2 comments about HITACHI 0A56415 2.5-Inch 250GB 5400 RPM SATA Internal Hard Drive.

1. I bought this hardrive for my daughter's laptop to replace her smaller 70GB hardrive. It works great without any problems. I did a lot of comparison shopping before I settled on this one. The price for this hardrive was the best I could find.



2. HITACHI 0A56415 2.5-Inch 250GB 5400 RPM SATA Internal Hard DriveUpgraded my Dell Insperon laptop with this hard drive, loaded my old files and programs, went without any problems and is running great, I was so surprised and delighted that it was so easy and so quick

5 comments about Hitachi DZ-BX35A DVD Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom.

1. I purchased this Hitachi DZ-BX35A DVD Camcorder at a clearance price on the spur-of-the-moment one day prior to my departure to Egypt for a 2 week Holiday. The clearance price was $149 and I figured the worst case was that I'd get some video images from our trip and I'd learn a bit about camcorders and be better educated for a future purchase when the prices drop for the HD flash memory models. Despite the quick purchase decision, I did attempt a bit of background research on DVD camcorders and this Hitachi model in particular. Because we would not have access to a computer during our travels, the DVD models seemed a good bet as I could take along a supply of discs and do the transfers later on return home. On checking reviews of this model at some of the online camcorder sites I saw several reviewers who totally panned this model giving it very low ratings across all aspects of its performance. This almost disuaded me from buying but then I noticed one comment on one of the reviews noting that the reviewers were comparing this to $500-800 models. He noted that he was a beginner and was happy so far. The $149 price was too much to resist so I went back and bought the Hitachi and 6 DVD+RW discs the day prior to my departure. I could not find the highly rated Maxell disks and bought Sony instead. They have worked fine. They play on my computer DVD player as well as on my home theatre DVD player.
   
   So with that prelude, how has it worked? I am totally satisfied so far (but recognize this is my first experiecne recording any kind of video). I suspect some of my quibbles are common to many camcorders - for example, the 100x zoom is great (even astonishing) but you have to learn to control the speed of the zoom and a tripod or some camera support is almost essential at the longer focal lengths. In the bright sun wearing sunglasses, I found the view finder virtually impossible to use; the LCD display was usable but very hard to see any detail. The focus seems to lag a bit sometimes while panning on objects at different distances. Battery life seemed adequate and the ability to run the camera in the hotel off the DC cord was helpful for reviewing the prior day's shooting, formatting disks, etc. The AC adapeter worked fine on either 110 or 220V. Again, speaking as a beginner with nothing else to compare it to the image quality seems fine for a 640x480 resolution and played on my 42" plasma with adequate resolution. Some of clips I shot seemed to be a bit off on the color rendition and some in the Egyptian desert sun were kind of wahsed out (but then again it was incredibly bright out there).
   
   My only complaint at this point is with the power switch - its too easy to accidentally turn on or off. There is supposedly a lock button but on my model it does not seem to work. This is mainly worrisome regarding the time it take the camera to write the images just shot onto the disk.
   
   Some minor stuff: the menus seem a bit awkward to use and the still photo option records only to an SD card at only 1.3 megapixzels but this is not unique to Hitachi models. Overall, I am delighted with this camera so far and have found a an excellent learning experience.



2. I can't believe this camera has been so highly-rated. This camera wasted lots of my time recording important events and then was unable to reliably "finalize" my discs for display on my DVD players. I recorded 5 brand-new discs at an event last night, everything seemed fine, and then later that night two of the five discs failed to finalize and gave messages about the discs being corrupted or unreadable. The only options were to fix the problems by re-formatting the discs and permanently losing contents of two of the discs. (That's a 40% rate of loss!) I used the recommended Maxell DVD-RW discs to avoid exactly this sort of problem and still got very poor results. In advance of a big vacation in two weeks I'm going out to shop for another camera tonight. DON'T BUY THIS CAMERA unless you TEST THOROUGHLY in advance of your vacation or special event. I may have a lemon, but this could be the current state of Hitachi quality and performance. It may also be a problem inherent in recording to mini-DVDs. All I know is that I am very frustrated after following all directions and instructions carefully. I lost some important video memories when I used this camera and I'm not letting it happen on my big vacation in two weeks.



3. I have had off and on again problems with hitachi hybrid, and now the dvd will not eject disc and i can't access dvd mode. I have many discs that were not finalized(which means no playback!!!!!) Plus almost every time I recorded onto disc, I had disc error, and had to stop recording and repair, and missed many special moments. DO NOT BUY!!!!!
   
   UPDATE: Recieved new hitachi hybrid, and STILL SAME PROBLEM!!!!!!At first it worked, and I thought maybe first camcorder was a lemon, but here we go again!!!!!! I lost the 2nd half of my kids birthday party, the best parts, the opening of gifts, the pinata, the cousins all playing together, some very funny, great moments, ALL LOST because halfway through recording onto HDD mode, I get a message "repair data now or images will be deleted". By the time I repair the dang thing, the moment is gone.........SO DISAPPOINTED. Sending back. I've learned the hard way, 2 things.....#1always have back up for those "priceless" moments......and #2 Its better to not even bother with an unreliable camcorder/camera during those special moments, because you'll become so distracted with the camcorder/camera, that you'll miss out on just ENJOYING and taking in the moment.



4. BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE! This recorder work great for a few days but gave me a disk error on the 4th day. I lost everything from that day because it would not finalize the disk. So maybe it was the disk (trying benefit of the doubt). However now it stays stuck on `DISS ACCESS'. I called Hitachi and was told I have to go to St Louis to get it fixed. I live in Kansas. I ask to make a complaint and was given the run around. They need to open a file, they asked A LOT of questions regarding my address, full name, numbers, etc (not all actually needed to get an address so I can write a complaint letter. Then I get transferred to a rude woman (I wasn't even told I was getting transferred) who tells me there are only 6 authorized businesses who can work on the camera because they go through intensive training. This does not change anything about me trying to make a complaint. She said she would make a note of this. HA! I then asked for a confirmation number, she went crazy - assuring me the complaint would be taken care of. (Sure!). She finally gave me a case number. I told her I was going to call back to check if it was really a case number attached to this situation. This pushed her over the edge. The call did not end well and I did call back to find Hitachi's notes on this situation were few and more about me being a problem instead of the camera. BEWARE!



5. I got this camcorder a few years ago and have never had a problem...in fact, I'm quite surprised at all the negative reviews and bad experiences.
   
   Maybe I'm just naive, as this was my first and only DVD camcorder so far. I'm not sure about all the features on other products, but I've gotten so used to this camera that it has never been a problem (however, after reading these reviews, I'm knocking on wood!).
   
   True, the DVD recording time is not long. True, you have to finalize discs before you take them out. True, you can only finalize through an AC outlet. But for the most part, this camera has served my needs. I guess if you are looking for something more elaborate, you can get something else. But this item works well and serves its purpose.

5 comments about Hitachi 4gb Digital Microdrive High Speed Memory Card.

1. I bought two of these 4 GB drives from different vendors and about a year apart, yet I have had the same problem with both of them. At just over 1 gig of photos it starts giving me 'corrupt image' notices, and I have gotten to where I can tell when it's going to happen, because when it does, the camera's display stays on too long after I have taken a shot and then all of my manual settings are reset. I am trying to find research on why it does this, because the reason I bought 4 gigs was so that I did not have to worry about backups while traveling. Now I have to take my laptop or a secondary backup device with me on long trips, which can be cumbersome when travelling internationally, because when these errors begin to happen I have to backup the drive immediately and re-format the card or I can't even continue taking photographs. I have a Canon Eos that's only 3 years old, so the camera should not be the problem.



2. most cameras need a Fat 16 formated drive.
   All 4 GB drives come (IBM or Hitachi or labels) come formated FAT32
   so given that fact , most cameras will fail. If yours works , skip this review, ok?
   However you can reformat it.
   
   What's worse,
   there at 2 types of drives.
   Hitachi says
   white label is REAL-IDE interface only ( computer , Ipod, MP3 unit, etc)
   and that blue label is: CF+ Camera Microdrive
   
   so if you have a white lable , chances are, It will never work with a camera. To be sure, check the model number on your drive againt the Hitachi online specifications to be sure.
   
   To fix FAT32 , get a USB to FC/MD Memory reader device.
   find Windows XP pro, Home stinks , find the real thing.
   
   Go to control panel + admin..tools +computer.managment + disk management.
   recommend looking before and after pluging in your microdrive
   so you will recognize it when plugged in.
   
   find it and right click , delete partition. ( be dang careful here)
   now, right click it again, and creat a new partition of 2gb.
   when that is done format it to FAT16. ( some times called FAT)
   you lost 2gb, but that ok, as many cams have a limit of 2gb, but not all.
   set the partition to whatever you camera manaual allows.
   
   the above assume you are not in some recovery mode.
   For that you need special software and $40



3. Works flawlessly in my Nikon D-70. I still use my 60x write speed CFII card for action photo's but this is a great backup card for non-action photography.



4. I have this Microdrive for over a year now with no problems with it. I just would not buy another one because of the slow speed. I own a D300 and it takes 8sec to write 1 TIFF file to the card, but with SanDisk Extreme III it takes 1sec... I have used it many times when my other cards are full and it has not let me down when storing the images. 1 or 2 time if messed up 1 photo but was quickly noticed and erased and retaken with no problems. I do take care of it and do not subject it to freezing cold or dropping it on the ground. Again I have heard good and bad about this card but I say it is Good.



5. The Hitachi 4GB Microdrive (CF Type II card interface) came bundled with my Sony A-100 (Alpha) camera. I never-ever had a problem with it. I can't say that it had to operate under a lot of stress - the highest it's been is about 12,000 ft. in Colorado - but whatever it had to do it did well. Here is my evaluation:
   
   Pros:
   - trouble-free operation - once it was formatted, no additional maintenance was ever required
   - pretty good storage capacity - over 1000 pictures on a 10M camera storing 'fine' quality JPEGs
   - better than a flash card at handling repeated write/erase cycles as its capacity to store data does not degrade
   
   Cons:
   - a little bit slow - but it did manage 3-shot bursts pretty well, takes a while to 'zoom' into a picture already taken
   - draws more power than a CF Type I flash card that a typical D-SLR camera would accept
   - less expensive alternatives are currently available
   
   I am awarding it 4 stars and not 5 because anyone looking for a D-SLR card today must be aware that better alternatives are available. My camera just received a 16GB CF card that, on a dollar-per-gigabyte comparison, comes at half the price. However, if anyone is looking for a very small hard disk-like extension, the Microdrive is the way to go.

5 comments about Hitachi SimpleNET NAS Head USB 2.0 Portable Dongle SNET (Black).

1. I simply wanted to serve two drives I have to my three laptops and single desktop. My family swaps computers and kids needed to access their homework and other file regardless of which computer was available. This seemed like an affordable solution but there are multiple problems.
   
   - The manual is terrible.
   - Device doesn't show up until you rename the workgroup and restart the device. Manual fails to mention that.
   - Not as easy to use as the name implies.
   - Device fails frequently - drives disappear, folders appear empty, and it will not delete folders properly.
   - Will not pass files larger than 2GB. Nothing in manual mentions this and the error is non-descript.
   - Very slow. Hitachi is honest about this fact but since it claims to serve iTunes I figured fast enough. Wrong. If you are playing music that will be all you will do with the two drives you have connected. At least if your files are mp3 at 320kps. Forget playing video files in real time.
   - Runs hot.
   
   I spend about 6 hours playing with it trying to get it working and another 3 days watching it fail every few hours. Honestly maybe I got a bad one but since the transfer speed is so slow I'm sending it back. Great idea, great price, poor product.



2. i have used this product for my home usage and found it good as it solve my problem for accessing my usb drives over the internet with good authentication facility and can access my personal files anywhere and anytime eliminating the use of skydrive or google docs which have many restriction but its bit slow to transfer hugh files and bit expensive for the kind of speed I was looking for



3. I grabbed one of these to serve as a temporary NAS after the USB ports on a server started to flake out. Bad move. My first hint was that it just couldn't handle windows credentials, so I had to enter a password to connect to a password protected share. Fine for home use, bad for an unattended backup. There's no other security setting on this, so I modified the /etc/smb/smb.conf file to only allow my server to hit it with no authentication. That worked, until I reboot it. It had actually left the change in the file, but connected out one of the two lines I added.
   
   Some more issues:
   
   * It's slow. The 100Mbps connection is bad enough, but it won't get anywhere near that speed.
   * It's unreliable. I have to reboot the thing daily to get it to work.
   * It does not support Windows Domain Authentication. Despite being based on the Samba server, it just doesn't support the really good features for getting this to interop with anything more than the home versions of Windows.
   * It supports configuration from SSH, and then overwrites your some of your changes on boot up. Awesome.
   
   The good news is that it is just a little Linux box so it's hackable. It's easy enough to setup and run and for home use, it might be usable, just make sure you're using a FAT32 disk attached to it and not storing files bigger than 2GB.
   
   Would I use it as a NAS? No. It's just too unreliable for the job.



4. This is a truly horrible device.
   
   1. It is slow
   2. It can't support two external USB hard drives even though it has two USB ports
   3. Support is the worst I have ever seen. Stupefyingly incompetent!!
   
   I will NEVER buy anything from Hitachi again
   
   Only gave it one star because negative starts is not available.
   Perhaps Amazon should allow for the skull and crossbones for reviews for garbage like the SimpleNET



5. It's a really easy setup, plug in and just goes. Configuration screens easy, guess the admin password without reading the manual.. Worked OOB with my 1TB WD NTFS drive.
   
   But it is so slow, I don't know why they bothered making it 100Mb, it'll never get anywhere close to that. Browsing files by samba is like wading through treacle, I tried it with a couple of drives, and network configurations.
   
   Occasional archival use maybe, does indeed get quite warm, but so far no fault.

5 comments about Hitachi SimpleDrive Mini 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive SDM/320BD (Blue Dusk).

1. I like the product, except for the fact that it doesn't sync. Every backup is a complete and overlapping back-up.



2. Very pleased. I especially like the double usb cable to avoid having to use a separate power supply. This allows me to bring it around with my laptop while still being portable.



3. I would highly recommend the Simple Drive by Hitachi. The unit is so small and easy to use. It looks nice when sitting on my desk next to my laptop. It has PLENTY of storage space and is simple to look up files. The only thing I did not like was the back up software that came with it. It is great for a beginner but doesn't have a few things an advanced computer user would want. Eg. It does not allow you to pick certain dates for the backup. It allows you to pick daily, weekly and a few other things. The main thing about the back up software was it DOES NOT erase any old backups after it creates new ones. You have to manually go in and erase any back up you want to get rid of. I ended up using a new 100 dollar back up software for the drive and it was worse. Do a lot of research and make sure that you get the right software. The best I have seen is an Image back up software that will erase old back ups and allows you to set all those settings yourself. For the amount I paid for the drive it was WELL worth the money and perfect for a Laptop and/or travel purposes. I fully recommend this drive!!!



4. I bought this Hitachi (red) 250gb external drive to replace my older Maxtor that was "acting up", and so far it seems to be doing what it's supposed to. It transfers data rather quickly w/no descernible noise, small/light weight, and super easy to operate. So, it is everything I need for an external HD that is portable. I hope it doesn't develop problems like the Maxtor did, and that I'll be able to guard my data w/out worrying if they transfer, or not, for much time....



5. I purchased one of these drives and it wasn't even a year old when it cratered. I was running my mac Time Machine backup and all of a sudden it started making a clicking noise and froze my whole system. After rebooting, the disk will not mount and I am SOL. Now it's going to cost me a couple hundred bucks to recover the data. DON'T BUY A HITACHI DRIVE!!

5 comments about Hitachi SimpleDrive Mini 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive SDM/500CF (Carbon Fiber).

1. I like the product, except for the fact that it doesn't sync. Every backup is a complete and overlapping back-up.



2. Very pleased. I especially like the double usb cable to avoid having to use a separate power supply. This allows me to bring it around with my laptop while still being portable.



3. I would highly recommend the Simple Drive by Hitachi. The unit is so small and easy to use. It looks nice when sitting on my desk next to my laptop. It has PLENTY of storage space and is simple to look up files. The only thing I did not like was the back up software that came with it. It is great for a beginner but doesn't have a few things an advanced computer user would want. Eg. It does not allow you to pick certain dates for the backup. It allows you to pick daily, weekly and a few other things. The main thing about the back up software was it DOES NOT erase any old backups after it creates new ones. You have to manually go in and erase any back up you want to get rid of. I ended up using a new 100 dollar back up software for the drive and it was worse. Do a lot of research and make sure that you get the right software. The best I have seen is an Image back up software that will erase old back ups and allows you to set all those settings yourself. For the amount I paid for the drive it was WELL worth the money and perfect for a Laptop and/or travel purposes. I fully recommend this drive!!!



4. I bought this Hitachi (red) 250gb external drive to replace my older Maxtor that was "acting up", and so far it seems to be doing what it's supposed to. It transfers data rather quickly w/no descernible noise, small/light weight, and super easy to operate. So, it is everything I need for an external HD that is portable. I hope it doesn't develop problems like the Maxtor did, and that I'll be able to guard my data w/out worrying if they transfer, or not, for much time....



5. I purchased one of these drives and it wasn't even a year old when it cratered. I was running my mac Time Machine backup and all of a sudden it started making a clicking noise and froze my whole system. After rebooting, the disk will not mount and I am SOL. Now it's going to cost me a couple hundred bucks to recover the data. DON'T BUY A HITACHI DRIVE!!

5 comments about Hitachi SimpleTOUGH 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST/500GB (Carbon Fiber).

1. Like the others who bought the Hitachi. It worked for about two months and now is useless. These are defective and should be recalled



2. Unless you haven't read by now, this is a faulty design. After about 3-4 months of non-abusing, attentive use, the USB cable attached to the hard drive somehow loses its connection unless one tilts the drive up and holds it there with a heavy object beside it. What an incredible oversight of the production of an otherwise adequate hard drive. I will try to return this to Costco. Hitachi, I know you are reading these reviews. You have lost a lot of consumer goodwill on this one! burned once shame on you, burned twice shame on me.



3. The drive itself seems fine, unfortunately the rubberized ribbon cable is the failure point . . . and it is not easily replaceable. The connection to the drive fails, if you move the cable around or twist it, it may work for awhile . . . but, lets be serious, you can't rely on this drive. Get you money back or put it into another case . . .



4. Having had some good luck with Hitachi products in the past, picked one of these 320GB SimpleTough drives up for daughter (Junior in college - photography student, so is accustomed to handling equipment carefully).
   
   Drive lasted about 30 days before the cable failed. Fortunately, I was able to make a connection by twisting the cable, so we were able to pull off all of her photo assignments - even more fortunately (well: this part was actually planned), had purchased from a local store with an outstanding return policy, so was able to obtain full refund.
   
   In any event, end result is yet another Warning to stay away from this series of external hard drives!



5. I didn't actually buy this, but was sent it as a replacement for another Hitachi external drive (Signature Mini 320G) that failed after 1 year. I guess this is how Hitachi plans to unload their stock of unsold/returned eventual doorstops.
   
   Anyway, after recovering from my puzzlement over being sent a non-swap for the returned product, I checked the Amazon users comments for this product and, to my dismay, read the many harshly negative reviews of this product. To my greater dismay, I have to add mine to this large and growing list. In my case, the drive keeps crashing Windows Explorer, and in the act of trying to copy files onto it, it brought about deletion or corruption of the original source files. Anyway, I am in the process of seeking return of this to Hitachi. Perhaps in a few days, I can add more info about my experience with customer support.

5 comments about Hitachi SimpleTOUGH 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive ST/320GB (Carbon Fiber).

1. Like the others who bought the Hitachi. It worked for about two months and now is useless. These are defective and should be recalled



2. Unless you haven't read by now, this is a faulty design. After about 3-4 months of non-abusing, attentive use, the USB cable attached to the hard drive somehow loses its connection unless one tilts the drive up and holds it there with a heavy object beside it. What an incredible oversight of the production of an otherwise adequate hard drive. I will try to return this to Costco. Hitachi, I know you are reading these reviews. You have lost a lot of consumer goodwill on this one! burned once shame on you, burned twice shame on me.



3. The drive itself seems fine, unfortunately the rubberized ribbon cable is the failure point . . . and it is not easily replaceable. The connection to the drive fails, if you move the cable around or twist it, it may work for awhile . . . but, lets be serious, you can't rely on this drive. Get you money back or put it into another case . . .



4. Having had some good luck with Hitachi products in the past, picked one of these 320GB SimpleTough drives up for daughter (Junior in college - photography student, so is accustomed to handling equipment carefully).
   
   Drive lasted about 30 days before the cable failed. Fortunately, I was able to make a connection by twisting the cable, so we were able to pull off all of her photo assignments - even more fortunately (well: this part was actually planned), had purchased from a local store with an outstanding return policy, so was able to obtain full refund.
   
   In any event, end result is yet another Warning to stay away from this series of external hard drives!



5. I didn't actually buy this, but was sent it as a replacement for another Hitachi external drive (Signature Mini 320G) that failed after 1 year. I guess this is how Hitachi plans to unload their stock of unsold/returned eventual doorstops.
   
   Anyway, after recovering from my puzzlement over being sent a non-swap for the returned product, I checked the Amazon users comments for this product and, to my dismay, read the many harshly negative reviews of this product. To my greater dismay, I have to add mine to this large and growing list. In my case, the drive keeps crashing Windows Explorer, and in the act of trying to copy files onto it, it brought about deletion or corruption of the original source files. Anyway, I am in the process of seeking return of this to Hitachi. Perhaps in a few days, I can add more info about my experience with customer support.

4 comments about Dataproducts 60391 InkStation Multi-Brand Refilling Kit with Cap Remover (Color).

1. Very nice refill kit is complete with several tools to access ink cartridges for refilling. I thought best part was the ink bottles equipped with long thin steel applicators, so you can inject ink directly instead of using a syringe like other kits. Print quality looks fine.



2. This product can be used for many more inkjet cartridges than it lists in its included booklet. You just can't use the "cracker" designed to pop the tops off the cartridges. Its alot less messy to use than refill kits that have the syringe style bottles. Those require you to attach a straight needle to the end of the syringe before filling, where this kit uses an angled type that is already sealed and attached to the bottle. Its a very cost effective way to keep your printer running.



3. First time refilling my own ink cartridge. The product was in perfect condition and well packed. Actually, it's a lot of ink and will probably last a long time. I used this kit to refill a HP22 ink cartridge.



4. I've used plenty of ink refill kits and this one, with the needles attached to the bottle, is the ONLY kind to use, imho. Look for instructions for your specific cartridge online with a google search, then go for it. I've never had any problems with our printer using refill ink.

5 comments about Hitachi SimpleDrive Mini 250GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive SDM/250RW (Red Wine).

1. I like the product, except for the fact that it doesn't sync. Every backup is a complete and overlapping back-up.



2. Very pleased. I especially like the double usb cable to avoid having to use a separate power supply. This allows me to bring it around with my laptop while still being portable.



3. I would highly recommend the Simple Drive by Hitachi. The unit is so small and easy to use. It looks nice when sitting on my desk next to my laptop. It has PLENTY of storage space and is simple to look up files. The only thing I did not like was the back up software that came with it. It is great for a beginner but doesn't have a few things an advanced computer user would want. Eg. It does not allow you to pick certain dates for the backup. It allows you to pick daily, weekly and a few other things. The main thing about the back up software was it DOES NOT erase any old backups after it creates new ones. You have to manually go in and erase any back up you want to get rid of. I ended up using a new 100 dollar back up software for the drive and it was worse. Do a lot of research and make sure that you get the right software. The best I have seen is an Image back up software that will erase old back ups and allows you to set all those settings yourself. For the amount I paid for the drive it was WELL worth the money and perfect for a Laptop and/or travel purposes. I fully recommend this drive!!!



4. I bought this Hitachi (red) 250gb external drive to replace my older Maxtor that was "acting up", and so far it seems to be doing what it's supposed to. It transfers data rather quickly w/no descernible noise, small/light weight, and super easy to operate. So, it is everything I need for an external HD that is portable. I hope it doesn't develop problems like the Maxtor did, and that I'll be able to guard my data w/out worrying if they transfer, or not, for much time....



5. I purchased one of these drives and it wasn't even a year old when it cratered. I was running my mac Time Machine backup and all of a sudden it started making a clicking noise and froze my whole system. After rebooting, the disk will not mount and I am SOL. Now it's going to cost me a couple hundred bucks to recover the data. DON'T BUY A HITACHI DRIVE!!