Digital-Audio Reviews

This player performed very well for the first 100 days. We were very pleased with the picture and digital sound. Without the failure I would have rated it 4-stars.

However, after 3-months of operation playing about four DVD/week the unit started stalling on scenes. Shortly thereafter, it would load a dvd or CD (even new ones) then give the message "insert disk".

Apparently the player is unable to detect that the disk is already loaded. The unit appears to be fully operational except that it will not recgonize the disk just loaded.

Initially, we managed to get the disk playing after opening and closing the tray repeatly four or five times. About 5-days later it refused to recgonize any DVD or CD that had been loaded into the tray and no amount of cycling the tray door helped. The message "insert disk" was all we could get out of the unit.

At this time, I haven't seen anyone else who has encountered this problem. (Perhaps this is a case where the extended warrany might be justified?)

I purchased the SD-4700 mainly for its progressive scan feature and I must say that it does make a big difference. I'm using this player with a Philips digital widescreen HDTV (32" tube) and, finally, I'm starting to see the full potential of the DVD format. Some people may argue that since a lot of new TVs (especially HDTVs) are equipped with high quality line doublers, you get all the benefits of progressive scanning directly from your TV, but at least in my case, the SD-4700 does a much better job than Philips' own "Natural Motion" technology in presenting progressive output while still maintaining that "film quality" of the... err... film :)

The remote control is a lot easier to use than previous Toshiba models and provides very easy access to all the features you may need during playback (e.g. subtitles, audio and angle selection). It also contains a rather large joystick that makes it very easy to navigate menus. Also worth mentioning is the fact that all the controls are also available on the player itself. Very useful for these times when you accidentally "misplace" the remote.

As for the supported formats, I had no problems playing DVDs, VCDs, music CDs & CDRs and MP3 CDRs. The MP3 support is very basic and has some quirks. For example, I still can't really understand how the player determines the order of tracks. Seems a bit random to me but there must be a logical explanation here :). Anyway, the feature actually does work, the overall sound quality is good and that's what counts. I haven't tested the player with DVD Audio discs yet so I can neither confirm nor deny the problems reported in other reviews.

Now for the kinks, which are minor but still prevent this player from getting 5 stars:

1. Some widescreen HDTVs (my Philips among them) do not allow the user to manually set the aspect ratio for progressive signals. This means that you may get just a little bit frustrated when you play widescreen, NON-anamorphic DVDs ("letterboxed" -- where the "black bars" are coded into the frame to make it display correctly on 4:3 TVs). Your options with these DVDs are to either watch them letterboxed in a rather small 4:3 viewing area (annoying!), have the SD-4700 stretch them to 16:9 (annoying because it will mess up the aspect ratio) or use the zoom feature of the player to try and get the optimal picture (frustrating but doable). What this player really needs is a smart zoom feature that removes the black bars and scales the picture to fit the screen (like most widescreen TVs have) but I guess you just can't get it all. That said, since most new DVDs are anamorphic (contain no black bars and therefore always displayed in the correct aspect ratio), this can be considered a minor inconvenience.

2. The player has some problems displaying menu items in 4:3 progressive mode: highlighted menu items sometimes get totally messed up. This doesn't happen with native 16:9 DVDs or when you set the player to stretch everything to 16:9, so it's not really that big of a deal.

3. Pixel cropping - I think this player crops almost half an inch off the bottom of your picture (I made sure this was not a problem with my TV not being properly aligned). According to the AVIA test signals I used, over 25 pixels were cropped out and that's considered a little too much. Still, I guess many people wouldn't notice this glitch because their TVs are probably cropping so much more... :).

All in all, I am very pleased with this player. You really do get a lot for your money here! Sure, there are a few kinks but they are not horrible (unless you are a non-compromising videophile). If you have an HDTV, you really owe it to yourself to get a progressive scan DVD player, and this is probably one of the better (and cheaper) ones out there.

In response to the reviewer who felt this product is only fair: a little maintenance can go a long way. A $10-$20 lens cleaner might get your player to read discs again. But if yours is defective, it doesn't mean the model is not a very good performer, with excellent features. As another reviewer mentioned, Alon, I too have an HDTV that does not allow for aspect ratio control when viewing thru the progressive inputs. But the SD-4700 has a "full/4:3" setting in the menu to adjust for standard or widescreen DVDs, without distortion. It does have a problem with alignment of icons on the menu pages, but it's trivial and I'm used to it. The letterboxing on a 2.35:1 DVD (like Gladiator), can be easily eliminated by the easy-to-use zoom feature, if you don't mind losing a little side content and picture resolution. But if you want to watch a "super widescreen" release on a widescreen TV, what else can you do? Nothing's perfect, at least not at these prices. I wasn't aware of the cropping of pixels (thanks Alon), but overall, most DVD movies look fairly amazing when played on my Toshiba (CW34x92) 34". They seem to be a perfect match. The colors seem to be true without tweaking, and the definition is very impressive. That's what a progressive scanning DVD player can do when hooked up to a good HDTV 16x9 monitor.

It's the perfect size, but the lack of a zoom lense kills it. Also,the indoor photos have a redish tint and the quality of the photos fell far short of the Canon Elph 300. The only zoom on the camera is digital zoom -- just like cropping a photo on your computer.

The MP3 player software forces you to convert via a special process, but if you can get the music on to the camera then it's a great plus.

The instructions...very poorly written. English as taught in Seoul. I immediately bought extra batteries and a speed charger at Radio Shack. Have not regretted it. I've had it about two weeks. I love it. Never was big on cameras but being able to erase bad shots, edit good ones, email, print, take close ups from 6-8 inches. It is fun. Fits in my shirt pocket, sometimes I forget I have it with me. I am tempted to upgrade the memory but I have not reached its capacity yet. The picture quality is excellent. The video capability is a lot of fun too. It seems too tiny to do so much. Everyone who has seen it is impressed with it. I would buy it again.

were not included in package received as specified on web site ?

I bought this three days ago and have had nothing but problems. It is going back tomorrow and I will never buy another iPAQ. I had an older model iPAQ (3800 series) that I had gotten used in December. I had started having major problems with it crashing on me about two months ago. I debated over getting a new iPAQ after those problems and the bad reviews on Amazon for HP's in general. I had decided to go with Dell but my husband took me shopping for our anniversary and all we could find was this HP. It was so pretty and cool that I forgot my plans and bought it because I just had to have it NOW! What a mistake.

The machine itself works great, it was when I started trying to install the software that the problems started. Active Sync would not install properly and ended up crashing the first computer I tried installing it on. (Putting the computer in permanent Safe mode.)I thought at first that it was a problem with my computer so I tried loading it on my other, newer one. Same problems with Active Sync only this time I was getting a message saying that the software was not compatable with Windows XP and might mess up my computer if I continued to try syncing it. This was strange since on the box it says it IS compatable.

I contacted HP today and yes, their customer service IS as bad as I've heard. They of course denied that it could possibly be a problem with their machine or software - BOTH of my computers must have messed up at the same time, coincidentally when I got the PPC! They were basically no help at all.

My husband spent 5-6 hours after work getting the first computer fixed, quite a job since he's not a computer expert. He finally got it done and I started over. Well, guess what - I got the software loaded, well only Active Sync - Outlook wouldn't load so I stuck with the version I already have on there. But of course when I tried to sync the computer could not detect the PDA, just like yesterday before my PC crashed. I tried it over and over, even using a cord from my old PDA. Then tried it all on the other computer. NO, it does not work at all and yes, I did get a message AGAIN about incompatible device drivers for XP like I got yesterday. (And the HP support people swore this is impossible.) There is supposed to be a Logo on the product box that says XP compatible, which there is not.

So I have this very expensive calendar/phone book/calculator/To DO list and that's about it. I can't download e-mails or add programs or anything if I can't connect to my computer. It basically useless. I'm so didgusted I want to throw it as hard as I can. Now I have to drive one hour each way and waste all that gas money and time to return this stupid thing. I have six children - I don't have time for this garbage! I just want to cry and HP could care less. I told them all of this and they just said, "See your vendor." Who's going to repay my husband and me for our wasted time and money dealing with the problems this machine has created???

I am taking this back. I might get a Dell but honestly I'm so disgusted that I may just forget PDA's entirely and stick with old-fashioned pen and paper. It's not fancy and may not be as easy to carry around but at least it's reliable and if it does get lost or messed up it's not that expensive to replace.

This is a pretty cool PDA. I got it for my third year of medical school and I haven't been disappointed. It's lightning fast, and the OS seems pretty stable. The only thing I'd do differently is not place as much importance on having a physical keyboard. I initially thought that the keyboard would be a great plus, but I rarely use it. For the times I do use it (typing passwords on web forms when I don't trust my scribbling), I could easily use the pop-up screen keyboard.

Another issue, which has been raised here before, is its wireless capabilities. The thing only supports the older WEP authentication, and not the newer WPA (which is more secure). I had set up my home network with WPA, but I had to downgrade it to WEP to use the iPAQ. This is annoying, not to mention puzzling. I mean, it's 2004 and they still haven't implemented 802.11g?

I guess this is partly the fault of the OS, which superficially resembles Windows XP. A problem I've had with the OS is that when you hit the 'x' in the upper right of the window (x=close, one would think), it only minimizes the program (it seems to stay on in memory and you have to shut it down in memory). This is retarded. A minus sign would be a more accurate representation.

A word about HP support. Their online knowledgebase is almost useless (I was searching to see if the iPAQ had 802.11g support), and no matter what you do, don't use their online chat support. The chat tech support guy I had was completely clueless, took 5 minutes to answer each message I sent, and didn't even bother acknowledging his ignorance. He just sent me a word document and told me to read it. The only thing he was good for was giving me the HP supprt phone number (which was wrong, but they automatically transferred me). Get their phone number (it's supposedly hidden deep somewhere) and call them. The phone tech support guy I talked to (after a long wait) was professional, helpful, polite, and knowledgeable.

Finally, if anyone else is using this for medical school, note that your friends will probably have Palms. They'll be beaming their cool programs to each other (for free), while you stand idly by with your incompatible iPAQ. On the other hand, our school has moved their records electronic, and they've chosen iPAQs. Take a look at what your colleagues and schools are using before you spend the big bucks.

I have had my 4355 for approximately a month now, and I am blown away by it's set of features.It literally has everything one could want from a handheld. The built in WiFi effortlessly recognized our home network, I bought a BT GPS receiver on ebay, which gives me wireless GPS navigation, while leaving the SD slot free for my memory cards.
I, personally love the keyboard. I have never been a fan of handwriting recognition, and I have larger than average hands, so the size is actually perfect for me. While it's a bit longer because of the keyboard (1 inch longer than the 4150), the device itself is very thin. My girlfriend bought the 4150, which aside from the keyboard, and a slightly smaller battery has the same features.
Battery life is better than average, although like every other device, heavy WiFi use drains it pretty quickly. Simply buying an additional battery for emergencies would suffice for just about anyone's usage.
The keyboard is a good size, making thumb typing very easy. If it has a drawback, it's that there aren't stand alone number keys, so typing alot of numbers is a bit of a hassle at times. But that's really nitpicking. Overall, I can't really find anything not to like about this handheld. Except the terrible case that HP gives you with it. I'm still waiting for others to hit the stores so I can replace it.

The Screenblast Movie Studio is very easy to use and I had it doing video clips and transitions 10 minutes after opening the box. Installation was very smooth and the tutorial is quick and good enough to get you started. The manual that comes with the software is pretty good, but the HELP menu in the program itself is pretty much the way to go. Everything is drag-and-drop and making changes could not be any easier. I have used Adobe Premiere, Pinnacle 8, and a few other OEM bundled packages and Sony Screenblaster is so much easier to use and in most circumstances, has better looking transitions and effects.

You import video/pictures from any source and move it from the media pool to where you want it on the timeline. You can select transitions and view how each one works prior to incorporating it into your project. Doing that is drag-and-drop, just like everything else. Most of the production is just trial and error...select a transition or effect, drag it where you want it and hit play to see how it actually looks in the view screen. If you don't like it, click on it and delete and try something else. You will rarely need to use the help menu, everything is all laid out in from of you in a very organized and simple manner. I am totally in love with this product. The BAD side is the 3rd party DVD authoring from SonicFoundry. It crashes a lot and locks up everytime I select to burn a DVD straight from the camcorder. I have Nero 6 installed and it is not much better...most of the newer DVD authoring software is full of bugs. (I use Roxio and Nero and neither one works all that good either.)
Sony really has their act together on this product and I have already deleted the Pinnacle 8 program and will use this full time.
The Sony software is 5 stars. Because of the SonicFoundry DVD authoring software they choose to use, which has wasted a few of my blank DVDs, they loose a star for that. This is a great buy.

as an editing program movie studio can't be beat. i am constantly amazed at the feature set, and what is possible to do. it is very stable and never crashes. i rate the editing part of the package (the movie studio software itself) 5 stars. very good value for the money.

the dvd authoring is another story. despite the advertisements, authoring is not integrated and is handled by sonic mydvd v4.5, a very limited and disappointing program. that's why i marked the overall package 4 stars.

movie studio can almost handle 16:9 editing. all of the needed features for 16:9 are available during the editing process, the only hitch comes when encoding to mpeg-2 in order to create a dvd. this requires a workaround involving a free program called dvdpatcher to set the correct aspect ratio on the mpeg file before authoring. this only takes a second so it isn't a big deal.

i honestly think movie studio is the best "consumer" (under $100) editing program available.

I've used Adobe Premiere in the past, excellent but too expensive, I tried Ulead what a horrible experience, pinnacle reviews said crash after crash. Based on the reputation of Video Vegas I gave this product a try and it is really excellent.

I've used it so far to create 2 online projects for work documenting team meetings and posting the video online. It's easy to work with different pieces of the timeline and then output them in an appropriate format like Windows Media 9.
Excellent integration with external codecs - quicktime, wmv, mpeg1 and 2, and real video. The only drawbacks I've found so far are no control over the output only fixed templates. For example if you wanted to fine tune the audio bit rate, SB will not let you do that. Oh well I guess it is an entry level package. Secondly, the outputted MPEG is a little bit halo prone. It's supposed to be main concept encoder, but since you are not allowed to tune it at all, there's no way to fix it.

Lastly the NTSC mpeg2 video it creates is actually non-compliant for DVD production, since it only supports mpeg audio. In the US you really should output either PCM or AC3 Stereo. Neither of those are an option. I've filed a bug against Sony, but they have not responded. If sony would allow a little more control over the output I would definitely give this package 5 stars.

First the pros: excellent stability, very easy to use capture, good editing capability, easy to generate output.
Cons: lack of control over output.

The sound is great, with the surround sound, but there are two things that really pisses me off.

1. I bought this, just opened it, held it in my hands, looked into the display... What? Is there dust inside the display? How did they do that? U gotta crack it up to fix that.

2. The unit scratches easily, like all Yepp units.

These are the cons, but if U dont care about how the player looks, U can buy this as a great buy.

After reading all of the reviews for the Samsung YP-55V, I decided that I had to get one for myself. And I must admit, I was not disappointed in the least.

This player is everything that everyone here has raved about... and much, much more! Everything that I have used so far, except for the [bad] headphones (which all MP3 players come with regardless of how high-quality they are), has worked flawlessly and wonderfully! I still can't believe how far technology has come as to allow me to fit so many songs on such a tiny player! The sound quality is excellent, the design and layout of the unit is so cool-looking and innovative, and the battery-life is unprecendented. Most of all, loading songs onto the player is as simple as transfering documents onto a floppy disk - you just copy and paste, or drag-click, all of the songs you want onto the screen that opens for the USB connection you just enabled (mine was labelled drive F:) and let it do its magic - I was able to transfer 23 songs in less than three minutes! This player is by far the best portable sound unit by dollar that I have ever seen!

To tell you truth, a lot of the problems that other reviewers were experiencing didn't happen to me: The USB cover on my player wasn't loose in the least; I found the case for the player to be really great (and yes, you can still changes tracks while the player is in the case, by simply twisting the body of the player while holding the top still); the buttons for the player, while a little confusing and bizarre at first, actually became very intuitive and second-nature for me quickly (although I still hate using the volume button, but it's no big deal); finally, I tested the radio feature (haven't tried the mike out yet, though) and it worked great, nearly flawlessly actually. I guess some of the reviewers' players had small defects, but mine seems to work perfectly!

Anyway, to summarize: GET THIS PLAYER! NOW! Seriously, it is an unbelievable little piece of technology, and man, is it ever little! I was in the exact same position as most of you readers a couple of days ago, trying to buy the best MP3 player out there, and being overwhelmed by the huge number of choices available! Even after doing extensive research, and reading tons of user reviews for all of the players from numerous websites, I still wasn't too sure if buying this player would be the right choice, since for every single player out there, there are literally at least 5 reviewers who give it the full 5 stars and rave about it like morons (ironically, the same could be said of me), whether it's actually good or not. So I basically had to look at all of the 1 star reviews and see which player truly had the most flaws. And even still, there wasn't a clear winner, but I went with my gut instinct, and bought the Samsung Yepp 55 player, and I can honestly say that it was one of the best purchases I've made in years!

Note: I actually got the Samsung Yp-55i, which has 192 MB memory instead of the 256 MB of the Yp-55V model, since it was significantly cheaper, and I figured that 192 MB, although not upgradeable, was enough memory for me. So if any of you are looking to spend a little less cash to get a player with exactly the same features and design, but that can hold a little bit less songs, go for the Yp-55i (although it isn't listed here on Amazon or Samsung's Yepp site itself - I bought mine "in-store" from Best Buy, since it isn't even listed on their website!).

Wow, I chose this model over all the other mp3 players offered on Amazon because of the reviews. It's very WYSIWYG, small, functional, portable, and for the best 256mb player for the buck.
It comes with everything you need, including a battery. The carry case is economical like the player, small and not much room for anything else, I end up winding my ear buds around the closing flap to keep all my things together. It feels like a sturdy player, I love that you twist the end to move between songs and the bright blue scrolling display, everything makes it feel like a quality product.It ofcourse comes with so-so headphones that I don't recommend using, and you really don't have to install anything, you just plug and drop things in. I use it mainly for work, it's plenty loud and the sound quality is great, all the dynamics and you get a very rich and full volume out of a tiny thing. Battery life is better than expected, a new AAA will last you as advertised 15 or so hours, I recommend rechargeables for environment's sake. The few buttons you see do all the work, you do need to flip through the manual to get a feel for the unusal functions of each button, particularly the volume slider which does most of the work. If you have big big fingers it might take some more effort, I have small hands and I still need to use my nail to dig in sometimes...you do have to remember that you are buying a very very small product! It dissapears in my hands and easily into pockets, it's very cute and it's not orange like you see in the detail photos, but just silver. The FM radio wasn't great from where I tried it, so I can't say much about it yet, voice recording is so so but I don't see myself using that function any time soon. Recording/encoding capabilities though is pretty nice.
In all I recommend it to everyone who's looking to not spend too much on a HD player like the 20GB iRiver iHP-120 which is the best rival to an iPod out there just yet. I think the only thing left to be desired is a FF function and it wouldn't hurt to include one or two more buttons in future models.

Casio's Cassiopedia is a very nice unit. Is it the best value available? Well it could have been, but unfortunately they scrimped in a couple of key areas. I base this on what I feel is their closet competitor, the Compaq Ipaq. The first thing you'll need to do after purchasing the Casio is run down to the store and purchase a very expensive MMC card. You'll want to pick up at least a 32mb card (currently between $76.00 and $99.00). Now you'll have some breathing room to work in. The Compaq comes with this additional memory with the purchase price. The last feature that is a little disappointing is the TFT backlit feature. Because of the basic design, the Ipaq does a much better job in very bright conditions. But get your Cassiopedia in a little shade and with the 65,000 plus colors you'll blow the Compaq Ipaq away. In conclusion, I guess there's pluses and negatives with most very thing, and if you don't mind having to immediately spent another $100.00 to get the space you'll need the Cassiopedia is the better unit. I would argue that the Compaq Ipaq is probably the better value.

The Casio Cassiopeia EM-500 is undeniably the best PDA/PocketPC on the market today. It has a vast number of programs: telnet, finger, ping, internet explorer, e-mail, irc, aol instant messenger, word, excel, access, notepad, transcriber (no graffiti to learn, it recognizes anyone's natural handwriting and converts it to text just like this you're reading now), and so much more. If you are a programmer or web designer, you must have this PDA/PPC! It's also great for listening to MP3/WMA audio and playing video clips and movie previews, storing pictures, scanning the Pocket Bible, and so much more. MMC is the future of compact memory technology..., it will replace compactFlash within the next two years guaranteed! It will support modems, network cards, cameras, and of course memory with projected sizes above anything CF Cards can imagine. (according to the MMCA group). Do yourself a favor and get the CASIO EM-500! It is the next best thing to a laptop!

I've had mine for three years. I did buy it new, though. I have been eyeing the Dell Axim, but since there is nothing wrong with my Casio, I can't find any reason to switch.

This is perfect for the college dorm or small apartment. Good bass, although when watching movies one may need to turn it down in order to avoid distortion. The woofer should be placed in an enclosed area to really maximise its potential.

Speaker cables are problematic as they are not flexible for different layouts. Hiss levels on this speaker setup are also loud for something this small.

Overall, a good economy buy, but don't expect world class sound quality.

I've had these speakers for almost three years and can't believe that they've failed for some reviewers. They work just like brand new.

This system does what it says: it's designed for gamers. Q3A and CS games have perfect sound effects. You can feel the rockets exploding or count the bullets blasting out of your M16 with the subwoofer. Positioned correctly, the satelites provide spectacular surround sound. They are especially useful for those climatic ends when you need to hear where those footsteps or gunshots are coming from.

As an avid music collector, I can say that these speakers do a pretty good job of handling many types of music. However, it lacks warmth with classical and thrash (yes, old school Metallica and Sepultura). The sound comes out dry, which is why I'm giving this 4-stars.

I haven't had a chance to test the digital inputs, so I can't help you there. SB Live! 5.1 users like me should look for a different package if digital is so important (which it isn't... look at Klipsch!)

At 90 bucks (wherever you can find them), the ACS56 is a great bargain. My friend has an ATP 2.1 set that works great too. Altec Lansing is THE choice when you're looking for multimedia sound from low-end to the upper mid-range cost brackets.

I have these speakers for almost three years now and I'm very satisfied with the performance. Rock solid bass (don't compare it to Harmon Kardon or JBLs) at a very low price (I bought it for $52). If your Audio CD/MP3(VBR at 160-320Kbps range) is of good quality then it will certainly give out the best sound, same is the case with Games.

We purchased the Nomad Zen DAP at Christmas 2003, by May of this year it's hard drive needs to be replaced. It only comes with a 90 day warranty, so we have to shell out $108.00 to get it repaired. Creative must really stand by their workmanship if they will only warrant their products for 90 days. You would be better off with a iPOD or Archos 6000. I have one each of those for years and they still function well full of music. Creative should hide their heads, and their products. What a waste of money !!

Ok I have to start by saying Amazon was the slowest ship time ever.. 9 days to ship although ups shipped it in 2 days.(11 total). That "usually ships in 24 hours" is crap but i didnt deduct points from the product for that because its just magnificent. Im on XP Pro. The Device menu is nice easy to find anything you want.. Although you will need ID3 Tags somewhat filled out but it has mass ID3 change on the app.. took me about 4 hours to setup ID3 tags on about 2900 songs.. as far as pc-zen transfer I dont have usb 2 port so it was goin at usb 1.1 bout 7 seconds a song 7*2900/60/60 about 5.6 hrs but I started it went to bed.. woke up and no problems whatsoever. 290 albums loaded and ready to go.. sounds just as good as a cd player bought a car cassete adapter works good. although hard to change albums and drive so you may need a copilot or a good playlist setup. I paid 224$ for it prolly could have found it for 210$ but oh well. size is nice ipod is about 3/4th the size but oh well it still fits nicely in my poket and is way smaller than an mp3 player. the menu setup is nice mainly based on id3.
-My Music-
+Tracks
-All Tracks
+Artists
-ArtistName
--submenu(open)
<-Lists Albums by artist
+Albums
-All Albums

not exactly but sumthin like that..
theres a few other things like.

Time Display
Surrent Song Display with good info..

Things i wish it had..

menu navigate is fine exept kinda hard to press the scroll navigator to select items

Stop button..not needed but pause/change track will show it as stoped

would have been nice if it had folder layout since thats how my music was sorted but no matter now.

back light button.. back light comes on for a few seconds when the navigate wheel is moved wish there was a diff way to turn it on and posibly keep it on..

but pros outway the cons and i really beleave its a better deal than ipod..

I've never written a review and I've bought from Amazon for years. I am so happy over my ZEN NX that I have to let everyone know. I've downloaded close to 300 CDs and still have over 4 gig left! The sound is amazing. The interface could not be easier. Files are listed by ARTIST, ALBUM, GENRE, PLAYLISTS and TRACKS. If I want to hear R.E.M. I can listen to "Out of Time" or one song or all 5 albums in order or in a shuffled order. If I'm exercising I can click on Techno and listen to every techno song in the jukebox. It's true the headphones aren't that great. The battery life isn't 14 hours. Did anyone mention the LEATHER carrying case? It's great but should have an opening so you could see the window. The aluminum face plate is ultra cool as is the green light. The scroll wheel is easy to figure out. The media source software is more than adequate. It downloads the track listings and then you copy the CDs. Who needs to pay $200 more for an iPOD?

I received the Lyra 2 as a gift and I can't beleive how lucky I was to get THE BEST MP3 player out there. Easy setup and installation. It comes with a 64 meg Compact flash card. I already have Compact flash cards for my digital camera and camcorder so if I need more space I don't have to buy expensive proprietary memory.

I can't beleive all the features this brings. It comes with nice 'street style' headphones, an in the cord remote, 64 meg Compact flash card and a complete car kit. Sound quality and battery life are A+. It has 6 preset EQ settings and a manual EQ. It has 7 different play modes (repeat, shuffle, etc.). It also includes an FM tuner with 15 presets.

By far, the best out there for the money!!!

I purchased mine ..., and was very happy with it from day one. After installing MusicMatch Plus (already had the basic version, but software included upgrades you to the Plus version for free), I bagan to download MP3's from the internet. My first problem was a strange hissing or ringing noise on some songs, but I soon discovered this was only on those ripped from CD's using Easy CD Creator. When I used MusicMatch to rip, the noise was gone. The sound is excellent - comparable to CD at 128 bitrate. My husband was satisfied with the 64 bitrate, allowing more music on the 64MB card. Downloading even 128MB of music to a CF card took only minutes on my computer (WindowsME), not 45 minutes for half of that as one person said (computer problem!) And the included CF card reader is also useful if you have a digital camera utilizing this media type. The only problem I had was when someone accidentally sat on my player, and the forward button got stuck down.... So I decided to fix it myself, and removed the little piece of brass that activated the forward button, stuck in the down position. It still works, I just can't use the forward button, so I can't use the radio or skip forward a song.

This MP3 player came with more features and peripherals than expected. It is easy to use and the MusicMatch Jukebox software has been great for copying files to memory cards. Any reviews that mention trouble with the software are end-user problems. It is light weight, does not use rechargeable batteries too quickly and I would recommend it to anyone.

This camera may look ultra cool, but believe me, it's not. Unless you don't care much for how your picture quality is, then this camera may be ok, but if you do or eventually will, you are better off getting a better quality camera.

There aren't many options for your pictures that you're taking meaning you can't change the lighting effect (inside, outside, cloudy, snow, night, etc), size, picture type (black & white, etc) or many of the other things that you can on other cameras. I found that when pictures were loaded onto the computer, they looked grainy and dull, and if you used the flash, that also seemed to ruin the effect of the picture. There is also no zoom which is one thing I forgot to check out when purchasing this camera. I was not happy with this camera at all after a couple months when I needed better quality photos.

The video recorder of the camera was also a disappointment to me. The recording was very choppy and colors again were poor. On the bright side, it recorded the sound well.

I had no problem with the MP3 player or audio recorder, they both worked fine and were the quality that one would expect.

I now own a Sony Cyber-Shot camera which I am VERY pleased with. Basically you really need to think about what type of pictures you will be taking with your camera and if you want them to be the best quality possible, or if it simply doesn't matter to you to decide if you will be happy with this camera.

I bought this gadget for it's many functions although I mostly used it to take video and pictures, sometimes record audio. I really did like it, but after a while I couldn't justify the cost versus the quality... The video quality was ok, about what you get with a medium resolution avi file, but nowhere close to divx quality. Picture resolution at 640x480 was decent, but you'd definitely want better if you want quality pictures. Sound recording was good, but I could only playback on the unit. With SD cards you don't have to worry about memory. My main gripe about this gadget though is the absence of a zoom. I was using it one time when a friend asked me if it had a zoom feature. I told him "this is the zoom" and ran up closer to the subject. If Panasonic added a zoom feature I would definitely recommend it, but overall it doesn't excel in any area. You're probably better off picking up a megapixel digital camera that also takes video.

Ok, it may not take pictures/movies like professional digital cameras can, but it's still a good camera if you looking for something to do for fun. It's small enough to carry in your pocket, you can operate it on the fly when you need to, so its pretty reliable there. You have to mess around with the software a bit, and experiment with the camera a bit too but once you get the gist of how it works, you wont regret buying it. However, this camera is NOT worth paying full price for($200-$400). I bought a used one at Circuit City for only $125, I've had it for about a year and it still works great!