5 comments about Sony 50Crm80Ls2//T 80-Minute Audio Cd-R 50-Ct.

1. This is my first ever review of a product that is not a recorded cd. But these BLANK music cd's from Sony so impressed me that I had to give them due credit.
   
   I've burned hundreds (and I mean well over a thousand!) cd's over the past five years on my Phillips CDR-775. I always felt a little ripped off when the first few cd's from any one package could not be read by my burner, and I always suspected that part of the problem was the way the cashier would run the cd's over their magnetic deactivator (whatever the technical term is!) to disable the anti-shoplifting EAS tag typically attached to the top cover of the blank cd container. I thought that maybe that process was also rendering the top few cd's incapable of being read or initialized. I've been told that that theory is invalid...but I'm not convinced.
   
   In the past, I've had pretty good luck with Sony and Maxell brand music cd's, and lesser luck with Memorex and generic store brands. I recently had a couple packages of Memorex music cd's that I bought at different local music stores, and at least half of the cd's were useless in both packages. (My son is able to use them for burning music on our computer, so not a total loss.) I actually started to wonder if it was my aging Phillips burner that was the problem; I mean, I have given it quite a workout the past few years! So to try something different, I've recently begun ordering these Sony music cd's online from Amazon; the brand served me well in the past, and I figured that I wouldn't have to deal with the possibility of a cashier de-magnetizing the first few cd's of a new package since it was coming from an online store - no store security device to deactivate...
   
   EUREKA! The Sony cd's always arrive within a couple of days, and I have had the pleasure of NEVER finding a blank cd that my burner rejects. This is the only way that I will ever buy blank music cd's in the future, and Sony will have to screw up awfully big for me to change brands now. Even considering the additional shipping cost that you would save at a typical "brick and mortar" store, this product is an excellent value for your dollar, and highly recommended. (If 14 of the blank cd's from your local store are no good anyway, then this option makes more sense.)
   
   Hint: Buy the 50-pack and save yourself about 24 cents per cd over the usual 30-pack price. Worthy.



2. As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various recordings from the 60's and 70's. Sometimes as a person that has worked in electronic stores my thoughts are requested on recording equipment and electronics.
   
   Sony CDR 80-Minute Music Spindle - 50-pk.
   
   Sony has been ultra reliable for me as a recording medium for blank CDR's. I have used a substantial amount over the years for both data and pictures.
   
   The CD's have held up well and there have been very little that were defective right out of the package. While the quality control is a shade below the Fuji from Japan, in no way should Sony be considered a poor second choice.
   
   For maximum shelf life the recorded CD's should be in jewel cases and not in paper sleeves. If you are into making your own labels make sure to use the better quality paper. The inferior thin labels not only will curl up before they are placed on the CD but the glue will actually get into the CD itself. Many defective CD's are not the fault of the manufacturer but the consumer not using best judgment.
   
   Enjoy the music and be well,
   Craig Fenton
   Author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent"



3. The product came in right on time and I have yet to have a coaster. I have used 20 in the past month.



4. These are the best audio disks for the money.. I have never had one go bad... I have burned hundreds... just make sure the ones you buy are from Japan...



5. This was a great product. After finding and trying cheaper Cd's, it's great to find a product that I didn't have to throw in the garbage can because they didn't work. The shipping was extremely fast and I was pleased to receive the items quickly.

5 comments about Sanus Systems VMPL3B Universal Flat Panel Wall Mount with Tilt for 27" to 84" Displays (Black).

1. This wall mount ships in a small box, but can hold a heavy load! I like the flexibility of installing with either the tilt or low profile. The hardest part of the installation was lifting the television up over my fireplace.



2. Great choice for a sturdy wall mount. Recommend the additional extender (sold seperately) if mounting a large, heavy plasma. Mine is a 65" Panasonic that weighs 180lbs. This mount comes with all the nuts, bolts, screws and hardware that you'd ever need to get the job done. (Can't comment on ease of instructions because I had the Geek Squad install my system.)



3. I place the order on Sunday and item arrived by Tuesday. I'm very happy with the speed of service and the item.



4. This mount (VMPL3B) was identified by Sanus as the one to fit a Sharp LC65D64U TV. (1)While the kit came with several different sizes of bolts to fit various models, it did not provide the metric size needed for this specific Sharp TV. The four bolts needed were available (M10 - 30mm) at Home Depot, $.80 each (plus washers needed). (2)The slots in the mounting brackets were not wide enough to allow the proper bolts to pass through. I was able to file the slots wider (not difficult)to allow the bolts to pass. After that mount was easy to install with all needed hardware provided and works great. Even with this blip the mount is well worth buying due to the more than $400.00 saving over the mount offered by Sharp.



5. This product was perfect compared to my last wall mount i needed a mount wider than 33inches due to the odd placement of the studs above the fire place. With this particular mount it expands much more if needed and i was also able to fasten the mount with 6 lag bolts compared to 4.This set came with alot more features for example it came with two sets of TV brackets a Tilt set And a 1 inch of wall Flat Set also extensions in case of bolt holes being to far apart on Tv THIS PRODUCT WAS PERFECT IT WAS EVERYTHING I NEEDED IT FOR AND MORE WITH FUTURE OPTIONS(2SETS) A++++++++++++++++++

5 comments about SANUS SYSTEMS BF-31B Wood Speaker Stands.

1. received stands in a very timely manner. they were incredibly easy to assemble and they look great in my home theater setup.



2. These speaker stands work great-- i have them on wood floors (didn't use the spikes that came with it). They are just the perfect height I was looking for and are an improvement of having my speakers on the floor. I would recommend this product.



3. yea they are cheap but for the price there are absolutely no better out there... i am a bargain shopper and i shop for days even weeks looking for the best deal and these are it just buy and trust me u wont be disapointed and by the way the only way they crack are if u are an idiot and do not know how to use a screw driver simple installation and remarkable value!!!!



4. Okay folks... if I had a video I would record these stands so you can see them for yourself. But they look absolutely amazing. They were simple and easy to put together, though if you really care about covering the back to hide the cords then you might have some trouble. Im using M-Audio StudioPro 3's and they fit perfectly on the stand. The top part of the stand wont hold very large speakers, at least I would worry about putting them on there, but for the studio pro 3's they fit perfectly.
   
   Overall, this is a great product for the money. They do a good job, and they look amazing. Definitely recommended.



5. I bought a pair of the BF31B stands for my rear speakers. I also own a pair of BF24B for my front speakers. For the money, they are a good looking, functional stand. For those that are whining on their reviews about "It's not wood" or "It split when I put it together", wake up. Those that whine about quality are people that think they should get a $200 pair of stands for $30. Those that say they split when assembling, read the instructions and do not use a screw gun to put them together. Mine went together just fine, but I actually read the instructions and used a screwdriver. Paying attention does help, people. These are a very good looking stand that works very well for my Paradigm speakers. I highly recommend them if you can read instructions AND you don't expect $200 stands for $30.

5 comments about Maxell VP100 Vhs Dry Video Head Cleaner.

1. I love how amazon pesters you for a review after a purchase. In this case, I can't really say for sure how this product is. I've used it once on a total of the 3 VCRs I own. I'm used to wet tapes vs. this dry, but my wet tape disappeared. My Panasonic VCR rarely, if ever, gives me grief - so I didn't notice any difference after cleaning. The cheapo VCR doesn't get used often anymore, so who knows?!?! The JVC VCR wasn't happy after being cleaned with this tape. It wasn't happy when I tried playing a tape of stuff I recorded off the TV using that VCR. It behaved better after letting it run awhile - and no, it wasn't that there was a problem with the tape. Also of note is that I don't play borrowed or rental VHS tapes in any of my VCRs, so they don't get funked up by those. I only play VHS tapes I own, or tapes I recorded on.



2. I use my VCR ALOT,and this product provides excellent cleaning every time.I have used this brand of cleaning tape for the past four years,and have never had a problem with damage to my VCR heads(unlike some other cleaning tapes apparantly.)I really reccomend this if you still have/use a VCR.



3. Haven't had it long enough to be certain. Seems to have helped for few videos I've watched.



4. I don't know if it works or not....it didn't fix the problem with my VCR, probably the VCR is just old....so now, do I spend $200 on a machine that transfers my tapes to DVD??? ugh, I hate technology!!



5. Maxell VCR dry head cleaner performed as advertised and restored picture and sound quality. The product is easy to use and the advertisments are not that annoying.

5 comments about 25ft Coax SVGA Monitor Cable Hddb15m/hddb15m.

1. I bought this item to hook up my laptop to my HDTV to watch progamming broadcast over the net (netflix, ABC, nbc, cbs, etc etc). All I can say is it does the job quite well. I can watch my programs through my tv along with a audio cable which you can also get through amazon. For the price I paid, I can't complain. I highly recommend removing it and safely storing it between uses to maintain its properly.



2. I ordered this to hook up my IBM laptop to my new 52 inch LCD panel. I am using it to write my review. It looks great and having the extra length cord is really nice. I highly recommend to anyone who needs this setup. Great color and picture reproduction. I only gave it four stars because it does not have a built in audio connection which means I have to run another cable for sound.



3. I ran to the store to buy a long VGA cable so that I could watch movies from the monitor across the room, the cheapest I could find was $25/10 ft. I'm So glad I waited and bought this, you can (almost) never go wrong with 25' of cable, and this one works great. The value:price ratio is excellent!



4. I used it in connecting my laptop to a projector and it works fine. The signal was 1400*1050. It was a replacement of the previous cable which introduced slight distorts in the shape and resulted in blurred images. With this cable,I was not able to find any distorts in the shape and color of the images. I recomment it



5. great heavy cable, I see no noticeable signal loss, does it's job, what more do you want?

5 comments about Griffin 9212-SNSATA2 iTrip FM Transmitter & Auto Charger for Sansa.

1. I bought this in hopes i could make it work with my 2007 chevy 5500 radio and does it work, i am more than pleased with its performance. well worth the money !!! My sansa e250 sounds awesome through this transmitter



2. This product works well I think you will be pleased with this purchase. It charges as you listen so you do not got to worry with charging your mp3. I have not charged mine since this product arrived (since I use the Sansa mostly in my cars) .
   It does rarely require a change of station if a radio station comes into range of the station your using but is easy to fix since you can choose from the entire dial to change to.
   2 way radios(walkee talkees) muffle the sound if you have them on in the car with you, I have found as the only drawback to this (most likely all) product.
   I have not owned this product for very long so can not attest to reliability yet.
   Hope this helps.



3. transmits a strong signal for clear radio output. Had no problems at all with teh product.



4. works the way it was intended to. some static when driving on the interstate. every once in a while you get a radio station that is trying to interfear, only last about 5 seconds or less. always keeps my mp3 charged.



5. I live in the Los Angeles area so there are not any open radio stations but this product actually works. I still do get static when using it so it is not perfect. I suggest this one over the other FM transmitters because it is small and it charges the MP3 player while the MP3 player is in use.

5 comments about Tune Belt Open View Sports Armband for iPod classic & iPod touch & iPod video.

1. Spend the extra money and get a more expensive arm band. The material is cheap, esp. the plastic cover. It is difficult to fit the i-pod in the armband period; forget about it if you have it in a case. Despite putting it on so tight it hurt my arm, the armband STILL managed to wind it's way down my arm. Do not buy this product unless you want a cheap temporary solution.



2. This product does the job, and at the low price I can't complain too much. BUT....I wish I'd of spent more money on a better product. Especially considering I'm putting a $300 piece of equipment in it. If you have small arms, it is tough to stay up. It is not easy to adjust either. I like the feature of the Velcro slot for your ear buds to be wrapped up, but the holes for the plugs on top and bottom don't line up. This product works, per say, but don't have high expectations.



3. Superb purchase, the product sent by the store was requested. I recommend faithfully to the store



4. I was looking for a not fancy armband, and just got what I wanted also at a good price!!! The armband is quite confortable, has a good grip and won't slip. I have two different iPods, a Touch and a Classic (80 Gb). Both fit quite well in the pouch. I gave it 4 stars instead of five because the iPod gets sweat wet. The pouch should be isolated to avoid this.



5. It does the job and stays on your arm but it probably works better for the iPod classic or iPod video than the touch. If you just want something cheap its pretty good I guess. Thats what I was looking for anyway.

5 comments about Digital Audio Bi-Directional Optical Toslink Switch and Splitter.

1. I bought this as a "switch" to use the optical out from both my cable box and PC sound card on the single optical input of my sound receiver.
   
   Unfortunately there's a problem with this - my cable box (Comcast) does not turn off it's optical port even when the box itself turned off. As a result I do not get sound from my PC with the cable box still plugged in to the splitter. However, the PC does turn off the optical port when it's turned off so I do sound from the cable box when both are plugged in. That doesn't really help me, but it does let me know that the splitter is functional.
   
   If you plan to buy this as a switch between two sources, make sure that you check that your devices actually turn off their optical outputs when the device itself is turned off. It's easy enough to check this just by looking at the end of the optical cable, if it's lit up red, the optical output is still on.
   
   Looks like I'll have to by a "real" switch.



2. This seemed like the perfect solution for me. I have a receiver with two Optical inputs and 3 devices I need to plug in (Blue-Ray, PS2 and AppleTV).
   Unfortunately, it seems this device causes enough of a "signal" loss to make it useless. I can see some red light coming through, but apparently not enough for my receiver to pick up and use. A shame. I would return but was cheap enough to not bother...I'll save you the trouble!



3. Bought this to hook my Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 into one optical input on my surround sound. after about 5 minutes of making sure wires were fit snug into the device, I tried it. Works wonders. Both systems put out sound, although you can only use one at a time. For the price, I have no complaints.



4. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RYZ9QOL2GZP39 The problem I found with the product is that the output is defective. Only one of the inputs worked. So I took it apart and messed around with it and found that when you twist the output optical cable, it'll switch between which input will work. Never both (I know you can't use both inputs at the same time, I wasn't testing for that)
   
   As you see in the video it'll switch between the two inputs while twisting the output optical cable. I know I can't take it back as I took apart the product, but this video shows what I think most people are having a problem with.
   
   I personally think its a 50 / 50 chance on getting a working product. So you're taking a chance, it is only $8 not including shipping.
   
   My suggestion, buy the manual switcher thats on Amazon, or if money isn't a problem I know a product called Psyclone PSC47 that'll do 4 HDMI / 4 Optical connections you can get on ebay usual $100.
   
   P.S. I tried 4 different Optical Cables input and output.
   
   
   UPDATE: 27 AUG 2008
   They gave me a refund. I didn't ask for it, I actually asked them to look into the problem, but they still gave me a refund even after I told them I opened up the splitter. I guess seeing how they gave me a refund, the product at least deserves 2 stars. They honestly just need to fix it. The splitter is a good idea, just needs to work.



5. Only one input works. I have a receiver with one optical input and purchased this in order to use my Satellite receiver and my apple TV. In order to use this I have to unplug one or the other (yes I use one device at a time) piece of crap,

2 comments about Ethernet Cable, CAT5e - 100 ft White (LAN hardware) EIA568 Patch Cable, RJ45 / RJ45 100' White for 10 Base-T, 100 Base-T and 1000 Base-T Networks.

1. Perfectly good Cat 5e network cable and way cheaper here at Amazon. I got the 100 foot, and it's working totally fine. You are allowed to use up to 300 feet for Ethernet before you must plug into a hub, switch, or repeater. White cable, but does have words printed along the entire length. If you are mounting to a wall or over a doorway, try these Coax Cable nails, they are a good fit.
   Coax Cable Nail-in Clips



2. Bought this product based on the price - 100' of ethernet cable for under twelve bucks. On receiving the product, it's obvious you do get what you pay for to a certain extent - the sleeving on the cable seems a little flimsy, and the connectors have a tendency to be tricky to unplug once they're plugged in. However, if you're installing a permanent (or semi permanent line), where you wont be moving the cable around much, or disconnecting often, it's hard to argue with the price.

5 comments about SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 3.3-Feet Serial ATA External Cable.

1. I bought this to connect my DirecTV HD received to a Seagate external SATA drive for more storage space. It works perfectly, and seems to be a quality made cable.



2. I'm using this with an external Seagate DB35 drive, and it works perfectly - no pixelation or blocking.



3. Some other eSATA cables don't work with TiVo Series 3 machines because their connectors are too fat and stubby to fit the TiVo's recessed eSATA socket. This SIIG cable fits the TiVo perfectly - I used it to add a Seagate external drive to my Series 3 with no problems.



4. The SIIG serial cables might be a little more expensive than the generic cables but well worth it.
   These are also not as flexabile as the cheaper cables, which I now learned the hard way that they should be.
   
   The SIIG's have moved at least 20 terabytes these last few months and have yet to find errors after verification.
   
   I now also use then to verify if the external HDD has any errors and utility work.
   
   Do your self a favor and bypass lower quality cables.
   I saved a few bucks and lost gigs of data due to coruption and problematic connection issues with lower quality generic cables.
   
   Trouble shooting is imposible with bad cabels.
   
   Works fine with a 1 TB Western Digital and Segates, as long as the external and SATA HDW has decent BIOS.



5. What can I say about a cable - it works well and is well made. I would wish it were a bit more flexible, but no biggie for me.