4 comments about DTV4PC.

1. A close friend, known for his parsimony and greed, raved about his purchase of DTV4PC - he absolutely couldn't understand how anyone would not give a superlative rating to this product - hence, I've tagged 5 Stars above even though I haven't even received my order confirmation from Amazon yet. "Why?" - you ask! Because if you order by the 29th you get a 15 dollar rebate that's why... but if you hesitate and pay "full" price -- you'll still be well rewarded with the quality and performance of this product according to my friend's raves. I've never gone wrong following his advice and neither will you, gentle reader!
   Also - I checked competitors on the web and there is a representative number.. I chose DTV4PC, though, -- because Smith/Micro is the developer and Smith/Micro is a trusted name in software development. Happy Viewing!



2. This product is misrepresented. You do not get access to local channels, but you get old broadcasts. For example, I bought this hoping to see some NHL playoffs, but the best chance of seeing any games was through CBC sports channels (2 of them). It has been showing the same game every time I check it (Toronto vs. Barrie minor leagues 3-0 in the first period) for the past week!!! The same is true for the other CBC sports channel. ESPN never connects successfully. The "Hockey TV" channel in USA is also showing the same game over and over, but it is a different game (Michigan vs some other team).
   
   DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS!
   
   Other channels have the same issue. The best I saw was a news station that was always broadcasting 1 day behind.



3. no local channels,a few good movies and a lots of 2nd rated movies ,reruns of TV showes, like bones etc. some channels are very clear and others channels are fuzzy but i would buy it again,you can not beat the price. ***graboid (www.graboid.com)comes with it or you can down load it on line for free. its a pay per month movie channel which I thing is cheap for what you get.you can pick from 1000's of movies.not bad if you do not mind watching movies on your computer.it free for the first month. they charge by the size of the movie for more info check out the web site.



4. I've gotten this software to work only twice. My hardware and firewall meet the requirements for this product and seem to be set properly. It will not update either. I've tried contacting customer service, however they remain unavailable... Waste of time and money.

No comments about ARCMEDIA Piano For Kids.

No comments about Microsoft Greetings Workshop (Ver 2.0) Hallmark Connections.

2 comments about DVD Architect Studio 4.5.

1. Email support is very good. The software only allows one to do minimal editing. I am disappointed. I will be upgrading to ADOBE Premiere Elements 4



2. This program does not come with a fancy video editor nor is it a suite of tools. That's why you get more bang for the buck. If you already have other tools, such as Sonic EMC or Premiere Elements you get video editors and other tools, but neither of those create the DVD as well as DVD Architect.
   
   For example, Premiere Elements allows you to create automatically chaptered movies by allowing you to but chapter marks in the movie editor, but it does not allow you to create a DVD with more than one movie. It has a nice video editor, but a very weak DVD authoring tool. Sonic EMC allows multiple movies and slide shows, but does not create chapter marked movies.
   
   DVD Architect allows both and a lot more. You add setups for sound tracks and easily create a tree of menus of practically any structure you want.
   You can access DVD virtual commands in a limited way through the scripting tool. It could be better in that area.
   
   If you buy Vegas Pro 8, you get DVD Architect with it and you have a great deal more power than any of the lowest price Video/DVD authoring combos.
   
   I chose Vegas Pro 8 with DVD Architect because I was looking for a mid-priced tool (half the price of Premiere Pro), which is far more versatile than the low end packages. Although it may not be as powerful as Premiere Pro or Mac's Final Cut, it does a great job and you don't have to pay $800 for Premiere Pro.
   
   I would have liked Premier Pro, but it was too expensive for me PLUS it does not yet support AVCHD files from my camcorder.
   
   Sonic advertises support for AVCHD in Roxio Creator 2009, but what they really did was add a converter, which converts all the clips from your camera to mpg files, since the video editor "VideoWave" has not been changed to handle native AVCHD. Each step of conversion is a loss in quality. Sonic EMC also does a very sloppy job of batch processing the files so you can't walk away and just let it convert everything. You must select a folder every time it finishes a clip. Having 30 years of programming experience, that could have been done better by simply modifying the batch loop.
   
   I still like the Sonic suite because it has a lot of useful tools that are not included with these other programs.
   
   If you have an earlier Sonic Video Wave or EMC 8 or 9 and don't want to spend the money, you might find an AVCHD converter online for free or very cheap, which essentially accomplishes the same thing.
   
   Bottom line: You get what you pay for and when you hold your budget, you have to compromise one thing for another.

5 comments about DJ ToneXpress - The Ringtone Creator.

1. DJ ToneXpress is excellent, easy-to-use software that allows you to turn common audio files into ringtones and easily download them to your phone. I have used this program to create over 20 ringtones in the year-plus that I have used this software and have never been disappointed. Rather than paying $1 or more for ringtones that I want, I can create my own at will and easily download them to my phone, even send them to my friends.
   
   Another great reason for purchasing this software is eliminating my need for a connection cable. I could have spent over $50 on a cable for my phone that would have allowed me to transfer files back and forth, but I would have been out of luck once I replace this phone. By using DJ ToneXpress, no matter what phone I'm using, I have the ability to create my own ringtones. If you're looking to truly make your phone yours, I can recommend no better way than to use this software.



2. This product sucks on SO many levels. At least if you are a Nextel customer. First, I emailed the company asking about compatibility, Andreea assured me that my phone and provider were supported. I buy the software and get an email saying that they shipped on May 30th. I received it on June 4th with a postage label that showed the date of mailing as June 3rd!!! So right off the bat they lied to me and to Amazon! I install the software and find that I can't use ANY of the advertised plug-ins. I also try to get the ringtones I created off my computer with Webjal and my data cable....No joy! I tried getting my ringtones via my phones web browser....No joy! I tried every version of Mp3 ringtone available for download and they wouldn't work. I emailed them and once again, Andreea answers; telling me that the plug-ins are known to have some issues, that's why they are not offered on the most recent version 4.0!! (I suppose if you actually told people that they couldn't create wall papers and such they might lose some orders?) Andreea also at THIS point tells me that my cell phone provider (nextel) is known to be difficult!! Again, if I had been told this when I first asked, I wouldn't have bought it! I emailed them telling them I would GLADLY send this crappy software back to them, and was IGNORED!! I will be filing an Amazon A-Z claim.
   
   This software was completely worthless to me as a Nextel customer with my Motorola i850.
   
   Caveat Emptor!! "Buyer Beware", this company will say anything you want to hear before the sale and then IGNORE you when you catch them lying and ask for a refund.
   
   As an addendum, after requesting an A-Z claim, a Jake Mitchell who identified himself as Head Of Customer Support for DJ ToneXpress, contacted me (via email) and apologized. He also let me know that they had processed my refund.
   
   So, in the end I still can't say this product ever worked for me as a Nextel customer on my Motorola i850, though they did refund my money without TOO much hassle.



3. This program is good, UNTIL you get the ringtone on your phone, and it sounds worse than an AM Radio station. Don't waste your money on this thing, just pay for the decent sounding ringtones.



4. I'm a new Blackberry user, and I wanted to create my own custom ringtones without buying an expensive and complicated program to do it. This is so simple, your grandmother could use it, and the quality of the ringtones is good. Best of all, when I had an issue, customer service was right on it. I've never had a problem downloading the completed ringtone to my phone (which is the preferred and easiest way to do it, IMHO). This little program has more than paid for itself in the week I've had it.



5. DJ Tones rocks when it comes to making your own ringtone. I ahve made several with just a few clicks of the mouse. You can create up a 1 minute tone for just about any phone. Makes a great gift for family and friends. Great deal for the price!

No comments about Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac.

2 comments about Cakewalk SONAR 7 Producer Edition - Windows.

1. I bought Sonar 7 PE because I heard it was the best, and I didn't want to waste my time on the less expensive versions, as I figured I'd end up upgrading eventually.
   
   Sonar 7 has a lot of cool features, and it's very powerful. That's where the 3 stars come in.
   
   Unfortunately, it is maddeningly frustrating to learn. Here's an example. I hit play and get about half a second of sound before getting a "dropout" - basically an error saying that the program has encountered an error and can't play my music. After researching for an hour and trying all the suggestions I could find, I noticed that I did not have the Audio Engine button pressed in. It's sort of like I had the software "unplugged." Couldn't the designers come up with a better message than "Droput" in red?
   
   That's just one example. I have spent many, many hours trying to get my copy of Sonar working consistently. At the moment, it works about every other time I open it for any given project.
   
   I'm not real familiar with Cakewalk's competition, but I'd recommend taking a good look at it before purchasing this product.



2. If you buy this software you should:
   
   1)Have a solid understanding of midi
   2)Have a solid understanding of signal flow
   3)Have a solid understanding of signal processors
   4)Have a solid understanding of digital and anologue synthesis.
   5 you should have experience working with sequencers.
   
   An awesome tool for creating anything you can hear in your head. My only complaint is the the notation module is not very sophisticated.

5 comments about Avery 8831 AfterBurner CD Labeling Kit with Click ftn Design Software.

1. I found the labeler easy to use. The software program could use more and better graphics, but it's easy to add your own pictures. Overall, I love this product. Makes great CD's.



2. I have a Neato and a couple other types of lablers and this is the only one that real works. The software is simple to use and the labels are almost imposable to messup. The only real problem I have with it is the tabs that hold the label ot the aplicator come off to easy and then it's very hard to get the label straight.



3. I have never used any other cd labeling system but so far it has performed as described. The labels are easy to place with the afterburner labeling system. The labels can be printed all the way to the inside! My only small gripe is that the Click N Design software seems to be very memory intensive and somewhat slow. It won't load large jpegs easily. You have to resize them to about 500k or so and even then ...it's slow.



4. The mechanics (label application device etc.)of this system are fine. The software is horrible! It is without a doubt the worst I have ever had the misfortune to have purchased. Difficult, if not impossible to "make it do" what I want. Simply adding text where you want is a rediculous chore. Don't buy it. If someone offers it for free, refuse.
   Honestly, this one is bad!



5. The combination of labels and applicator is really foolproof - it just works. But the afterburner labels do not seem to be an official Avery product (could not find generic templates on the website, the product number is unknown, etc), so in practice you're tied to the included Click'N'Design software -- which is slow, clumsy and buggy.
   
   If Avery would fully support the labels (outside of the "afterburner" ghetto), the product would earn four stars. (If they would replace the horrible software, it would get five.)

No comments about Propellerhead ReCycle 2.1.

1 comments about Cakewalk USB Music Pack.

1. I wanted to do 3 things ...
   See staff notes for midi songs (cheaper than buying sheet music)
   Record wav files into tracks
   Record and play back midi files
   
   And, this does it all.
   
   I am not sure why you would spend more for a home studio setup.
   
   The only neg. is that they don't offer phone support for this product. I had 1 very simple question, which they wouldn't take over the phone.
   
   4 thumbs up for the product, 1 thumb down for their lackluster effort of taking a phone call.