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Audio-Technica ATH ANC3BK NoiseCancel Earphone BK! Sale-$49.97!

septembre 25th, 2010 by izabella8392819

Audio-Technica ATH ANC3BK NoiseCancel Earphone BK!. Audio-Technica ATH ANC3BK NoiseCancel Earphone BK!

Product: Audio-Technica ATH ANC3BK NoiseCancel Earphone BK! Sale-$49.97!

List Price: $169.95

Amazon Price: $49.97
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Audio Technica Ath-Anc3Bk Active Noise-Canceling In-Ear Headphones

  • Color: Black
  • Brand: Audio-Technica
  • Model: ATH-ANC3BK
  • Published on: 2008-07-23
  • Released on: 2008-07-23
  • Platform: Windows
  • Format: CD
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 6.90″ h x 3.00″ w x 3.60″ l, .45 pounds

Features

  • Ultra-compact in-ear design is ideal for travel
  • Advanced electronics cancel up to 85% (20 dB) of background noise
  • Innovative ANC circuitry delivers an exceptionally pure audio signal in noise-cancelling mode
  • Ideal for use with all audio sources, including MP3 & other portable players
  • Soft interchangeable ear pieces (small, medium & large) provide a custom fit

Excellent noise isolation and cancelling - especially for bass response and clarity5
I bought these to use with my faithful iPod which is full of music extending from:

* House, Electro, Techno (minus, Trapez, Traum Records etc), requiring a decent and tight bass response and good crisp uppers for all those 808/909 kicks and bass lines and tight hi hats
* Classical to new and old Heavy Metal (Gustav Mahler to Iron Maiden :)
* Indie/rock/acoustic (e.g. The Eels, 1980’s Ska bands, Punk)
* Abstract electronics (Venetian Snares, Luke Vibert, AFX, Mr 76 etc - lots of Warp records stuff)

I’m also a DJ and musician, so have experience with a wide variety of listening conditions, studio monitors, studio headphones, and my faithful Sony MDR-V700 cans when mixing vinyl techno/house. I’m also VERY careful with my ears and use custom fitted earpieces for sound management at gigs and shows.

I travel quite extensively so what I wanted was:

1. Earphones that are comfortable
2. Excellent noise suppression - block general noise - people coughing, babies crying, annoying people chatting whilst standing near your seat on the plane etc.
3. Excellent noise cancellation
4. Excellent dynamic range given the spectrum of my listening library
5. Not over the top pricing
6. Good enough to not need extra amplifier to get a decent dynamic range (like some of my Koss Studio Headphones)
7. No fatigue both physical and due to the characteristics of the drivers - too ‘brittle’ a high end and its over after 30 minutes - think cheap JBL monitors crushing the mids and highs into a distorted mush. I can’t stand that. Since noise canceling is an acoustic process, it was important that this didn’t mush up my choons :)
8. Sturdiness - nothing worse than a cable getting snared and having to “tie” it to get a proper contact. Nooooo !

I’ve had quite a few different pairs of noise canceling phones in the past - the very early Philips over the ear ones (both two recent models which i was quite happy with) being the ones I’d settled on and used for about 5 years due to value and meeting most of the above. However, since one of my two pairs plastic broke - they were about 5 years old and used heavily, and I was not too happy about the need to drive them quite hard from my 80G 5G iPod to get a decent level which also meant that it introduced a bit of distortion - the iPod amp isnt actually that great by the way - I decided to look at some other options including Sennheiser top of the range, Bose QC range, the current Philips as well as Etymotic and Shure passive noise canceling. I was prepared to invest in something decent up to $400.

Anyhow, after much research and trying a few out my conclusions were:

* the Bose models were nice, but hugely over the top in price given their performance - especially whilst they did well in noise canceling, this appeared to be at the expense of phase alignment and actually changing the EQ spectrum quite vividly. Sounds were good but it sounded like a kind of flattening effect across the mids which for my music which in the main tends to be somewhat “V” in EQ was a bit odd sounding. I just felt given the price it should have been much better.

* Sennheiser - excellent all round but could not help feeling way too expensive (and a bit bulky)

* The Philips models were the same as my old ones - still perfectly serviceable but still a little lacking and needing driving a little hard - but can be had for pretty low dollars

* The Audio Technica just stood way above the rest on the price/sound quality/value/curve. The downsides are slight and similar to all the others anyhow: Yes, as with ANY noise canceling headphones since we are dealing with an acoustic process by which sound waves of any reasonable magnitude arriving at the earpiece in the range say up to 1500 Hz (aircraft engine noise, train noise, most conversations) are rapidly inverted and “played” into the earpiece at a level to actively cancel out anything arriving at your eardrum - more or less - there are bound to be acoustic artifacts and changes in EQ spectrum/Phase and so on.

However the AT’s were much nicer in this regard. Couple this with the nice rubber noise isolation buds (use the largest you can to block noise and have them slot nicely into your ear canal), pressing the “NC on” button is pure bliss. One thing I did note- if you connect them to nothing and use them, you will “hear” the noise canceling process - but this is eliminated when the music is created or if you are in even a slightly noisy environment (e.g. bar, cafe, restaurant, shop).

So, I actually ended up buying both the in-ear buds listed here since they are so compact and hugely effective for creating my own silent or music filled world on trains and planes, as well as the AT over the ear ones - ATH ANC7’s. The latter are very comfortable if a little compact over the ear and have excellent performance also - and nice cabling - removable cable and a nice case that also happens to fit my ipod inside too.

Paid $99 for the in ear via one of amazons sellers, and $127 for the over the ear ones. That’s TWO pairs of really excellent headphones for less than the Bose or Sennheisers which were getting into la la land on price.

So, I can get close to my Studio and DJ can performance out of these and its made my ipod and other music listening experiences (eg. plane’s movie system) really quite pleasurable. I can also use them to sleep on a noise plane or train - so effective you have to watch to make sure you don’t miss announcements like your stops. If push came to shove, I reckon I could easily use the over the ears for a bit of impromptu DJ’ing if I had to - they are really great in this regard as they work perfectly without being powered - unlike some others. So, both be used when batteries are dead too.

Hope this helps - just a happy customer of these nice cans.

Mark

Meet my needs5
I travel constantly (40+ weeks/year) and have owned Sony over the ear noise canceling headphones for a couple of years. I finally quit carrying them with me due to limited space available in my computer bag, ear fatigue from the noise canceling, and feedback when you tried to lean your head against a pillow on a long flight (which isn’t possible to do comfortably with the over the ear design anyway).

For a few weeks I used the ear buds from my Creative Zen and while they were convenient, the didn’t fit well, so music quality was poor. I also missed having the active noise canceling and had to have the volume up pretty high to hear the music over everything.

I chose the Audio Technica ATH-ANC3 headphones before there were any reviews on Amazon, but based my decision on the reviews for their active noise canceling headphones and ear buds.

When I first received them, I fitted what I thought would be the proper ear pieces and was less than impressed with the noise canceling. I ended up using the largest ear pieces and seating them all the way into my ears to make a tight seal and the noise canceling was outstanding. Getting a good seal on both ears is the key to music quality as well as noise canceling.

The audio quality is brighter than the Sony’s I had been using. They do have less bass than I was used to hearing, but I was able to hear the upper end of music (i.e. cymbals, etc.) at very reasonable listening levels (1/2 volume or so). Compared to the ATH-ANC3’s, the old phones sound murky to me.

I don’t feel any ear fatigue and haven’t had any feed back, even when using a pillow. The case is just about the size of an eye glass case, so there isn’t any issue finding a spot for it in my computer bag. It has plenty of room for the phones, airline adapter, extra battery and my Creative Zen. The case stashes in the seat back pocket on the airplane until time to put everything away. Battery life probably is on the order of 40 hours or more.

The electronics module is small, but reduces the convenience of the in the ear design. The most convenient arrangement for me is to put the MP3 player in a shirt pocket and clip the module to the top of the pocket. The electronics module is heavy enough that you’ll want to clip it to something.

I pulled them out and compared them with the QCII’s at the Bose kiosk in the Denver airport a few weeks ago and didn’t leave feeling I had inferior headphones.

Highly recommended.

I bought them both.4
I recently purchased both the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3 QuietPoint Noise-Canceling In-Ear Headphones and the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones. One for me and one for my partner. I used the over the ear one on a recent 8hr flight. Loved them! The sound leak is pretty bad, however, on a plane you could not hear it. At home, others in the room can hear the music just as much at you can. The music tone is great! High, mid and low tones can all be heard. Comfort was good and I did not find them tight. My ears got hot after about 3 hours, no big deal. I just took them off for a sec. The noise cancel was wonderful, not great with out audio. They are big and it makes it difficult to sleep on a plane.
The in ear type was much better. The noice cancelling was amazing, with or without audio. I was completly blown away. My partner had no discomfort after about 7 hrs of wearing. They also have a neat pause button to turn off the devise for a moment, ie. to talk to the flght attendant without having to take them off. GREAT! The draw back was the sound quality with music. Not very good. No mid tones. For someone, like myself, that knows what you should be hearing in a song, missing it can be a problem. For someone, like my partner, who really does not care greatly about all tones in music, these were great. If and when I have to buy another set, I probably will be buying the in ear type. The pluses out weight the minus.

iHome LED Color-Changing Speaker System with Built-In Subwoofer for iPod Discount.

septembre 25th, 2010 by izabella8392819

iHome LED Color-Changing Speaker System with Built-In Subwoofer for iPod

iHome LED Color-Changing Speaker System with Built-In Subwoofer for iPod Discount.

Compare & Purchase iHome LED Color-Changing Speaker System with Built-In Subwoofer for iPod at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $59.99

Amazon Price: $50.29

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iHome LED Color-Changing Speaker System with Built-In Subwoofer for iPod Description:

  • Brand: iHome
  • Model: IH15W
  • Dimensions: 6.29″ h x 6.29″ w x 6.29″ l, 2.85 pounds

Features

  • Compatibility: iPod mini; iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G; iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch 1G, 2G
  • Translucent cabinet changes color at the touch of a button; four color change settings
  • Charges your iPod while docked
  • Reson8 stereo speakers with passive subwoofer for full sound
  • Auxiliary input for external audio devices

Customer Reviews:

THIS LITTLE THING IS GREAT5
I too had read a million reviews for a million products. I decided to risk it with this since most of the reviews were good. I have A 4TH GENERATION NANO- and yes there is an adapter for it. We listen to it everyday. IT CHARGES YOUR IPOD WHILE DOCKED. The sound is great. The color change is cool. I wanted something small that sounded great. I use it in every room of the house, especially the kitchen while I am preparing meals. The sound is great for such a small cube. I would recommend this to anyone of any age. In a day where most things don’t do what they say in the advertisement, finally something that exceeds those promises. You won’t go wrong with this one.

Pretty good, looks great, sounds decent3
Overall, 4-stars, pretty good.

The sound is pretty decent. Forget deep, rich bass that others describe. Sounds better than most “mini-speakers” systems, though. Sounds like a small boom-box. At least the sounds are well balanced and articulated, not muddy or distorted.

It can also get pretty loud. Surprisingly, the bass response seems better at high volume levels.

The look of the cool, color changing cube is awesome. It has three modes:

> solid color of your choice;
> revolving colors, changing every few seconds;
> constantly oozing through the whole spectrum.

It’s the third mode that’s the coolest. It’s dim enough to make a nice night-light without lighting up the whole room. And the light stuff works whether the sound is on or off, and it’s easy to turn the light off when the sound is off as well.

CON - It has no clock, and no “auto on” feature. I had expected to leave it on and use my iPod’s alarm to turn on, thus playing music to wake me up. However, it does not appear to work. When docked, the iPod’s alarm does not go off. Maybe I should try it again with the iPod on, but not playing a song.

So overall, it’s very nice.

Awesome!4
This product is awesome. I love the sound and my 4 yr old loves the changing colors. I do sometimes wish that it had a remote but that’s the lazy person in me. The price was very reasonable. I would also recommend it to others.

Amazon.com Product Description
A colorful way to enjoy your favorite tunes, the iHome iH15W is a compact, illuminated cube and iPod speaker dock. Set it to one color to match your mood, or cycle through the colors for a little fun.

Give your favorite music a little color. Click to enlarge.

Pick a single color to suit your mood. Click to enlarge

Convenient carrying handles. Click to enlarge

Illuminate Your Mood
The iH15W is a small, 5-1/2-inch cube with handy carrying handles and internal adjustable lighting. Change the translucent cabinet to match your mood or the current song. Feeling blue? Go with blue. Not easy being green? Try green. A cowardly yellow? Well, you get the idea.

The cube also features four color change settings for cycling through the colors, which is great for parties and other fun occasions.

Enjoy Your Music
The iH15W charges docked iPods, so when you hit the road, your iPod will be ready to go. Two Reson8 speakers provide great sound, and a passive subwoofer covers the low end, so you can count on rich sound from a tiny device.

Auxiliary Input
Use the iH15W’s auxiliary input to listen to external devices, like MP3 or CD players.

What’s in the Box
iHome iH15W, AC power adapter, iPod dock adapters, manual

Buy Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator At Amazon!

septembre 24th, 2010 by izabella8392819

Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator

Buy Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator At Amazon!

Compare & Purchase Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $45.00

Amazon Price: $24.99

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Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator Description:

The BA II PLUS, our most popular financial calculator for business professionals and students. With Time Value of Money, uneven cash flow analysis, and advanced statistics, the BA II PLUS is perfect for applications in finance, accounting, economics, investment, statistics, and more. See the list of features to see why the BA II PLUS provides a great return on your investment.

  • Brand: Texas Instruments
  • Model: BAIIPlus
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: .60″ h x 3.00″ w x 6.00″ l, .30 pounds

Features

  • Performs common math as well as various financial functions
  • Worksheet mode includes tables for amortization, bond, depreciation, and compound interest
  • Built-in memory for storage of previous worksheets
  • Can perform cash-flow analysis and advanced list-based statistics
  • Slide-case included to protect screen

Customer Reviews:

A Good Calculator but not a Great Calculator3
The TI BA Plus II is a better calculator than most of the current TI models.

Pros:

It’s a nice conservative brown color and not a day glo blue or some other candy color.

The button feel (button feel a critical factor in buying a calculator) is much better than most TIs but it still could be improved. (It is not as good as the HP 12c). One shouldn’t have to keep looking at the display to see if the number was keyed correctly.

The different colored keys make it easy to find the various functions.

The display is uncluttered and easy to read.

The alpha characters on the left side of the display make it easy to know what data you are entering and what the resulting number from a calculation refers to.

It has a backspace key.

The manual is well written and very complete.

Cons:

The number of key strokes that you need to do the simplest things is unbelievable. For example, to change the decimal format you have to press 2nd, format, [the number referring to the number of places], enter, 2nd, quit. Compare this to the HP 12c where you just press F and the number referring to the number of places. Six steps on the TI verses 2 on the HP.

The calculator has no weight to it. It seems flimsy. I would be very afraid of dropping it. The HP 12c is a tank by comparison.

The hard plastic slip “case” doesn’t fit securely.

There is no way to change the contrast of the display.

Extra steps are required to do TVM calculations as compared to the HP 12c since with the TI you have to press the CPT key to get an answer. If you forget to do that then the display number becomes a new, unintended variable.

It doesn’t retain the display when you shut the calculator off.

The arrow on the backspace key points the wrong way. Compare it to the backspace key on your computer.

It’s easier to change the battery in your watch than it is in this calculator.

The “cheat sheet” in the plastic cover is only paper and very easy to loose. The HP has it printed on the back of the calculator.

No rubber feet! How much can these cost? That means you have to use two hands with this calculator; one to hold it so it doesn’t slide around the table and one to enter data. You can’t enter data with one hand and keep track of your place on a list of numbers with the other.

Not noticeably faster than the HP 12c which was designed over 20 years ago.

Conclusion: This calculator is better than most on the TIs in this price range mostly because of the improved button feel and the quality of the display but it would do well to take some lessons from the 80’s and incorporate some of the features of the HP 12c. It’s the little things that make a good calculator a great calculator. A calculator should be like an extension of you and not something that you have to constantly think about in addition to the business/math problems that you are working on. My first choice for a business calculator is the HP 12c but, if you are short on money, this is a good second choice.

Comparison of TI BAII Plus, HP 12C and HP 17BII5
Texas Instruments, inventors of the pocket calculator, have done it again with the BAII Plus. This is an extremely fast little beast with a lot of functionality. It outstrips even the more expensive competition with a higher number of functions. You have to look to the HP 17BII to cover all the same bases and even then in some case you will have to work around problems. For instance, the BAII Plus allows differing compounding periods to payment periods. You can even calculate bonds to call as well as yield.

Sadly there is one serious problem with the machine. Strictly speaking it is not year 2000 compliant. Your date range is 1950 - 1949 and can only be entered as two digit years. TI have no work around for this either.

If you just want to number crunch all day long, this calculator gets my vote. Everything is in front of you on the keypad, you don’t have to navigate around registers or menus. The keyboard is light and sensitive and easy to use. And the way the functions work together is very flexible.

The HP 12C. What can I say about this beautiful piece of craftsmanship. This not just a calculator, but an example of fine engineering. Sort of in the same league as a vintage car. You can almost here the engine purring gently when you turn it on. In comparison with the BAII Plus and the 17BII it lacks functionality. You will also see criticisms of its speed. But in reality this is untrue. What the 12C lacks in processing speed (and the difference is so slight that your calculations won’t be affected) it makes up for in form factor and ruggedness. Don’t underestimate this. The keyboard is industrial strength and so is the case. You can sit there banging away in RPN with one hand without even looking whilst you follow columns of figures with the other. You gain the best of both worlds between a heavy duty desk top calc and a neat pocket calculator. There is one other big advantage, which is the wealth of tutorials guides and papers about using it available for free on the internet.

But for uncompromising power, the HP 17BII is, for me, the ultimate financial calculator. It isn’t as cumbersome as the 19BII but has everything I need from that calculator. The functionality is comprehensive, and where you might find limitations it gives you accurate work-arounds. The solver is indispensible. You can enter a formula and set up variables to enter as if you were using built in functionality. And it will solve for which ever variable is missing. Did you get that? - it actually does the algebra for you!!!

The 17BII is fast and rugged and I haven’t yet found something I can’t solve either through the built in functions or by programming it.

Not the Best in the Category4
I have used (and own) many of the available financial calculators on the market. I “recommend” the HP-10B to my university finance students, both graduate and undergraduate.

The HP 10B is a directly positioned competitor to the TI-BA-II+, but HP’s entry is superior. The keys feel more solid, the machine itself “seems” better made. Having worn out more than one of each, my experience has been that the HP has more staying power. And, the TI-BA-II+ often requires more keystrokes to accomplish the same tasks (i.e., NPV calculations). Oddly enough, when there is a difference in price, the HP often sells for around $1 less; though I would gladly pay more.

The Like the HP 10B, the TI-BA-II+ has a well written manual, including examples on using the functions. TI has the manual available on-line on their website for the inevitable time that the user needs it and has lost the original.

While there are cheaper financial calculators, it seems that this particular level is the minimum I would recommend to professionals or students. Less expensive versions, while saving a few dollars, miss important features. As a general rule of thumb, if the calculator can perform the “IRR” function, as this one can, it will be able to handle pretty much any calculation into which the finance student, professonal, or banker will run. Lesser machines do not have this function. So, skip the cheaper TI, HP, or other financial calculators.

Ironically, even larger fancier calculators, such as the venerable HP-12C, are in my estimation inferior as well. The 12C uses RPN logic which, while saving even more keystrokes, is simply foreign to most students. More importantly, some functions, such as the Time Value of Money functions, on the 12C require interpretation. On the 12C, for example, solving for the number of periods in an annuity, the value gets rounded UP to the next integer. Not so in the TI-BA-II+ or HP 10B.

While I can recommend the TI-BA-II+, it is second only to the HP 10B as the best value in inexpensive financial calculators.

Amazon.com Product Description
We’re definitely taking this along with us the next time we shop for a house. Though it takes a little effort to master the collection of financial worksheets available on the Texas Instruments BA II Plus, you’ll be glad you invested the time and money in this fine financial calculator.

The BA II Plus operates in standard calculator and worksheet modes. The standard mode lets you perform common math as well as operations involving the time value of money–that is, applications such as mortgages or annuities in which payments are equal and evenly spaced. You can also perform trigonometric functions in standard mode.

The more hard-core worksheet mode includes tables for amortization, bond, depreciation, and compound interest. If you’re not familiar with such calculations, the very helpful user’s manual will guide you through the process. All previous worksheet values are stored in memory, so you don’t have to retype all the bond maturity or cash flow analysis figures.

The average user who wants to calculate a basic loan payment will be more comfortable working in the standard calculator mode. We were using the BA II Plus tools for calculating basic interest and payment periods within minutes. Still, it’s good to know that the more advanced features are available for those who require heavy-duty financial computing.

Finance students and average users alike will find much to like in the Texas Instruments BA II Plus. –John Frederick Moore

Nyrius SW100 Digital Audio Optical Toslink 3 Input Selector Switch Compatible with Fiber Optic Cables, HDTV, Blu-ray DVD player, PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, XBOX360, PS3 Sale-$19.99!

septembre 24th, 2010 by izabella8392819

Nyrius SW100 Digital Audio Optical Toslink 3 Input Selector Switch Compatible with Fiber Optic Cables, HDTV, Blu-ray DVD player, PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, XBOX360, PS3

Nyrius SW100 Digital Audio Optical Toslink 3 Input Selector Switch Compatible with Fiber Optic Cables, HDTV, Blu-ray DVD player, PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, XBOX360, PS3 Sale-$19.99!

Compare & Purchase Nyrius SW100 Digital Audio Optical Toslink 3 Input Selector Switch Compatible with Fiber Optic Cables, HDTV, Blu-ray DVD player, PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, XBOX360, PS3 at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $49.99

Amazon Price: $19.99

Click Here To Purchase At Amazon!

Nyrius SW100 Digital Audio Optical Toslink 3 Input Selector Switch Compatible with Fiber Optic Cables, HDTV, Blu-ray DVD player, PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, XBOX360, PS3 Description:

Get more hookup flexibility for your digital components with this versatile, high quality Digital Optical Selector Switch. This 3-Way Digital Optical Selector Switch lets you connect up to three different optical digital components to a component with only one optical digital input. The selector allows you to switch from one component to another just by turning the selector dial no more disconnecting and connecting cables or moving equipment around. You can play any of the three components you connect and enjoy the output through your home theater system.There are four optical digital jacks. The output jack connects to the main unit to which you would like to expand the number of optical jacks (normally a digital audio/video receiver/amplifier). The three input jacks connect to the source devices and allow you to output digital audio to your main unit. Switch easily between sources instead of disconnecting and reconnecting cables when needing to change inputs. The compact design will fit in tight areas between components.Works with the following digital audio components: home/portable digital audio components with optical connection, MP3/CD/DVD player including Blu-ray/HD DVD, video game consoles (PS3/XBOX360), computer sound card, cable/satellite receiver to your home theater system with a digital optical input.Operation: To hear your connected sources through your home theater system, turn on your home theater system and the audio source you want to hear. Then, press in the lock release button on the selectors dial and rotate the dial to the indicator corresponding with the source you want (1,2, or 3). A green indicator shows which of the three units is selected (only one can be selected at a time). Release the button to lock the selector in place. The sound from the selected source comes through your home entertainment systems speakers.

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #465 in Consumer Electronics
  • Color: Silver and Blue
  • Brand: Nyrius
  • Model: SW100

Features

  • 3 Toslink optical inputs and 1 Toslink output (bi-directional: can go in reverse direction)
  • Allows you to connect up to three audio/video sources to one input
  • Provides interference and distortion free signal transmission (0 db signal loss)
  • PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS signals can be passed through this unit
  • Does not require a power source

Customer Reviews:

Great value and labor saver5
The tuner/amplifier that I use for my surround sound system has only one optical audio input. However, both my dvd player and my satellite receiver each have an optical audio output. Prior to obtaining this device, I had to switch these two cables manually.

This switch works very well. It will switch between three optical inputs. The selector locks into place when proper alignment is reached for the desired input source.

This is a great labor saver, and a cost effective option to choose rather than face the expense of purchasing a new tuner/amplifier.

Great at first3
As with others, I had too many optical sources and not enough inputs. this device worked great at first but after a while, I think it started attenuating the optical signal as my decoder could not detect a signal. I think the rotating switch is to blame…maybe it gets dirty over a few months.

I LOVE IT5
Works great! I can switch between my ps2 and cable box without being have to turn anything off. Very convenient. I think it is worth the money.

Buy Kingston DataTraveler I - 32 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive DTI/32GB At Amazon!

septembre 23rd, 2010 by izabella8392819

Kingston DataTraveler I - 32 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive DTI/32GB

Buy Kingston DataTraveler I - 32 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive DTI/32GB At Amazon!

Compare & Purchase Kingston DataTraveler I - 32 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive DTI/32GB at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $82.99

Amazon Price: $69.99

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Kingston DataTraveler I - 32 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive DTI/32GB Description:

Now you can store, carry and transfer large files in an affordable, convenient device. DataTraveler from Kingston helps budget-conscious users break storage barriers, allowing them to easily store and move large files in a device no bigger than a pocketknife. As easy as click and drag, DataTraveler can hold just about any file you can think of — term papers, theses, digital images, spreadsheets or other important documents. It works with virtually any computer with a USB port. DataTraveler is also a great promotional item for businesses; your company logo can appear on it to increase your brand recognition, and it comes in multiple colors based on capacity. Backed by a five-year warranty and Kingston’s legendary service and support, DataTraveler is a reliable, inexpensive solution for carrying digital files with you wherever you go.

  • Size: 32 GB
  • Color: Orange Trim
  • Brand: Kingston
  • Model: DTI/32GB
  • Format: CD
  • Original language: English
  • Dimensions: 4.00″ h x .5″ w x 4.00″ l, .25 pounds

Features

  • Convenient ¿ pocket-sized for easy transportability
  • Simple ¿ just plug into a USB port
  • Practical ¿ store cap securely on end of device to prevent loss of cap
  • Operating Temperature ¿ 32°F to 140°F (0°C to 60°C)
  • Storage Temperature ¿ -4°F to 185°F (-20°C to 85°C)

Customer Reviews:

Small File Writes are Painfully Slow3
After opening the package, I popped my DTI/4GB into a USB port and copied a number of relatively small files to it (310 files totalling 5.1 mb). It took a full 2 minutes (that’s 44 kBps), which was slow enough to convince me I’d gotten a lemon (I copied the same files to my old Sandisk Cruzer 1 gb in 20 seconds). After a couple emails to tech support, Kingston advised me to return it for a new one.

The new one arrived quickly, but performed identically to the old one. For kicks, I installed Sandra 2008 and benchmarked the device’s performance. I found that, for small files (512 B), the transfer rate was barely 1 kBps. I contacted Kingston support again, this time providing more details about my testing and the benchmark results I’d gotten out of Sandra. The tech confirmed that this is a low-end device, that the slowness I was experiencing was normal, and that I probably should have sprung for something in their DTS line (too rich for my blood).

Now the good news. If you don’t tend to copy a lot of small files, you’ll probably be perfectly happy with this device. Once the file size gets to about 256 kb, writes to this drive speed up nicely. Reads are always fast. And tech support was exemplary. My only other complaint would be that the cheap plastic case does not inspire confidence.

No matter how you look at it, however, this is not a 5-star item by any stretch of the imagination. Not even for the money.

Kingston 8GB Data Traveler - Good USB Drive with Nice Capacity4
Kingston 8GB DataTraveler USB flash drive - High Speed USB

In terms of meeting it’s function, this Kingston Data Traveler seems very good so far, certainly as good as the other smaller capacity ones I own. And the 8 GB capacity on this guy makes it very useful for a lot of large file backups or USB storage and transfer. There are a few things to keep in mind but overall this is a solid product.

Pros:
+ Kingston brand is well deserved
+ Reliable performance
+ Nice capacity of 8 GB has you future proofed as smaller USB drives start to disappear
+ Durable body and NAND memory stands up to a lot of abuse
+ Compatible with old and new Mac and PC Operating Systems (XP, Vista, OS X)
+ Very light
+ Rear bar to connect a lanyard or keychain
+ USB 2.0 connection is backwards compatible for older computers
+ Very quickly mounts and stops
+ Less scum-ware and needless apps than some other drives
+ Easy to format and enable encryption to protect your data

Cons:
- Cap comes off easily and can be lost; inferior to retractable designs
- Lanyard or extender accessories not included
- Doesn’t have the good looks of some drives like the Sandisk Cruzer Micro
- Still somewhat slow speed in copying large files, limited by USB transfer rate
- Same old body is larger than it has to be
- Keychain / lanyard attachment bar is too easily broken
- Pricing here doesn’t change to reflect when this item goes on sale elsewhere

This is the same design that Kingston has used for these Data Traveler USB drives since the 1 GB I got quite a while ago.

Transfer speeds are comparable to other drives, but still slower than one would like. Load ups are fast and stops are only a little slower.

In order to enable encryption, there are a few ways but the best may be to use another tool to encrypt the drive after re-formatting it. This way you can test the drive as well as use the encryption you prefer.

The main real competition is from Sandisk, whose Cruzer Micro has a tab to retract the USB connector SanDisk 8 GB Cruzer Micro USB 2.0 Drive with U3 SDCZ6-8192-A11 (retail packaging). That way there’s no risk of losing the cap, but there is more chance of getting dust in it. It is more expensive though.

Kingston produces some retractable ones as well.
Kingston DataTraveler 100 - USB flash drive - 8 GB - Hi-Speed USB - black
Kingston DT100/8GB Data Traveler 100 8 GB USB 2.0 Drive

Conclusion

This is a nice capacity in a small USB drive. Just watch the price and make sure you’re getting it on par with prevailing prices

Enjoy!

Exactly what I wanted5
This thumb drive is exactly what I wanted. Cheap, reliable, and without some kind of vendor supplied crapware that automatically runs when you insert the drive.

I use truecrypt for creating/using an encrypted partition. Works fine, but one word of warning. Format the encrypted partition as FAT. An NTFS partition running on a thumb drive can have dismount issues. Eventually, those issues will trash the partition.

I’ve run this drive for a month now and it has been fine even though it bangs around in a pocket with phone, knife, change, etc. A corsair drive failed after a few days of this treatment.

Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT 2GBx2-Retail $131.99! Sale Only $110.99!

septembre 22nd, 2010 by izabella8392819

Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT 2GBx2. Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT 2GBx2

Product: Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT 2GBx2-Retail $131.99! Sale Only $110.99!

List Price: $131.99

Amazon Price: $110.99
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Compare Prices on Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT 2GBx2

Go faster and further with a notebook or netbook memory upgrade from Crucial. We’ve got quality SODIMM memory for mobile systems. And because a memory upgrade is one of the easiest, most affordable ways to improve system performance, it’s the ideal solution for on-the-go users. If you count on your netbook or notebook, count on memory from Crucial. Crucial is a key brand in the Lexar Media family of products. So whether you’re focused on your family, friends, work or life outside of work—Crucial DRAM products help make computing more reliable, faster, and more effortless. With upgrades for nearly every PC and Mac system out there, plus flash products and Solid State Drives, you can be sure that if it’s important to you, it’s safe with us.

  • Brand: Crucial
  • Model: CT2KIT25664BC1067
  • Dimensions: .25″ h x 2.25″ w x 4.50″ l, .10 pounds
  • Memory: 4000MB SODIMM

Features

  • Module Size: 4GB kit (2GBx2)
  • Package: 204-pin SODIMM
  • Feature: DDR3 PC3-8500
  • Specs: DDR3 PC3-8500, CL=7, Unbuffered, NON-ECC, DDR3-1066, 1.5V, 256Meg x 64

Works flawlessly with new Macbook Pro5
After doing a bit of research how to upgrade RAM to 4GBs in new Macbook Pro (2009 edition, MB990LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop with 2GBs RAM) and failing to order from Crucial directly I went with this option. The upgrade was painless - with the right screwdriver for those little screws on the back of the laptop it took me 10 minutes to replace the default RAM (and I spent most of that time by looking at the other internal parts to see how the laptop is built). It works flawlessly so far (couple of days). I tested the RAM by loading memory hungry applications to fill the 4 GBs to see both modules work fine.

Great cheap 4GB upgrade for Mac Mini5
I purchased this Crucial kit and used it to upgrade my 2009 Mac Mini. The memory comes packaged very cheaply in plastic, but the install went smoothly and I have had absolutely no issues running this RAM.

Affordable upgrade for MacBook Pro 13-inch5
This product does what it is promises. It was $40 cheaper than having Apple install it. Note that installing RAM yourself DOES NOT invalidate Apple warranty. You should, however, be comfortable with small screws and a fairly delicate inner design of the new unibody Apple laptops.

SKETCHBOOK PRO 2010 SLM DVD Lowest Price!

septembre 18th, 2010 by izabella8392819

SKETCHBOOK PRO 2010 SLM DVD

SKETCHBOOK PRO 2010 SLM DVD Lowest Price!

Compare & Purchase SKETCHBOOK PRO 2010 SLM DVD at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $100.00

Amazon Price: $90.78

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SKETCHBOOK PRO 2010 SLM DVD Description:

Autodesk SketchBook Pro software is your digital sketchpad. Use it in any creative process where pen and paper would traditionally be used. SketchBook Pro features an artist-friendly, gesture-based interface that translates technology and functionality into a natural drawing experience. SketchBook Pro software is easy to use with fast, reactive drawing and productivity-enhancing tools that help you express your ideas freely and boost production. Autodesk SketchBook Pro frees up the sketching process with ultra-responsive digital pencils, pens, markers, and airbrushes that look and feel just like the real thing. It quickly take snapshots of your current application, and load and view images or digital photographs. You can use SketchBook Pro’s brushes to mark up and add comments. You can communicate more efficiently by emailing sketches and annotations instantly to colleagues and clients.

  • Brand: Autodesk
  • Platform: Mac
  • Format: CD
  • Dimensions: .20 pounds

Customer Reviews:

Simple to use but exceptionally powerful5
Drawing and sketching programs seem to fall into two general categories - very powerful but excessively complex, or simple to use but lacking in options and power. SketchBook Pro successfully combines power and simplicity into one package, such that even a weak artist can be productive and successful.

I ran into a problem when installing the application - the installer crashed, giving some odd internal error and number. I tried again immediately and the second try went without a hitch. I assume it is a configuration issue with my system as I have occasional strange issues when installing software.

When first launched, the application asks if you have your serial number and key handy. If you are new to SketchBook Pro, I encourage you NOT to enter them just yet but instead specify that you want a 15-day trial. The reason is that you get presented a quick pictoral tour of the feature set when you run in trial mode (which is really just a time-limited demo mode with everything enabled), which is a nice introduction. Afterward, registration information can be entered through the help menu.

Being new to SketchBook Pro myself, I was startled by the sparse interface when opening a new canvas. There was little on the screen other than the main menu up top and the lagoon in the lower left. Most drawing applications clutter the screen with an assortment of toolbars, palettes, wizards and other things that just get in the way. Autodesk keep their application simple instead, putting the essentials out there and leaving everything else off the screen until it’s really needed.

Most elements of the application are available in radial menus, accessible either through clicking on icons on the lagoon or right-clicking on the canvas. All menu items have help tips to guide along the way so you know what option you’re choosing. Radial menus can be a surprise to those who have never been exposed to them, but once used to them they are very powerful and easy to use.

Plunging into the various options available, I immediately discovered a couple of things I have never before used in drawing applications. First, I discovered the symmetry options, which makes creating mirror images easy. Using the axis, I was able to draw a crude figure of a person in about 10 seconds without even expending any real thought. Even more productive for me, though, was the ruler, especially in combination with the layering tool. The ruler is a slight misnomer, as it is actually more of a straight-edge against which to draw straight lines.

Another interesting surprise was the help system. When I launched the help system, rather than bring up a compiled help file, my default web browser launched and I was presented with one of the best help systems I have seen. The help is easy on the eyes and very straightforward to use. There is sufficient detail with pictures to address almost any conceivable question that might arise.

SketchBook Pro is very fast and very responsive on my system. I am running Vista with 3GB of ram and a dual-core 2.1G Intel processor, and there is only the slightest hint of hesitation on rare occasion.

Having never played with SketchBook Pro before and being a poor artist, I was shocked that I could create viable results in minutes. In the hands of a professional artist, this is a powerful and easy-to-use package. Emphasis was placed on productivity, but power was not taken away.

The Ultimate Foundation5
About five years ago I had a tough decision to make–keep working traditionally with the occasional digital painting or make the jump to a fully digital workflow. Wacom’s Cintiq line of tablets took care of the hardware but on the software side I had never been happy with Photoshop or Painter. Both programs, while sporting a broad range of tools for painting, lacked the fluidity and finesse for clean natural drawing.

Enter Sketchbook Pro.

From the first stroke within the program I knew an all digital workflow was possible in every way. Gone were the chunky stepping and unresponsive mark making of the other apps in the market. Sketchbook was silky smooth with every mark, every time. Years later, Sketchbook continues to serve as the rock solid foundation to my all digital workflow. Roughs, pencils, and inks are a joy to put together with the software. Coupled with the fantastic brush engine, 2010 incorporates some amazing new features including ruler and ellipse guides, symmetry tools, texture brushes, and fully customizable marking menus for seamless workflows.

So if you’re looking to spend more time drawing rather than fighting with sluggish software, give Sketchbook a look. For responsive clean strokes and clutter free workflow, nothing can touch it.

Happy drawing,
Dave Guertin
[…]

Worthy Award Winner5
Autodesk SketchBook Pro 2010 is quality paint/drawing software designed for use with a graphic tablet and pen. However it will also work with a conventional mouse but getting quality results is more difficult that way.

I installed in on a Windows XP SP3 computer along with a Bamboo Tablet/Pen and it works smoothly and with no problems. I also tried it on a Vista Laptop but unfortunately Vista 64 bit is not supported yet so please take note.

The program is excellent, the interface is easy to use and with a flick of your pen you can access the many features including pencils, brushes, markers, layers and pan/zoom tools.

This software is so good that even people who have little drawing ability can soon get great results. I would claim to be average at drawing but this program is so versatile and intuitive that I can get excellent results at times. It also increases my workflow because of the processing speed and easy accessibility of all the features.

It is difficult to compare it to other programs. Sure there are other paint programs like Photoshop or Painter but nothing compares to the ease and flexibility of using this program and at $100 it is a fraction of the price of other drawing programs.

If you still want to use Photoshop, then draw with this one and enhance your picture with Photoshop. This will save in most formats; it uses layered TIF images but it will also open/save BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG files and PSD files for use in Adobe Photoshop.

I highly recommend this software, it doesn’t need much selling because it is already award winning and used by a stream of respectable computer artists and designers. All I can say is that if you have artistic ambitions and want a good program to enhance them then it is well worth a look at.

Amazon.com Product Description
Autodesk SketchBook Pro software offers best-in-class sketching capabilities for professional designers and artists from all industries. A paint and drawing application designed specifically for use with digitized pen tablets and Tablet PCs, it can be used in any creative process where pen and paper would traditionally be used. With a patented user interface that is fast and intuitive, even new users can be productive within minutes. Autodesk SketchBook Pro represents the next generation of digital design products that focuses on the user, translating technology and functionality into a natural drawing experience.

Best-in-class sketching capabilities for professional designers and artists from all industries. Click to enlarge.

So versatile and easy-to-use, it can be used in any creative process where pen and paper would traditionally be used. Click to enlarge.

The look and feel of traditional tools that experts demand. Click to enlarge.

With 2010’s new features, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro continues its tradition of delivering an affordable, easy-to-use, natural drawing experience with the quality expected by professionals.

Your Digital Sketchpad
So versatile and easy-to-use, it can be used in any creative process where pen and paper would traditionally be used:

  • Concept sketching and ideation
  • Illustration
  • Character studies
  • Set and level designs
  • Story boarding
  • Annotation and review

High Quality Results

  • The look and feel of traditional tools that experts demand
  • Custom texture brushes
  • Interactive brush symmetry
  • Interactive rulers and ellipses

Fits into all Digital Workflows

  • Reduce time scanning and touching up paper sketches
  • Reduce the use of paper
  • Open and save common file formats, including Adobe Photoshop: TIF, BMP, JPG, PNG, PSD

Streamlined User Interface

  • SketchBook Pro is designed to maximize flow, offering a natural drawing experience
  • Highly discoverable UI

    • So easy-to-use, any user can be productive within minutes.
    • Patented Marking menus provide access to major tools with just one-flick
    • Do-it-yourself custom brush creation

Communicate More Effectively
Share visual ideas quickly with integrated e-mail feature Instantly email sketches and annotations

What’s New

With 2010, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro continues its tradition of delivering an affordable, easy-to-use, natural drawing experience with the quality expected by professionals.

New: Rotate Canvas

  • The navigation puck now has a rotate ring for smooth rotation of the canvas view.
  • Automatically snap to 90 degree increments

New: Blur & Sharpen Brush

  • Two new brush types in the brush palette.
  • Paint blur effects directly in SketchBook Pro
  • Use the sharpen brush to tighten imported photos or images.

New: Symmetric Brushing

  • Easily draw anything symmetric.
  • Horizontal & Vertical interactive mirroring brings drawings to life instantly… and fun too.
  • Great for character design, product concepts, graphic design, automotive sketches, and vehicles of all kinds.

New: Custom brush features

  • Create your own Custom Textures
  • Capture and reuse graphics
  • Make specialized brushes
  • Export/Import custom brushes
  • Save out XML with a TIFF map that you can share with other SBP users.

Customizability

  • Set up your preferred tools in the Lagoon, including your custom DIY brushes
  • Access marking menus right at the cursor

    • Hotkeys for each lagoon item
    • Assign these to a pen-button or tablet keys
    • Now you can work completely in full screen mode, calling up tools as you need them.

  • DIY Palette items can be reordered

New: Numeric color input

  • Direct RGB input fields in the Color Editor.
  • To support the custom color palette on Windows, you can now accurately define RBG values before saving them.
  • The Mac version continues to use the Apple Color editor.
  • Preset primary colors & gray scales now available for customizing in the lagoon.

New: Guides

  • Create perfect straight lines, circles and ellipses.
  • The Ruler and Ellipse guide bring a new level of precision to refine your sketches.

New: Scale enhancement

  • The transform puck now allows non-proportional scaling
  • Tweak the horizontal or vertical proportions of a selection or entire image directly in SketchBook Pro

Panasonic DMP-BD65 Blu-Ray Disc Player Black-Retail $179.95! Sale Only $150.10!

septembre 18th, 2010 by izabella8392819

Panasonic DMP-BD65 Blu-Ray Disc Player Black. Panasonic DMP-BD65 Blu-Ray Disc Player Black

Product: Panasonic DMP-BD65 Blu-Ray Disc Player Black-Retail $179.95! Sale Only $150.10!

List Price: $179.95

Amazon Price: $150.10
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Compare Prices on Panasonic DMP-BD65 Blu-Ray Disc Player Black

With the DMP-BD65 from Panasonic, the Full HD video and 7.1-channel studio-quality audio for which Blu-ray Disc is know is only the beginning. Use the ethernet port in conjunction with VIERA Cast and BD-Live and dive into online audio and video: stream Pandora radio or Netflix movies, tweet on Twitter, explore online bonus features or participate in online gaming, and more. On the audio side of things, Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD Master Audio, and advanced Panasonic technologies serve up an extraordinary 7.1-channel surround sound experience. Further, support for formats ranging from AVCHD to MP3 to JPEG allows for optimal versatility.

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #49 in Consumer Electronics
  • Color: Black
  • Brand: Panasonic
  • Model: DMP-BD65P-K
  • Released on: 2010-02-20
  • Dimensions: 1.90″ h x 16.90″ w x 8.15″ l, 4.20 pounds

Features

  • Ultra-fast 0.5 second startup
  • VieraCast enabled including Amazon Video on Demand and Netflix streaming movies
  • Wireless ready
  • More compact Design
  • More efficient energy consumption

Great Bang for your buck5
5 Stars sounds really generous, but for the money this is a GREAT Network ready BDP.
This is the third network BDP I have set up and used, I recently reviewed the Samsung BD-P1590 - Blu-Ray disc player - upscaling - Netflix, Pandora against which (for similar money) this is a far superior machine. I also think the picture quality and upscaling for SD DVD’s in much better than the similar priced LG BD 370 Network Blu-ray Disc Player

Running several Blu-Ray movies for testing, including BD live enabled content, boot times were very fast. The quick set up guide asks you about this and explains that it uses more power in standby mode, but it’s worth it for very quick loading.
Blu Ray looks SUPERB - Panasonic web site says (PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus is a high quality image-processing technology developed to precisely process each pixel of the Blu-ray Disc video signal in the vertical direction) Sounds geeky, but the picture is great at both 1080i and 1080p. By default the 24fps is set to off, but if you have a home set up that supports it, it’s easy to switch back.
SD Card slot, and USB interface great for home pictures, movies and photo’s, very easy to use. Nicely tucked away under a discreet panel in the front so no fiddling among the back wires.

Out of the box set up for networking took me about 15 minutes.
Very easy on screen instruction, easy to use remote, and set up can be either set to easy mode, or you can revisit the main menu at any time for finer adjustments on audio, video output, resolution and aspect ratio etc.
The more involved set up options are however a little limited if you are used to close to pro tweaking on high end visual and audio equipment. But then again, this is an entry level kind of priced machine.

What do you get for network? The VIERA system is a breeze, nice graphics, menu screen and options.
I hard wired mine to the back Ethernet port with a Cat6 cable - Cat5 works without a problem, but for streaming (especially HD content) the Cat6 made the Netflix signal bar light up to HD most of the time.
It is wireless ready. You can use a USB dongle (takes some tweaking) or better still a Linksys by Cisco Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming and Video Adapter. What’s nice is that(unlike Samsung) you don’t have to buy a special adapter.
My preference would always be to hard line, but if that’s not an option, and you must have wireless (assuming you have boat loads of bandwidth) you can buy an adapter, or pay $80 more and buy it’s big brother the Panasonic DMP-BD85 WiFi Enabled Blu-Ray Disc Player (Black)

Whats on the Network?

1)Netflix - unlimited free streaming movies (a lot in HD if your connection is good enough) documentaries, and TV shows from their “Watch Instantly” library, if you are a current subscriber of at least their $8.99 plan - free trial available.
2)Amazon on Demand - Bags of movies and content to rent, buy, or even view free webisodes, trailers, documentaries and so on. Not a huge thing for me personally as I like Netflix, but very nice to have. Simply activate online at Amazon and you’re there - very easy on screen user friendly menus.
3)Blomberg - Sort of on screen RSS feed with stocks, bonds and news headlines. Nice to have but not essential.
4) Weather forecast, enter your zip code and set to default, or store multiple sites across the US for up to date weather news and information. Again, not something I need but nice to have.
5)Picasa Web albums - share pictures with friends and family, look at your own, and other albums on your TV. Nice feature.
6)You Tube - browse, or log into your account online
7)Coming Soon?? - Your guess is as good as mine, could be for VUDU or something else, at least they are thinking ahead, and have the settings already started.

What you don’t get…..

1)Pandora - a quirky to use online streaming internet radio site that’s free with a lot of music. Doesn’t float my boat either, I don’t like radio sites that choose my music based on a song, or an artist - there are over 30,000 online internet radio stations that are free, Pandora doesn’t let you search any particular station in any part of the World, just their selections on what they think you like.
2) Blockbuster Online - unless you have an account and use the in store returns on DVD and Blu stick with Netflix, their watch instantly movies are free with membership.
3)VUDU - next generation 1080p streaming to rent and buy, this would have been nice to have, but I can live without it for now. Amazon more than makes up for it as far as I’m concerned.
4) Any others I may have forgotten about (I’m sure there are more out there)

Sum up

PROS

Excellent value for money
Looks sleek, discreet and runs quickly AND quietly (unlike some BDP’s)
Very easy to Set Up - VIERA interface for online content is great.
Superior BD playback picture and sound quality - just when you thought it couldn’t get better
Great upscaling, best I’ve seen on a machine of this price or on any machine without a REON chipset.
USB, SD slots on front convenient and discreet
Optional “wireless ready”
Nice Remote

CONS

No 3D - even if the content isn’t there yet on BD live, you know it’s coming. Only the Sony BDP-S470 Blu-ray Disc Player in this price range is equipped. This would have been nice
No onboard memory - BD live requires a USB or SD, but that’s the same for most machines
No VUDU on networking - not a deal breaker, but may be for some.

Bottom line……………..Great machine if you want to get into network and streaming movies. Quality and everything else for the price is unbeatable.

Outstanding Player in all Respects5
I purchased this player primarily to have access to Netflix streaming video. The Netflix playback quality is outstanding, surpassing that of standard DVD. I must note, however, that I have a 12000 baud Internet connection from AT&T U-Verse. Lesser connection speeds will naturally mean a lesser quality picture.
Setup was very easy and the remote is simple to navigate.
Contrary to another reviewer who gave the unit only one star because of an alleged failure to remember playback position when the STOP button is depressed, pressing the stop button does memorize the stopped position allowing resumption of playback at the point where the disc was stopped (see user manual page 16), except for BD-J discs. The reviewer may have pressed the STOP button more than once which clears the memory.
With the addition of Netflix streaming, Panasonic is the clear leader in Blu-ray players, dollar for dollar.

Netflix Streaming4
My sole purpose for investigating Blu-Ray devices was to determine of they were better than the single function Roku media player for accessing Netflix streaming video content. I started fooling around with Netflix streaming video on my PC over a fairly fast DSL connection several months ago. Over that period the quality of the Netflix streaming product has improved considerably. It reached the point where I was watching enough content on my PC that I felt justified in moving it to my entertainment center.

I first checked out the various Roku products and decided that their top of the line HD player was what I wanted (the price differential between their top and bottom models was only $50). I then took a look at the other devices that supported streaming content to TV on the Netflix site. Since I was not interested in gaming systems the Blu-Ray players seemed like a reasonable alternative because the newest models were only a few dollars more than the Roku player I was considering. I’ve have had several good experiences with Panasonic electronics, so I took a look at their Blu-Ray product line. The DMP-BD65 was one of several new Blu-Ray products they have introduced. I wanted to have the option of hard wire or wireless connectivity, but also keep the price close to what the Roku player.

Based upon several of the earlier reviews at Amazon and other reviews on the web, I decided that the DMP-BD65 met all my requirements. I purchased the product for about $30 more than the Roku player.

Since receiving the DMP-BD65 I have been very satisfied with my choice of product. I ended up running Cat 5 cable from my wireless router to the Blu-Ray player. The quality of Netflix streaming video varies to some degree depending on internet traffic conditions, but it is usually extremely good. I was surprised to find that it far surpassed the quality I got on my PC. It has enhanced significantly the utility of the streaming content included in my Netflix membership.

In addition to the access to streaming video, I have found that the Up-conversion feature improves the quality of my DVD images. Based upon an earlier comment to the contrary in an Amazon review of this product, your experience will probably depend on the quality of your DVD player.

In addition to supporting Netflix, the DMP-BD65 also provides access to Amazon Streaming rentals, YouTube content, weather information, and Picasa web photo albums. I plan to begin creating albums on Picasa in order to take advantage of that feature. The net based content menu also contains a prominent reference to future content, unfortunately nothing specific is listed at this time. While I hope that Panasonic offers more web resources in the future, anything beyond Netflix content is icing on the cake for me.

I would strongly recommend the DMP-BD65 to anyone who wants to get more out of their Netflix Unlimited rental plan.

Cables Unlimited Audio Unlimited SPK-VELO-W Premium 900Mhz Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Speakers with Remote White Review.

septembre 17th, 2010 by izabella8392819

Cables Unlimited Audio Unlimited SPK-VELO-W Premium 900Mhz Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Speakers with Remote White

Cables Unlimited Audio Unlimited SPK-VELO-W Premium 900Mhz Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Speakers with Remote White Review.

Compare & Purchase Cables Unlimited Audio Unlimited SPK-VELO-W Premium 900Mhz Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Speakers with Remote White at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $129.99

Amazon Price: $83.99

Click Here To Purchase At Amazon!

Cables Unlimited Audio Unlimited SPK-VELO-W Premium 900Mhz Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Speakers with Remote White Description:

Listen to music just about anywhere without the hassle of running unsightly speaker wire! The powerful transmitter uses 900 MHz technology to send music through walls and floors to the dual wireless speakers up to 150 feet away. These high-quality, weather-resistant speaker can even be used in wet areas. Enjoy the complete freedom of taking your music or other audio almost anywhere.

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #782 in Consumer Electronics
  • Color: White
  • Brand: Cables Unlimited
  • Model: SPK-VELO-W
  • Format: CD
  • Number of items: 22
  • Dimensions: 10.00″ h x 13.00″ w x 8.00″ l, 8.10 pounds

Features

  • Add additional Audio Unlimited speaker to enhance your listening experience, cover large areas or create a multi-room sound system
  • Fully compatible with all Audio Unlimited products
  • 900 MHz transmitter sends audio signals without speaker wire. The speakers can either be battery powered, using 6 C cell batteries per speaker (not included) or with the included AC adapter
  • Compact & portable with a stylized design (10H x 5W) - 3 Rubber edge Woofer 2 Mylar
  • Connect to your computer for remote listening

Customer Reviews:

Very Good or Very Bad Depending…2
I bought these wireless outdoor speakers for a Mothers Day gift for my wife and I have found them to be either very good or very bad, depending on a few critical factors. Of the 150+ reviews I wish someone had taken the time to figure out the “bad” factors - it would have saved my Mothers Day. Here it is for your information - you decide.

The Good:

For the price (under $100) the reproduced sound quality of the speakers is very good. The technical details from Amazon are a bit misleading, though. The speaker has a SINGLE, 3 inch rubberized element housed inside the weatherproof enclosure, projecting the sound upward. There is a venturi sound dispersal structure which sends the sound out the sides and top. There is also a low frequency sound tunnel similar to those used in some high end sound systems (you know the ones, very expensive, four letter name beginning with B and rhyming with “nose.”) At 900mhz, the distance is limited. In my ordinary stucco-and-wood two story house, it is about 25-30 feet. By taking the transmitter outside the house the range increased by 3x to 60-75 feet. While the speakers are not truly stereo (they blend the right and left channels into a single mono channel) the sound effect when you’re within earshot of both speakers is quite good. With a high quality sound source like an Ipod, the full range of sound can be heard. When I thought some music sounded “tinny” I ultimately traced it back to source; the source music was the cause. The transmitter is quite forgiving about the input sound level. The printed instruction booklet that comes with the speakers gives good advice (set earpiece volume on source device at two thirds full). The speaker enclosure is well thought out, has two simple mounting eyelets on the back where the surface is flat. No mounting screws are included; you’ll need to provide those yourself if you want to mount on a wall. There are low-profile four rubberized feet on the bottom in case you want to set it on a delicate surface. The brand name (Audio Unlimited) appears as a small discreet logo on the front of the speaker. The transmitter has two transmission channels selected by a switch on the transmitter itself. Tuning between the two offered channels is a snap, just press the button on each speaker and it automatically finds the signal. There is a reassuring blue LED on the front of the speaker to let you know it is active at full power. Using the remote’s Power button puts the speaker in Standby and the LED turns to yellow. To fully power off the speaker you must press the power button on each speaker. The Infrared remote emits a strong enough signal to work in direct sunlight and the infrared sensor on each speaker is a 2 inch oval vrtical window on the front. It works well from just about any angle. Each speaker comes with its own AC power adapter capable of 110-240v input. when loaded with its six C-cell batteries the weight of each speaker is hefty enough to withstand wind gusts or the occasional bump, when not fix-mounted, without toppling over.

The Bad

Each speaker requires 6 (six) C-size 1.5v batteries, not included. The remote needs two AAA batteries (again, NOT included.) If you haven’t bought the C-size battery lately and you’re accustomed to AA and AAA prices, get ready for a shock. The price for twelve good quality alkaline batteries is between 12 and 26 dollars, depending on brand. I bought Ray-O-Vac at $12. Duracell copper top were $26. I had planned to use rechargeable niMh, but at $14 for TWO batteries (you can find twelve on the internet for about $60), I decided to wait to see if I liked the speakers. I do not know if the speakers will actually work on rechargeable - something to check out before you buy those expensive batteries. Rechargeables are only 1.2volt (versus the 1.5v of regular batteries). Batteries last for approximately 16 hours of continuous use.

NOW HERE IS THE REALLY IMPORTANT PART:

If you are surrounded by lots of wireless technology already - wireless telephones, wireless internet, wireless security, wireless garage door openers, wireless mailbox sensors, wireless garage door sensors, wireless iPod headphones, bluetooth headsets, bluetooth printers, keyboards, mouse… THESE SPEAKERS ARE NOT FOR YOU.

I’m a fairly geeky guy who loves his gadgets, and I reasoned that most of my devices operate at or above 2.5ghz and wouldn’t interfere. I was WRONG! by process of elimination I figured out that you need to get up abouve 5ghz to be safe from interference with this device. Remember this is an analog device that translates signals into sounds. Our ears are remarkably sensitive to any interference. And the digital kind of interference doesn’t come across the speakers the gentle hiss of background static; it comes across as sharply (loud) punctuated squeals, cracks and pops. I live on a golf course, and by taking the transmitter and speaker out onto the middle of the fairway behind my house (with a long extension cord for the transmitter) I was able to eliminate all interference. But as soon as I went back near the house, the transmitter needed to be 4-5 feet away from the speakers to eliminate most of the digital wireless interference (it never truly went away unless I was on the fairway, well removed from any human digital wireless technology).

Summary

If you live in a relatively wireless-free world, or all your other wireless devices operate above 5ghz, these are great value for the money - watch the batteries, the cost can quickly overrun what you paid for the speakers.

Finally, wireless speakers that work!4
I bought these wireless speakers with some trepidation, and I love them! The sound is good, they work at the advertised distance, and they look cool! I’ve tried many other wireless speakers, and all the annoying hisses and drops got to me and I returned every one.

This one’s a keeper - even at 900MHz frequency, there’s no perceptible interference from other devices, and the sound remained remarkably steady as I moved the speakers from room to room.

On the flip side, a few pet peeves:
- With individual volume controls on each speaker, it’s hard to tell if you’ve got the balance right (this may be moot - see below)
- The transmitter needs plug-in power, not batteries, thus making it less than portable
- The Saitek speakers had one neat feature - the ability to control Windows Media Player functions (pause, skip, etc.) from the speakers and the remote. This is more useful than you can imagine!

Also, I discovered one dirty little secret - that there’s no Left and Right channel with these speakers. In other works, sound is not in stereo! This is a bummer (-1 star).

Other than these issues, I think this one’s a winner.

Not bad, but disappointed3
I purchased these speakers for my screened-in porch, and planned to mount them high on the wall. My thinking was that I could use the remote to turn them on/off. But when you turn them off (on battery power), they stay on standby for about 10 minutes, and then shut off completely - meaning that they don’t respond to the remote. This means that I then have to get up on a stool and press the power button manually for each spearker… which isn’t a very good system.

Sound quality is good though - just disappointed about the remote functionality.

If you don’t need to be able to turn them on/off remotely, these are good speakers.

From the Manufacturer
From the Manufacturer

Great Sound, Inside or Outside the Home

Audio Unlimited 900MHz Wireless Speaker solutions offer unlimited installation options for today’s consumer seeking high quality sound virtually anywhere. The beauty of this amazing technology is all of the 900MHZ wireless speaker options/products run on the same transmitter and frequency allowing you to add as many speakers as required for you unique installation. The signal works just like high powered wireless 900MHz phones delivering a crystal clear signal through walls or any other obstacles in your yard offering endless installation options.




Weather-Resistant, Wireless Sound for Listening to Music Indoors and Out


Integrated brackets allow for mounting on vertical surfaces

D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch Sale-$45.99!

septembre 17th, 2010 by izabella8392819

D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch

D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch Sale-$45.99!

Compare & Purchase D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch at Amazon by clicking here!

List Price: $71.99

Amazon Price: $45.99

Click Here To Purchase At Amazon!

D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch Description:

Unmanaged Gigabit Switch, 8-Port 10/100/1000Mbps

  • Brand: D-Link
  • Model: DGS-2208
  • Format: CD
  • Number of items: 8
  • Dimensions: 2.80″ h x 8.30″ w x 10.80″ l, 2.10 pounds

Features

  • Add More Devices and Computers to the Network
  • No Software or Configuration Required
  • QoS Feature Helps Reduce Jitter and Lag
  • Non-blocking architecture with 16 Gbps total switching capacity moves data at full wire-speed for maximum throughput
  • Compact size makes it ideal for desktops with limited space

Customer Reviews:

Great for its intended use5
This is an unmanaged switch, which means that you can not configure Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANS) or Quality of Service (QoS) - though QoS is supported through the implementation of 802.1p, but all the attached devices must support 802.1p in order to use it. Since there is no configuration, all you have to do is plug it into power and plug your devices into it. It really is that simple for any unmanaged switch. It will automatically allow all your devices to talk to each other at the physical layer. Of course, your applications must be configured right to talk to each other, but these unmanaged devices make building the infrastructure a snap.

In answer to a previously posted review, I tested this device in the following way:

-Port 1 connected to my desktop computer with a Gigabit network interface card (NIC)
-Port 2 connected to a 10/100 switch which was connected to a gigabit ethernet storage device
-Port 3 connected to a second DGS-2208 switch which was connectedto the exact same model gigabit ethernet storage device
-Port 4 connected to a laptop with a 10/100 NIC

The point of this setup was to use the identical computer communicating with identical devices through a 10/100 connection and through a gigabit (1000) connection. I transferred a 10 GB file to the ethernet storage device through the gigabit connection first and then I transferred the exact same file through the 10/100 connection. The GB connection was about five times faster.

Now, this proves that the switch does not automatically throttle back to the slowest “connected” device. However, it does not indicate whether the gigabit connections will slow to the speed of 10/100 connections if those slower connections are actually active.

To test this, I transferred the same file from the laptop to the slower connected ethernet storage device while also transferring the file from the desktop to the faster connected ethernet stoarage device. The results? The gigabit connected devices still transferred the data at rates faster than possible on a 10/100 connection. This proves that the gigabit speeds are still achieved even when a 10/100 connection is active.

In the end, due to memory and processor limitations, this device cannot even compare to enterprise-class gigabit switches from Cisco and other providers; however, it is the best performing gigabit switch I’ve ever seen for under $75.

[…]

————————————

Switch me like you mean it!4
This is the best unmanaged switch I’ve been able to find. Unmanaged means that the unit does not have an ethernet interface that can be used to prioritize traffic flow. Unmanaged switches are by far the most common type, and for most residential applications will do the job for significantly less money.

The switch operates at full speed, and I haven’t had any signs of 100 Mbp/s devices causing it to slow down other devices. I checked this, and it operates each device plugged into it at full speed regardless of the speed of the other devices. Some people say it does slow down, so perhaps there are multiple revisions out there. The two that I have were purchased in August 2007 and do not have a problem with this.

The ports are well spaced, and it is easy to plug in and remove cables, even ones with plastic overmolded snagless heads. I’ve had other switches in the past that had the ports so close together that I started leaving every other port open just to get some space. That is not the case with this one.

I have two of them, with one up in my office and the other in the basement wall-mounted beside the wiring closet. The basement unit is the primary backbone for my home network, so it gets a heavy workout. The ability to wall mount them is a nice option.

One thing about these switches is that the primary processor in the unit does not have a heat sink on it. I opened both of mine and put a heat sink on them that I had lying around. They don’t need a big one, as the heat generated isn’t extreme, but you can easily add one as a bit of insurance.

I put two of these in full service in my home and have used them continuously now for over a year, and they are still going strong. When I need another one, this is the one I’ll get.

Fast, fairly inexpensive, and well made. Recommended.

To help clear things up…3
Hi guys/girls,

I noticed that the first review for this item quoted what I had written in a review on Newegg so I thought I’d clear up some discrepancies between what users have been writing in recent reviews compared to earlier ones.

From what I understand of this product, hardware version 2 has no problems in a mixed network. However, from my testing when I bought the DGS-2208 and from D-Link’s E-mail support, hardware version 1 shunts all ports to the lowest active connection.

My initial testing had been done between two computers, one with a raid0 array on a gaming machine and the other a file server with raid1. Both machines had their software firewalls removed and the connections between the two computers and the DGS-2208 used Category 6 cables. Both machines have EXPI9300PT Intel Nics. Transfer speeds were between 600Mbit/s - 700Mbit/s, per iperf.

Adding a connection to a dns caching machine that had a rl8139 chipset nic or to a motorola router, (both 100Mbit connections) the same test before mentioned was ran again , except that the speeds never went above 100Mbit/s. This was not between the gigabit connections and the 100Mbit connections, it was still between the two computers with Intel Gbit nics. After additional tests were ran with the same results I contacted D-Link’s E-mail support.

At the time, there was not a listing on D-Link’s website for this product and it did not have the product manual available like they do now. I emailed D-Link with my iperf results and observations, asking this question:

“My question is, Is this switch able to operate at 100mbit and 1000mbit at the same time, or is it limited to the slowest connection present?”

A representative responded with:

Your Case ID is DLK397875395.
Date of Reply: 8/24/2006
Products: DGS-2208

It is limited to the slowest connection.

Sincerely,
Jerry Hernandez
D-Link Technical Support

I ended up replacing all 100Mbit Nics in the remaining computers with rl8169 chipset Nics (Gbit) and replacing the previously used router with one that had a Gbit switch built in (RVS4000). This fixed my issues I was having with the DGS-2208 because there was no longer any connections to it that ran at 100Mbit.

All that being said, if yours works fine in a mixed environment, then I’m happy you didn’t have the troubles I did. For the person that condescended the first reviewer stating that he doesnt understand how a switch works, the guy was just trying to inform other users so that they could avoid similar problems.

From the Manufacturer
From the Manufacturer

The first of the Green Ethernet products the DGS-2208 provides 3 key benefits to end users through its cutting edge innovative eco-friendly technology

  • Reduces power consumption & creates less heat
  • Extended product life
  • Reduces Operating Costs

Power Savings by Number of Connected Ports and Link Status
Computers do not require Internet access all the time; neither do switches utilize all ports at all times. When a computer or network equipment is shutdown, switches often remain on and continue to consume considerable amount of power. With Green Ethernet technology, D-Link switches can automatically detect link status and reduce power usage of ports that are idle. Computers or any connecting parties set to standby mode (not power off), however, will not provide significant power savings.

Power Savings by Cable Length
The Green Ethernet switches have the ability to analyze the length of any Ethernet cable connected to them for adjustment of power usage accordingly. Shorter lengths require less power.

Overall Power Savings Per Day
For a traditional switch, power consumption remains constant even when the ports are not in use. In a standard workday scenario where PCs are used for 10 hours a day and powered off 14 hours a day, and connected to the switch using 20 meter cables, D-Link’s Green Ethernet can save up to 40%* power used for each system.

Note: Switch uses switching power adapter. The cable length which PCs are connected to switch is 20m cables.

Get the blazing speed of Gigabit Ethernet with the D-Link DGS-2208, an 8-port 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Switch that delivers power, performance, and reliability in one cost-effective, space-saving design. Increase the speed of your network server and backbone connections, or make Gigabit to the desktop a reality.

Power users in the home, office, workgroup, or creative production environment can now move large, bandwidth-intensive files faster. Transfer graphics, CGI, CAD, or multimedia files across the network instantly.

Power-Packed
The D-Link DGS-2208 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Switch features a non-blocking switching architecture that filters and forwards packets at full wire-speed for maximum throughput. An 8,000 MAC address table provides scalability for even the largest networks. Address learning and aging, 802.3x Flow Control for full duplex mode, and back pressure flow control for half-duplex mode alleviates traffic congestion and ensures reliable data transmission.

Designed using industry standards, it is compatible with virtually all 10, 100, and 1000Mbps Ethernet devices and other vendor equipment. The D-Link DGS-2208 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Switch protects your existing network investments while providing you with a straightforward migration path to faster Gigabit speeds.

Easy to use
The auto features of this gigabit switch make installation plug and play and hassle-free. No configuring is required. Auto MDI/MDI-X crossover on all ports eliminate the need for crossover cables or uplink ports. Auto-negotiation on each port senses the link speed of a network device (either 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps) and intelligently adjusts for compatibility and optimal performance.

It also features diagnostic LEDs which display status and activity, allowing you to quickly detect and correct problems on the network.

* Power savings may vary depending on products used. Maximum power savings when compared to a D-Link conventional switch. Uses up to 80% less energy when connected devices are powered down and up to 40% less energy when connected devices are used 10 hours and powered down 14 hours over a 24-hour period, when connected via 20 meter Ethernet cables.

Green Ethernet features available on hardware version C1 or later.