PLC-XW250 2600 Lumens 1024 x 768 XGA 500:1 Ultra-Portable LCD Multimedia Projector

I bought one of these a few months ago, and I am absolutely impressed. The picture quality is excellent, and the price is much lower than almost any other professional type projector out there. I recommend to anyone that needs a great projector for presentations, trainings, or anything else. I have even used mine for photo slideshows. Works great.

Mini USB Endoscope Borescope Snake Inspection Video Camera Zoom 5M Cable TE16

Works ok, focuses at about 1 foot and 1 of 4 LEDs are already burning out. and the variable resistor for the LEDs is not very variable. Either all on or all off, nothing in between.

Over all, It works for what I will need it for.

This product for the price works great and will do the job I bought it for automotive repair or inspection.

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Dayton Audio HR13C23 9.9 ft. High-Speed HDMI Cable CL3

This is a high quality cable and at a great price. I purchased one before after reading a recommendation from someone much more knowledgable than me. I have been very happy with the quality of my picture and sound so when I needed another cable, I came back to the Dayton cables. I even ordered an extra one!

Brother DS700D Compact Duplex Scanner - Retail Packaging

I just recieved this and it was easy to set-up even with a lack of instructions other than put disk in and load before plugging in the scanner. I tried various types of items to scan and all came out great. Color, b&w even a photo. It is small enough to fit in my bag next to my portable printer so I always have a scanner handy. I was very impressed with the double sided scanning which is fast and easy. I have already recommended this to my fellow sales people and i highly recommend it to all that are in need of a portable scanner.

I purchased this scanner to use with my iMac. Fortunately I also have a PC; otherwise I would return the scanner to AMAZON. The software works so poorly on my MAC that, in my opinion, it should not be sold as "compatible with Lion". If you are planning to use the scanner with a PC, buy it.

My Ratings:

For MAC: 0-Stars

For PC: 5-Stars

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I was looking for a document scanner for household use. This one had all the features I wanted, duplex, compact. So, I bought it. I was so disappointed by it's performance that I decided to return it the next day!

Pros:

1. Lightweight, compact.

2. Installs easy

Cons:

1. If you are feeding documents, there will be a black leading area at the top of the scan. Because it starts capturing the image even before the paper is into the scanning area. This is absolutely unacceptable. How does this thing make it to the market?

2. If you are trying to feed multiple documents, there is no way you can avoid the black area at the top of the scan.

3. The page is scanned kind of slanted, no matter how hard I try to scan it straight. The feeder won't eat the paper straight.

4. The PDF files generated are humongous! I understand these are image based PDF files, but my flatbed scanner does that too... but file sizes are manageable.

It was a total waste of my time.

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This duplex scanner work well and has a good price, but would be excellent if it had adjustable paper guide to keep document straight.

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Have been 3 hours tonight trying to make my first scan on MAC...have absolutely given up. Have installed drivers a dozen times and done full installations and MAC won't recognize scanner connected. Haven't tried with Windows yet, wait tip tomorrow, i'm ready to toss it in the trash, or take back to store in the morning. I hope the review for Windows are correct but I have been hoping to move completely to my mac but have 1000s of pictures to scan.

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X-Rite CMUNPH ColorMunki Photo

I've been giving the ColorMunki a workout for several weeks and find that it is easy to use and my print colors have never been more accurate. It replaces a first generation Pantone Colorvision Sypder I bought in 2002. My desktop is year old quad core PC from HP running Windows Vista Ultimate, an Acer Ferarri 20-inch LCD monitor and photo printer is an Epson Stylus Photo 2200 printer. I've seen a number of negative reviews here that leave me baffled, so I offer some advice.

1) Before you install ColorMunki software, be sure to un-install and/or disable other color management software, like Adobe Gamma. On Windows, I'd recommend using a good registry cleaner, like RegCure, to insure no color management applications are being loaded in the background.

2) Check to make sure your graphics card software is set to the defaults. Some games and photo editing software might "tweak" the color management settings.

3) The ColorMunki "Easy" mode calibration requires a good, late model graphics card and software controllable graphics monitor. For best results, use the "Adanced" mode and check both "Optimize brightness" and "Optimize Luminance" boxes.

4) Don't calibrate you in monitor in "Advanced" mode a darkened room. A fairly high level of ambient light is needed to set reasonable levels of brightness and luminance on your monitor. This is likely the source of comments that brightnees on iMacs and other LCD monitors can't be turned down enough to make the ColorMunki happy.

5) When creating paper profiles a) allow test prints to dry at least two hours before you scan them and b) make sure you scan the strips on top of a white card or stack of like paper. My fist calibration of Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Matte paper was a little off because I scanned it directly on my blonde wood desk.

6) Most laptop displays really cannot be calibrated adequately for critical color work because they use an integrated GPU with limited capability. Results are going to be disappointing if the laptop does not have a dedicated GPU, like the ATI Mobility Radeon X800 or nVidia GeForce 9600M GT and fully adjustable display. Only high end laptops meet this criteria, like the new MacBook Pro or HP Pavilion X16-1040.

7) Take your time. The brightness and luminance readings take about 30 seconds each time you make a change.

(written after two months of use)

PROS:

* Probably the most reasonably priced spectrophotometer on the market. Colorimeters are cheaper, but inferior.

* Extremely versatile in its ability to profile screens, projectors, printers and measure ambient light intensity in a single piece of hardware.

* Color profiles produced are very accurate, even profiles I've made for one printer using aftermarket inks significantly different from OEM in gamut and intensity.

CONS:

* Design of hardware is stylish, but at the expense of being practical. Rotating wheel can be difficult to turn and it is very easy to depress the button unintentionally.

* Software too simplistic and not likely to change. There are no true advanced options. The only "advanced" mode exists in monitor profiles, where it will measure ambient light and adjust display intensity accordingly, in addition to the color profiling.

I have a case where my printed photo profiles, while accurate, are too dark for intended viewing conditions. There is no way to tell the software to use a different tonal curve or tweak anything else, such as ink density, when the profile is made. As a result, I have to manually adjust every one of these images in photoshop before printing, which is a huge hassle. Even after lightening in ps, sometimes images are still too dark.

Note that this problem I have seems to vary with media type. Some media profiles do not exhibit this problem at all; it appears to be most pronounced in coated glossy photo paper.

I also fear X-Rite will never make the ColorMunki compatible with any of their more advanced software to prevent competition with their more expensive hardware. After all, why would all but the most serious photographers spend 3x + more on the next step up profiling hardware for a small incremental improvement in the hardware itself?

* Printer profiles can only be made on 8.5 x 11 or larger media due to the way it prints swatches for measurement. If you have smaller media, such as 4x6, you need to purchase larger of the exact same paper to get an accurate profile. Unfortunately, with media such as CDs, you're out of luck. X-Rite should make media profiling more flexible in this regard.

* Printer profiles have to be created one at a time, and the software cannot be closed during the process. The printer profile process works as follows: you print the initial set of swatches (will always be the same for any media or printer), give sufficient drying time, read the swatches with the ColorMunki, print a second set of swatches automatically generated and based on the results of the first scan (these swatches will vary depending on media, etc. and can have slight variations even using the same media, printer and initial swatch printing), allow sufficient dry time for the second set then finally read this second set with the ColorMunki. The problem is if you are using media with very long dry times (or wish to provide long dry times) or need to profile many different types of media. The initial set of swatches can all be printed in advance, with appropriate dry times given, but once the second set has been printed, closing the application will require you re-print the second set; your progress cannot be saved and resumed later.

I suspect this was an intentional software design to prevent using this device for remote profiling, although anyone providing such services should be using high-end, professionally calibrated equipment.

* A minor quibble, but the zipper on the cloth zippered case with the counterweight broke two weeks after purchase. Since the case is somewhat necessary for monitor profiling (you can hold the device up to the screen, but must be careful not to press it on an LCD display). The case should have a more durable design, such as Velcro flaps for the enclosure and riveted hooks to attach the counterweight, rather than the (now broken) zipper.

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Alright, no one wants to listen to me ramble or wax poetic, so here it is, short and sweet: I have used other monitor profiling hardware in the past, and all of them work to some extent, but nothing, regardless of cost, can compare with the X-Rite ColorMunki Photo. It is the most accurate and predictable piece of equipment like this I've ever used, and if all it did were accurately profile my dual displays, so that they finally matched for the first time since being purchased, that would be reason enough to be completely satisfied.

However, the real reason that I love my ColorMunki is that it also accurately profiles my Epson large-format printer. For the first time since buying this expensive puppy, what I see on my monitor actually appears on the prints that I produce. Regardless of whether the paper is watercolor, semi-gloss, glossy, or professional velvet, when the appropriate profile is created and then selected, the results are always 100% accurate and predictable. When you're spending approximately $15 out-of-pocket for every print that comes out of this machine, mistakes are costly and amount to considerable money very quickly. In the first month since acquiring it, I have easily paid for my ColorMunki in paper and ink savings alone, to say nothing of the enormous amount of time and frustration that has been saved. Recently, I created a dozen large-format prints that I had orders for using only twelve sheets of paper. Previously, I would've used between thirty-six and forty-eight to end up with perfect final products. That means, from this one print job alone, my ColorMunki saved me between $360 and $540!

Buy your X-Rite ColorMunki Photo with absolute confidence, but don't second-guess the setup or calibration procedure in any way. Follow the steps exactly as they are outlined in the extremely simple onscreen tutorial and your results will always be spectacular.

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Several issues with this product, all software related. I haven't gotten far enough to qualify the icc results. First of all, the CD you receive has nothing on it except a small application that downloads the actual software. So, no internet connection, no calibration. I was installing on a laptop, and luckily was at home. Second, you only get three machine activations of the software.. after that I guess your Colormunki becomes an expensive paperweight. Good thing my camera isn't restricted to 3 machines, or I'd really be in trouble. You also need that internet connection to "activate" your software. Under OSX it seems to only activate it for a single account. Thirdly, I was only able to calibrate one of my two monitors, the software produces an errors for the second. I'll finish testing, but the 3 machine software installation limit for an expensive piece of hardware is asinine, and will most likely result in a return... especially since I have 4 machines at home.

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I've used a number of color calibration tools, and find the munki to be about the best for the money. (I use it on a Mac Pro with a 30" monitor and an HP B9180 printer.)

Color profiles are very tricky to use on the Mac, and even trickier on Windows. Basically, you need to make very, very sure that you're not correcting the image twice. In Lightroom, for example, there's a pulldown for whether LR or the printer manages its colors. Make sure your setting matches the printer driver's setup! (This is somewhat done for you on the Mac, but not on Windows.)

Lightroom is the easiest tool to use for printing, at least in my experience. Doing it from Photoshop is harder, and you often have to wrestle with the various settings to get it right.

Anyway, I believe this double-correction issue has more to do with the negative reviews than any problems with the device itself. The munki is very, very easy to use. A lot of stuff that would be a lot of work in other tools (e.g. color calibration targets) is all integral to the device, and well managed by the munki software. The profiles themselves are absolutely great -at least for my setup.

Finally, if you care about getting photographs right -both on screen and on paper -a tool like the munki is essential. Editing photos on a well calibrated monitor will help ensure your photos will have a life beyond your current computer or screen. Imagine the trouble if you notice all your old pictures look a little greenish on your next computer. Which was right, your new machine or your old? And will you enjoy editing 5,000 pictures to fix the problem?

Bottom line: great tool for the dedicated amateur photographer. Everyone should at least calibrate their monitors. If a munki seems a little rich for your blood, then consider a Pantone Huey instead: Pantone huey MEU101

Vivitar 5 MP Digital Video Camara

I bought this camera last summer (not from Amazon). It takes pretty good videothe zoom is fair. But the photos are a disappointment. If you use any zoom at all the photos turn out grainy. I experimented extensively with the settings and there was no improvement. The unit itself is pretty cool otherwise. The voice recorder works fine. I haven't downloaded any music to it so I can't speak to using it as an mp3 player. The e-book reader works, but it is limited in space. I downloaded a public domain book just to see what it would look like and could only get a portion of the book onto the unit. I have the 1 gig card that came with the unit so maybe a bigger card might be the answer.

I take the camera with me when I go places because of the video and the voice recorder. I've gotten good video outdoors and indoors if there's enough light. If you don't mind the problem concerning grainy photos when you use the zoom, the unit is good, though I think a little pricey.

I got this for my 11 year old son to get him off our 'good' camera. I had a Vivitar enlarger in college, so I know their lenses are good quality. I'm impressed by the photo quality, he figured out the interface almost immediately, and the price is more than right. I wonder about its durability but so far it's performed like a champ.

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This is a great buy for small projects and such. the only problem i have is that i saw the pic of the wine colored one and fell in love with the color and got a blue one in the mail! :( i was a little dissapointed that nowhere on the page does it say anything about a blue one or even other color options so i assumed we were getting the wine one! but other than that it is hard to get a clear focused shot after zooming in. if you stand far away and walk towards the object it is ok but standing in one spot and using the zoom is not so great. but it does do what has been descriped otherwise! it is still a great buy for web videos or school projects though!

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Sony DCR-SR40 30GB Hard Disk Drive Handycam with 20x Optical Zoom

This camcorder does capture good video. But the main drawback is that it records in MPEG2 format (DVD quality). Initially its nice and easy to capture video and watch it on your computer by downloading the files using the USB 2.0 connection. It gives you instant gratification. But after capturing 4 or 5 hours of video, you will notice that your videos aren't so great as you expect it to be. Its not the fault with your camcorder. Its because all of us shoot extra footage, unwanted scenes, shakes, etc which we want to edit. You may want to add a title or two, add transitions, add backgroud music, combine your photos with the video, etc. Basically you may want to edit your footage. Its here when you find the major drawback of this camcorder. The MPEG2 quality video is not good for editing. The video quality is so compressed that you won't have sufficient bandwidth to edit the video.

MPEG2 is a LOSSY compression technique used to compress large video files into smaller files that can be fit into a 4 GB or 8 GB DVD. Since the camcorder compresses the video and then writes to the hard disk, the source file that you download to your computer is already compressed and has lost much of its data during the compression. If you edit this already compressed file, you lose more data during the process thus resulting in poorer video quality.

When you edit these videos, add some transitions or special effects, increase/decrease brigthness or noise, etc, the newly edited video loses further clarity and thus makes your video look ugly and pixelated.

In summary please don't buy this camcorder if you are serious about your videos and would like to edit them. But if you are not bothered about editing and want to watch your unedited footage forever, then go for it.

That said, if you still think you want to go for this camcorder, please read the review on its other features:

1. Super NightShot Infrared System: Not a useful feature. Its amazining to initially see how this camcorder is able to "see" using infrared light. But the moment you shoot your subject using infrared light, you never want to shoot again as they will appear like devils when shot using this infrared light. Remember infrared footage appears almost black-and-white and not color. And the subject's eyes really look like devil.

2. 2.5-inch wide SwivelScreen LCD display with touch panel capabilities: Sony convenietly "forgot" to mention that this screen is NOT widescreen. Most of the camcorders now-a-days come with widescreen LCD. Its a good feature if you always want to shoot in widescreen. In fact I would suggest you to shoot in widescreen only as all future TVs and current LCD/Plasma TVs are widescreen. You can future proof your video by shooting widescreen. This camcorder DOES support widescreen video but the LCD is NOT widescreen. So when you shoot widescreen, you see black bands on the top and bottom.

3. Digital still photos: Please don't rely on this feature. The best photos from this camcorder as as good as the worst photos from any popular digital camera. Technology has still not matured to the point where a camcorder can shoot as good as a digital camera and vice versa.

4. 20x optical/120x digital zoom: Optical zoom is very good. You can handle upto 10X optical zoom without a tripod. Any more zoom requires the use of a tripod. I was able to zoom in and read a car tag from the top of Sears tower, Chicago. I love the zoom feature in this camcorder. Don't use the digital zoom feature. Turn it off. As mentioned above, MPEG2 compression already makes the video bad in quality. The digital zoom further makes it worst.

5. Professional-quality Carl Zeiss lens: Yes its good. The image quality is truly great. No doubt about it.

6. Super SteadyShot picture stabilization system: Good enough to avoid small vibrations caused when going on a ship for example. But not good enough for the shakes encountered when walking with the camcorder. Don't expect to get great footage in such conditions. For great footage, you must still rely on a steady hand or a tripod.

7. On-screen zoom and record buttons: Not an useful feature. The camcorder tends to shake more when you use these zoom buttons on the LCD because the LCD is always projecting outside when shooting video. Hence you shake the camcorder more when you touch the LCD than when you touch the camcorder's body.

8. USB 2.0 interface: Good interface. Fast enough to download 30 GB in 1.5 hours. Firewire interface would have been great. But USB 2.0 is also good enough

9. Image Mixer Software: Very useless software. The free Picasa software from Google is far better in organizning your videos and pictures than the software that comes with this camera. Forget about this software.

10. InfoLithium battery with AccuPower meter system: Great battery life. I could shoot for upto 1 hour 20 minutes with one battery. Remember we always don't shoot continously in everyday life. We turn the camcorder on and off repeatedly when shooting. This battery last for 1 hour 20 minutes during normal shooting as explained above. If you shoot continously you may get longer battery life.

11. NOTE: This camcorder does NOT have an Active Interface shoe. Other Sony camcorders do have this feature. This allows you to add other Sony accessories, for example, extra flood light. If you are not planning to add any accessory, then don't worry about the absence of this feature.

12. DVDDirect compatibility: This feature allows you to directly burn your video and photos to DVD. I don't think this is a very useful feature. Its always better to download to computer, and burn only the good files and photos to DVD instead of burning all of them.

Overall summary. Buy this camcorder only if you are not serious about editing the videos. Its a good buy for point-and-shoot-and-view pleasure only. In my opinion, a mini-DV camcorder (DCRHC42 for example) is still a better bet than a DVD or hard drive based model. The only inconvenience in a mini-DV model is that you have to be a bit techy to download video to computer. If you are ok with that, the mini-DV still provides good value for money as its far cheaper than DVD or hard-drive models.

It's interesting how people will give this a really crappy review based upon one feature, or upon the fact that they didn't RTFM before making a purchase (or at least make an educated purchase).

This is a very easy camera to use. Start up time is very quick, and how can you beat the silent operation of a hard drive based camcorder? The touch screen is also very easy to use, but I can easily see how it can annoy some people, especially those who don't like fingerprints on screens.

Nightshot mode, as always, is an added bonus, but this camcorder could have better benefited by an accessory shoe though nightshot is fun in low light situations, you suffer from a lack of full color range. An accessory shoe could allow the use of a light, which would add more useability to this unit.

Connectivity is also good. I was able to mount the drive in both Windows and Linux with ease. Videos are stored as MPEG-2, which is pretty universal, just drop them into your video editor of choice. The included software is little more than basic, allowing you to backup your movies, or quickly create simple DVDs. Those with a desire to make quality DVDs will find other software packages better suited to their needs, such as Cyberlink's PowerProducer.

Focus is very good in normal situations, but suffers noticeably in lower light, as does auto exposure settings. Though the camcorder does have manual settings, forget about setting it up for lower-light (higher aperatures). The settings just don't go in that direction.

Video, in all three record modes, is saved in 720x480 resolution, and there's a handy button right on the main menu that allows you to switch between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. However, image quality isn't as sharp as that in most high-end MiniDV camcorders. Much detail is resolved, but it lacks the sharpness required to make very sharp movies. There's also very little noticeable degradation in image quality switching between HQ and SP modes, though LP mode has a very noticeable change in detail and color noise in lower light.

Overall, this is a very good and very useable camcorder. However, like all HDD camcorders, a certain level of organization is required, or you might find yourself looking to record some good memories, only to find the hard drive is full and you're nowhere near your computer to free up some space.

In all, though, it's a great entry-level hard disk drive camcorder for people who want to make videos to upload to the net, or the casual camcorder user. This is also very well suited for vacationing, where baggage space is critical!

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I bought this for my wife who teaches music and occasionally needs a camcorder to record the musical events. I filmed in low light from the back of the room with only spotlights on the cast of the musical and both my wife and I were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the output. However; several things I did not notice prior to purchase which are not show stoppers but would have influenced my decision about this camera: No USB connection on the camera. You have to put it into the docking station for the USB transfer of files to your computer. And the only other thing is that if you are running the camera off the power cord plugged into the wall it will not charge the battery. You can switch the camera off and the battery will start charging this again is not a show stopper but somewhat of a hassle for me.

I really like the camera but these two small things distract me from an excellent rating.

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The reason I pick this camcorder is because it is hard disk drive and it is way cheaper than its upper level product DCR-SR60. The camcorder is small, cool looking, easy to use but poor image qualiy. Before I bought it, I did some research. Lots of online reviews for this camcorder mentioned the image quality is poor, I just didn't think it would be that poor. I can tell this, my Canon digital camera takes better videos than this camcorder. I also found out this camcorder does take still picture, but in a very poor quality. My Logitach Quickcam takes better still picture than it. I was actually disappointed of Sony, I cannot believe they can even produce poor video quality camcorder like this and sell for $500+.

For me to choose a camcorder, video quality matter the most. Others may not. Hence, If you can accept poor quality video but pay more attentions to other features, this camcorder maybe your choice. However for me, I returned the next day. I may buy DCR-SR100 which sells $300 more, I think there is a reason.

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most ppl buy too much camcorder and pay for capabilities they will never use. I am using the camcorder for home movies, and frankly dont have the time to do any major editing to make productions out of them. This is perfect for me. Movie quality is good ..more than enough for my purposes.

Had I needed to do massive editing, I would have gont a step or 2 above, but they key for me was quality of product, easy of use, quality of film.

I have a sony digicam for stills and do not intend to take stills with this. even the best camcorder stills are not at par with avg digicam stills so why pay extra to get marginally better still shot capability.

SANOXY® Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Female Adapter Cable for Apple Macbook, Macbook Pro...

• Support Mini DisplayPort input and HDMI output
• Support HDMI highest video resolution 1080p
• pport HDMI 12bit per channel (36bit all channel) deep color
• Compatible with MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air with Mini DisplayPort Connection

Bought this worried that the audio would not work, and I can confirm that sound and video both works with this adapter. I am using the latest Macbook Pro 13 with Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz, the mid 2010, model MC374LL/A. Once connected, the macbook will auto detect your tv and will show both monitors. Just go to system preference, sound, output, and select your TV as the output for the sound. You will then have audio and video on your TV. You could also mirror the screen to the TV and assign the video output for the TV to 1080p, under system preference, displays.

Working great so far!

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First of all beware buyers, do not buy from the seller ELMENOS if you want a Mini DisplayPort with HDMI with working video AND AUDIO support, I have read all the negative reviews where people said they are not getting audio from their TVs and such. It is because ELMENOS, one out of the several sellers, are selling the Mini DisplayPorts with no AUDIO support. I was; however, lucky enough to order from BargainCell which sent the correct Mini DisplayPort to HDMI that is displayed in the picture. However, my friend who I referred to buy this adapter also bought this item from ELMENOS and they sent him a different adapter than what was displayed in the picture. When he emailed ELMENOS, the seller told him he bought the wrong item, and it does not come with audio support and referred him to a more expensive Mini DisplayPort. All in all I am very happy with my purchase from BargainCell which provided me with AUDIO and VIDEO on my 2010 Macbook Pro; however, my friend is not. It seems that there are many sellers for the same item and when I sent my friend the link to the item I purchased, Amazon randomly shuffles the seller who are listed as selling the same product when it is now obvious that they are not..

Bottomline: BargainCell has the Mini Displayport with Audio Support and ELMENOS does not because they send you a different item then on the picture displayed.

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This is a great option for connecting your laptop to an HDTV, monitor without display port, or your A/V receiver.

Unfortunately if your macbook pro was purchased before the summer of 2010 then this adapter will not carry an audio signal to the HDMI cable that you plug into it. That is easily remedied by purchasing a mini-toslink to toslink cable or adapter and running two cords.

I have this running from my Late 2008 Macbook pro to my Pioneer VSX-1020-K then to my LG 42LH90 and it looks amazing. I will probably braid together a 15ft HDMI cable, a 15ft TOSLINK cable, and a 15ft network cable to use when I want to hook the Mac up to the big screen.

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I know it was really cheap, but it wasn't even worth it. worked about 3 or 4 times and then just gave out. I was extra careful with it and yet it just stopped working all of a sudden.

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I went through all kinds of trials & tribulations trying to find the correct cables / adapters for my new 17" Aluminum Unibody MacBook Pro: MacBook 17-inch 2.53GHz which I also purchased through Amazon a couple of weeks ago along with a MiniDisplay Port to HDMI cable: Mini DisplayPort Male to HDMI Male 32AWG Cable 15ft . While this cable worked great for video, the audio continued to play through the Mac's speakers. I had several posts going in different discussion groups trying to figure out exactly what I needed to enable audio along w/video output through the MiniDisplay Port. Long story short, after a lot of research I figured out myself exactly what standards and specifications were needed to accomplish this; mainly VESA 1.1a for the adapter & HDMI 1.3b. Obviously, the Mac needs to be able to support audio passthrough via the MiniDisplay Port, which is easy to figure out in the System Profiler.

Anyway, I was going to purchase another brand for 35 dollars, but after the price was raised I looked into this one & it seemed to me that there was no reason that it shouldn't work. Plus it was under 5 bucks! I also bought a 25' HDMI cable for under 20 dollars. I finally got the adapter today; I had received the HDMI cable a few days ago. After unpacking, it took me under 3 minutes to connect everything, change a setting or two and presto: I had my Mac's video & sound going through my HDTV & Audio systemI have 1080p on my 42" Sanyo LCD w/Dolby Digital and everything looks & sounds amazing.

I obviously can't speak to the longevity of the adapter as of yet, I just hooked it up a few hours ago, but so far so good. It looks a little... well, like it costs about 5 bucks. Not exactly cheap or anything, but from what I can see of it, I gave it a 3/5 for construction. It's made by CE-Link according to the Details page & I ordered mine from Eforcity. Plus, if it did happen to give out, I could actually buy 7 more of them for the same price as 1 of the other brand. Not that you can tell much from pictures, but the 2 brands look almost exactly the same, although the Moshi brand does look a bit more solidly put together. But again, that's just from the pics. The other brand "Moshi" is the one sold at the Apple Store, just in the interest of full disclosure.

Bottom line: in my humble opinion, if you need one of these adapters (PLEASE make sure your Mac supports Audio through the MiniDisplay Port first!), save yourself some cash & buy this one! I hope this review helps someone out!

Thanks,

WhiteHatH4x0r

Information Security and Intelligence Analyst

Datacolor Spyder4Pro S4P100 Colorimeter for Display Calibration

This is the fourth Datacolor product I own. I still have the original SpyderPro, Spyder2Pro, Spyder3Print and the newest addition the Spyder4Pro. I also own an Eye-One Display but prefer my Spyders any day of the week. The Spyder's user interface ( Wizard ) is so much more user friendly than the Eye-One that I will not recommend the Eye-One to my clients. I've had more tech support questions about the Eye-One than I care to mention.

Besides being a photographer I'm also a freelance Macintosh Tech that installs Mac systems and teaches color management and workflows using Lightroom, Bridge and Photoshop. As mentioned I'll recommend the Spyder to my clients over the Eye-One for a number of reasons. First the monitor profiles are excellent, I can't ask for any better and of course the user interface, the wizard, is much more user friendly than the Eye-One. With the Eye-One Wizard I don't know if it's asking me to do something or if it's telling me the results and I need to do something else, it gets confusing for my clients. Enough said about the Eye-One!... Let's move on to the Spyder4Pro.

The Spyder4Pro package consists of the Spyder4Pro unit, Stand, Software Installation Disk for Mac/Windows and Quick Start Guide. I know this isn't important but the design of the Spyder4Pro is really sleek and sexy! Mama-Mia! The USB cable attached is nicely supple so there's no need to twist the USB cable for the unit to remain flat on the monitor's screen. Also a little trick is to tilt the monitor up slightly so there is additional weight of the Spyder4Pro pressing against the monitor screen for a nice tight "seal". I recommend doing this regardless of profiler brands.

Installing the software is straight forward. Install the software using the installation disk and let the installer find the latest Spyder4Pro driver via the internet. ( Also Datacolor is very, very good about updating their drivers in a timely manner... another big plus with Datacolor ) During installation enter the serial number that's on the DVD sleeve label, the installer will contact Datacolor servers and return a License Code that will be used if you need to re-install the software. There's an option to print the License Code, which I recommend, and also Datacolor emails the License Code to you for safekeeping. I'm going to guess here, once you have the License Code you don't need to be connected to the internet for further installations... I could be wrong!

Once the software is installed attach the Spyder4Pro directly to the computer's USB port if possible. USB hubs/keyboards sometimes don't have enough power to run a unit so this is the best approach. Launch the software and you are greeted by the Spyder4Pro Wizards's Welcome screen. The screen prompts are easy to understand and have a Help and "?" button if further explanation is needed. The first time around you'll be prompted to do a "FullCAL" ( Full Calibration ) and on subsequent calibrations there will be options to not only run "FullCAL" but to "ReCal" and "CheckCAL".

After the "Welcome" screen, that suggests/recommends certain display settings, there is the "Measuring Ambient Light" screen. Place the Spyder4Pro on it's stand in front of your monitor and click the "Next" button and the Spyder4Pro will read the amount of light falling on the monitor. The "Ambient Light Analysis" screen will display the results. You'll have the option to "Keep current settings" or "Accept suggested settings". Select your choice and click "Next" to bring you to the Calibration screen! Hang the Spyder4Pro over the monitor and slide the counter-weight along the USB cable until it's nicely balanced and center the Spyder4Pro right over the outline shape. Click "Next" and the Calibration process begins... I nice feature is the software displays the status of it's brightness readings in realtime and checks the stability of brightness over a period of time. My Apple Cinema Display is getting long-in-the-tooth and I could see that it was having trouble staying stable at the recommended brightness setting. Calibration completed in about 7 minutes and the "Saved Profile" screen appeared. I saved the profile adding the current date in the file name and set the Calibration Reminder for 2 Weeks.

Next is the "SpyderProof Calibrated View" screen where you can switch back and fourth from the profiled calibrated monitor view and uncalibrated monitor view. This gives you an idea on what the profile is doing. Clicking the "Next "button brings us to "Profile Overview" screen where you can compare old and new profiles and how they related to each other in a specific Colorspace. Looking at my results... dang I think I need a new monitor! You can "Quit" or there's an "Advance Analysis" feature that can test the profile's "Gamut", "Tone Response", "Brightness and Contrast", and "White Point at Different OSD Settings". But I'll let you play around with this!

My monitor is dead neutral displaying a grayscale in Photoshop CS5.1 there is no rain-bowing in any of the gray steps. ( Meaning there's NO color banding/color contamination along the grayscale )

Spyder4Pro is great for novices and advance users alike. The software has nice advanced features that users can grow with.

I decided to buy the Spyder after months of procrastinating about the need to calibrate my monitor. I am an amateur photographer with what I think are advanced skills (I get good compliments on my photos, for whatever that's worth :-)) But I did not want to spend the money for color calibration equipment. After so many frustrations dealing with the colors displayed in my images, I started reading some articles about color management and looked into what was available. I noticed that Datacolor seemed to have overall good reviews, so I bought the Pro model #S4P100 since it was priced at $169.00.

When I received it and opened the box, I was impressed with the user guide that they provide. It is a simple guide to show you how to install the software and get the setup started. I am not a technical guy so I appreciate this type of easy to follow guide with illustrations and clear instructions. The install process was easy and the software recognized my monitor (a Dell P2311Hb) automatically. The time to install the software program and do the calibration took a total of about 20 minutes. And what a difference between before and after calibration! I now have a reference for the correct colors and know that what I see on the display is what they should be. It is money well spent and has me asking myself why I waited so long to do it.

I would recommend this product to anyone wanting to manage color on their display. It is worth the investment!

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This is the third colorimeter that I've owned in ten years or so, and my experience in printing color goes back to the film and darkroom days, so I accept that there is no perfect color device.

I was initially disappointed with the first few profiles I created using this product after providing information about my laptop's display. The profiles had either a definite yellow or green cast. They were far better than my uncorrected display, but not really what I needed for accurate viewing and printing.

So I experimented with telling the software that my display's characteristics were different from what I know them to be. Although this laptop has LED backlighting, I finally got a good profile when I entered that it was fluorescent backlighting.

Compared to other calibration software that I've used previously, this software provides very limited options for modifying settings. Mostly, you pick the characteristics of your display from dropdown boxes, and the software then decides on the whitepoint and gamma. There is no obvious way to change them. That is odd for "professional" software. In fact, this is the most basic and least flexible software of the three colorimeters that I have owned. Perhaps I'm overlooking some features, but that is not surprising given that there is no manual--another disappointment for a $169 supposedly professional tool.

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This product is primarily intended for serious to professional photographers and graphic designers with print as a final product. It calibrates your monitor color for accuracy (most monitors are not accurate) so in the post processing workflow, you are accurately processing your images for print. It really is not a "needed product" unless you are a graphic designer or serious to professional photographer with clients and you are printing to final output. Otherwise, I opine you do not need this product. Conversely, if you earn any money from your work, you cannot be a professional unless you calibrate your monitor and utilize it during your workflow. You also need to remember that using this product will not ensure others who digitally see your work will view color rendition accurately because you use this product. Everyone's monitors are calibrated differently, are of varying quality, and many people do not even understand color space or profiling. This is why pros convert images to srgb (standard RGB color space)for digital distribution because it is the "lowest common denominator" and nearly all browsers ONLY display in Srgb and only expensive monitors can display better color profiles. Even then, chances are people are viewing an inaccurate color representation of your image and don't even get me started on what Facebook does to your images.

As a part-time professional, I use a Dell UltraSharp U2410 24-inch Widescreen LCD High Performance Monitor with HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort and HDCP (dual setup which is why I use the Pro series of Spyders) for post processing. I also shoot in the Adobe RGB color space from my camera (Nikon D300s 12.3MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Lens)and post process in that same color space. This is where the Spyder, combined with a quality monitor like the U2410 really shines because it allows me to work in the wider color gamut (smoother shade transitions). I can then send to the print house in that color space or convert to Srgb (actually the preferred color space for most professional print houses).

I owned previous Spyders including the Datacolor DC S3P100 Spyder 3 Pro. So, I was very familiar with the system. It is incredibly easy to setup and use but you should allow at least 30 minutes for first use. The package contains the Spyder4 unit, stand, rubber cup for CRT monitors, software and a quick guide with detailed instructions on the CD. Before installing, check for a new version of the software as Datacolor frequently updates all its products. Whatever you do, do not lose the serial number included on the CD sleeve. Without that serial number, you cannot install the software.

Prior to installing let your monitors warm up for at least 1/2 hour (I never post process until monitors are warmed up). I also recommend updating your graphics card drivers prior to installing and do a full reboot. Installing the software is easy as is plugging the Spyder into a USB port. Of course, install the software first (it should automatically check for a newer version on install). The Spyder itself is a sleek device. When using it, you will simply follow instructions by lining up the device on the screen with an outline. I suggest you slightly tilt your monitor back for a better "seal" that will block out any light from either side. Also, adjust the light in the room to a setting that you would normally use. The Spyder uses ambient light measurement to calculate how to color map the profile. On the USB there is a counter-weight that goes behind the monitor to stabilize the device. Perfect design in my opinion. On first use you will need to do a full calibration. SIMPLY follow the instructions (no need to rehash them here). Allow some time for this process and do not leave your monitor until you adjust the brightness/whitepoint setting as indicated by the software. On successive calibrations, you have an option of a quick "recalc" which is must faster. I normally do a full calibration every time by habit.

Spyder has never crashed my system (Windows 7) and always performed flawlessly. I think better results are achieved with higher end monitors designed for color accuracy from the start. Either way, if you are in the image or graphics design business, this is a must have product. There are much more expensive options out there. However, Datacolor has always done a fine job by me and I stick with them because of that and the frequency at which they update their drivers. Plus, I can now color profile my Ipad. How cool is that?

SidebarI am unable to rate how well this product works with TV's because I simply do not use it for that purpose.

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For anyone that doesn't know what this device does, it will create a monitor profile for Windows or Mac to allow for more accurate color. For professionals, accurate color on your monitor is a MUST. For hobbyists, the further you get into photography/videography, the more likely you are to want accurate colors. The Spyder 4 Pro fits this bill.

Packaging:

This part is fairly straightforward. You have a rather wasteful and useless plastic cover that covers the entire box of the Spyder 4. Removing it is just a matter of cutting two pieces of tape (for a more exciting time, I suppose you could rip it open with your teeth). Once that's off, you have a cardboard box covering more protective plastic. The cardboard cover has system requirements and rudimentary directions for using the Spyder.

Install/setup/Manual:

What is it with these companies? The documentation for the Spyder and the i1 Pro is... anemic at best. I would call it a quick start guide at best. It should be noted that the software really does walk you through the process, so a manual isn't strictly needed, but would be nice from a troubleshooting/learning the capability of the device better perspective.

You're given what is essentially a fold up pamphlet. Each step is given in English, Spanish, French German and Italian.

There is, however, some confusion about what is included. There are actually two install and calibration tools shown on the pamphlet. The first is the Spyder 4 Elite/Pro/Express. The other piece shows the install and calibration for Spyder 4 TV HD, which is a different device completely. Well, not completely. You get a different set of accessories with the 4 TV HD (elastic bands). You probably know what device you bought, but the cost side stepping could be confusing.

The setup is fairly easy once you ensure you are looking at the proper set of instructions for your device. Install the software. Plug the device in. Run the Spyder Pro 4.5 software.

You must activate the software to use the device with the datacolor software (there are third party apps for calibration that you can use with this, though you're going to spend almost as much on that software alone as you do for the device itself).

Calibration:

Plug it in, follow the instructions, keep hitting next and you're done. It's bang on simple. In this it is similar to the ColorMUNKI from X-Rite.

Ensure your screen has been powered on for at LEAST 30 minutes. Check your lighting conditions (best to calibrate under the conditions you use most often). Reset your monitor and set it to the 6500k color temperature. Hit next.

Choose your display type and choose the display to be calibrated. You can calibrate multiple monitors with the Pro and Elite models only. There is a work around on this for the Express, though it requires you to rename profiles, uninstall the Spyder software and manage the profiles with Windows separately. Since you should recalibrate your display every month or two (or more if you are a pro), the workaround for using the Express may not be worth the time spent installing the software, calibrating, renaming profiles and then managing in Windows for the few dollars it saves.

It should be noted that there is an included suction cup. ONLY use this on a CRT. Do NOT try to use the suction cup on your LCD!

Choose what you can change within the monitor in terms of color/contrast/brightness. Press next.

The next screen you choose to recalibrate, check calibration or perform a full calibration. First time you need to do a full calibration, but from then on you should be OK with a simple recalibration. I usually leave the gamma/white point/brightness drop downs on the Recommended settings as this is what professionals use, meaning whatever I do on my display should match wherever I may want to print or what have you. Press next.

Check ambient light (Express model doesn't offer this). Accept the recommended brightness/white point and press next (change this only if you know what you want your display to be calibrated to). Press next.

Place the Spyder on your screen. The counter weight is OK, but getting the Spyder to sit in the outline on screen could be a bit annoying depending on your monitor calibration. The i1 Display and ColorMUNKI from X-Rite use this same basic premise for calibration, so it doesn't matter what company you go with from this perspective. Once you have the device situated, press next.

You will see color patches flash on the screen as it goes through the calibration process. When it gets to brightness, where the user needs to manually intervene, it stops. This is where the process can be tedious. This process doesn't self update. What I mean is, you make an adjustment on your screen, you press update in the software to refresh the reading. Compared to the i1 and ColorMUNKI, this is kind of obnoxious. Both of those devices automatically update the reading while you make adjustments. Once you have the reading to match the target as closely as possible, press Continue.

Unplug the Spyder and name your profile. Set the calibration reminder, save and you're done.

It should be noted that you can also run the same type of quality tests with the Spyder 4 Pro as you can with the i1 Display Pro, so it is closer to the i1 Display than it is to the ColorMUNKI.

You can also use the Spyder to calibrate an iPad/iPhone, though I have neither so I cannot comment on how well this does/doesn't work.

Comparison to i1 Display Pro/ColorMUNKI:

Let's get this out of the way. The ColorMUNKI, while nice, is NOT as feature rich as the Spyder Pro 4 Pro. The ColoMUNKI is probably more in line with the base model, the Spyder 4 Express.

In terms of the end point calibration, all three devices provided me with a monitor calibration that was visually the same to me across the board. Neither of the three devices, used to calibrate 2 laptop LCDs and the same monitor (Dell U2410) connected to both laptops were all visually the same to my untrained eye.

For a hobbyist, the ColorMUNKI or the Spyder 4 Pro would be perfect. Given the more granular controls though, I would HIGHLY recommend going with the Spyder 4 Pro if the choice is ColorMUNKI or this.

If the choice is i1 Display Pro or a Spyder 4 device, and you're willing to spend the extra money for the Spyder 4 Elite, either device would be perfectly suited to your use and perform as you would expect. In terms of software and usage, as best I can tell they both offer similar capabilities and both are pretty easy to use. The Spyder 4 may have a leg up given it has a 7 color sensor...I'm not sure what sensor type is in the i1 Display Pro.

If you're a hobbyist and looking to calibrate your display, this device is perfect. It's easy to use and fast. If you're an advanced hobbyist or professional, you are almost certainly better served spending the money on the Elite version.

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Gold Plated DVI-I Dual-Link 24+5 Male to HDMI Female Adapter

It works great as I did not need anything else to connect the computer to the tv except the hdmi cable I already had.

I placed my order based on the product description on the title page and positive customer reviews. However, I just noticed the item displayed in the 2nd picture is for a DVI-D single link connection. I am expecting a male DVI-I dual link to female HDMI adapter. Seeing as my order has already been shipped, I'll wait to see what I get and keep you posted.

=== 4/6/13 Update ===

I got the adapters just three days ago and they are both DVI-D dual link, which is not what I ordered...but it will allow my MAC PRO to connect to a 1080p HD television via HDMI. For a backup analog connection, I do have a DVI to VGA adapter just in case. So, I'm satisfied with this purchase. I am leaving my rating at 3 stars, because I didn't get exactly what the titles said this eas going to be. Also, 2 rows of pins in the both adapters were bent right out of the box! I had to pull out a knife to get them properly aligned! Needless to say, I won't be buying from this seller again. They don't even know what they`re selling...

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I am using this adapter for my GTX 560ti since it only had one HDMI which is currently being used. This adapter was used for a second display which only can use HDMI. This is a heavy good quality adapter.

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These adapters have worked as expected.

I would recommend these items to anyone.

I needed several and the quality was consistent.

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Sharp VLZ7U MiniDV CCD Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, Memory Slot and 8MB Card

This is the first camcorder I've owned, though not the first I've used. I'm very happy with my purchase. I think it has excellent video quality, much better than others in a comparable price range. It does have a compact battery (for a reason), and hence a shorter recording time. I have recorded for over an hour straight with one battery. But you can purchase extra batteries if necessary (I bought one on ebay for $20).

It has tons of features and options, more than I will probably use. The manual provided is extremely helpful in guiding you through the many features. I was recording within 10 minutes of opening the box.

I have read negative reviews regarding the on screen menus, the manual, still images; let me just say that I have not had any problems with any of those. I find the menu EASY to navigate. And the manual explains everything. I read it from front to back without ANY confusion. It does not have an index in the back, but it has a table of contents at the beginning if you'd rather just browse. I have not seen a CAMCORDER that has better still images than this one. I have seen better pictures from a digital CAMERA. I suspect some people may not have the patience, or interest, in learning how to utilize all of the features that may yield the best quality images. Or, perhaps they're just used to a different product.

Some of the most commonly used features like playback on TV, downloading to PC, editing, I think are easy to use and just plain fun!

Anyway, I must emphasize that the overall quality of this camcorder is great. Every product is different, we pick and choose. I use mine for recording life's little (and big) events.

If you're still comparing camcorders, be sure to consider this one.

I teach video productions and I've tried many camcorders. I like the Sharp's ability to rotate the body of the camera with my hand and still be able to get good shots at various angles without putting my wrist in traction. The drawbacks I've found are the lack of an external mic input (which isn't usually a requirement for most family videos) and a small button to control tape playback. This is a problem with us fat thumbed people. I would recommend buying an additional battery since there isn't an external charger available. Other than that, I think the camera has excellent video quality and a nice compact body yet still large enough for larger hands to operate without problem.

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I found that Sharp VLz7u is good enough for me. I normally use it for record the activity around my house. I chose this model because of its swivel grip. It gives me convenient in many recording angle (e.g. over the head and low angle view).

The thing I like about this camcorder are:

1.3MP photo shot

built in flash (for camera mode)

terminal for Zoom mic (though I cannot find Sharp's Zoom mic available anywhere at this time)

and other features that should be available in other camcorder (e.g. 10x zoom, digital effect, stabilizer, etc)

The things I want to have in the camcorder (though it's not a big deal to me) are:

Microphone input

night shot mode

Since this is my first camcorder, I don't know if other camcorder have better picture quality or not. But it looks good to me both on TV and after captured onto computer.

For home movie, outdoor/indoor activity, events, you will love this camcorder. For those who look for high quality picture, or professional movie, you probably should go for other model.

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very satisfied. that is how i would describe my experience up to this point with the sharp vlz7u. i bought mine for [$$$] in may of 03 and for the price i am very satisfied. no where else will one get the still picture quality in a camcorder for a comparable price. the recessed mic is nice and the swivel action is priceless. who hasn't had to hold their arm, elbow and wrist in that uncomfortable vertical position for extended amonts of time in order to capture that killer shot? you know, that shot that in retrospect [was bad] due to fatigue. the flash is a flash for picture mode, not a light like i thought but it is still a handy option. TWO downsides. night mode [is not good] because there is none. you can shoot in low light but the low light mode is only for low light, not no light. and the worst part about it is that it turns itself off the second you pan across light, so you have to keep turning it on when your in a low light room lit by a single light. the other down side is that the battery is recessed in the body of the camera which equates to a somewhat limited battery life. don't expect any upgrades either says the sharp rep i spoke with. so buy 2 or 3 spares. that's it. enjoy because i really do.

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I had high hopes about this camcorder. It was cute, lightweight, the 1.3Megapixel CCD and everything appeared to be great. But once I shot the video and reviewed it on my TV. ***TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT***. What can be more important than video quality? It just sucks big time. My old Panasonic VHS camcorder has better video quality. Also, the camera picked up extremely high motor noise when ambient sound level was low or silent. NOT a good design. I read several reaviews prior to buying to camcorder and I must agree that WAIT for the next revision. Video is extremely NOT SHARP!!!