Buy Mitsubishi HSU446 VCRMost helpful customer reviews
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
By Dennis Toebben
I resently purchased this VCR, Im very pleased with this product. Of the simplisity of its fuctions. and the options you recieve with this machine. it's built sturdy and seems to be reliable.
Buy Sony MZR70 Minidisc RecorderThe casing has several buttons, all very easy to use and intuitively marked. The R-70 also comes with a tethered remote that plugs into one of the headphone jacks (there are two), so you can stick the R-70 in a bag and control it with the remote. In addition to the two headphone jacks, the R-70 also sports digital and mic inputs, and an input for the included power adapter/charger
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
By Wayne Chung
I've been putting off buying a portable listening device since my last '90 Aiwa tape player. But after seeing the Minidisc in action - it's a definite buy and constant use gem.
First, do the math if you're seriously comparing MP3 format vs. Minidisc. A single MD at 74min costs 2 dollars at most - Read/write capabilities, move tracks, edit, `tMark'=index songs, etc. You don't need a computer either - use your existing AV setup to record - while having the option to use PC, DVD, etc.
Sound quality? Can you say OPTICAL input. You cannot get any better sound resolution than this; any decent DVD player has an optical out; decent CD players too. RCA IN is a plus (not included) and the PC IN option is mediocre - it is convenient with all the CD-R/PC/MP3 formatted music. It's got a two-stage added-bass feature that works quite well. The standard headphones are excellent - an updated version with position detents for fixed fit. The remote fob device is essential for total playback+record control once your MDplayer is tucked away in the pocket. (look for the RM-MZR55 remote with backlighting if you want to upgrade)
The unit has never skipped even with major motion, jostling, or shock. I haven't done a drop-test, but I'll skip it for now. The biggest drawback is the lack of a custom case/holster for the unit; it does come with a bag, but it isn't adequate for protection or carrying with any confidence. Plus, the lack of backlighting on the main unit is a bummer.
It comes with it's own AA ni-cad battery and charger, and runs for a prolonged period of time ~ 6 hours playback, 1.5-2x as long on a regular AA. The half-sized ice cream sandwich form kicks the CD portable players to the curb. It isn't as ubiquitous as some MP3 players - but why would you want to drop several dimes on something invisible. Personally, the anodized blue colored one has more impact than the silver, but the form and interface overall is a delight. The battery bulge just slightly cants the display up, the button separation and placement works great for easy access. I find excuses to block the world out and listen to high-fidelity music on the go.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
By W. W.
This mini-disc player has to be one of the best on the market today. (if not the best)It is easy to use, small in size, and much more practical than a CD burner (it's like a portable burner/player)
Positives:
#GREAT sound quality (like CD)
#easy to set up, only takes about 5 minutes
#it makes recording simple, without the need of a HUGE system attached to your home stereo
#PC USB connected
#software is already on your Windows computer
#looks cool, and is very light and rugged
#regular AA battery last 17 hours!
Negatives (there aren't very many)
#long recording time (but it goes by faster than you'd expect)
#Inserting title takes a few seconds
# included rechargeable battery last only 6 hours
Overall I give it a 5 because it was well worth the money and is better than a CD burner, MP3 player, and definitly better than a tape player!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
By Flet
This is an excelent little machine. I bought mine from a friend... with 20 disks, and it's worth every penny. This little rig is small, light weight, and has excelent sound and battery life. To start, it's small. It's about the size of the palm of your hand, with a bump on the back where the batery goes. it fits in ANY pocket, unlike most CD players. it weighs very little, so it doesnt bother you by pulling on your cloths like some CD players. The sound is great. The only problem is that it has a low record volume, and gets fuzzy when you turn it up too much. If you have the mega bass on while you recond on high, it gets fuzzy also. At low and medium volumes though, it's got crystal clear sound (that also depends on your headphones, and what kind of music... rock is less fuzzy than Rap) I like my music LOUD. I ride a bus one way to or from school, and that gets awfull loud. I have several "buss disks" that are recorded on high volumes, and they work fine when you are being bombarded by background noise, but are a little fuzzy when you run it through a car kit or stereo. This machine has over all good sound though, and with a little fine tuning of bass and volume you get great sound. Battery life... what can i say, it lasts. Even on regular duracells, i can get almost a whole school week on and off, and the provided rechargable battery last even longer. Besides the sound glitches here and there, it also makes some noise. When skipping tracks, rewinding a few seconds etc. it has to think for a couple of seconds. It's not a major problem, but it is somewhat slow here and there. It will skip too. If it is riding in your pocket where it can bounce, it'll skip. Not as much as a 40 sec asp cd player though. it'll freeze for a second, then you will stop, wondering what went wrong, then it goes again. not a mojor problem, but if you jog or run, i suggest you upgrade to an MD with the same G-protection of a CD player.
For the money... it's a great buy for people who want small portable music, that can come from anywhere, (even MD to MD.)Hope this helped
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Buy Sony MZR90 Minidisc RecorderMost helpful customer reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
By Dan
I recently purchased the MZ-R90 as one of my birthday presents. At first, I was a little skeptical of the whole MD format, as it hasn't been real big in the U.S. But to me, there were two distinct advantages over MP3: The ability to record from digital AND analog sources, and the unlimited space according to how many discs you have. When I opened the box to this player, I almost couldn't find it! I was very surprised at the size of this machine. It is really small and intricate and has many features.
Recording--Recording was a snap for me. All you have to do is buy an analog cable which cost me ... at ... I also bought some blank MD's there too. To record form a CD, you just hook up one end of the cable to the R-90's line-in jack and the other end with the headphone jack of the CD player. Then, you slide the record button and play the CD! You can also record MP3's from your computer this way; I think it is better than an MP3 player because you have unlimited space.
Playback--Playback is about the same as portable CD players. You can do shuffle play, repeat 1, or repeat all. The volume control and bass boost are easy to use. You would think that MD recordings would sound worse than the actual CD, but let me tell you--they don't. I couldn't notice any difference between my CD and my MD.
Moving around with functions--This player is the epitome of ease with functions. It features a jog dial that you move up and down to scroll through options, and to select you press the dial in. There are 7 main functions during play and 4 when there is no disc.
The Remote :-)--This little thing is one of the sweetest parts of the player. It has all the basic functions, editing capabilities, and is backlit. I don't know if you could ask for a more functional remote.
Editing--The editing part of this machine is a cinch. You can label the disc and the track names for each MD. There is space for 1700 charaters each disc, so don't worry about running out of room. Pressing the pause button during editing will bring you to certain types of charaters: Upper and lower case letters, symbols, and numbers. This is very convenient so you do not have to spend forever searching for a letter. Note: The American version of the R-90 cannot display or edit with Japanese katakana. (But who cares about that?)
Overall Satisfaction--I am very pleased with my purchase of the MZ-R90. Is is small, functional, and very attractive. I don't have any major quirks with it, except that it sometimes takes a while to load, but...oh well! If I had to do this purchase over again, I would do it in a heartbeat.I hope you enjoyed this review, and happy listening!
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
By Robert Mohns
I wanted portable music. My first thoughts were of an MP3 player, but the options are currently quite limited: either fixed storage of 30-60 minutes, or removable storage (flash, memory stick, etc) at a cost of $1-2/minute of audio... and long download times to get the music into the player. Lot of money, not much functionality. I looked elsewhere...
Minidiscs have improved immeasurably since the first generation of harsh, metallic audio. Media is cheap as well; at $2-3 per 72-minute disc, the savings over mp3 media alone are enough to justify Mindisc.
I decided to get a portable player/recorder, and after looking at the options, purchased the MZ-R90. Sony's highest-end, smallest, lightest minidisc player (competitive with an mp3 player!), with a great feature set. The jog-dial is a suprisingly effective control -- a single control, which you can jog with thumb or finger, does almost every common operation -- except volume. Wonderful idea, I hope to see it blatantly stolen by everyone else.
RTFM, though, if you want to title your tracks: I figured out everything except how to save the title I had entered. There are a couple other gotchas: the same jack is used for headphones and line out, and it resets to headphones when it powers off, making it a hassle to switch between 'phones and stereo (or car). (Setting volume at max for line out is the easy workaround.) Recording off of battery avoids any chance of ground loop hum, but if the battery isn't freshly charged, you risk running out of juice. Use the external AA-holder to more than double your rec/playback time. These few gotchas make me rate this 4 stars instead of 5 -- my personal experience has been excellent!
With the addition of a $30 mic, it's also very handy for recording interviews, so it's now a business expense, too.
There's only one problem. The hard-to-find MZ-R91 looks even better. So I got one of those, too... :-)
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
By A Customer
I have to admit, prior to purchasing this player, I had my doubts. One can easily say that a CD player is much less expensive, lacks the necessary time to record an MD from a CD, and overall is more popular (for those who want to listen to a friend's CD's while not at home, yet this friend is listening with his/her own CD player). Furthermore, for those of us who demand high sound quality, only the fiber optic cable provides for a digital recording. This means not just any CD player will record digitally; only those with an optical out will allow you to record withot a loss of sound quality.
I must say, however, that the benefits heavily outweigh the drawbacks. The size is very important. The MZ-R90 is tiny, measuring 2 7/8 inches by approximately 3 inches. This can be said to be only a little larger than a quarter of a typical CD player. Whereas I was unable to even dream of fitting CD's, much less a player into my inner jacket pocket (the pocket is too small by at least half an inch), the MZ-R90 fits with room to spare. Not only that, but the size difference allows me to fit 7 or 8 MD's into the pocket on the other side.
The remote is twice as useful as I first perceived it to be. The lack of a need to actually pull out the MD to change volume, play, stop, or pause has saved me at least a total of 24 hours since I bought my R90. The LCD display has its uses, especially when I want to know what track I am skipping to. I can, with the touch of a button, know how much time is left to the disc, what time of the day it is, the name of the track, or the default setting: the amount of track time passed.
The AA adapter holds only one battery, keeping the size small, but doubling the play time. As an adapter, the option of removing it to keep it light and small is always there.
No doubt, I highly recommend this product over any other portable MD player and recorder out there. The only thing I can imagine to compliment the lightweight and ease of the R90 would be a pair of wireless earphones.
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