support. Cust support was very responsive and complete but the camera did take me about an hour to set up as my ip forwarding was not working correctly but Sharx did figured out that my firmware needed upgrading. Once done it worked as advertised. The IR did not worked so well for me because I had to turn it off as my camera has to monitor our drive way through a window. This caused my night videos to be black and white but I understand that this is a limitation with other cameras as well. The range is pretty good as it was still recording from one end of the house to the second floor. The night video is sometime choppy...but the recording was pretty smooth.

One thing I wanted to point out is that the micro SD capacity was not mention on the Sharx web site so I purchased a 32GB micro SD for longer recording at the same time as I ordered the Sharx from Amazon but when the camera arrived the Sharx manual mentioned that it was limited to 16GB. I formatted the 32GB SD and stuck it into the camera and it shows available size as 32GB so it worked after all...

Buy Sharx Security VIPcella-IR SCNC2700W Wifi Wireless b/g/n IP network camera with MicroSD DVR and Tru Now

We own 3 Sharx cameras. If we need any more, we will likely stick with Sharx.

Setup:

Setting up ANY ip camera can be complicated -your wifi router, Internet service provider, and general computer situation is very specific to you. If you live in an apartment building that provides Internet service you may have firewalls or other security measures in place that require additional setup steps for ANY ip camera to work.

The Sharx camera is easy to set up on your own if you are an intermediate level computer user. If you are not, the Sharx folks will literally talk you through setup step by step until yours is working. They are helpful and patient.

iPhone iPad Android compatible:

I have no idea why the other reviewer said that this doesn't work well with iOS devices. It is simply not true. It's an IP camera you need to get an app for viewing IP camera videos. I am watching my kids on my iPhone with ease right now using the NetcamViewer app. Plug in the IP address and port the camera is on and specify its a Sharx and it works no problem.

Nighttime viewing:

This gives a great night time feed. You do need to take care on camera placement, however. The camera has a dim red ring of lights at night that are easily reflected off of some high gloss or mirrored surfaces. These reflections degrade camera performance. With proper placement, night vision is great. This is better than your regular baby video monitor because you aren't restricted by the strength of the cameras signal.

Record function:

You can monitor what's going on with a live feed. Or you can go back and look at what's on the miniSD card. This function really gives you peace of mind. We set ours on a loop of XX hours. Want to know what percentage of time the nanny was on her phone yesterday. You can check! We did a 'dry run' to make sure we had set up everything properly. I would recommend such testing to anyone who needs to be able to go back and review. ( I certainly would if I was counting on this monitoring my business, or in my case my kids!) Our record function let us review what really happened when our daughter had an accident under the Nanny's care.

Clarity:

The lens on this camera is a significant step up from previous Sharx models. ( we also own the 2606 and the 2607 in addition to this one.) This one covers an area that is 40' long, and it is high enough resolution to really see what is going on at the very end. It is sharp in both day and night viewing. I do wish there was a way to force the night time viewing on in low light conditions, though.

Customer service:

After 2 years, our 2606 model stopped working. This was beyond warranty, but the Sharx folks let us trade up for this version for just a bit more that the price difference between the two.

Read Best Reviews of Sharx Security VIPcella-IR SCNC2700W Wifi Wireless b/g/n IP network camera with MicroSD DVR and Tru Here

I ordered 3 of these bad boys and so far the only problem I've had is one of the cameras had to be rebooted manually (unplug). The setup was pretty easy. I was able to get these configured and running within two hours which included installing DD-WRT firmware on a new TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND Ultimate Wireless N Gigabit Router instead of using a 2wire wireless gateway. When I ordered these I didn't realize it supported Wireless N, so that's a bonus on my part. I'm also able to use Google Chrome to view and hear. I installed the quicktime and activex plugin for chrome, and I disabled the 3D acceleration in Quicktime. Just click on "primary stream", allow permission, and it works. If you are on a Mac using Safari, just click on "primary stream". Should start playing without having to install plugins.

For my DNS i used "No IP". They give you 3 free hosts, which is something I couldn't see on DynDNS. All I saw was options to pay :(

I've only had these for 4 days and will continue to update as time goes by, but so far so good. I haven't messed with the quality much, but right now I'm using 16GB memory card and at best quality i'm getting 3 days of recording, but I will be dropping the quality to something less intensive. Should give me at least a couple of weeks based on my experience with other cameras.

Again, great cameras and setup was as easy as I've seen. The manual book is very easy to follow incase you get stuck.

I hope these continue to run and impress as time passes by. Oh, and I use an iPhone as my mobile device and picture quality looks good. Love that you can increase and decrease window size just like you would any other website.

Want Sharx Security VIPcella-IR SCNC2700W Wifi Wireless b/g/n IP network camera with MicroSD DVR and Tru Discount?

Purchased several of these to replace Panasonic network cameras in my set up mainly for the night vision capabilities, including one as a baby monitor. The IR LEDs are a nice feature. The included instructions are very detailed, well-written and helpful. I'd encourage buyers to read thoroughly. Even though I didn't need it for setting things up, email support is prompt. I was inquiring about advanced features. Overall, I'm very impressed with the build quality, instructions, and support. Features such as the multi-window motion detection are also a nice touch.

For the benefit of Mac users, they do include instructions specific for AirPort and Time Capsule setups. My setup was on a Mac with a TIme Capsule and a Buffalo NAS for recording alarms. Connecting to a DDNS provider for remote viewing was also easy. I mostly access the cameras through an iPhone app (Netcamviewer) and otherwise through Firefox or Safari with no problems. Having Internet Explorer is nice if you want to have the ability to view the motion detection thresholds being triggered, but you can fine tune the settings in any browser. If using IE, use the 32-bit version (not 64-bit) it's mentioned in the manual, but I'd skipped over it.

I do miss the pan-tilt features of the Panasonic, more so because it allows for easier installation (you can point and adjust after the fact). Most applications that I have don't require the pan-tilt afterwards during normal operation. The Sharx has a slimmer profile, although I wish the included mounting bracket was smaller. It's a sturdy bracket, but just relatively large. Panasonic cameras also have an IR sensor in addition to motion detection, which proves more flexibility for triggering.

Save 17% Off

Digital Peripheral QT474-411-5 Q-See 4-Channel Video Surveillance System with 4 Weatherproof Night

Just as described it works great and has added a sense of security to our business. Easy to install and use

I purchased this DVR system after someone managed to get into our garage. I have another Q-See system that included a built in monitor that I use as a mobile IR camera set up. I was happy with Q-See for the most part so I trusted them again. My system is actually the QT474-452-5, the difference being the cameras included with the package

This DVR is very compact and small compared to the 4 channel I purchased a few years ago. However, the interface is improved, and the BackUp USB port is on the front so I don't have to lean and reach over the DVR or turn it around with all the wires attached to get my zip drive into the port.

I have a new Cable Modem, and new Router so I have all of the latest technology updates. This system almost installed itself including the remote monitoring. Q-See includes a few large instructional posters with the unit, one to do your basic set up and one to configure the remote monitoring.

I chose a spot in my basement, and was set up and running with remote monitoring in a little over an hour (Camera installation took more time.). Because my equipment was newer, the Plug N Play feature worked and automatically set up my connection to my router. All I had to do was test it using the supplied web page URL and grab the DSN number and I was pretty much done. I was able to log in remotely from all PC's in the house. The first time you attempt this on each machine it will prompt you to install a web interface program from Q-See. It says its compatible with Firefox, but I never got it to work with Firefox on my PC's. It needed a plug in that I never found. I just used IE instead. I was also able to get in using my iPhone by simply downloading the correct app from the app store and entering in the IP and password.

My only issue was that when you want to shut down the system, you go into the main menu and select Shut Down, wait a minute or two and you'll get a message that it is OK to power down the DVR. This requires you to pull the power plug from the back of the unit or unplug the power brick. My other Q-See has a little power switch on the back, that would have been nice to have here.

With this system you will need to invest in a monitor or a TV so you can set it up and view the menu or video streams from your security center. The DVR includes the RCA to BNC connector for TV hook up, and a HDMI cable. When you buy a monitor, it should include the VGA cable or you'll need to purchase that too.

All of the cameras worked perfectly out of the box. My cameras are the 500/100 where these cameras are the 400/70. This refers to the IR power and distance they can see. The higher the numbers the better. Installation was not too hard. I wanted to avoid mounting to my siding or soffet, so I mounted them to the downspouts under the soffet and ran the cables down the C channels on the corner and then tucked it under the siding and through a hole into the basement.

So far I am pleased with the ease of set up and installation. My other system I never did get the remote monitoring set up and working as the interface is rather crude, but I don't need to use that feature as its not a permanent installation use system. We'll see how this system does at capturing things going on at night while we are asleep.

Buy Digital Peripheral QT474-411-5 Q-See 4-Channel Video Surveillance System with 4 Weatherproof Night Now

HDMI Cable M-F Extension Gold Plated Connectors 25ft

I looked in Wal-Mart for this item, they wanted $50 to $69 for it, this one on Amazon is far cheaper, but the quality is as good or better than the more expensive ones else where.

Used this to connect my projector to my computer. The computer has a mini-hdmi cable to full size hdmi cable, this extension easily and rather securely connected to the end of that cable and has been working flawlessly since.

Buy HDMI Cable M-F Extension Gold Plated Connectors 25ft Now

The product was as good or possibly better than I had expected. Very satisfied with the product and also with the ease of ordering and with the quickness in shipping.

Read Best Reviews of HDMI Cable M-F Extension Gold Plated Connectors 25ft Here

The length of this appears to affect the quality otherwise I would have graded it excellent! The delivery was fast as usual for Amazon but I sure would have liked a better quality result from the product!

Want HDMI Cable M-F Extension Gold Plated Connectors 25ft Discount?

Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera & 18-200mm VR II DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 32GB & 16GB Cards +

very good value for such price even the accessories are not in first grade materials but still a good start.

This particular kit was such an amazing deal! I had some issues with the flash...and the seller called me and gave me a mini lesson over the phone on how to use it. Now that is customer service! All the items in the kit are very good quality and really help you get started!!!

The camera itself take great pictures! The only thing I was a bit annoyed with was the shadow created by the long lense when you take shots up close. The solution to that is to use the right flash or take pictures and then zoom in. The case is also very sturdy.

Buy Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera & 18-200mm VR II DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 32GB & 16GB Cards + Now

I was waiting for a good deal on D7000 since long time. But i never saw a price cut on D7000 camera with 18-200 vr2 lens. This is a good price with all necessary accessories. No need to go with reviews on D7000 camera , of course this is a very good latest tech camera with Expeed2 image processing. I took almost 3000 pics recently using auto focus auto mode and some inbuilt scene modes.These are the best quality pics I shot ever. There are lot of kits available with Nikon D7000 now , but good thing about this kit is, It got all mandatory tools u will think of buying along with D7000. Definitely this kit saves 150 USD on accessories.

-PSK

Read Best Reviews of Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera & 18-200mm VR II DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 32GB & 16GB Cards + Here

Good product and entry level kit the only point is the flash which is from my point too cheep I preferred spend some $ more and get something more professional or spend less in a kit without flash.

Overall I'm happy about it.

Want Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera & 18-200mm VR II DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 32GB & 16GB Cards + Discount?

The perfect D camera......was thinking about going F, but I have all these great regular lenses....so I stayed D and this is a really nice camera.

Canon EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR Camera Body & EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens with 75-300mm III Lens + 1

I ordered this product after researching all on the web and in local stores. This was the best deal for a great product that I could find. It included many extras that were only available locally at additional cost. This deal for all was less than the camera and one lens in local stores. It came right on time and in great condition. I have already used it several times and works great. As soon as I learn all the features and their function it should be even better. Thanks again.

I looked around all over the net and this was the best deal I could find. Super fast shipment and when I opened the box it felt like Christmas. Far exceeded my expectations. If interested in this camera, I would look no further and buy now.

Buy Canon EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR Camera Body & EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens with 75-300mm III Lens + 1 Now

I am a total beginner, and this camera is absolutely awesome! the quality of the pics are amazing, and all of the accessories are great! for this price, you wont get a better deal. Im very happy

Read Best Reviews of Canon EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR Camera Body & EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens with 75-300mm III Lens + 1 Here

This is the best deal found on web, it has everything as described, the canon takes great pictures and is easy to use, i take it with me everywhere, and the spare battery last more time than the original, love to shoot by viewfinder instead fo using directview, manual focusing with the telephoto zoom lens is better. But if your looking to buy it for wildlife shooting or kids, is better to buy the kit that comes with the 55-250 mm zoons len, it has image stabilization system and works better when the object is quite far away from you or moving, if you buy this kit with the 75-300mm lens will have to program the continuous shooting to avoiding camera shake and blurry pictures. So far this is the best deal found for the price and items...

Want Canon EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR Camera Body & EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens with 75-300mm III Lens + 1 Discount?

Very pleased with my Canon T3 camera. It came to me just as described. Takes beautiful, clear pictures. Have taken pictures in the sunshine, low light, action pictures and they have all turned out great. Still learning how to use the different features but am very pleased with the camera.