Avertv Hybrid Volar Max Review

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(More customer reviews)I researched TV tuners by Avermedia, Hauppauge, and Pinnacle before choosing this product. The reviews narrowed the choice to the first two. Although hardware is a disposable commodity in today's marketplace, potentially superior service implied by personal e-mail responses to my questions by Avermedia's Product Manager sealed the deal. It is a great little gadget that I was easily able to set up for both our PC running Windows XP Pro SP3 connected to the cable; and for our laptop running Windows Vista Home Premium using the included antenna [a high gain antenna is included, but not listed as a part of package contents!]. The tuner is able to auto scan and pick up all analog and digital TV and radio channels available; although many digital TV and radio channels are locked by the cable company and hence cannot be accessed. Both the TV and radio programs can be recorded on the hard drive. An inexpensive solution to add a TV, radio, recorder - both for the home and for travel.

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Latte Ice 8 GB Video MP3 Player with Built-In FM Transmitter (Silver) Review

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(More customer reviews)It is acceptable and works well enough. The battery charges through plugin adapter or usb cable, so there are options. The mounts as a removable storage device so drag and drop of your music, videos, pictures, text documents is easy. The SD card slot is a nice feature that works with out any issues so far. And the sound quality is good as well. Overall it is a decent product that does the main functions well enough.
The good.
-MP3 performance is good.
-Movie playback is decent for the screen size.
-Battery is easy to charge and has long life.
The Neutral
-The buttons are ok, they don't feel cheap but they are stiff and have a clear click. Probably a trade off of being too easy to press to avoid accidents.
-The FM Radio is nice to have, but at least with the supplied headphones it only comes out of one side. This may be related to a stereo setting under the system setting for radio, but even if that is the case, a device like this should be able to put a mono signal out both sides.
-The headphone jack is tight. Make sure it is pushed in all the way or you will get the above indication of only one side working.
-As with most of these devices video must be converted to play on it. Software is included to run on windows to do this for you. The documentation didn't list the video requirements so us non-windows users would be able to recreate our videos to what it needs. I probably should have waited till I got home to evaluate the output file to write this review, but that being said if you have access to a windows system you can run the converter on you can evaluate that output file to create your own on the OS of your choice.
The Bad
-While it has several options on how to sort your music or video it does not have a playlist function. This can be worked around by setting up folders that have what you want in them and then telling the device to play in sequence the folder or randomize it as you would a playlist. I consider this a negative because it feels very mechanical design, it works but in the digital age is a playlist that hard to include?
-The "ebook" support is for text only, no PDFs. Since all of my "ebooks" are PDF or html text based seems a bit of a wasted feature.
-You can view pictures but it does not have a zoom or rotate function. Again not something that is a must have, but if you are going to let it display pictures is it that hard to let you zoom in on them?
The main reason I wanted this was for an MP3 player, with the option to play some videos. For that purpose this does do the job and I haven't ran into any great quality concerns. The headphones are suspect but I don't expect included headphones to be worth much anyway. The FM radio was a big plus for me giving this a try and besides the annoyance of 1 speaker, it is acceptable.
For the cost of this I would recommend it. There are better devices if you want to spend more, but this isn't a rip off if this is the price range you are looking at.

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Indulge in your media library with the Latte Ice. This 8 GB personal media player boasts a crystal-clear 2.8-inch QVGA display with a 320 x 240 resolution, a built-in speaker, a built-in FM transmitter, an FM radio, and a microSD slot for memory expansion. Stay entertained no matter how far you stray.
MP3 Player The Ice supports MP3, APE, FLAC, AAC, and WMA audio files, and gives you up to 8 hours of uninterrupted playback on a single charge. Dial in a custom EQ setting or use one of the seven equalization presets (Normal, 3D, Rock, Pop, Classic, Bass, Jazz). If you want to change things up a bit, or tune into the FM TV broadcast at the gym, just call up one of the 30 FM radio presets.

Video Player Always have access to your favorite shows, movies, and pictures. The Ice supports direct play without conversion with AVI, WMV, FLV, RM, RMVB files, and you can enjoy up to 4 hours of video on a single charge. The 2.8-inch screen is also a great way to share your photos, and makes navigating your files a breeze.

FM Transmitter You've seen it: the clunky FM transmitter in your buddy's car, allowing him to tune into his MP3 player. Latte saw it too, and decided to make it part of the package. No need for external transmitters here--the Ice can transmit an FM signal anywhere, anytime, allowing you to tune in your car or home stereo to your favorite songs on the Ice.

Voice Recording Keep track of random great ideas, grab lectures and meetings for later reference, or record whatever tickles your fancy with the included voice recorder. Capture audio through the built-in microphone in WAV format.

External Expandable Memory If you fill up your 8 Gigs too quickly, the Ice includes a microSD memory card (up to 16 GB) slot. Keep media on separate cards and pop them in on the fly for endless options.

What's in the Box Latte Communications Ice 8 GB Video MP3 Player, stereo earphones, USB cable, manual, warranty card.

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Sabrent SBT-TVFM TV Tuner/Video Capture/FM Radio PCI Card with Remote Control Review

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(More customer reviews)First of all, the item that is sent will NOT be the item in the picture. However the tuner still works. When I first installed the tuner, it crashed my computer. Apparently the driver did not agree with windows, and the driver recommended by windows will not work with the tuner. Nevertheless, after a few hours of messing with the driver, it eventually worked and it's been working perfectly ever since. By the way, just to clarify about video quality, for normal viewing, it's the best tuner under 30 dollars with a remote. But if you want to record, the video will not be so good, it'll be really fuzzy if you're use to dvd quality videos. And also, it will not work with Media Center (not the OS, but the program), which is quite disappointing. You should buy this only if you have the patience and technical experience to adjust those settings.

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With the Sabrent SBT-TVFM TV Tuner/Video Capture/FM Radio PCI Card with Remote Control, you can watch TV, listen to FM radio, and capture video from your camcorder all on your computer.
Record Your Favorite TV Programs onto Your PC With the built-in TV tuner, you can receive up to 125 channels on cable or over the air. With an autoscan function, clear signals will be added automatically, and you can watch television full-screen on your computer. Video is captured at a steady 30 frames per second for high quality.
A Variety of Inputs The card has composite and S-video inputs for connecting televisions and DVD/VHS players, a connection for an FM antenna, a composite video camera connector for digital camcorders, and an audio out for output of sound to external speakers.
The Sabrent SBT-TVFM TV Tuner/Video Capture/FM Radio PCI Card requires Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, a 366 Mhz or higher CPU, 32 MB or more RAM, a VGA card with 8 MB memory, an available PCI slot, and an analog TV signal source.
What's in the Box SBT-TVFM TV/FM/video capture PCI card, audio cable, remote I/R receiving cable, remote control, FM antenna, user's manual, and software CD.

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HQRP 2GB USB Wireless Sports MP3 Player Stereo Headset Handsfree w/SD Slot (Black) for Cyclists Runners Athletes plus HQRP Coaster Review

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(More customer reviews)The first headset was defective, but the customer service was excellent. I corresponded with only one person via email who took the trouble to send in a new product free of charge. They sent in a new one right away which did work. The product itself is great aside from a little cheaply crafted, but then again it is really inexpensive.

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Bump Digital MP3/FM Radio Boombox with Remote Wireless Speaker Review

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(More customer reviews)I just received my pair of wireless speakers and after putting them through their paces, I have to say, they perform very well.
Sound quality is fantastic, especially for voice and most music - even rock comes up surprisingly well. The bass experience is pretty much what you'd expect from a pair of speakers in a mug-sized enclosure, but considering this size I think they do very, very well. Considering everyone's first task for any bite-sized speaker set is to try and break them by cranking up the volume and seeing how closely they resemble 'real' speakers, they're doing well!
Useability is so-so and the buttons feel a little plasticky, however the rubberised paint that covers most of the units is very nice to the touch and makes the whole thing feel like a quality product. The style is very clearly ripped off another brand's item, however that item doesn't sport the feature list (or the lower price) of the Aluratek package. At around $100 for the pair they're not all that cheap, however if you're looking for a solution that can play music anywhere, any time, from anything that has a 3.5mm jack (or use an SD card or the built in FM radio) then I would recommend you get yourself a pair.
I'm also intending on using them during board meetings as replacement laptop speakers - one at each end of the table. This means you can have each speaker at lower volume (therefore better quality) and everyone can still hear and speak over it if necessary.
As far as portability goes, you'd keep them in a briefcase or backpack, but probably not a laptop tote or handbag. Battery life is yet to be determined and probably isn't worth talking about anyway, as it will vary greatly on the mode of use.
Overall I'd give it 5 stars and am very happy with them so far.BC


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VIBE Digital Audio Player (256MB) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have bought two of these Vive players, a black 512 MB version and a white 1-Gigabyte version. The 128 MB Vibe is the same except for the reduced capacity.
The unit is about the size and shape of a tube of lipstick. It is very light and hangs from your neck on a lanyard as some people wear a cross. The Creative Vu2 Micro NX 200, which competes with this player, does not have a needed metal stub to attach a lanyard or chain.
These things are too tiny and too expensive not to attach to your person in some manner. If you lose pens on a regular basis, you should pay attention to this detail in the Vibe's construction.
I plan to replace the supplied lanyard with a gold chain someday. I usually drop it inside my shirt for covert use. The Vibe comes with a higher end set of black ear buds.
It lasts around 12 hours on an AAA battery. I buy super alkaline AAA at the local drugstore for about thirty-five cents each when on sale. You cannot accidentally turn the VIBE on and wear down the battery because most controls are under a sliding faceplate. The only two external controls are up and down volume.
The hidden buttons are
AB switch
Fast Reverse
Mode - Menu
Fast Forward
Record
Play
The Vibe pulls apart to reveal a USB connection. It draws its power while connected to the PC from the USB port. You can plug this into a cable or directly into a USP port if there is room. There is no need for any special software except for Win98 drivers to access the Vibe with Explorer. All the functions of Explorer, format, rename, delete, copy, paste, etc. work while using the Vibe attached to your PC. You can also use the Vibe as a USB flash drive.
There are three functions in this player of interest.
MP3 Play
One is the obvious MP3 or WMA playback. The blue back lit LCD shows three lines of text or a line of icons depending on the mode. The Vive LCD displays more information than the Creative Vu2 Micro NX 200, which is a similar player. There is a user defined equalizer and several presets like WOW, SRS, FLAT, BASS, and some other choices. This player can drive a nice set of external amplified speakers with a subwoofer with some amazing music. I also have feed the Vibe audio output via a Belkin's FM transmitter or a cassette adaptor to mobile radios with good results.
You can fast forwarded or reverse within any file that is playing. When you power off and back on and hit play it resumes exactly where you left off. You can tag folders or files if you want to limit playback to a list of choices. There are also choices that randomize playback, play once, or loop the list.
Voice Recorder
The Vibe has a built in microphone that is very sensitive. It produces acceptable recordings as long as you get `into' the microphone or if there is little other background noise. I once recorded TV audio from across the room and it was quite good. I had bad results when I first tried a Vibe held a waist level inside an automobile with the AC running at full blast a minute after I bought the first one. I almost immediately returned it as unacceptable. I am glad I did not! You could turn this on to record, drop the unit out of sight, and covertly record until the battery died eight to twelve hours later. The recording is stored as wav file internally. These files can be uploaded to your PC to be played there or stored as notes. You can also rename the file on the Vibe using Explorer.
FM Radio
The FM radio in the Vibe is comparable to some better FM units found in cars. It features search, auto program store of the sixteen strongest signals in presets as well as manual tuning. You can record any FM signal and play it back using the Voice recorder mode.
I use it with an XM Roady 2 to time shift the XM satellite broadcast. The Roady down converts the satellite channel to the FM band and the Vibe can pick this up as far as twenty feet away in the house. While driving I sometimes have it pick up XM content while I am listening to the car radio or books on tape in the cassette. I then carry this with me and listen to XM inside buildings. The Vibe makes a good companion to XM. What is funny to some geeks is that Delphi is now selling a similar time shift solution for XM for $350 and that one only stores five hours. The Delphi unit does include a built in XM receiver.
If you got any ideas from this post, be sure and vote about this review on Amazon.
Vic

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PNY's sleek, multifunction Vibe digital audio player can also operate as a USB mass-storage flash drive, voice recorder, and FM radio. It's compatible with both MP3 and WMA digital formats, but it's not compatible with Secure WMA files from online music stores or subscription services. The 256 MB of internal flash memory can store up to 8 hours WMA or 4 hours MP3 music.
It operated on a single AAA battery and provides approximately 12 hours of battery life. It features a sliding faceplate to expose/protect the control panel and an EL backlit LCD graphics display. Other features include SRS-WOW enhanced sound, sleep timer, and 5-mode equalizer. It connects to PCs and Macs via USB 1.1.

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Sansa Fuze+ 8 GB MP3 Player (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)As humans, we sometimes tend to personify our gadgets. Having witnessed the phenomenon in others, I'm happy to see I'm not the only one (a psychologist could explain it better, but it probably stems from our post-toddler, invisible friend/stuffed animal days, but no matter). So if this little MP3 player could speak, I reckon it would probably say something like, "Hi there! I know I'm not as full-blooded as an iPod Touch or as sleekly designed as an iPod Nano, but I'll work real hard to make you happy. Honest!"
First, a bit of history: I've owned iPods since late 2003 when I bought a spanking new 15 GB third generation iPod. Back then, smart phones had yet to come of age and if you wanted a high-capacity MP3 player, Apple were just about the only game in town. It helped matters immensely that my iPod was so well constructed since I used it day in, day out for five years until it finally died and I replaced it with a fourth generation iPod Nano. That Nano sure *seemed* solid enough (what with its sleek, anodized aluminum body and all) but a mere year-and-a-half later it fell apart faster than Joan Crawford in a wire hanger factory (see "Mommie Dearest" for an explanation of that analogy). With hopes held high for an amazing sixth generation Nano, I balked at the rather stripped-down feature set and the tiny, nigh-unusable touch screen.
So, off a-shopping I did go.
Since Sony didn't appear to make a Mac-friendly Walkman, I opted to punt, snapping up the newly released Sansa Fuze+ (black, 8BG capacity). I'd known about -- and respected -- Sansa players for years as affordable and worthy iPod competitors, so this seemed the best available option. Whether consciously or not, SanDisk are filling a huge void in the marketplace right now caused by the absence of last year's multi-purpose fifth generation Nano (and as a student, I really, really needed its now long-gone voice recorder feature badly).
To define the negatives of this particular player: as many reviewers have pointed out, the Fuze+'s touch-sensitive interface can be a bit unresponsive at times and over-responsive at others. The GUI isn't anywhere near as intuitive as anything Apple could have designed. Furthermore, the industrial design is rather plain and the plastic is easily scratched (HINT: rub any scratches that appear on plastic with Brasso and a clean, lint-free cloth; after several minutes, it clears them right up -- promise!). That said...
Onto the positives: the sound quality from this thing is amazing -- rich and full! I've run battery tests only to have my jaw hit the floor when power usage on my unit clocked in at a WHOPPING 53 hours for 128 kbps MP3s and 30 hours for 256 kbps AAC files. This in itself is an astonishing discovery, particularly having come from the notoriously power-hungry iPod realm. This little fellow plays video beautifully, although the screen's visual "sweet spot" is at a slightly off-centre angle when watching a movie in Landscape mode. Also, it's got a voice recorder -- a good one -- that uses the unit's incredibly wee, shockingly responsive built-in microphone. While the Fuze+ won't win any beauty contests, it is enough for me to say that it *is* solidly constructed, having already dropped it several times without so much as scratching it (Brasso time!).
I give this player a solid recommendation -- especially (way) over the current iPod Nano -- keeping in mind that it is still quite new and there *are* flaws. However, SanDisk seems to really care about their customers, listening to their concerns and working hard to iron out the kinks. Their Website support forums are a good place to go for advice, especially considering that by buying any new first-generation product, you're essentially signing up to be a Beta tester.
It just comes with the territory, folks.

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Sandisk Sansa Fuze SDMX20R 8 GB Black Flash Portable Media Player SDMX20R-008GK-A57 Portable Video Players

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Sangean HDT-1X HD Radio Component Tuner Review

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(More customer reviews)The HDT-1 is an excellent tuner however being the initial offering from Sangean there were some annoyances like the display that could not be dimmed and no optical output. Well these two issues have been addressed in the HDT-1X! Other improvements like forced analog mode; split comparison between HD and analog signals; accurate time keeping; display that goes black when in the standby mode but you can push the INFO button and the time will come on and stay on for a few seconds. The sensitivity of the tuner is superb as I live almost 50 miles north of NYC. While I do not get all the HD stations, I pull in a fair number to cover the various music genres. I am most satisfied and I am not a teckie, but I know a quality item; as I said this is my second Sangean tuner and I am enjoying it! Buy it, but make sure you have a good FM antenna -- I am using an indoor whip antenna and a Magnum Signal Sleuth and I get HD stations -- imagine with a roof or attic antenna (I can't have either as I live in a townhouse). Of course if you live close to a large city like NYC you won't need any elaborate antenna!

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