Product: Panasonic BB-HCM511A

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For a while the Panasonic BL-C111a and BL-C131a were my common of the Panasonic lineup for monitoring the pets and vacation house. Now I discovered the BB-HCM511A and this wonderful microscopic cam is THE BEST! It has a 1/4" CCD detector instead of a 1/6" CMOS in many of the other models. I can regain a night time plan of the ranch because the CMOS goes down to 0.2 lux instead of 3 lux. That's about the limit of human night vision, or a moonlit night. I couldn't do that before with the BL-C111a cam that this replaced. Also the CMOS sensor has worthy better dynamic range, which simply means more colors. So whereas with the BL-C111a the shades of green on the plants observe flat, the BB-HCM5111a gives the scene mighty more definition with all different shades: slightly bluish green, slightly reddish green etc. and this has the visual attain as if it had greater resolution. I care for the PoE feature because I can objective urge a network cable without running a separate power cable. To choose advantage of this you need a cheap PoE injector or a fancier switch that supports PoE. I consume the SMC GS8P-Smart switch for PoE, which is a newer model router with excellent reviews. I also exercise the CoconutView Vista sidebar gadget so I can always glance all of my Panasonic cams on my desktop. To download this gadget go to the Microsoft Windows Live Gallery on the web and search for CoconutView or Panasonic. There's also an outdoor model, the BB-HCM531a but it's almost twice as expensive and from the installation manual it appears that the BB-HCM531a honest has a conceal on the serve that you screw on and tape over the cables to protect the connectors from moisture. So I contemplate this one is a better value for placing under eaves and protected outdoor sites, unless your opinion to install it where it will be directly exposed to pouring rain. Ok honest bewitch it, you will be cheerful with this cam.

This Panasonic Network Camera had the features that I wanted. Allow me to warn you, there is no zoom, however, you can switch from a default resolution of 320x240 to 640 X 480. Unless you are prepared to pay a considerable larger designate, the zooms you salvage will be digital and not optical. That means the recount will be bigger, but it will also be grainier. Second, set-up required a call to technical befriend, however, Panasonic was tall and it was up and running in under an hour. Panasonic provides a free webservice for this camera as well as most if not all of their network cameras. The essential software is housed in the camera!! Once you configure web access, you have the option of sharing the URL with friends and family (up to 50) . As each person hits the URL, they are presented with a password dialog. I dwelling up two guest accounts that have differing levels of control over the camera. I grant no one the ability to tilt or pan and no one can listen. Even with those limitations, many of my associates tune into my puppy cam and peer the exhibit. There is an integrated microphone that is grand enough for most purposes. By attaching an inexpensive pair of computer speakers, you derive the ability to reveal through the camera. I once caught my Doberman digging in the carpet. When she heard my mutter reach out of the blue and speak her to terminate, she jumped, looked around, and STOPPED digging.

With my administrative password, I have stout control of the camera and I've been able to attach my mind at ease concerning my pets. This camera is really intended as a Security Camera and it would do a gargantuan job for that purpose as well. The web interface allows for simultaneous viewing of multiple cameras. Before you blow half the ticket on a camera that looks "high tech" but is not worthy and can't pan or tilt as far, I suggest that you watch carefully at the specs of the cameras side by side. If you can afford it, this is a ample camera. If you want to belief images in Hi-Def, you can do that... for about a thousand dollars more. If you want an opticial Zoom, ask to pay $700+ for your camera. I'm very elated.

I've tried four different Panasonic webcams as well as some from other vendors, and this one is the best and well worth the brand. I save a 16GB SDHC Trancender memory card in it, and can buffer 3964 20-sec 320x240 video clips or 2615 10-sec 640x480 clips. I have three motion triggers situation up: the first buffers local video clips; the second sends me an email with a 320x240 image with a 10-minute time-out between emails; and the third buffers 640x480 unexcited images. The last one has already buffered 111,321 640x480 images in addition to the stored video.

The night color vision option is astonishing. It automatically switches to a more sensitive mode when the light level drops. I can state slight nite lights around the house rather than leaving the main lights on all night.

I also have a log of all camera activity from each camera emailed to me every day at midnight. A predicament with the logs is that only the last 50 events are stored and included in the email. A single pet-sitter visit can easily generate more than 50 triggered events. Since you can only have one copy of the logs emailed to you each day per camera, the number of events in the log should be enough to screen the entire day. I called Panasonic about it and they told me that the terror logs were shrimp to 50, and that I could change my trigger settings or have each trigger email me. I explained to them why both of those options would not work for me. This is a serious create quandary with this camera.

I recently took a inch and found out that my pet-sitter was not doing the job I hired her to do. Since I will be traveling world-wide quite a bit in the next year, I am going to expand my system to the stout 16 cameras to monitor my entire house while I am gone. I have 8 cameras now, and have not experienced any problems with bandwidth.

I also have a Brinks/Broadview system with entry and motion detection, but it's really nice to be able to view at any piece of my house and know what is or has gone on there from anywhere, anytime.

I do wish this camera was a petite less conspicuous, but otherwise it is a huge security camera! My biggest anxiety is that someone will rupture in and hold my cameras, along with their internal memory; however, I am working on a device to send the buffered videos to an offsite dwelling, in addition to the unique emailed images.

Product: Seagate ST320005LSA10G-RK

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I bought the BlackArmor to replace an Iomega 1Tb StorCenter that absolutely gave me fits when I (in a complete lapse of fine judgement) decided to reset the design to factory defaults because I forgot the admin password. That contrivance is now useless. The Seagate NAS functions attractive mighty the same as the Iomega did - setup was about the same too (as are fair about all NAS drives) . However, this is Worthy quieter than the Iomega drive. I am using the original BlackArmor in Raid-1, which is how it comes from the factory. So far, so pleasant.

Product: WindChaser ICM15

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I have mixed feelings about my Windchaser Ice maker. I purchased it fresh over the Internet and the first one arrived Dumb on Arrival. It did not construct ice. As Windchaser does not sell to the public, they were less than sympathetic when I called them informing me that the one-year warranty only applies to the novel purchaser and instructed me to contact the seller. Thankfully my seller made respectable on the item.

The second one worked ravishing making ice as advertised. The ice cubes are hollow and resemble the bottom trudge of a test tube if you can report that. The unit makes 12 ice cubes in about 8 minutes. It's easy to spend. Pour water in and turn it on. An LED expose allows you to occupy diminutive medium or expansive cubes. I felt the microscopic and medium were too thin but that's my view. The instructions bid you to replace any unused water within 24 hours. A limited drain is provided.

Now let's collect to what I don't like. The unit DOES NOT retain the ice cubes frozen once they are made. It's designed to do ice until the removable tray is filled. In other words once the ice making process fills the tray, the unit does not preserve the ice frozen. The ice making process stops until you buy ice or a allotment melts.

A sensor at the top of the tray detects the ice level. Once ice is removed or a allotment sufficiently melts the ice making process starts up again. The water from the melted ice drips down into the water reservoir below and is reused. The unit is well insulated and well made for that matter so if not traditional immediately the ice melts similar to ice in a cooler.

To its credit the unit will manufacture a tubby 2.5 pound tray of obedient ice in about 2 hours. If not veteran for several hours the result is a part of the ice is semi melted, deformed and pitted. I didn't like that fragment.

I want to be certain in that once the melting ice triggers the sensor, the unit will fabricate more ice and you will have a mixture of well-formed ice and semi melted ice. Not a perfect area but I can live with it.

I also want to stamp that as you would question the unit has a compressor and a cooling fan. While not especially loud it's far from soundless during the ice making process. In my case I utilize the icemaker on my somewhat shrimp houseboat so I hear it every time. Again not accurate loud but you know it when it starts up to produce more ice.

I also want to designate the machine does weigh 48 pounds. Not a exact spot but you don't want to haul it all over creation. Also, the unit isn't right spacious however it does eat up some counter plot. About the size of a broad bread making machine.

My final note: Be careful to not tip the unit over when unpacking from the box. Like any refrigerator it's sensitive to being turned upside down. It's well packed and I found it almost impossible to pick from the box without tipping over. Might be easier if you had two people but I ended up cutting the box to win it out.

In conclusion I do have a nice icemaker that provides me with sufficient ice to offer a couple of friends a generous cocktail aboard my boat. I can live with the noise it makes. I objective wished it kept the ice frozen longer.

I bought my WC in Nov 2004 through Amazon (best ticket, incredibly mercurial arrival) after comparison shopping with other mfrs/sellers for a week or so. It worked as promised until last month-noisy but efficient so it sits in the basement cranking out cubes. The cubes are "spongy" but transferring them to a container in our refrigerator's freezer compartment door firms them up in short order. Now the PROBLEMS: Last month, it started continually making ice regardless of whether the bin is pudgy. The auto-shut-off also stopped working so it tries to develop ice even when the reservoir is empty (although those diminutive "caps" of ice are graceful cute) . A one-star review here from June(? ) '05 distinguished that the manufacturer was less than sympathetic. I opinion on calling them today and will follow up in another posting on whether I have the same experience.

Regards, jhjorg WashDC

A reviewer suggested buying a bag of ice which is what I primitive to do. It is however 107 degrees here (has been all week) and a bag of ice doesn't do well under those conditions. I bought this for my office and I don't deem I could live without it. Previously I would earn busy and grab a can of soda out of my mini fridge instead of going downstairs and getting a glass of something healthier. Not anymore. My water intake has shot through the roof. The "tubes" of ice are irregular at first but heaven to munch on when semi melted. I even like them better than flaked ice (like "Sonic" and hospitals have) .

My gripes are these: It's quite expansive considering how exiguous ice it puts out and weighs a lot I deem. It certainly won't be "portable" for me- 40 pounds feels like 100! Miniature annoyances however considering how considerable I esteem this thing.

One plus: It has a drain which other similar models didn't have. It works the same as the others seem to (recycles the water from the melted ice) . The manufacturer recommends draining every 24 hours but I haven't. I outmoded bottled and distilled water and it has been attractive. It's nice to know that you can drain it if you need to though.

Product: Beltronics STi-R

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I have to say that I was very furious when the Bel STi Remote unit was released. I tamed my enthusiasm to some extent however and decided to wait until the 2nd wave of STi Remote units hit the streets. Rumors had circulated on some forums about some "bug fixes" of various sorts, so I waited another couple of months. Finally, I ordered a unit and I could not wait for it to approach. Since I often drive through the only position in the U.S. which bans detectors (i.e. Virginia), I was psyched about being able to expend a radar detector there without (hopefully) getting hassled.

Well, I've now been using the Bel STi for about a year, and I have to say that overall I've been very disappointed.

I previously have owned a Valentine One for about 10 years now. When I got the Bel STi Remote unit, I decided to leave my V1 installed and compare performance of the two for a month or two before ditching the V1 (or so I concept) . As it turns out, I tranquil have them both installed. I impartial cannot fathom giving up my V1, and in retrospect I wish that I had not spent $1,100 to remove the STi Remote. It is IMHO, not worth the cost.

So, here's the nitty gritty... the righteous, the terrible, and the ugly:

The Good

- Undetectable, even by the Spectre IV radar detector detector

- Can be installed concealed unhurried bumper (as I did)

- External speaker with adjustable volume control

- Switches are minute and unobtrusive

- Grand X and K band filtering (fake signals) in city modes

The Bad

- Tiresome on the uptake of Ka signals. On average it is 1-2 seconds leisurely my V1 (could be due to mounting state... I believe that is the most likely cause, however... read on)

- Lots of wiring / dead install. Not really a complaint, but unprejudiced pointing this out. It is a remote mount though, so what do you question?

The Ugly

- Last week I had a Ka encounter which my V1 alerted to over 1 mile away. The STi Remote did not alert AT ALL until my V1 was at nearly corpulent alert strength and I was about 1/4 mile from the patrol car (i.e. within range of his/her radar unit) .

- I've had one or two other instances when it completely missed a distant instant-on Ka signal picked up by the V1.

Now, the STi Remote is not a dreadful detector per se. In fact, I would say that it is quite helpful. However, I don't believe it's a salubrious detector to have installed remotely (as it is supposedly intended) . Arrive to mediate of it, perhaps Mike Valentine is accurate when he always says you shouldn't do that anyway. My experience with both the V1 and Bel STi Remote seems to believe out that argument.

I reflect if you must go with a concealed and undetectable detector, then it's not a dreadful choice. However, you should be prepared for some disappointment and possibly a mark or two in spite of using it.

Personally, I recommend to my friends that if they want an STi that they take an STi-Driver model instead. It is less than half the mark and I suspect a better performer.

Product: Garmin 010-00822-00

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I pick alot of navigation devices, so I was inflamed about the 1690 as there was mighty hype with this unit. The nuvi 1690 is Garmin's original top of the line model. It features the modern Garmin nuLink service which includes things like traffic, weather, gas prices, movie times, etc. It's really great if you like that kind of stuff. It's basically a considerable better version of MSN Reveal if you've ever stale that service.

I have a nuvi 1490t and 765t as well, so I'm going to form comparisons of the units. First thing I must say is that this unit acquires a satelite signal Speedy. I'm talking less than 10 seconds fleet. I remember with my musty nuvi 350 I customary to have to sit in my car and wait a few minutes for the unit to derive a signal, not with this 1690. The same can be said with the 1490t as far as quick satelite acquisition. With the 1690 however, I can actually score a signal inside of my house without standing directly by the window, which is the first intention that can do that in my experiences. I would imagine it's obliging in a city with great buildings like NYC with this kind of signal strength though I haven't tested there. As far as navigation, it navigates as well as any other Garmin contrivance so no changes there. Directions are very right and re-route calculations if you miss a turn are posthaste. Text-to-speech is top-notch as well and is very lawful and determined with pronunciation of street names. Something Garmin has done with the newer software in all of their current units is increased the size of the text in the green bar when you're navigating. This is grand because the text in that green bar faded to be too exiguous to perform out sometimes while you were driving. The size and thickness of the font of the arrival time (which can be changed to another category) and run indicator have also been increased. The accelerate indicator font now turns red whenever you go above the hurry limit. I've noticed that the slight rush limit signs are also now on practically all roads and not objective highways. They are also extremely lawful and update as soon as I pass the valid bustle limit designate I kid you not. Another thing to trace with the 1690 is you now have an option to change the conceal layout. You can have it where the device mask itself is smaller and a list of four categories (three choosable, can't change accelerate indicator) are to the good of the approximately 3.5" sized plan cloak (ie. Arrival Time, Direction, Distance to Destination, etc.) You can now also flick your finger on the conceal like an iphone to navigate the menus instead of pressing the up/down arrow which is tidy. Some have complained about the responsiveness of the keyboard, however, I feel it's the same as all the previous nuvi models I've owned. When I press a key it gets immediately entered though there have been a couple rare times it has taken a second to register. Nothing serious though, it's very useable. Also, the way camouflage redraw rate during a route is like a flash, so the car on the hide moves along nice and level-headed like both the 765t and 1490t (and unlike the nuvi 350, 660, etc. which hops along instead of glides) .

The cover on the 1690 in terms of quality is exactly like the cloak on the 765t. This is a bit of a disappointment for me because the hide on the 1490t is far genuine to every other nuvi model. The 1490t's shroud is of course larger (5" instead of 4.3" like on the 1690) . The 1490t's conceal is a remarkable better veil because not only are colors more bright, but viewing angles are Considerable better. I was hoping the 1690 would have the same shroud, but in a 4.3" version. Not the case. I uploaded a couple of hide shots of a 1490t and 1690 side-by-side so you can perceive the comparison in hide size.

The speaker in the 1690 is the same as the one in the 1490t which is a gigantic plus because that speaker is LOUD. The 1690 and 1490t models have better speakers than any other previous nuvi model. If you have the volume turned up to 100% it's actually TOO loud. Highway driving with windows down would be the only probable scenario for 100%. So considerable credit to Garmin for including a grand speaker.

The nuLink services are sterling if you're into that kind of stuff. Traffic is one of the titanic features included. Garmin includes a 2-year subscription to the service which is $5 a month thereafter I maintain. Now WHY they smooth have the dinky popup ads demonstrate like in all their other "free lifetime traffic" models I have no concept. These ads for varoius companies that pay Garmin will pop up on your camouflage from time to time, like if your vehicle is stopped at a traffic light or you're searching for a POI. Quandary is there's really no scheme to permanently derive rid of the ads (which annoy me greatly, but some others don't seem to have an exclaim with them) . Weather is nice as you can idea up to a 7-day forecast in your modern station or another position you can manually determine. The White Pages feature is expansive as well as you can view up a person by first and last name and drive directly to their address on file. It uses the data connection of the unit to win the info, so it'll be up to date since it's accessing the Internet. Google Local Search is an beneficial nuLink feature. It basically makes your POI database 10 times larger and always up to date since it accesses the Internet for it's data. It's separate from the internal POI database, so you would resolve one or the other to search for POI. The Gas Prices search is proper as well as you can search whatever space you're in for the lowest gas prices. In my experiences it's been very proper (gets the data from customers' credit card receipts) and will present you under the ticket it displays the last time it was updated... ie. Today, Yesterday, 3 Days ago, etc. It usually says Today or Yesterday the times I've customary it.

Traffic on this unit is Stout. I say stout because all the other units with free traffic are atrocious because they're constantly feeding erroneous traffic data to the unit via the integrated FM receiver. With the 1690 it uses at&t's data network for nuLink, so traffic data is Distinguished more true and can be delivered to the unit powerful faster making it more up to the cramped. I did a real-time side by side comparison of the 1690's traffic data and the 1490t's free traffic. Judge they'd be identical because they both utilize Navteq traffic? Reflect again. I searched for all traffic incidents nearby my recent station. I'm not exhaggerating when I say the 1690 brought up double the amount of incidents that the 1490t brought up. Impartial to test it out I drove to the closest traffic incident nearby and obvious enough it was there. The 1490t didn't even respond it existed. Also, there were times where they'd both have the same traffic incident, but different data (ie. 3 min delay as opposed to 10 min delay) . I drove to a well-liked incident as well to peep which one was more suitable. Again, the 1690 was more right. I select it's because the 1490t calm had older data that hadn't yet been updated. That gives you an view of how considerable better traffic on the 1690 is compared to all other Garmin models. AT&T's EDGE data network seems to be everywhere as well, so chances are if your at&t cell phone has reception, so will the internal receiver of the 1690. I have MSN Stammer on my 765t which I have works salubrious... when it wants to work. Predicament is... it never works. It takes forever to download data and reception is bad in alot of places with MSN Grunt. Not at all the case with the 1690 and at&t's network. In addition to having expansive coverage, it downloads data mercurial which is stout. Once the scheme is powered on (and has cellular network reception), you'll have all the updated traffic info in no more than a few minutes. I really like the whole "connected" opinion when it comes to traffic.

The border around the unit is about the same width as the 1490t, despite being a smaller unit. It's also thicker than the 1490t. I grunt that's because they had to fit the cellular radio module with sim card inside the unit. The shaded border is a piano sad enact and a fingerprint magnet. The rear of the unit has a rubberized enact. The cradle mount is gracious because it's powered... meaning you straggle the power directly into the cradle and simply insert/remove the draw. The 1490t doesn't have this kind of dock... it requires you to walk the cable directly into the unit for power.

Overall, I'm very tickled with the 1690. I unbiased hope they produce a 5" version soon because I worship the conceal size of my 1490t so grand. If I had to settle, however, it'd be the 1690 because of the Garmin nuLink service which is without a doubt a huge and useful feature. Perhaps everyone won't have the same colossal experience that I've had thus far with this unit, but it's worth the risk in my thought.

The Garmin product line is customary enough at this point that this GPS has most of the features you need and works. But:

First there is quality control. My first unit went abet because it would continuously tumble wireless data communications. The first and second unit have veil flicker. Turns out (per Garmin on 10/28) '[screen flicker] is piece of an drawl we've seen with some of the earlier devices that were manufactured. This has been fixed in the devices that have left us since then. The only diagram to fix that is to procure that in for an RMA.' So the second unit is going attend too; we'll scrutinize what the third unit brings... (Update: Unit #3 had a pixel stuck on green - we'll inspect what unit #4 will bring....) In addition, there are bugs that should have been caught with rudimentary testing (the wireless signal strength meter shows 5 bars whatever the signal strength; diagram reboots when routing around traffic) or proofreading (documentation confuses GPS and wireless signal) . Oh and the 1690 hasn't even been entered as a line item in the wait on database.

Second there are customer benefit policies. If you've received two units that are defective; both because of manufacturing/QC issues, Garmin expects *YOU* to pay for the return, and then 'The turn around time should be between 10-14 days from the time we receive the map.' Advance on! Ever heard of "sorry, we screwed up, the select is on us"? Or failing that, how about reach replacement?

Third there is Garmin's product benefit. It former to be the best in the GPS world. It has turned into a diabolical shambles of people that barely understand the product walking you through level 1 scripts (reboot, reinstall, reset) ... and when they're done with that they initiate again at the beginning.

This is a particular impart with this map because, as a connected method, you will suffer from bugs and performance problems, some of them real-time, introduced by Garmin, Google, Navteq (traffic services), Navteqs (maps) and the AT&T wireless network. Let me give you an example. There is construction two miles from where I am. It shows up on the traffic place operated by Navteq. It doesn't note up on the unit. This could be a scrape with the network, a pickle with the Navteq traffic service, a scrape with the firmware (what is it supposed to show? ), perhaps a blueprint jam, a contractual scrape (is traffic data throttled to conserve bandwidth? ), or interactions between all of the above. Having tried unsuccessfully to choose a similar mutter with Garmin on the 775 (when my GPS failed to expose that the entire city of Pittsurgh was closed down due to the G20 gathering) I know there isn't a snowball's chance in hell of getting this resolved. It does seem that there is a small more traffic information on this blueprint than on the FM services, but that isn't saying worthy.

Fourth, the battery is not user replaceable. The claim of "4 hours battery life" on this page turns to "up to 3 hours" in the manual, and under normal employ will speedily turn to "30 minutes maximum". This is a pickle because it makes the unit's pedestrian mode useless.

Finally, if you opt out of receiving advertisements, traffic services won't work any more. As you will be paying for those in two year's time (assuming the battery hasn't died by then), that's unreasonable. And unless you give Garmin wholesale rights to your area data, none of the area based stuff will work. This is about as unreasonable as Facebook claiming ownership rights to anything posted on their region.

Having said all that, I do regain the 1690 a shapely frosty gadget. The implementation has some rough edges but that will likely improve over time. If you want something that unprejudiced works, you're better off waiting for a few months; as a non-essential early adopter's toy it would be sizable - if Garmin got its act together.

This is fair a typical Garmin unit, I like Garmin better than most of the other companies primarily for how they handle points of interest. I was disappointed the Google option is a separate search not integrated into the notable search but the Google search was useful and I could have seen using this as the default POI search tool, if I was going to withhold the unit. Tom Tom did this same which I don't secure, it would have made more sense to combine the integrated items with the Google search, but I an not a programmer and don't know the challenges with accomplishing this.

The reason I really do not like this item and I am returning it, is because of the pop ups for advertisements. This item was over $400 which is a premium to pay for a GPS, I don't mind paying for a yearly service agreement and becuase this is only a two year subscription that comes with the unit I am paying for it. I objective don't ask to bag pop ups for local businesses, not only is it unaceptable but it is a distraction and it is dangerous. For example: I chose the option to exhibit the closest hospitals, now you would win if I am looking for a hospital it would be an urgent whine. I got a microscopic blue pop up banner Target - Check out this week's deal on-the-go. This same pop up showed up on a few other occasions while I had the regular navigation design up as well. This is the reason I am giving it such a obscene rating and returning it.

Product: Onkyo DV-BD507

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SUMMARY: The Onkyo DV BD507 shares a similarly unhappy state with the Harman Kardon BDP-1: The MSRP of $449 or $499 for this player is humorous in this marketplace. This player makes sense around $250 and struggles to gain a value propositon for considerable more than that. At modern street prices of $399 (8/20), I would aid you to pass.

I have been running this player through a wide array of BD and SD DVD material. BD performance is qualified and identical to most other players for 1080p 24fps.

DVD performance is compotent, but not exceptional. I will say that it is improved in some regard to the 606 that there is not a reddish push causing faces to gawk either flush or tanned depending on lighting. Colors in general are upright and I do consider in sincere world impart it keeps shadow detail and avoids crushing dim.

In respects of moire and jaggies, the performance is grand. I watched Rome Season 2 with a number of panning shots that offer stout material for moire.

My biggest criticism is the lack of detail reproduction. There is tranquil noise that dulls images. Text shows aliasing and lacks crispness; most images are soft at the raze of the day. I played with the three NR settings and could notquite secure a delighted balance. With the highest NR setting (3), speckling did appear on solid light colors like actors' foreheads. I did some A/Bing with the Oppo, Denon 2010, Pioneer 320, and Onkyo 507. The ABT chips in the Denon and Oppo cleaned up the image well to provide more detail, which provided greater distinction between images and background, providing more depth to the image. The onkyo suffered in this regard. The Pioneer arrived between the two.

This player probably uses the same panasonic chip as the Denons and has the same menus and guis. Unfortunately, it does not have quite the same develop quality and conclude. The attached power cord, remote, and analogue part are not as impressive as the denon. The player only offers coaxial digital output and two channel analogues. Audio quality from the two channel analogue outputs is righteous, but does not seem to offer the range of the burr browns. This is most apparent in listening to music.

Remote is cheap and light - it is absolutely identical to the 606's and those in the $100 Magnavox players you eye at wal-mart. It is neither backlit nor glows. It lacks a zoom function. GUI/Menus are nearly identical to the Onkyo 606: blue background with rapidly setup menu and customize option containing more detailed adjustments. The basic tree/branch setup is identical to the novel denons as well. There is an option to update the firmware via disc or the internet. The unique firmware version shows up as 1.0 and no newer versions are available over the internet.

Operation is very similar to the 606 in respects of race. Powered off eject times advance in correct at 13 seconds. Toggling through menus is snappy and responsive.

Load times have incrementally improved from the 606, but are unruffled disappointing relative to some of the quicker players on the market:

Casino Royale to Sony Screen:

JVC: 18 seocnds

Pioneer 320: 36 seconds

Onkyo 606: 45 seconds

Onkyo 507: 37 seconds

Dark Knight to AntiPiracy:

JVC: 17 seocnds

Pioneer 320: 42 seconds

Onkyo 606: 43 seconds

Onkyo 507: 38 seconds

Pirates I Dismal Pearl: Coin/Disney

JVC: Medallion 16 seconds; Disney 27 seconds

Pio 320: Medallion 44 seconds; Medallion 1 min 13 seconds

Onkyo 606: Medallion 42; Disney 1 min 2 seconds

Onkyo 507: Medallion 42; Disney 57 seconds

Deinterlacing Performance Using S&M Test Disc's Synthetic Tests

Source Adaptive Deinterlacing

Cadence: Racecar testing for moire in stands

* denotes lock on in second location.

Test: JVC / onkyo 606 / onkyo 507

2:2 pass/ fail / pass

2:2:2:4 pass / fail / fail

2:3:2:3 (PF-T) pass/ pass / pass

2:3:2:3 pass / pass / pass

2:3:3:2 pass/ fail / fail

3:2:3:2:2 pass/ fail / fail

5:5 pass/ fail / marginal

6:4 pass/ fail / fail

8:7:8:7 pass/ marginal / fail

24p - pass /pass / pass

Time-adjusted fail / marginal / fail

Edge Adaptive Test Patterns

Jaggie test - JVC

Speedometer: pass 45 to 5. fail +/- 5, pass -45 to -5

Ship: pass

horizontal scrolling text: pass

vertical scrolling text: pass

Jaggie test - Onkyo DV BD606

Speedometer: pass 45 to 5. fail +/- 5, pass -45 to -5

Ship: marginal

horizontal scrolling text: pass

vertical scrolling text: pass

Jaggie test - Onkyo DV BD507

Speedometer: pass 45 to 5. fail +/- 10

Ship: pass

horizontal scrolling text: pass

vertical scrolling text: pass

It is not a pioneer 320: it lacks the audio quality and capability (7.1 outputs), the Pioneer 320 is a more apt upscaler, and the pioneer has a slicker interface and more detailed setup options. With the Pioneer hovering around $300 street prices, the Onkyo without analogues or a strong upscaling chip/capability will suffer to offer value except for those adamant on matching their bd player with their onkyo receiver. For those that hell curved on setup symmetry, I would steer you towards the heavily discounted 606, which can be had for roughly $250. For the rest of us, the JVC XV-BP1 offers better performance, faster operation, and is significantly cheaper. It may lack the tweaking menus of the Onkyo, but I found them ineffective in finding a significantly improved image from the default.

I bent this up to my Onkyo TX-NR906 Receiver and Bewitching LC-46D-64U it was a seamless connection except for a few setting changes.. This Onkyo DV-BD507 is so simple to region up.. I'm not a tech freak but I do have two older Blu-Ray players Sony BDP-S1 & Engaging HP20U They both have colossal Blu-Ray pictures and obliging up scaling to 1080P.. But this modern Onkyo BD507 to me is above obliging on the Blu-Ray movies and the up scaling to 1080P on regular DVD's..

Thanks again Amazon!!

Product: Toshiba PSALEU-00F00G

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This is my second Toshiba laptop. Number one is around 4 years aged and smooth works well.

This review is more about the A355 chassis, than this trusty spec laptop, and should apply to fair about every one of the laptops in this series whether they speed AMD or Intel chips.

The first idea is that the materials are unbiased stupid flat out ravishing. From the intelligent exterior, to the semi rounded spoiled, the two mountainous chrome mouse buttons, the nicely integrated Harmon Kardon speakers, the illuminated touch areas, the ample pretty monitor, and those gleaming keys. Yes this is one very beautiful computer.

Under that splendid hood are some exciting specs. It stale to be incredibly rare to perceive an eSATA port on any computer, let alone a laptop. Well this one has exactly that - an eSATA port that doubles as a USB port. Nice option to hook up external hard drives. It also includes an iLink, Firewire, or IEEE-1394 port - an fantastic rarity (even Apple dropped this port) . The audio ports and volume control are on the front, nicely placed. There's absolutely no ports on the rear. There's also an vow card slot (not a PCMCIA slot, but Suppose card slot) and a multi flash memory card reader (they've dropped CF from the list) . It does not include Bluetooth - a very queer omission since every single bluetooth adapter uses the Toshiba stack to hasten. Exercise either of these adapters, they work perfectly: IOGear GBU421 Bluetooth 2.0 USB Micro Adapter or Cirago BTA3210 Class 2 Micro Bluetooth Adapter (Unlit Tip) - both are outstanding miniscule adapters.

Toshiba stuffed 4Gb of RAM and a 320Gb hard drive into this tremendous baby. Those are some stunning nice features in a laptop this inexpensive. Those Harmon Kardon speakers sound very nice.

You'll either abhor this or treasure it, and fortunately you can turn this off if you disapprove it. The Toshiba name, a runt band above the scratchy navigation pad, and the media buttons all light up white (radiant shimmering at that) . I contemplate it looks splendid wintry, but others have hated all those lights.

The monitor, oh that monitor is blooming. Movies pop, they inspect absolutely astounding on this computer. It's a nice gargantuan cloak. Yes it is a gloss attain and you do find some reflections here or there, but generally it's not poor.

The keys are all glossy and the fanatical among you might not like all the visible fingerprints, but I contemplate most will derive over that lickety-split. There is objective a ton of room to effect your hands to type and utilize the computer. That surface in front is sweet for a palm rest.

Function-wise, this computer is a decent performer. Nobody is buying this to bustle heavy games or render video - it won't do those things. But for the occasional game, the occasional video edit, you'll procure well here.

Do ticket, this computer runs Windows Vista Premium 64-Bit. Please don't be haunted of that operating system. I'm running 64 bit on two computers and it runs impartial beautifully. There is almost no current hardware that won't race under 64 bit these days. It's a rock solid platform. And that OS allows all 4Gb of memory to be seen and weak (32 bit tops out at 3Gb) . And if you don't hold me, type this into google - pcmag 64 bit computing. Read the first article in that hit list.

This is no lightweight computer. It's a large, glorious heavy laptop. Expansive for around the house. Not something you would fade everywhere with. But it is portable. Heat generation is nothing coarse. It does pull air in from below, so be careful about couches or beds plugging those holes.

It's a profitable solid like a flash computer. There's a bit of fan noise, nothing big, but you will know the machine is running. I disfavor to comment on battery life, that's so dependent on how radiant you form the cloak, processor hurry settings and the like. I got a gracious solid 2 hours of hitting it very hard at max everything. You could probably regain a safe 3 hours, maybe 4 at more conservative settings.

Something to preserve in mind, Toshiba ships all their laptops elephantine of bloat-ware. It's a really pleasurable view to engage it all. Almost none of it is primary. There are two websites that will positive all that garbage out of your computer. It's explained in a expansive article at PCMag. Type this into google, PCMag create the most out of your unusual pc. The first hit will be a fantatstic article on how to pick the garbage.

Overall, this is a broad, comely, trustworthy sounding, heavy, hard working, well priced laptop.

June 2009 Update - well my son managed to crack the cloak. He has no conception how this happened, but it's certainly not Toshiba's fault. I will admit the top is somewhat flexible, but that's not how this broke. He probably fell asleep and rolled over on top of it and doesn't remember that. I am shipshape tickled I bought the 3 year no fault warranty. Unbiased a word to the wise, displays in general have gotten more fragile. Utilize care or purchase a warranty (objective be obvious it's backed by the upright kind of company) .

This Toshiba Satellite replaced a four-year-old Dell Inspiron. As a writer, I consume my laptop every day and wanted a comfortable keyboard and touchpad. This Satellite delivers with a sturdy keyboard, enough situation to rest your palms comfortably while typing and a textured touchpad.

The touchpad has touch scrolling on both the true side and bottom (handy for scrolling along gigantic spreadsheets), so you don't have to contain down the left-click button to scroll--much easier on the hand. The touchpad scrolling settings are adjustable and can be removed.

The click buttons are huge and placed so that your palms don't brush them while you type.

I also wanted a laptop with salubrious video quality for watching DVDs and Play Now features from NetFlix. Videos are crisp and radiant on this 16-inch camouflage and it's easy to glimpse from several angles (unlike my faded LCD-screen where the conceal had to be tilted fair exactly true to avoid the dim shadow enact) .

If you like to notice movies in bed on the computer with your honey, this computer is immense for that since both people can spy the cover without unlit shadowing. The light-up DVD controls on the top of the keyboard are also a substantial feature for watching DVD's in bed.

The speakers are very obedient quality, with superb range and can be turned up loud enough to be pleased music or search for a movie from another share of the room.

My most approved feature of this computer is the volume control. Located on the front, next to the 5:1 memory card reader and headphone jack, is a exiguous wheel that turns left and suitable, like the volume control on a radio.

It's so simple, it's incandescent! When you have music blasting and the phone rings with a call from a client, a like a flash flip of the dial and the sound is turned down or off. No more hunting on the keyboard for the Function Key + a record of a muted speaker.

The Satellite has a built-in webcam that is easily activated with a click. The webcam controls appear whenever your mouse hovers come the left side of the camouflage.

Speaking of hovering controls, whenever you press the FN (Function) key, a mammoth fable appears at the top of the camouflage with function controls, which is handy when you don't have your glasses.

All four USB ports are on the sides approach the front, as is the network port. It is easier to amble and unplug components, but it's also easier to bump my USB drive when picking up something from my desk.

Did I mention that this computer is blazingly hasty? Wow! Need to have five different programs running plus several web pages start? Not a predicament for this zippy laptop.

I've been very pleased with the Toshiba Satellite and would highly recommend it.

I spent design tooooo long researching and reading and thinking about which laptop to catch and then bought the Toshiba. I'm clear other choices would have worked for me as well, but I'm VERY contented with the Toshiba.

It looks salubrious, which, while not a broad factor, is a nice bonus. It's lickety-split. I've obsolete a number of other PC's running Vista and they've all been magnificent insensible, so I believe the 4GB of memory is a enormous assist. This laptop has built-in DVD control buttons in the housing above the keyboard and while I wouldn't have bought it because of this feature, it turns out to be REALLY easy to employ and safe!

I've been surprised at how considerable I like it! I've faded products from Dell, HP, Compaq, IBM, Lenovo, Apple and Sony and this Toshiba is, so far, better for me than anything I've aged before.

Product: Lexmark 26C0000

List Price: $629.00
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After a reload of the OS, my outmoded HP laser was no longer compatible with my Mac computer, so I went looking for a color laser that did duplex printing (trying to be a bit green) . My exercise is at home for personal as well as some business printing.

The plot up was easy and the instructions obvious. Printing in B&W single sided is snappily and of high quality. I fetch the color printing to be a bit muted and not photo-like, but serene acceptable. The biggest negative is the duplex printing. It works, but... When I grasp two-sided printing, it takes forever to print. It is so dreary that I have given up using it completely. As I was hurrying out of the house on a road amble, I tried to print a Google diagram in duplex, and it took so long I simply left the house without the method. I don't know what is going on inside, but this is so abominable I'm apprehensive it ever was released.

Once I ignore duplex printing, and treat it like a nice feature I will rarely if ever exhaust, then I am generally overjoyed with the printer and recommend it for the designate.

I was very impressed with the rush and quality of the color printing when using the standard page sizes. However, when I added the 650 page add on tray in order to gather the statement sized paper feeder, (5.5" X 8.5"), the printing slows down to about 8 - 10 ppm. I have been in contact with Lexmark regarding this instruct, nothing that I have tried has helped the hasten, and I have the feeling that this is simply the best it will do. I unexcited contemplate it is the best printer for the money, but if a business expected to expend the statement feeder for volumes of printing, they would be quite disappointed.

I impartial spent two hours with Lexmark tech serve regarding printing in Sunless and White using the Mac OX Driver. They have told me in no unsafe terms, that you can only do this with a Windows driver. SO the cost of my consumables impartial went plot up.

Unlike the previous reviewer, duplex printing is insanely posthaste. He might want to try printing at 1200 DPI instead.

If someone figures how to print in dusky and white, post a review and i'll send you my email address. thanks in reach. richard

Product: Sony HDRCX100/B

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Excellent EXMOR Sensor and image processing engine, the BEST as for today! Little size. Tubby HD. Expeditiously begin. Even with "Cramped" features has a lots of them. Camera instantly detected in PC-XP Pro and Mac-OS/X. I do not care about 4MP detached shots, so won't even bother to talk about it.

Native MTS camcorder format is not supported by many players. It needs to be converted to H.264 usable by BlueRay players ...

I was reading reviews before buying this camcorder, and was unbiased amazed how grand ridiculous stuff people were saying. Some have no clue what to do with this (or Canon...) HiDef camcorders! Speaking about this CX100 - there is nothing to be shy about. Nor about Canon's or others Sony, Canon Panasonic's ... all using slightly different flavors/methods of recording AVCHD. Sony happen to notice their movies with MTS extension. I have ~6 years weak Pentium 4 2.8HT/2 GB RAM/XFX with NVidia7600GT card/DirectX 9.x. (Window Media Player +Xvid plugin) playback is not perfect, a petite choppy but acceptable. Please brand, that if you computer preview is smudgy and choppy, this is NOT a CAMERA fault! Same video is played perfectly lovely on Blue Ray player when converted to H.264. I also have unique unibody 2008 Mac Book pro OS X - laptop detects camera accurate away and launching iMovie08, offering video transfer. If you have older, non Intel Processor Mac - forget about this camera - and ALL OTHER's AVCHD/H.264 camcorders - most likely they will not be working for you. So, please, do not write negative reviews, do not confuse people, OK?

I do not utilize Component and AV cables (they calm in the box) . If you do, you are downgrading HiDef video to patetic Analog quality. I refuse call it a "Standard Definition". HDTV is recent STANDARD! And that other thing is, Analog. So, I expend impartial a HDTV cable to jabber notion on HDTV, and USB cable to travel files to Harddrive.

This camcorder when connected via USB cable is detected as external drive, not a camera. No mountainous deal to me, even more convenient. I consume to be able to build unusual files by Copying them to folder I created on my harddrive. When camera is connected to computer, earn distinct - do not delete movies from camcorder this intention. Movies "List/Previews" detached will be displayed in camera LCD preview. Completely delete files in acquire in memory only using in-camera controls. And format removable MemStick only in camcorder, not in computer. I hold, this is typical to all camcorders.

If you already have HDTV - LCD or Plasma, you can concept footage directly from camera connecting via HDTV cable. It is looking really superb on my Samsung LCD, as qualified as any non-studio recorded HD speak. But this is only a temporary solution. You'll need to empty memory to recall more video's, correct? I wanted to pick up the best video from this camcorder and it is all about conversion of MTS to H.264. There are different solutions for Mac and Windows users. Hold reading.

.......................................

PC users:

- You can spend supplied by Sony PMB Software to burn your unusual HiDef files to REGULAR, not a Blue Ray DVD-R!!!! This is awesome for someone who already has Blue Ray player anf HDTV! I advise, they can be burned on regular DVD burner, to normal DVD-R, and then played in the Blue Ray player in stout glory, with no quality loss, which can occur in conversions to other formats. I made disk like that, and tried it out - and I can mutter you - it is accurate HD video! No motion blur, no hiccups, all is PERFECT! Looks like BlueRay players have considerable better hardware to handle HD stutter. You can AVCHD DVD directly from camera, or from movies you copied to the comp harddrive. For each movie event I originate separate folder, and later PMB need to 'analyze' each folder befor disk burn.(By the plot, when PMB burning disk, you will spy that MTS format is converted to H.264) . It is in a Manual too.

- One more way: You can install XVID (free) plugin and you can perfectly play recent uncorverted MTS files via Windows Media Player!!!!

- Another way: you can win DIVX 7 Pro for mere $[...] ([...]) and convert to MKV, or DIVX PLUS HD format, which can be easily played on PC and Mac computers. DIVX player is free, is that Pro version, which has converter is not free...

- If you have slightly outdated Core 2 Duo comp - design distinct you gain more memory (4GB+, and better video card with HD serve, like Nvidia 9000 series DDR3 /Direct X 10/Open GL2.x)

- Allegedly Windows 7 should have better HiDef befriend and most of the codexes... will observe.

.....................................

Mac Users:

- Sony providing PMB software for PC user only. Accept over it. But actually, Mac user have even better solution, not free though...

- You can rep Mac version of DIVX player also for $[...] and convert MTS to something more user suited.

- Or, (My choice) you can shell out $[...]+tax for Elgato Turbo.264 HD USB/hardware based encoder/accelerator ([...]), and convert MTS to h.264, then store them on external haddrive

- Fast Time Pro 7 can be dilapidated for playing H.264 movies! Again, they can be burned on regular DVD-R for BlueRay players. You also, can connect your Mac via MiniDisplay Port /HDMI adaptopr ([...]) to any HDTV or projector for bigger trill.

- PS: MacConnection catalog now is listing this CX100, so you perceive - it is OK, it is salubrious to obtain Sony HDR CX100!

....................................

Finally, if you don't have any stinkin' computer, or all what you got is one of those anemic 'netbooks' and you quiet want Canon, or Sony H.264 camcorder - No predicament. At Costco, for $[...] you can glean standalone Sony DVDirect MC5 DVD recorder (not a Blue Ray disk recorder, regular DVD's) and connect it by USB cable. You can build AVCHD disks readable by Blue Ray players. Never tried myself, impartial repeating what Manual says . Canon also has similar diagram, but it looks like it is making only analog, not HD DVD's. So, all you will need is: Camcorder/MC5 recorder/Stack of DVD-Rs (which cost on average ~$[...] each) /new BlueRay Player/720p, or 1080p LCD or Plasma HDTV. That's it!

MY OBSERVATIONS and recommendations after first week of playing around.

1. ALWAYS represent in highest possible resolution [HD FH].

2. Spot color to X.V. COLOR!!! (if you have Sony Blue Ray player/and HDTV supporting that (Sony, Panasonic...) you can have advantage of enhanced colors) . But it may be better turn it OFF in really sunny day. Colors might be diagram saturated (red/blue/yellow) almost fluorescent. And even with x.v.color off - have me, camera will originate very nice video! And employ of x.v. color could be very favorable for cloudy days, or for dimmer lighting.

3. Get obvious that you have image stabilization (STEADYSHOT) tuned ON!

4. ...all other settings I have on Auto. You determine yours.

5. There is bunch of useful presets like Beach, Landscape, Soft Portrait ... I have to check it out yet.

6. Camera is very light, so you'd better bear it loyal, or achieve it to something. I have puny tabletop tripod (~$[...]) and I have it attached to the bottom - it works for me like an extra handle.

7. Even when camera is on a tripod - pan (sweep left/right) as slowly and smoothly as you can. Many people have to learn this, because some recount excessive blur - it not worse than considerable more expensive camcorders. It is YOU - you need to learn how to "drive" your modern toy. Eventually, it will arrive to you, no worries.

8. Glean a Polarizer, or UV filter - to explore through the glare of glass or water. This is VERY nice thing to have on a sparkling sunny day!

9. Tripods? I have Slik Compact XL, light and great for recede. Works for me. But remarkable better is Manfrotto 190XDB I saw for $[...] at bestbuy... Very solid built, and detached panning.

RECIPIE to score best video (This is right for ALL camcorders, and digital cameras) :

- Try to bag as conclude as possible to object you are filming. I believe, best range is 2 - 20 ft. Next best is 20-50 feet

- Do not shoot in the dusk/dark. Film in well lit conditions. Try to have sun, or source of light slow you, not in front of you (unless you are shooting Hawaiian sunset... In obscene light - this camera is about the same as any other one's, if not better. Do not listen to purists about improper light "performance".

- Turn OFF that "Digital Zoom"! 10x of OPTICAL zoom is more than enough for most conditions. Beyond that you will win great quality degradation. Try to apply less zoom as possible. Besides, "digital" zoom is using camera sensor, reducing resolution to net higher zoom. NOT marvelous!

- Less zoom will do a gargantuan dissimilarity (unless camera on a tripod) for Image Stabilization, it will work better. Try, and you will gape how is difficult to enjoy camera detached on far zoom range...

- U can exhaust Wide Angle adapter, I got ~$[...] Sony VCL-0630X through Pricegrabber and it is unbiased... OK. At max zoom, corners will be blurred a bit. You can acquire better one for $[...] (Sony VCL-HGA07) .

CONCLUSION: There are better camcorders over there. I really like recent Canon HF S100... But it is around ~900! And this cutie, for under 460 --- it can be beat! And even in a "pocket" size - it is genuine Hi Definition camcorder, unbiased expend it to rotund capacity! Later on, when I become a PRO cameraman, and have tons of money (3500-4000) - I will definitely go for a Scarlet from RED ([...]) . But now -- I'm contented with CX100. When I regain decent video's I will post it on [...].

... Phew, I'm tired of typing. Objective go and win it.

UPDATE: I unbiased saw Pricegrabber's novel trim deal - 455 at [...]! That's $[...] less than I paid)

You'all have a top-notch time!

This camera is extraordinary. Once I charged up this puppy and fired it up it looked awesome. I filmed my dog and you could gawk every strand of hair on his body and the texture of the hair. It also has the smiling sensor technology that is really super. Attach it in video mode and when someone smiles SNAP!....a photo is automatically taken (you can plot it on or off) . I like that its flash memory as well (hard drives dont survive drops so well) . I gotta say Sony assign out one sexy stylish camcorder. It looks stout in the hand and it definitely got some peoples attention. Once you salvage this camcorder you'll never want to go support to SD recording. Here are my PROs and CONs:

PROS:

+ Improbable quality video

+ Lets you catch a photo while filming

+ Smile detection

+ Ready to film once veil is open

+ Cramped and compact

+ Very wonderful looking camera comes in three colors

+ Flash memory (bad/good you determine)

+ HDMI support

CONS:

- Not impartial any HDMI cable will work

- Proprietary memory stick format (memory sticks are expensive)

- Outrageous 10x optical zoom

- 3 hours recording time

Love this camera and highly recommend it.

Right out of the box this Handycam Rocked my World!

I was looking for a camera that was:

-Small for traveling

-Does not consume tapes

-Great HD quality.

The Sony HDR-CX100 was objective released. I usually do a lot of research when it comes to technology, but the handycam fit exactly what I was looking for:

-Small

-Card Based Media

-Great HD Quality

I really took a chance on Quality, without testing at local store first..

(impulse purchase)

But it worked out mountainous the camera Is AWESOME. I even place it to a test.. I primitive the Handycam (all plot in auto mode) along with the Sony HVR-Z1U 3CCD High Definition Camcorder to recount a theatrical performance.. The quality matches perfectly.. cutting between the two cameras is seamless..

The size and first-rate HD quality, makes this a Must have for any one looking for compact HD handycam.

Product: Garmin Nuvi 760

List Price: $399.99
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I enjoy both the Nuvi 660 and the 760, I'm writing this review for people having pains deciding between the two as the note inequity between the two products at the time of this review is about 100 dollars. I'm not going to focus on the feature differences, as that information can be easily obtained from specifications and online reviews. The 660 was a heavenly product befriend in 2005-2006, but the novel 760 outdoes the 660 in practically everything, but there are some key usability fixes that get the 760 a better grasp for the frequent user.

1. 760 has great better fonts for street names than the 660. This may seem like a trivial update to some, but the 760's fonts greatly improve visibility. The 660 uses all capitalized text for street names on the procedure, and the font is incredibly cartoonish and unaligned, something like the scribbling Laughable Sans font on the PC. The 760 uses your standard Verdana-like font with street names in capitalized and lowercase letters. The fonts on the 760 are smaller, cleaner and surprisingly grand easier to read while driving. The maps raze up looking professional, and not some cartoony children's video game.

2. 760 has better rendering in 3D device mode than the 660. In the 660 when you are zoomed in under 3D method mode, the roads stop to your car are displayed incredibly expansive, so colossal that they speed into other roads, making the zoom function essentially kind of useless for dense roads. The 760 does not oversize your roads objective because you zoomed in to idea smaller roads in detail. This fix is very nice for those who drive in places with dense roadways, like Unusual York City.

3. No antenna on the 760 makes hooking up your Nuvi to the cradle one step easier. On the 660 you need to flip up the antenna before attaching the cradle. For people who park their cars on the street overnight, removing the GPS from the cradle for storage in the console or glove compartment is a must, and it's a lot easier hooking up the 760 to the cradle than the 660. It's hard to aim the 660 to its cradle in the shaded as you have to align both the bottom edge and the charge port under the antenna. In the 760, the charge port is directly on the bottom of the unit; you can keep it to the cradle with one hand in the dismal easily on the 760.

4. It takes the 660 a gracious 45 seconds on average (sometimes longer than 2 minutes) after boot up to locate the satellite on a icy launch. If you have firmware 2.6 installed on the 760, the satellite acquisition time after boot up is between 10-20 seconds. After the firmware update, my 760 also holds a stronger lock to the satellites than my 660, I can win satellite lock inside my house with the 760, whereas I can't find a lock with my 660 (adjusting the antenna does very microscopic) .

5. The ability to station multiple ad hoc viapoints on the 760 means it's a lot easier creating alternate routes (very handy to avoid a specific interstate or a high traffic road) . Whereas the 660 gives you unprejudiced one viapoint.

I feel a astronomical amount of sympathy for consumers shopping for a portable GPS systems or any sophisticated electronic product for that matter. There is such a dizzying array of models/brands/functions that it is both a blessing and a curse. I am very tech oriented and savor researching and evaluating modern electronic gadgets. After a few days of reviewing GPS brands and models, I narrowed my selections down to the Garmin 760, Garmin 680, TomTom 920T and the Magellan Maestro 4250.

I am not going to dive deeply into the features and benefits of each model because many of the reviews on Amazon and other websites do a stout job of that. However, I will summarize my belief process for finally choosing the 760 as the best GPS for me. Let me commence by stating that there is no perfect GPS system and therein lies the challenge. Every model that I looked at had strengths and weaknesses and there wasn't a product that made it a determined reduce decision. What I did (and recommend) is to originate a priority list of the features and functions that are most necessary to you and to seize the model that best fits your requirements. This sounds like an sure come but it was a lot harder than it sounds.

The single most significant aspect for me was the accuracy and capability of the routing engine. That seems simple enough but when you throw in the all the other features offered in today's GPS models the decision making process becomes great muddier. In staying with my new strategy, I positive that the Garmin 7xx series had the best routing engine for North America. My conclusion is based on consumer and professional reviews, discussion boards, and my believe testing. With that being said, the 760 is not perfect and I have experienced a few quirky directions but nothing that was of mammoth anguish.

How do I like the 760? For the most fraction, I am extremely overjoyed with the performance and functionality of the 760. Like most people I do have a list of my personal improvement and enhancements for the system but they are not deal breakers. When I first received the unit, I tested it on a swagger to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park. The directions to and from the Park and Palm Springs were flawless and the GPS recognized all the main roads within the park. We actually encountered some road construction on one of the main highways and the traffic receiver recognized the dilemma but gave us a curious recommendation. It directed us to go down the off-ramp and immediately salvage on the next on-ramp. We did this twice and it actually moved us ahead in traffic. I'm not certain how effective that strategy would be in other similar situations. The speaker volume could be louder but I could easily understand the commands traveling at 80 mph. I have also tested the system on several routes throughout Southern California and the system performed very well. All of the main features worked as published with a few exceptions illustrious below. The user interface is very well designed and I was able to operate 80% of the functions without reading the manual. In addition to the 760, I also purchased the Garmin Friction Dashboard Mount which I maintain is estimable to the glass suction mount provided.

So why did I only give it 4 stars? The one vast annoyance for me was that if you directly input the POI name, the search can pick a long amount of time (greater than 5 minutes) if it goes outside of your vicinity. This is extremely tedious compared to our in-dash GPS system. The touch mask could be more responsive and is not that sensitive especially with the browse procedure option. The 760 bluetooth pairs consistently and quick with my Motorola KRZR phone but the receiving and transmitting sound quality is very abominable. The FM transmitter is unusable.

I really wanted to like the TomTom 920T especially with the insist recognition, user updates for maps and a long list of customizations. However, the routing engine seems to perform more inconsistent performance than the Garmin and I could not fetch enough information on their mapping data to understand how suitable it is today. The two main providers of arrangement data are Navteq and Tele Atlas. Garmin and Magellan exhaust Navteq and TomTom uses Tele Atlas. In the past, Navteq has been considered more factual and complete for North America but Tele Atlas has made critical updates in novel times. Interestingly the 760 uses Garmin's 2008 North American maps but the source data is 18 to 24 months frail which shows there is always a enormous tear in procedure information. Garmin has been very suitable at providing updates more frequently than the other manufacturers. My impression is that TomTom is mighty stronger with the European maps than the NA maps.

Here is a speedy rundown of how I notion the models:

Magellan Maestro 4250:

Pros: multi point destination routing with optimization, stout address and text input system

Cons: questionable routing engine, outdated procedure data, inconsistent train recognition, cumbersome POI interface, unpleasant text to speech quality, bad customer benefit in US

TomTom 920T

Pros: advise recognition, enhanced positioning technology, diagram allotment, qualified customization options, multi-destination routing

Cons: questionable routing engine, outdated contrivance data (although this is somewhat offset by way fraction), no routing optimization, cumbersome user interface

Garmin 760

Pros: routing engine seems very agreeable, multi-destination routing optimization, estimable POI database, more plan updates compared to competition, sizable user interface

Cons: touch cover is not very sensitive, outdated device data, FM transmitter is useless, expensive

Garmin 680

Pros: most of the same features and functionality as the 760 but with MSN Speak, louder speaker volume than 760, considerable better value than the 760

Cons: no multipoint destination, older recognize and feel than the 760

I have only listed a miniature spot of the pros and cons for each of the different models but these were the areas that stood out the most to me. When it's all said and done, I probably would have been delighted with any of these models but if you can afford the 760 and routing directions in North America is your most vital requirement then I would highly recommend the 760.

I have seen questions about whether the 760 comes with the SiRF Star III chip and the unit that I objective purchased from Amazon did arrive with that chip. The SiRF is a high performance GPS chipset that can fleet salvage and contain a lock onto satellite signals for status information. It is considered the chipset of choice for the higher waste mobile GPS devices. All of the models I have described above have the SiRF chipset. I also have seen questions about how hastily the 760 can lock onto satellites. I updated my system firmware to version 2.6 and the satellite acquisition time is lightning speedy. I have found in outside environments, my 760 can consistently bag a signal in under 10 seconds even first thing in the morning.

There are a couple of other useful features that are not described in the instruction manual. If you have down on the signal strength bar in the top left corner, you will regain the satellite acquisition camouflage which shows the area accuracy. If you possess down on the battery indicator for a few seconds, this will allow access to the diagnostic shroud which is where you can identify the GPS chipset among other information.

Lots of reviews here that veil the bases. So I'll limit this to a bullet list of some items I found annoying:

1. Hands free calling is not as well-behaved as my BlueAnt gizmo. Callers on other extinguish said my explain sounded muddy and uneven. When I tried the Garmin 670, callers on the other ruin preferred it. But overall the Blue Ant was best.

2. The speaker on the 760 is tinnier than on the Garmin 670 and annoying. The 670 is a thicker model, and I narrate they were able to fit a better speaker. If you're honest using maps and guidance this is not a grand deal. But if you spend hands free dialing, it is abominable.

3. I disagree with another post about the font. I deem the font on the 670 is sharper and easier to read than on the 760 model. Great of the time (not always) the font is larger on the 670 model.

4. The MP3 on both models is rudimentary at best. The playlist function does not work very well.

5. The supposed ability to play sound through the FM is a joke. Neither unit works well enough to exercise...ever. Sometimes nothing comes through. When sound does present up, it is scratchy and irritating beyond conception. If Garmin is going to list this as a feature, they need to go support to the drawing table. As of now, the implementation of this feature is pathetic.

6. Both the 760 and the 670 lock GPS about the same run...perhaps the 760 is a touch faster...but not to the extent anyone would really examine.

7. 760 is thinner and doesn't need to commence the antenna. So it is remarkable easier to consume in pedestrian mode. On the 670 with the GPS antenna up, it's tough to fit the unit in your pocket. So pedestrian mode isn't realistic on the 670.

8. Garmin got ridiculously cheap on the 760 with respect to accessories. NO AC Adapter; no disk for PDF Relieve file; no case. All three are standard on the 670 model.

Garmin's Maps and POI are both stout. The guidance works very well. So bottom line, is that it is the hands free phone consume, playing sound through FM and MP3 that I'm notable of.