Reviews of Xbox 360 Rock Band Wireless Fender Telecaster Player's Edition

Customer Ratings:

I'm an avid RB player with literally 90% of the DLC, and got every official instrument so far, including all three Beatles guitars.

I WAS hoping to get the butterscotch for $100, but since amazon canceled my order due to unavailability, I just went for the sunburst.

The whole body has a matte finish, which is fingerprint-less, which is a nice touch compared to my dust-magnet Beatles guitars.

The buttons are awesome. Almost no click and no fret between buttons. I thought it would throw me off but my muscle memory knew where the buttons were. Might be harder for beginners. Anyway, these things are unbelievable in HOPOs. I was doing Stevie Ray Vaughn songs and crazy solos with ease. Chord changes were also a cinch. Definitely worthwhile if you feel your fingers tripping on a regular controller.

The touch pad works great. any slight touch will trigger it but it's placed just right so your strumming doesn't accidentally touch it. The problem now is whether to tap or wail during alt-strumming parts.

The strum bar is clicky, and it seems to register at the end of the strum instead of the beginning. Not too big a problem unless you strum really lightly. I also found myself breaking combo when wailing during alt-strumming parts. Then again I haven't played Everlong in a while. The alternating O-B while you're holding G part felt smooth though. If you start losing your focus or get lazy it will punish you.

The whammy bar is slick. You have to use your whole hand though, so you can't sneak extra points on every hold. There's a felt piece attached to the bottom so it doesn't scratch your pickguard.

The knob only goes one way for start, which made me think, 'why is there no back button?'

I was ticked that there was no back button, then I realized back was overdrive, so ergo the touch pad was the back button. pretty cool.

Overall, a better body, much better buttons, a more authentic whammy bar, and another useful way to hit overdrive. If you haven't wasted all your money on the Beatles yet, this is a worthy investment in your pursuit of rocking out. I won't recommend this to beginners or casuals. This controller puts your skills to the test, and will reward you if you can handle it.

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I was looking for a bass guitar, but saw this new one by Mad Catz and the sunburst, 'used' look was a selling point for me. The controller has a nice weight to it and fret keys a good feel. The strum bar seem's a bit loose and although a good idea, the 'overdrive' bar is way to sensitive for my liking. It initiates overdrive automatically way to often for my likes (especially when I'm trying to co-ordinate length of it between fellow players). The whammy bar is pretty stiff, but I like it actually. That and I'm starting to detect a squeaking noise with it. But it could be that it's just new and needs to 'settle in'. Overall I like it, but the sensitive overdrive bar is an issue that at times makes me switch to another guitar.

Best Deals for Xbox 360 Rock Band Wireless Fender Telecaster Player's Edition

In contrary to a prior review, my son and I actually love this peripheral. Yes the strum bar clicks a bit, but it's in no way obtrusive during game play. People complaining about this would likely also complain about the subtle "whirring" noise heard inside the newer rock band 2 guitars from the accelerometer...again something that is unnoticeable during gameplay. And, to clarify further, the whammy bar rotates out of the way just like all other rock band guitars. The spring is more firm, however I wouldn't down grade my review based on this as individual preferences in regard to feel are highly variable I am sure. The half frets are really nice and very responsive. I actually find it easier to move up in difficulty levels using this guitar. The touch sensitive star power/beatlemania activation bar is a nice addition. A simple light brush of the finger is all it takes to activate. You can still tip the guitar or use the plug in overdrive pedal as well. And finally, the aesthetics of this thing are amazing. Its priced a bit higher than original equipment RB2 guitars, but comparable to RB Beatles gear if you were considering those. Of note, Harrison played a real Fender Telecaster as well.

Honest reviews on Xbox 360 Rock Band Wireless Fender Telecaster Player's Edition

I play bass 99% of the time. I have worn out the wired Rock Band guitar that came with Rock Band. I can't get the hang of fingering the back button on the Rock Band wireless. The sunburst telecaster is almost the perfect replacement.

The whammy is not the flimsy, adjustable lever on the Rock Band guitars. You won't be using a rubber band to keep tension (like both of my other guitars).

The strum bar clicks, but since the fret buttons are quiet, you aren't making any more noise strumming than you are fretting on a Rock Band guitar. I do notice I miss occasional notes when quick upstrumming long fast sequences that I didn't miss on the old guitar. This surely has to do with the strum not registering until completely deflected. It should get better as I get used to it.

You can tip or touch the silver bar to overdrive. I have accidentally triggered overdrive several times by inadvertantly touching the bar. I assume I'll get better at it the more I use it.

I never use the solo frets on the old guitar except for the big rock endings. I used to run my fingernails back and forth quickly across all the solo frets to rack up as much as I could. These solo frets, not so much. The hinging makes center pressure on the key ineffective.

The fret keys are the same hinged design as the solo keys. Since I normally finger those, it's not bad like trying to slide back and forth across the solo frets. They will take a little getting used to. It's easier to hammer-on than the old style buttons, but it's harder for me to slide between green and red (index finger position). This probably has to do with the center pressure thing. Once I get used to fingering the edge of the frets as opposed to as far as I can wrap my fingers around the neck, it should get better.

I only rated it 4 stars because I am scoring lower than I used to with the old guitar. In a few weeks, when I've gotten more accustomed to the differences. I will probably feel it's worth the extra star.

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I've been looking for a new guitar controller for awhile now, and thought this one would be perfect. Mad Catz has been making some great accessories for Rock Band lately, so I was very excited to hear about this Fender Replica. Boy...what a HUGE disappointment! First, maybe I'm just used to RB2 guitar's "silent" strum bar, but this one seems extremely hard to press up and down...causing a TON of missed notes. It is NOT silent like the RB2 version...it "clicks" on all notes. But it just doesn't seem responsive at all. Maybe that's the price you pay for getting 3 million "cycles," or whatever it is they claim...but it drove me nuts! Perhaps once you "break it in" it would be better, but $100 is a lot to spend on a controller you have to "break in."

The most glaring design flaw is the Bigsby® whammy tailpiece. This huge contraption extends almost all the way to the strum bar...which means you have rest your palm right on an uncomfortable piece of metal the whole time you're playing. It actually gets painful after awhile. Plus, the whammy bar itself is also extremely hard to push down...it's loaded with some "super spring" that once again just seems unresponsive while you're whammying notes.

The guitar itself looks great...but that's not really the purpose is it? Actually...let me clarify...it looks great WITHOUT the guady "Fender" guitar strap on. This is actually a real strap...but the annyoing white "Fender" printed every 3 inches is horrible. It looks like imitation zebra or something.

Overall, not worth the money in my opinion. The only reason I didn't give it one star is that some people may actually like the "clicking" strum bar, and some may not have issues with the whammy tailpiece, either. The fret buttons are actually excellent...but it doesn't really matter when you can't hit the notes with the strum bar...lol.

Discount Xbox 360 8 MODE Rapid Fire Controller for COD4 COD5 MW2

Customer Ratings:

When I purchase a rapid fire I expect it to be rapid..meaning it didn't shoot any faster than I could tap the trigger. Good for beginner.

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I bought this at very good price and arrived very quickly. My son start playing with this remote and it worked well for few days and then it start giving him problems. I contacted the seller and the seller was very responsive and helpful. After few days it start working again and after that it did not give any problem.

The Sims 3: Showtime - PC/Mac Reviews

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $17.97
Today's Bonus: 10% Off

I have to say, I was really excited for this expansion pack (regardless of some of the lackluster packs we've been getting lately). It brought me back to the original Sims: Superstar, one of my favorite original packs. And the Sims 3 has had some good packs out so far (Pets, Ambitions, World Adventures) in my opinion! But Showtime doesn't really cut it.

The new town is nice. I like it. The new premade houses are nice and actually kind of spacious instead of being awkwardly shaped or sized. Some of the job locations are now melded into one big building for instance, say, science and medicine in the same building, not a separate hospital and science institute (that's just an out-of-nowhere example, not factual from the game). It's a little different, but still okay. One thing this town is surely NOT lacking is entertainment venues. Which is, you know, the whole point. I'd give the new town 4/5 stars.

There are some okay new hairstyles and clothing options too. Not the best, but by far not some of the worst I've seen. As far as new traits go, I've only seen three: diva, born performer, and social butterfly. I immediately tried out the diva and social butterfly traits and boy, is social butterfly annoying! If they aren't constantly talking to people, they get a negative moodlet. My sim will wake up and have an automatic negative moodlet just from not talking to people in her sleep. That's a little ridiculous. Diva, I'm enjoying a little more, mainly because of other sims' reactions to my sim's divalicious interactions, haha. Altogether, the new create-a-sim stuff, I'd give 3/5 stars.

The new careers seem interesting, and I was excited to try them out. My only problem is that they're professions not careers. You get a weekly stipend and go out and perform randomly when you get the opportunity. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and for those jobs, I understand it's probably more realistic, but I prefer the jobs to professions. I'd give the new jobs 4/5 stars.

So why did I give the game 3 stars and not 4? Well, it's simple had Late Night and Showtime been combined, I think they would've made a killer expansion pack. As it is, there simply aren't enough new features in Showtime. Some of the items you get in Showtime, I think you should've gotten in Late Night. Had they put the Showtime stuff in with Late Night, everything would've fit perfectly. There's just not enough here to constitute a new expansion pack, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong the stuff is cool, and if you're a true fan, like me, you'll buy the game anyways. But be warned it's probably going to be less new stuff and things to explore than you're used to.

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I was so excited to recieve this game, like I always am for every Sims game. I waited for it load and to download the extra venue. After playing the game for about 30 minutes, I realized this game is just a small add off of the hobbies concept. Three new jobs and that's it? I can be part of a band and save $39.99 if I would have skipped this expansion pack and just kept my old ones. I wish EA would come out with a really awesome expansion pack that you can't really live without. I remember how awesome each of the expansion packs for sims 1 were, I even liked the sims 2 expansion packs, but this one was a huge disappointment. After you complete the three jobs, that's it you're done and there's nothing else added, where is the months of fun in that until the next lack-luster expansion pack comes out. I have to say I would love to see an expansion pack like Makin' Magic from Sims 1. I don't care how old that game is, it was the best expansion pack.

Please do better next time EA.

Best Deals for The Sims 3: Showtime - PC/Mac

Let me just start by saying it's ridiculous how expensive these expansion packs are, and the lack of content you are getting with them. I've been playing The Sims since the very original. The Sims 1 was so much fun, The Sims 2 was great, and now here we have the Sims 3. They are honestly going downhill with each expansion pack. We expect NEW CONTENT with expansion packs, not useless social features. Everyone is wondering "Hmm, why wasn't this stuff included with "Late Night?" Well, allow me to enlighten you. MONEY! Money, money, money. EA is so money hungry that they have to cheap out on these expansion packs, cut content, and then try to sell it back to us. Honestly, it makes me sad. I used to LOVE The Sims, and now I can barely play for more than a half hour without getting bored. These new expansion packs just don't have the same feel as they did with TS2 or even TS1.

To wrap this up, this expansion pack was disappointing. There are tons of things I would love to sit here and complain about, but I won't. All you're really getting is 3 new careers, some unattractive hairs and clothes, and some objects. I really think EA needs to go back to their roots and make Sims expansions that are actually fun and worth the money. (Or better yet, bring Maxis back!) If not, they will be losing a lot of customers, including me!

Honest reviews on The Sims 3: Showtime - PC/Mac

I hate to say it but I own all of the Sims 3 Expansion packs. Some of them have been amazing (World Adventues), some good (Ambitions), and then there is Showtime.

Compared to other expansion packs Showtime provides the least amount of bang for your dollar. You get a new town which isn't too shabby. You get a few new jobs which are decent. You also get some cool new things to buy in the game like the pool table and skee ball machine. Sadly though there just isn't anything that stands out when it comes to this expansion pack. The social features are ok but a number of them came with the latest patch anyways. When it comes to clothes and hair there is a mix of junk. Most of them are ugly and you get find much better items online for free. There are also some cool new lifetime rewards but sadly there is only one new character trait.

Overall if you are a hardcore sims fan you'll enjoy this pack. When you consider that EA charges $20 for a new town, upwards of $10 for a single item with new functionality and at least $1 per peice of clothing through their store this pack could be viewed as a value.

Pros: New jobs, some neat social features, decent new items

Cons: Seems like a rehash of Nightlife at times, nothing really sets it apart from other expansions

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Honestly, once your Sim decides to become one of the 3 professions (acrobat,singer,magician)....all you do with them is have them try out for gigs, perform for tips & then perform at the gigs they booked.

Watching them do the tricks or juggling is fun...a couple times....but when that's all they do....it's a bore. In the normal Sims game, your Sims can form a band. You'd think the new singer career would fit right in, right? Wrong. A singer is an all alone profession. No duets (unless you get another Sim to sing karaoke with you)...no back up singers, no bands. Just your singer....out there on the stage.

If you singer Sim decides to switch careers to something else...then their singing days are over. Can't sing on any stage or even to their own kids. Other than the also boring karaoke...if you want them to sing....even as a hobby....you have to switch them back to that profession.

Expansion after expansion only adds a few new things to do...that are only fun for a short time. Your Sims basically have nothing else to do during their Sim day. The previous game of Sims 2 seemed to have much more creative people involved with it....this one tends to have people who do 'just enough' and no more. This expansion could have been much better...but they stopped short of producing a great game & instead...settled for just OK.

Disappointing and not worth the $40 price tag. If you can wait....try to hang in there till you can receive a price drop. I purchased my copy at Target because they offered a $10 gift card.

Cheap Xbox Spherex 51000 6-Piece 5.1 Surround Sound System

Customer Ratings:

I actually do not own a XBOX. I want a SMALL surround sound system for my living room and I don't want too many bulky electronics. I decided to for for Spherex based on many raved reviews. The satellite speakers are based on the highly-regarded Omnipolar technology developed by Mirage system.

I was not disappointed

Out of the box there's MINIMAL adjustment needed just hook up your TV's analog output and your DVD player's digital output to the subwoofer. There are 2 optical and one coaxial digital inputs and one analog input (total of 4 inputs). No need to buy bulky receiver / amplifier. After breaking-in the satellite speakers for a few hours (this is very important) and then put the subwoofer in the corner of my living room (where it should be placed), I fired up the system for critical listening.

My first impression is that this is a SUPERB, neutral sounding system. I also have a Rotel / Vandersteen surround system in my theater room (over 10 times the cost of the Spherex) and I have to say the Spherex system held on its own. Its sound stage is incredibly wide and deep, especially for my small living room. The treble is smooth, not fizzy. The subwoofer is full and tight-sounding, perfectly matching the satellites. I then hook up my home theater PC to it and play my classical MP3 collection ripped at 256 kbps via the Dolby Pro-logic II mode again superb sounding.

For movies the Dolby Digital and DTS works superbly as well. The sound stage is again incredibtly wide and immersive. Try to watch the Lord of the Ring with Spherex and you will see what I mean.

Now the down-side. There's some mild static noise when no music is playing it does not bother me at all, considering there's nothing in this price range (surround receiver + surround sound speakers) that can match the Spherex (I paid $380 shipped). Secondly, it doesn't look like audiophile product then again it's only $380. Third, it doens't use regular speaker cables (it use RCA plug speaker cable go figure.) I need more than 20 feet for my rear speakers so I have to go to Radioshack to buy longer cables.

Overall I am thrilled by the sound quality of the Spherex system.

Five Mirage Omnipolar speakers + a subwoofer + a receiver easly cost over $900. I have not compared it to the Logitech Z-5500 system which is probably Spherex's closed competition but it does not have the Omnipolar technology.

Bottom line anyone looking for a small surround sound speaker system and don't want bulky electronics should check the Spherex out. YOU DON'T NEED A XBOX TO ENJOY THIS SYSTEM.

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Ok, to start off I'm not an audiophile. I have used and dived into tens, if not hundreds, of audio and video devices and systems. I get to know what I buy and don't stop at just getting a component to work.

So far, this system is performing well, but the sound quality I was expecting, expectations can jade ones experience if they are too high, was not quite there. Part of this is definitely related to the room of use, which is less than optimal for surround. However, I was hoping, based on reviews, that this system with its non-direct focus of sound would help null that out. I also, jsut recently got the system, so its hardly been tuned to its best performance. It far surpasses my fairly new TV's speakers, but that's not really hard to do, since most TV's have mediocre to poor speakers at best.

Overall, the sound is very good. The system installation is trivial. It has 2 optical and one coax digital inputs, which was perfect for my three digital sources; XBox 360, Showcenter 200 (HD video/audio client), and an HD digital cable box. There is an additional analog input (2 coax for left and right and a cable that will convert that to a 1/8" stereo plug for MP3/Computer/.... Also included is the currently non-usable USB port for firmware upgrades as well as playing digital audio from a computer; no new firmware is posted and the PC drivers for the digital audio does not appear to be ready. One final output port allows attachment of headphones or other audio recording device. As I mentioned in my title, that was absolutely perfect for me and my wife; now all our audio is through one "receiver" and can be heard through speakers or headphones. The rest of the plugs are for speakers; all standard RCA type jacks. The speaker wire was surprisingly thin. I would have thought that it would have been a little beefier. Then again, they are only putting 55W/channel front and 16W rear, so I suppose the thickness is relatively trivial at that relatively low wattage. They are upgradeable, since every cable is RCA on both ends. There is also a big expansion slot, but I've not seen any info about probable uses from the company. This could be a source of more inputs, output channels (7.1) although I doubt that, THX filtering maybe, all on an expansion card. The speakers are small and decorative, however, despite wall mounting holes built into the case, they strongly recommending that you not do that; despite all the demos they show at their site places the speakers on the wall (go figure). The reflective sound nature is deadened by position so close to the wall (they recommend 3 feet between speaker and wall) reducing the effectiveness of the surround effect and overall sound quality. Also on this note, placing them in a confining space like a low book shelf or audio/TV cabinet/stand shelf will have a tendancy to make the speakers sound muddy (which was my first experiece with them.) That makes the placement of the center channel speaker difficult; the best would be on top of a tall TV cabinet with the TV inside, if you have one, or on top of the TV, which is impossible for me since me DLP's case is too thin on top. The Sub wofer is good and somewhat adjustable. The included remote is adequate, but a multi-device remote becomes a big help when you start turning on and configuring three devices (TV, Video (DVD), and audio receiver.)

The display unit provide, also is the IR receiver, is intersting and provides a lot of info about what's currently being played. However, it's sometimes difficult to discern which features are really lit from across the room; there are 14 total, 7 on each side, and some turn from green to red to indicate an additional mode.

The only "problem" I've experienced is the unit, when powered of by the remote (power switch on the unit is left on), will sometimes not power back up again from the remote. When this happens, I need to turn the power switch of and then back on, and the system responds normally. They do state in the manual that you should power the unit off, via the switch on the back, when the unit will not be used for a while; just like a receiver or TV. I am a little concerned about this issue, which leads me to my next point.

I like the idea that this is upgradable with firmware via the USB port. New features, fixes (hopefully for the power on one), and performance improvements are just a download away. However (I say that alot), this also leads me to believe that companies are shipping products early, letting the end user debug problems, and fixing the most serious that effects the most users. A great business model for making money and cutting costs, but I feel that gone are the days of getting a reliable product that does what it claims to do and then using it. An example here is the PC digital audio. "The software is not ready yet" is the claim. Well then, why was it listed as a feature instead of a future enhancement. This current firmware fix fascination is leading to this kind of product development; shoot for the stars and if we reach orbit, that's good enough and they'll still buy it. Ok, off my soapbox.

To sum up, sound is very good but didn't blow me away, unit sets up in minutes, wish it an input or two more (1 digital and 2 analog preferrable for a total of 4 and 3) for future needs (again it met mine right now, but I'm out of inputs), upgrades are easy, and reliability is in question (it locks up and won't respond to power command from the remote; hopeful software fix). All in all I'm pleased (mostly because I got it at a great price), but I thought it was a little pricey for the sound that I'm experiencing. I recommend it, if you have some cash to throw around and a place to run all those wires (a common problem for almost all surround systems.) Hope that helps.

Best Deals for Xbox Spherex 51000 6-Piece 5.1 Surround Sound System

I got this 2 days ago, the first one i got was defective ( the IR receiver keeps shutting off), i returned it to Bestbuy and got a different one. I didn't know that in order to hook the xbox up, you will need an "advance av pack". That's all you need to get, the optical cable is included in the package. I fired up the "Saving Private Ryan" dvd, i was amazed. It was like you're inside the movie. I have a Phillips Home Theater system which i thought was excellent. But after hearing the spherex sound, i immediately got rid of my Phillips. Next stop, the game, I popped in Halo 2, awesome experience. You could actually hear if someone is right behind you. DOOM 3, scared the crap out of me, i was like in hell. Hearing those tormented souls whispering in your ear. While emptying the load on my plasma rifle.

If you're thinking of getting this "bad boy", i got one friendly advice for you. "Stop thinkin', just get it".

Honest reviews on Xbox Spherex 51000 6-Piece 5.1 Surround Sound System

I wanted a surround sound system not just for gaming but for watching DVDs in Dolby 5.1 and DTS. After reading extensive reviews from gaming and home theatre sites, the choice was clear.

The Spherex system fits nicely in my apartment without taking up a lot of room, yet offers a sound experience much larger than its size suggests. I am impressed not just by the bass but by the clarity of the mid and high frequencies. Equally impressive is the wide sweet spot.

Gaming experience on the Xbox is so much better with the Spherex epecially Doom 3 (you feel you are truly there with the sound immersion like when the door closes or a monster materializes behind you). Same goes for action movies.

The same sweet spot technology in the Spherex is also found in the higher end Mirage line of speakers at a fraction of the cost.

What's the con about this product? There is only one analog input but this becomes a diminishing requirement with everything going digital nowadays.

One thing I dislike is that the unit may still consume 60W in standby mode. I manually power off the unit via the rocker switch behind the subwoofer to avoid the 60W consumption.

Finally, what other product offers a 10-year warranty nowadays?

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I've done my research and I've purchased this set for myself. There really is nothing that compares to the Spherex system within the same price range. Some might be discouraged by the Xbox logo that is on every component of this system. Some might think that's cool. Others might get the notion that it might be cheapy and/or low budget. Trust me on this...it is far from cheap. When I unpackaged my spherex system, I was amazed by the quality of each component. There are enough audio inputs to support a small Home theatre system. Two optical-in, one digital coax, a port for L-R analog, a headphone jack, and of course, inputs for all 5 speakers. The Sub is powered, not a cheesy passive sub. This will work with any game system, and other devices that support a 5.1 setup. Currently, I have my TV/vcr(analog), Xbox (optical), DVD player(digital coax), and still have room for another optical device if I choose.

My only negative on this system is the IR-reciever. It is very nice, but IF that component dies, you have no control over your audio system. The only way to control the system is through the remote which depends soley on the IR reciever being operational. Never fear...Spherex has a 10 year warranty on this thing. In 10 years, I'm sure I'll be ready for a new setup anyway...but at least my system is protected in the event that something fails. Problem is, if that IR-receiver goes...and you ship that part for replacement, you'll be unable to use your system for a while. Spherex would have been good to had some on-board controls as a backup option...but oh well. Just a minor deal in my opinion.

The sound quality is amazing. I kept reading about how amazed everyone was with the sound. Spherex uses a sound distribution method unlike most speakers you'll find. It emits sound to better reflect off of surfaces and your environment, so that you're in a "sweet spot" no matter where you are in the room. The sound is more realistic than some of the high priced speakers that I've heard. No need for any high priced recievers and separate components. Everything is built into the sub making setup a snap. Heck, my grandma could set this thing up. If you can make your VCR stop blinking 12:00AM, then you can set this up with no problem.

Just do your research. I've read reveiws in various third-party sources (game magazines, home theater mags, audio mags, etc.) and every source rates this system very high (usually 9+ out of 10, 90+ percent, etc.) Don't be fooled by the "dorky" xbox license...this thing is so versatile, that once you hear your games, movies and music on this thing, you could care less if these things were pink with hello kitty faces painted on.

For those looking to spend under $1000 for a nice surround sound package, you won't find anything better than this. Believe me, I've looked.

Cheap Karaoke Revolution - Xbox 360 (Bundle)

Customer Ratings:

I bought this game for my wife who loves to sing, but I must admit that I kinda like it too. You get to customize your own singer (which is part of the fun; I got mine to look almost exactly like me) as well as the option to design the stages and venues where you sing. The game has a mixer-type set up which gives you the options to increase or decrease the volume of the music, the crowd, the singers' voices and player's voice separately. The game doesn't require that you sing perfectly to get points; just that you hit the right pitch. There are co-op and competition duets for two players. If you are not in the mood to play for points, there is a karaoke mode that simply shows the complete song verses (instead of the scrolling words on the bottom in regular game mode) on the screen to sing along with just like a traditional karaoke song video. It is definitely more fun to play the more people there are. The only downside is the song selection; while my wife and I are bilingual and liked a couple of the Spanish songs that were featured, the others were not all that exciting. Plus, most of the songs from the 70's and 60's were downright boring. The DLC content from XBL consists of only about 10 or 11 additional songs. All-in-all, we have no interest in about half of the songs. I realise it's hard to create a song line-up that pleases everyone when releasing a game that is meant to appeal to the general public, but that's why they should've had more DLC songs available like with the KRAI & DDR games. Still, this is a fun game especially if you are a karaoke fan.

Just a word of caution as a side note, especially to all those who think 'karaoke game = kids/ family game': you may want to review the song list (which can be found on Wiki) before buying as there are several songs based on overtly sexual themes. For that reason, along with some light profanity, it is rated T for teen.

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I am a long time follower of Karaoke Revolution. I have all of the old editions from my PS2 and was eager to pick up a few new karaoke games for my Xbox 360. I picked up this game, in addition to a game called Lips. Unfortunately... Karaoke Revolution let me down.

Problem 1: The words scroll across the screen VERY FAST. When you don't know the words to a song, it's frustrating. You can't read ahead (unlike it's competitor).

Problem 2: Some songs... you can't hear the original artist. I turned the vocalist volume all the way up.. and it was still quiet.

Problem 3: There are some VERY FAST paced Spanish songs on this track. I know we're moving towards being bilingual.. but we're not really there yet. And if there's going to be a song in a foreign language on there... it should be more common.. or slower. Combined with problem 1 for English songs.. This was unbearable for Spanish songs.

Problem 4: There were no available songs for download and no one online for Xbox live. This will probably change after the game isn't so new... but wasn't a problem for it's competitor.

There are some improvements to the game. There is a Party mode that saves all of the players who were in the party the previous time. We play the game for holidays with family and I hated setting up everyone before. Now.. everyone can have their own profile. Their name will come up and they can sing whenever. Removing and adding players is easy.

It doesn't kick you out for bad singing. Kids can finish their songs.. They won't get bummed and develop a complex.

Best Deals for Karaoke Revolution - Xbox 360 (Bundle)

I'm a big karaoke fan. My voice is terrible and people's ears bleed when I sing but I still love doing it. I've owned Karaoke Revolution and Karaoke Revolution Party for the original Xbox, Lips for the 360, Rock Band, Lego Rock Band, Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, and other Guitar Hero titles, and now Karaoke Revolution 2009 for the 360.

So now I'm reviewing Karaoke Revolution 2009 for the 360. I loved previous versions of Karaoke Revolution and it's my favorite singing game of all the aforementioned games so I was quite looking forward to KR2009 for the 360.

First I'll begin with the microphones that are compatible with KR2009. Karaoke Revolution comes with the standard Logitech microphone and although it is wired, it's a very good microphone with good gain. You can singly quietly or loudly and it handles it all very well. I also used the microphone that came with Guitar Hero World Tour and it's also a very good microphone that is also wired. I would consider these mics equivalent and both work very well in Karaoke Revolution 2009.

Now many people also own the wireless mics that come with Lips. I so much want to love these mics because they're wireless, have accelerometers, and have pulsating lights. But the most important aspect of a mic is how it sounds. When I first got them with Lips, they sounded terrible in Lips. My awful voice sounded even more horrendous in Lips. In Karaoke Revolution, the wireless Lips mics work okay (and sound better than in Lips) but you have to boost the gain to max because they're not powerful mics. And you have to sing with more force than with the other mics. Now in Lips, these wireless mics were much louder albeit your voice sounded more artificial and often the Lips game added sound effects to your voice even when you didn't want any effects.

So now mics aside, how well does Karaoke Revolution 2009 play? I still think the Karaoke Revolution series has the best overall gameplay for a karaoke game. KR2009 has pretty good character customization but it's not as good as in the Guitar Hero/Band Hero games. The gameplay modes are great and there's a wide variety. If you like to sing, this is the game for you. The scrolling text and pitch bars are easy to follow. It's nice to now play in a game designed for a 16:9 screen. Karaoke Revolution has been a series that chose songs that are very good to sing. There are songs that are great to listen but hard to sing (for any number of different reasons including choppy phrasing, wild swings in pitch, etc.). KR2009 has a great mix of songs that allow an average singer like me to easily adjust my pitch on the fly during the song. I do wish that KR2009 had a bigger song list though but if they develop their online song store, then the song list won't be a problem. I will note that there are a number of Spanish songs on the songlist. I don't speak Spanish and while I do understand how large the Spanish-speaking population is, I don't think they should include them on an English-speaking game.

Now some of the problems with KR2009. The graphics are not dynamic enough. I don't mean just the background graphics, but we'll start with the graphics from the perspective of someone watching the game, it looks okay, but it looks like Xbox1 or PS2 graphics with higher resolution. Not ugly but not pretty either. Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero look much better. But now the graphics as you're singing. In previous Karaoke Revolution games like on the Xbox1 machine, the arrows and the glowing effects were much stronger and bigger. They were easier to follow. The graphics of the pitch bar, arrows, etc. of KR2009 are much more subdued and harder to follow. It's harder to tell if you're singing in a zone for bonus multiplier,etc. I play on a 62" 1080P screen so it wasn't too big of a problem. But I can imagine trying to play on a 32" screen and thinking they should've beefed it up a bit. Subtle graphics are great for a first-person shooter. Not great for a karaoke game where words are scrolling fast and you need to keep pitch.

The career mode is weak. I can't get a sense of any purpose to it. Yes, career mode is not that important in a music game and KR2009 is a party game mostly but it would've been nice to have a career mode that was enjoyable or had a sense of purpose to it. The instructions are terrible. They might as well print no game manual.

So how does KR2009 compare to the other karaoke games? Let's start off with the games that are not pure karaoke: the Guitar Hero series and Rock Band series. As a singing game, KR2009 is much better because its games are more singable. Guitar Hero and Rock Band have mostly hard rock songs that are very difficult to sing with very snapping phrasing and little melody. Those songs are all about the music rather than the melody of singing.

Band Hero does have a few songs like KR2009 so it's easier to compare. for the songs that are similar to KR2009, I like Band Hero more because it has multiple ways to show the lyrics and pitch bar. I like the static karaoke of Band Hero. very easy to follow the pitch bar and the lyrics and very easy to sing to the game. If all of the songs of Band Hero were of the same vein as KR2009, I would find it a superior game. But Band Hero is a mix of Guitar Hero/Rock Band and KR2009 so there are far too many rock songs to sing. Also, judging on Band Hero is very lenient so sometimes, you can do no wrong.

How does Karaoke Revolution 2009 compare to Lips? I made a review of Lips so you can read that. to sum it up, KR2009 is a superior game in my opinion to Lips. Because Lips is more of a karaoke machine than a karaoke game. Plus Lips had a very difficult pitch bar and lyrics to follow. the Lips soundtrack is good to listen to but not a good song list to sing. And Lips makes my voice sound terrible. KR2009 makes a lot of people sound okay to great. Lips does look much better graphically than KR2009 if you're just looking at the screen while someone else is playing. The graphics are great and you often have a music video to follow too. But again, the pitch bar and lyrics are much easier to follow in KR2009 than in Lips.

But here's the problem. KR2009 has no to very little online songs to download. Lips has a big online store so you can keep buying songs to add to your collection. I really don't want to buy songs for Lips because I don't like that game. But if KR2009 doesn't develop its store, I'm stuck with Lips. And the Lips online library is really good.

So to summarize, Karaoke Revolution 2009 is a great game but pray that Konami supports the game with an online store with songs to download. Otherwise, if no store develops, my review of KR2009 plummets. Because the song list isn't big enough or good enough to survive on its own. The gameplay mechanics of KR2009 is too good to let it die a sad death. Let's hope Konami supports the game. Otherwise, if you're a 360 owner, you're stuck with rock songs from Rock Band/Guitar Hero. Lips is okay and I could learn to like Lips but I feel Karaoke Revolution is a better karaoke game.

Honest reviews on Karaoke Revolution - Xbox 360 (Bundle)

I'm more of a novice videogame playermy husband bought an Xbox with kinectand bought me this game to play because I like karoke-

it's everything I was looking for in a karoke gamethe songs are AWESOMEsome Top 40, some classics, some 80s songs

The words go across the bottom of the screen in the same speed you are supposed to be singing them at

there is a little arrow that goes up/down on the words at the correct pitch you are supposed to be singing at-

If your looking for a fun quick singing game with some great songs! this is your game!

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Bought this game as alternative to an actual karaoke machine for my daughter. I think the machine would've been better. Lyrics move way too fast, hard to hear yourself sing. I would not recommend it!!! Not worth the price.

Reviews of Gold/Purple Xbox 360 Modded Controller (Rapid Fire) COD Ghosts

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List Price: $139.99
Sale Price: $89.99
Today's Bonus: 36% Off

This transaction was a disaster. We paid $100 for a modded controller. They lost the product. It never arrived. When I complained they sent another one, but it was not the correct controller. And because I'm not a gamer I didn't realize it. My son did on Christmas morning and he was crestfallen. So he tried to buck up and use the replacement. It turned on and then off and then on and then off intermittently. Then it stopped working altogether. I've called and called and emailed GeniusMods and they don't pick up, or their message system is filled. I've emailed them my order number and asked for a return shipment sticker. But nothing. No answer. I'll never buy anything from them again and am happy to tell everyone I know who's a gamer to stay away from them. What a bummer. My son is still upset about it.

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Controller would disconnect on occasion. I use an oem battery pack and I have not had any issues since. Aside from that the controller is beautiful.

Best Deals for Gold/Purple Xbox 360 Modded Controller (Rapid Fire) COD Ghosts

I was a sucker for the gold and purple combo. I mean what else screams royalty than gold and purple? Okay that sounds REALLY corny but you can't say that wasn't your initial impression after seeing this controller too..

I was really happy with the controller, it came so fast and was brand new, still sealed in the package. I was afraid of the gold looking cheesy and gaudy but it looks great in person. Very reflective and definitely something that grabs attention. All my friends are jealous when they are over to play Xbox.

Honest reviews on Gold/Purple Xbox 360 Modded Controller (Rapid Fire) COD Ghosts

I was a little concerned about buying this controller as some of the other reviews made this seem like a poor product, but was not at all disappointed! it looks just like in the picture. However, there is NOT a button on the back. You use the sync button on the controller to do the mods. the gold looks perfect so far no peeling after 3 weeks of constant play. Very good controller over all! I have also bought and recommend custom controller parts from this seller as they are very good.

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the controller works great and looks so cool, i would buy another again for my brother. controller was deff worth the money.

Cheap Monster Garage - Xbox

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $18.99
Today's Bonus: 5% Off

very limited game play opportunity. maybe it's just me, but i never thought of this show as an opportunity for a video game. how exciting is removing a bolt for an entire minute (with a little graphic on the side showing how far out of the car it has traveled)??

just like the show, you have a set number of days and set number of tasks (buying or cannibalizing and installing parts with a budget) to complete the build. you control 3 team members plus jesse james. unlike the show, you just rip the car apart and put the new parts on before the days run out. just as a guage of interest, my kids spent 10 minutes on this game and spent the rest of the day playing "need for speed 2 undeground". i would not recommend this game at all. it's very poorly done.

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One of the best build-em, chop-em, design-em, race-em games available. It really is alot like the TV show!!!!

Best Deals for Monster Garage - Xbox

This game is Pretty easy and fun...if u like to rebuild cars this game is for u!!!!

Best The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - PC Deals

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List Price: $9.99
Sale Price: $7.32
Today's Bonus: 27% Off

I'll try to be nice and start with the good:

There are parts of this game, visually, that are beautiful. I played it to the end just for that aspect alone. The graphics in all modes, whether you're playing as FP, 3rdP or watching a cut scene, are very nice...really beautiful. Moria was my favorite; the Balrog and Gandalf's fall into Shadow was cool.

In many ways, it's true to LOTR books and a nice way to learn the basic story if you can't/won't read the books. Also, there are parts of the books that you don't get in the movies. Tom Bombadil (as annoying as he may be) and Narzil reforged being the biggest points. One quirky thing...in the cut scenes, the characters look much different than the characters when you're playing them...which is odd. I found it funny that in the cutscenes, the Hobbits have curly hair (as Hobbits do), but in the game, they all have staight hair...in fact, everyone who has hair has straight hair.

Here are the major downfalls...some of which are maddening:

The gameplay is shamefully bad! Did no one test this game? Shame on them! First, you can't fight in FP mode, other than to use your alternative weapon (rock, bow, magick). So, you're forced to fight in 3rdP mode and suddenly the 'camera' angle goes haywire! You can't see who or what you're fighting or suddenly there's a tree or a wall in your way. This is inexcusable IMHO.

Also, you can't choose which character you can play and there's no changing the difficulty. You can't venture very far and just look around either = no replay value!

Add on that the characters all move like they're Cave Trolls on smack, and you've got a recipe for disaster. No skill really required...you keep pounding away at your mouse. Not so much fun or good for the hardware.

If that's not enough, I found the game to be rather buggy. Once in Moria Gandalf was stuck in a wall...I couldn't move and had to start over. It crashed my system many times and I have a 'stout-hearted' system that even Samwise the Brave would admire.

Also, there are times when you really don't have to fight anyone at all to pass the level. This is especially 'helpful' when you're Frodo since he can't do much of anything. If you just run to the end, picking up Mushrooms, Cram and Lembas as you go, you can pass to the next phase. I did this several times with Frodo with the ghosts (Paths of the Dead?), the Orcs in Moria and the Urku-Hai just before the end. Why bother playing at all? And what about the Ring, which I think I used once just to put the darn thing on a see what happens! Who cares about gaining purity when you don't have to use the Ring??

The 'puzzles' were laughably easy and the game was so short, I was angry that I'd actually paid for this bundle of [junk]. It's a total ripoff that completely takes advantage of the new generation of Tolkien fans that the movies have created. Obviously, Peter Jackson had nothing to do with the game.

I've played more engaging games on a Commodore 64!

Bottom line: Save your money...Tolkien Enterprises doesn't need it.

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A new Lord of the Rings RPG is out for the PS2, XBox and other platforms. How well does the first book in the trilogy translate to a role playing game?

To start with, you're doing a role-playing game and start out as Frodo. There's no fighting, just wandering around in a very nicely rendered Morrowind-style graphic house and town. You have a purity meter, so don't go stealing things from others' houses!

You have simple quests to achieve get a mill working, find the pigs. You gather up some firecrackers and mushrooms (yum!) and deal with your annoying relatives. In hardly any time at all you've met up with Sam, Merry and Pippin and have left the Shire.

The game progresses like that Frodo just creeps along, solves random quests and tries to stay pure. You can use the ring to find secret areas, but using the ring makes you more corrupt. You have to do good deeds (i.e. these little quests) to keep yourself balanced. Eventually you can also play Aragorn and Gandalf, and stop into other locations such as Bree, Weathertop, Rivendell, and up through the end of the book at the river's edge.

I was disappointed because the back of the game made it sound as if you could *be* any of the three characters (Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf). Instead you're stuck as Frodo in the beginning, trudging around from house to house. Most houses don't even have anyone in them and the few that do are often empty. The puzzles are solved in about 2 minutes each with little thought.

I do enjoy the graphics, and the way each character is a 'type' is fun. Frodo's purity and thieving skills, Aragorn's fighting, Gandalf's magic. The cut scenes are good and help to move the story along, and flow in with what you are doing.

Still, I really would have enjoyed something a bit more involved, with quests that involved more actual thought, with real thieving being necessary instead of just 'pick lock ok got deed' and 'sneak along road -ok got past riders'. The quests are very obvious you get 2 or 3 explicit clues for each one that push you into the right direction. The voice actors sometimes seem bored with what is a world-rescuing epic. Gandalf's recitation of the 'one ring to rule them all' at the beginning sounds like he's reading through a shopping list!

In any case, it's fun to wander around the various locations and interact with the characters from the book. The graphics are nice, and they include many characters that the movie didn't have time to include. A must have for Lord of the Rings fans, if only to participate in sort of a 'moving story book' that lets them, for a time, return to that fantastically detailed world created by J.R.R. Tolkein. As a HUGE fan of the series, that includes me!

Best Deals for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - PC

If you are looking for a game that is true to the story (minus certain points that are also absent from the movie), you will find this game to be a true adaptation. If you are looking for a game that is smooth to play and extremely enjoyable, regardless of your love of Tolkein, or lack there of, look elsewhere.

Overall, there's the rub. This game is primarily aimed for an audience who loves the Lord of the Rings and is looking to play it out on his PC.

The game is cinematic, which distinguishes it from most adventure games on the market, which are aimed at hack and slash. You have a series of quests to complete, and they are played out, primarily, through the interaction with NPCs in the game.

One of my biggest beefs, as a PC game, is you have to work with a variety of key strokes to get anywhere. Hooking the game up to the strategic commander made things easier, but there are far too many different elements to program to make this an easy bout. I can see where this game plays out much better on different types of consoles (Playstation, XBox, et al).

The graphics are fairly standard for games these days, but standard falls far short of games like Dungeon Siege, which makes this game a hard sell for non-Tolkien lovers.

I am an avid fan of Tolkein, and I really enjoyed playing out his world on my computer. But, I cannot give this game a great rating and hold onto my conscience.

Rating:

Graphics: 6

Story: 8

Playability: 5

Controls: 2

--------------

Overall: 4

Summary:

If you are a real Tolkien fan, this game may well warrant the price. If not, there is much better fare on the market.

Honest reviews on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - PC

Do not buy this game if you have an older PC. I have 2 PCs and I couldn't get it to run correctly on either. One of the PCs is less than a year old. When I wrote to the support people, they told me that the game does require a video card with at least 32MB of video memory (and other requirements). Mine only has 16MB. To be fair, it does say that on the box (in the small print). They should be required to put that in big letters on the front of the box. Especially since you can't return it once you've opened it. I did go out and buy a new video card (PNY Verto with nVidia GeForce4 MX 420 w/ 64MB of video memory ). Now the game seems to be running OK, but I haven't done much yet. It does look good once you get it running. I don't think it's for the hard-core gamer though.

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Hey guys,

I know a lot of you are complaining that "this game is too short" but think about it: The Lord of the Rings is about being on a journey with some dangers along the way, but mosty it's about traveling. It really isn't such a small game in terms of map size. The problem is you run through it because there aren't as many monsters to fight as in other games.

Look at Dungeon Siege. You can't walk five spaces without having another band of monsters to fight. Every bit of space in Dungeon Siege is filled with monsters. Same with most other battle games. The Fellowship of the Ring is different. There are large open spaces and places to travel without montsters.

I don't think of this as a disadvantage. Sure the game is only 5 or 6 hours long in terms of gameplay but at least I immerse myself in middle earth during that time! I think there is replay value in this game especially if you love the stories and you want to revisit middle earth. However if you're looking only for fighting in every inch of the map there are tons of other games that offer that.

Few games give you middle earth! This game delivers on that! Give it some credit!

Reviews of Mediabridge FLEX Series HDMI Cable (1 Foot) - High-Speed Supports

Customer Ratings:

I purchased one of these to enable 3D functionality (HDMI 1.4 required). Since they were inexpensive and advertised as "Ultra Thin", I added two more to the order for my other connections so that I wouldn't have to worry which were 1.3 and which were 1.4. Note that this isn't the first Mediabridge product I've used. All my other cables have been the Mediabridge sleeved versions (8.5mm thick). Since I was very pleased with those, I had high hopes for these.

The cables did not disappoint. They were as thin and flexible as I expected. They have performed flawlessly for me with no apparent noise or drop-outs apparent under direct connect 480i, 1080i, and 1080p 3D sources. I don't have a receiver to use as a source switcher and since the cables are advertised support the Audio Return Channel (ARC), I'll probably use the plasma for source switching and feed the ARC out to an amp instead.

The cables came in the standard Mediabridge packaging a small thin heavy duty cardboard box with the item name/size on the outside. I appreciate the packaging so that I can keep the spares stacked away and not have to wade through a box of tangled cables to get what I need (ESPECIALLY length). The cables were coiled inside and loosely held that shape. Running my hand down the lenght (to make it warm) got rid of most of the coil as expected. Cable connectors and molding were ideal.

I was concerned about functionality based upon the original negative 1-star review, but for the price and my prior experience with Mediabridge products I figured it was worth the risk. I'm glad I did as the cables have worked out great for me and an exception value at the price compared to other name brands.

My only complaint is that it's currently only available in 6-foot lengths. I'll be on the lookout for thier 3-foot and hopefully 10-foot versions (if they end up manufacturing them).

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I was looking for HDMI cables for my brand new TV, and ordered 3 different brand cables from Amazon. The 'Ultra-flex' was one of them and i was pleasantly surprised by how THIN & flexible these cables were.

The TV is connected to my PS3 using this cable, and it was cool to see the TV turn on to the proper HDMI channel and switch to 3D mode when the PS3 turned on (and automatically switch into 3D mode since the HD Fury game was in 3D).

I am sure the other 2 types of cables i ordered were also fine in terms of picture quality, BUT their connectors were thick and the cables were unwieldy. So I returned those (paid the restocking fee) and got 2 more of these Ultra-Flex cables.

It would be great if mediabridge made 3-ft and 12-ft lengths also in the ultra-flex series and perhaps different color connectors/cables so that one could differentiate the cables at the back of the TV. That would be a real winner.

Best Deals for Mediabridge FLEX Series HDMI Cable (1 Foot) - High-Speed Supports

Now, I have seven HDMI cables:

1.] The first one was a Belkin High Speed (speed wasn't mentioned) 6 ft. HDMI cable. Purchased in Bangalore.

2.] Second one was Profigold PROV1002, 48 bit color, 2m HDMI cable. Purchased in Bangalore.

3.] AudioQuest Forest HDMI 2m. Purchased in Bangalore.

4.] The cable that came with my Satellite box. I am based in Bangalore.

5.] Belkin 10.2 Gbps high speed, 48 bit deep color, 3D support, 6ft cable. Purchased around 10 months after my first Belkin HDMI and the labels changed. After buying this, I found that the product number written in the cable was the same. Felt little cheated at that point. Purchased in Bangalore.

6.] Mediabridge FLEX Series 10.2 Gbps, 48 bit deep color. This is the one I am writing this review for Mediabridge FLEX Series High Speed HDMI Cable With Ethernet (6 Feet) Category 2 Certified [Supports ETHERNET, 3D & Audio Return Channel]. I purchased this from Amazon.

7.] Monster Ultimate High Speed HDMI 8ft, 17.5 Gbps+ Monster Cable Ultimate High Speed Hdmi 1000 HDX 8ft THX Certified. I purchased this from Amazon.

Few comments before the comparison starts:

Other than Profigold, each of the cables mentioned are made in China. The Monster, the AudioQuest, the Mediabridge and of course, the Belkin, are all made in China. The Profigold is made in The Netherlands. However, I am not sure about the country of manufacture of the cable that came with my Satellite Box.

I am NOT sure how being an "ELECTRICAL ENGINEER" and "From MIT" would help put more importance on giving opinion about quality of a product when one actually did not perform a verification of signal processing at Gbps rate, did not analyze the involved network protocols, transmission loss, etc. Simply saying "0" and "1" is very naive way of understanding.

I am surprised that there are such BIG wars going on over HDMI cables and no agency or organisation did a comprehensive study or testing involving cinema quality streaming data transmission through various HDMI cables with the transmitted data captured in a memory device and comparing them. Everything is left to the viewers and buyer's eyes, ears and confusion. Even the HDMI standard agency is MUM on that!!!

Many (huge number of) reviews or comments made in amazon, shows that the reviewer did not purchase that item (either from amazon or anywhere else) but they are so sure about how signal processing is done at Gbps speed and hence attempt to comment that any HDMI cable would perform same.

So, every thing I say here is my perception and my own perception might change in a fourth testing. But I did my own testing three times, each time spending at least one plus hours.

Now the comparison part:

The breaking news There are differences in picture quality and sound quality in each of the cables involved!!!

I have made four sets. In set I, the members are the Monster and Mediabridge cable. In set II, the members are Belkin and the one came with the Satellite Box. In set III, the members are AudioQuest. Set IV comprises of Profigold PROV1002. Given a true high definition movie, I will be able to tell which set the HDMI cable belongs to!!!

The worst is cables from Set II, i.e. the Belkin High Speed ones and the one came with the Satellite Box. There are wither color loss or unnatural coloring in the images.

Set III Pictures coming out of AudioQuest are excellent but cables belonging to Set IV (Profigold) and Set I (Monster, Mediabridge), are better than AudioQuest.

Set IV and Set I has a tough competition, i.e. Mediabridge, Monster Ultimate High Speed and Profigold PROV1002 are all capable of producing superb, ultimate quality pictures.

Between Mediabridge and Monster, I think the Monster would be marginally better in picture quality and better in sound quality. But this is a perception that I would not bank on next time, if I know that I can buy this Mediabridge cable for around $10.

Finally, according to me, the Profigold PROV1002 is better than any HDMI cable that I have. And hence, I have connected this cable to my 50 inch Panasonic TH-P50VT20D Telivision from my Yamaha AV receiver RX-A800 Yamaha RX-A800 7.1-Channel Audio/Video Receiver (Black), purchased this November 2011, during Black Friday. And for my main Blu-Ray player, which I plan to use for most audio visual experiences, I have connected it through the Monster Ultimate High Speed HDMI cable into the Yamaha RX-A800.

I am using this Mediabridge FLEX series High Speed HDMI cable to connect my Satellite Box to AV Receiver (RX-A800).

For a third media player, I will use AudioQuest. By the way, I checked that Profigold does not have a distributor in the North America and hence, probably all HDMI cables in US or Canada might be "Made in China", as this Mediabridge HDMI cable is also. But while thinking what could have differentiated the better ones even if they were "Made in China", I feel that testing is a very important part of the manufacturing. I purchased this Mediabridge product mostly by seeing the testing certificate that Mediabridge has obtained or earned from certain agency in Sunnyvale (did not check if that agency is fake or real, but cable's performance is real and there for me to see all through out). Equally, Monster also has two major industry agencies, testing and certifying their product and no doubt produce very high quality HDMI cables. However, for Profigold, I did not see any testing or certification, though works best for me.

At the end, I would like to emphasize the extremely high value for money for this Mediabridge HDMI cable.

Honest reviews on Mediabridge FLEX Series HDMI Cable (1 Foot) - High-Speed Supports

I wanted to buy a 10 feet HDMI cable to interface my samsung LED TV using its HDMI port with my laptop.I was surprised to see the cable in a small pack when i received it.

The pros are:

1. Ultra Flexible: This is an excellent feature which will enable you in routing the HDMI cable especially when the TV is mounted to the wall closely.

2. Loss less Picture Quality: I explicitly tested this cable by first loading the Bluray songs(1080p) on a USB stick and played in my TV and then i played the same song through the 10Feet Mediabridge cable connected to my laptop.In both the casees i could not find any loss in the picture quality.I do tested with a cheap HDMI cable(6 feet) which i already had and that showed the real difference in picture quality.Thus the picture quality is undistributed even with a length of 10feet.

3.The connectors are gold plated and appear sturdy.

I would strongly recommend this cable

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Mediabridge FLEX Series High Speed HDMI Cable With Ethernet (3 Feet) Category 2 Certified [Supports ETHERNET, 3D & Audio Return Channel]

I have never written a review before but after the mess I had with HDMI cables I wanted to speak up.

I just purchased a new flat screen and home entertainment system I wanted to make sure I got some good HDMI cables. I started looking on Amazon and there are a so many that it got real confusing. I ended up buying several different brands but when they arrived the Mediabridge FLEX really stood out above the rest. This cable will handle more speed that is being produced right now and it is the best quality I have seen. It's also very small and flexible which made a world of difference do to one of HDMI outlets having a strange angle and a tight fit. One brand was so stiff and heavy that I was worried about it bending the HDMI outlet in my flat screen and none of them made the tight fit in my entertainment system except for the Mediabridge.

I know I do not have to stress anymore because I have found the best high speed HDMI cable out there , so thank you Medaibridge !

PS3 Premium HDMI Cable - 9.8ft Reviews

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List Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $14.95
Today's Bonus: 25% Off

Man. don't drop a hundo on an HDMI cable. This one is great. the TV says 1080p, just like with the other one. The other one may be made from "more better metal" but there's a finite speed that electrons can travel.

This was a great deal, because it meant I could get a game and a cable for the price of just a cable.

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This is the best HDMI Cable I ever had, I bought several before this one and they all broke. This one I have it since 2 years and counting...

Cheap Saitek Aviator Flightstick for PC and Xbox 360

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I prefer having a separate controller and thrust unit but I don't have a table and chair setup; just a couch; so I needed something I could hold in my lap. For Hawx, this stick works out really well except for the occassional reach back to drop a flare. Left hand on the thrust, right hand on the controller and you have 99% of what you need including rudder control (stick twist). This is a good responsive controller that makes the game a lot more fun than the regular controller!

I am happy with my purchase and I would definately buy it again. But I'd rather pay bucks more and have a better designed controller.

Overall this is a three star controller (meaning good, not great), but the low price and lack of options on the market force me to give it 4. Hope this helps!

Here are a few general design complaints: 1) The buttons on the back accidently get pushed from time to time if you have the controller on your lap. 2) The missle button is in the middle with no way to remap to the left button. I suspect they did this for left handers but I think they could have used black unlabeled buttons, made the left button the missle button and added a manual switch to reverse the missile button from the left to the right. 3) The flap over the button is kind of stupid.

>> P.S. I paid $49.99, beware of price gouging by third party vendors.

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This joystick does not function correctly with most Xbox 360 flight games, due to a large deadzone programmed into most games.

If you don't know what a deadzone is, it's basically the size of an area where any movement of a stick is not recognized. If the deadzone is too small, even miniscule movements will register an input. But if it's too large, a player must make large movements with the stick before anything is registered.

The deadzone is meant to make it easier for gamepad players, but the side effect is that flight sticks like this Saitek stick suffer from lack of precision. Only the 360's HAWX game has addressed the issue. For Ace Combat and other games, the huge deadzone makes small, fine movements nearly impossible. You're much better off with the thumb sticks of the standard gamepad.

Best Deals for Saitek Aviator Flightstick for PC and Xbox 360

I received this controller from a competitors website due to the fact at the time, strangely enough this same controller was mis-priced on Amazon for nearly 120.00 for the Xbox 360 console version (non PS3). The price listed now is accurate (around 50 bucks) and I would have surely bought from Amazon this site is great.

All I can say is, whooooooahhh. Plug this baby in the Xbox 360 usb port and you are ready for intense battles. Sooooooo much fun. I got Ace Combat 6 Blazing A's 2 and Hawx just so I could experience the joystick (bought the games from Amazon :-P). The light weight that others may mention are about the only shortcumming I can think of, but they DON"T (emphasis on DON"T) affect gameplay at all. This cool joystick sits right on your lap if you like, works for both lefties and righties and sits amazingly stable on a flat table. The control is accurate, fantastic, ergonomic and non-flawed. Changing views to a first person in the cockpit, and using this stick is absolutely thrilling. Don't hesitate to buy this device. The next gen flight games are crazy but they get placed on a whole new interactive level with this stick.

Not a gimmick, you simply have better control of the planes and weapons with this stick straight up balls to the walls blast :)

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I've played several 360 games now with this stick: Hawx, Ace Combat 6, Blazing Angels and Project Sylpheed (a space shooter), and ultimately, it makes the games a LOT more fun. It's configured perfectly for Hawx, AC6 and the Blazing Angels game just plug and play. I had to tweak the controls a bit for Sylpheed, but was able to fairly easily come up with a configuration that worked fine. It's a very different and, IMO, superior experience playing flight games with a joystick compared to the Xbox controller, and the PS41 does the trick nicely. And it's a great value as well! Now I just hope we get some more games to play on it.

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This is a lightweight control but very well balanced. You need to put it at a level where your arm remains horizontal or below. It is calibrated very well out of factory but I doubt that would last over a few years of use.

It works just like that with MS Flight Sim X Deluxe. I did not have to install Saitek driver for it. Probably I would get more options to reassign the buttons with Saitek app but haven't tried that yet. By the way, this is on Windows 7 RC Build 7100.

Discount Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus - Playstation 3

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List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Today's Bonus: 33% Off

I've been a Ratchet and Clank fan for a long time, and I'm glad to see this game added to the series; especially after All 4 One.

Into the Nexus goes back to classic Ratchet and Clank mechanics. With the same type of platforming you'd find in the previous games with a new mechanic where you create a stream of gravity to push and pull you towards the next area, and also to secret areas. The awesomely unique weapons are back like the Nightmare Box that scares enemies for a bit, the Winterizer that turns enemies into snowmen, and Mr. Zurkon is back and he brought Zurkon Jr. and Mrs. Zurkon with him!

I played on the Legend (difficulty) which I felt added the perfect amount of challenge to the game for me. It really made me spend more time during fights trying not to get hit, rather than just plowing through the enemies and beating the game. Speaking of combat, I loved how much would be going on during boss fights and even some mob fights, especially the final boss. There were so many things going on on the screen that it looked like pure chaos, and I loved it. Destructapalooza, the lava surrounded arena you love from other Ratchet and Clank games is back again. While I found it enjoyable I didn't find it too much of a challenge to completely beat it.

The story itself was solid, thought I wouldn't say it's anything special, it was just pretty short. I probably beat the game in about 7-8 hours and that includes backtracking to get all of the golden bolts and Ryno VII holo plans. But for $30 I absolutely feel that I got my money's worth for this game. But, keep in mind, that when you beat the game you unlock Challenge mode which is a sort of new game plus. Challenge mode is a new harder mode where you keep all your weapons and armor, and you can play through on a harder difficulty. When not in challenge mode your weapons can only level up to level 3, but in Challenge mode you get 3 more levels, and you get extra armor to unlock as well.

And one quick note, maybe it was just my system, but I noticed many times that the sound would completely cut out for a few seconds when transitioning to some screens. It mostly happened when my weapon leveled up and the system was trying to quickly load the weapon upgrade screen that pops up. But it didn't detract from the experience and I don't take any points away for it, it was just a little annoyance.

If you're a fan of classic Ratchet and Clank then you need to pick up Into the Nexus. It is an awesome addition to the franchise and Insomniac did another great job!

Pros:

Classic Ratchet and Clank Platforming and Combat

Unique Weapons

Gorgeous Environments

Cons:

Short

Small Sound Glitches

Destructapalooza a Tad Too Easy

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If you're a Ratchet and Clank fan, then chances are you've been pretty disappointed these last few years. Ever since A Crack in Time, the series has progressively declined. They even started featuring the Lombax hero in cheesy Playstation Move titles just to make them sell better. Whenever I originally saw the trailer for Into the Nexus, the comments were filled with people who wanted them to cancel the series for good. In fact, when I went to pick up this game from my local Gamestop, they told me I was the only one in my town that pre-ordered this game. But that didn't stop me. I went home and tried my luck. And you know what? This was the most fun I've had playing a Ratchet and Clank game since Up Your Arsenal!

Story: Ratchet is on board a prison ship carrying a deadly criminal named Vendra. Vendra's goal is to use a reverse dimensionator to bring her species into our world. When Vendra's twin brother springs Vendra, it's up to Ratchet and Clank to stop her before she brings the Nether and their terrifying leader, Mr. Eye, into our world and destroying the galaxy!

Gameplay: Now on to the good stuff. Like all Ratchet and Clank games, Insomniac likes to experiment with new elements into each of their games, this one, focuses on a zero gravity element. You have unique shoes that allow you to pull yourself onto certain platforms and perform gravity jumps to other platforms. Also, about 2 levels in, you get your hands on a modified Levitator (This game has a lot of Going Commando's influence) which allows you to fly as long as you have fuel and fight in mid-air. All of these elements are exceptionally well done. I really hope they keep all these elements in the future games, the modified levitator is my personal favorite, they basically perfected mid-air combat, a feat most gaming companies have never accomplished. The gravity jumps are also very fun. The first level which had a large amount of these, was just incredible. There will even be certain bosses where you have to fight upside down, which is a blast to do. These elements keep the Gameplay fresh and inviting.

Music: Beautifully crafted orchestral pieces for every aspect of this game. Whether it be the doom music when you fire the RYNO, or the cheesy market music when you go in and upgrade or purchase a weapon. It's all here, it makes for a really in depth experience.

Weapons: I figured a Ratchet and Clank game review deserves a separate section for weapons, since that's half their charm. And you'll be happy to know, that there was not one weapon in this game that I hated leveling up. Unlike most of the Ratchet and Clank games of the past, every weapon in this game is fun to use. There are no silly gimmicks like useless holo-shield launchers, or the frustrating self steering tornadoes, these weapons are all unique and fun to use.

Verdict: This game is a masterpiece. Before playing this game, I didn't have high hopes. But now, I'm itching for more. Sadly this game is very short. (6 hours on normal difficulty, 8 hours on legendary/ hard, and about 5 hours if you don't go back and complete all the mini-missions) I could not put this game down until I unlocked all the trophies, and I still have a lot more skill points to unlock. This game gives me a lot of hope for the PS4 generation, and you have no excuses not to buy it, it's $30, what do you have to lose? It even includes a voucher for their $15 mini-game Quest for Booty. Ratchet and Clank are back! :)

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Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus is a rare title that delivers exactly what it promised. The game returns to the traditional third-person platformer shooter, with the expected side-order of puzzles. The game plays and acts like the more successful titles as opposed to the more recent slump. The game has comedy, it has a wide array of big guns, and it has the classic gameplay we love. The story is good, voice acting is strong, and Captain Qwark is as incompetent as ever.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Into the Nexus is a good game, but I did have a few small issues with it. The new character designs first used in All 4 One are high-detailed but too much resembling something you would find on Cartoon Network (Ratchet from Tools of Destruction was my favorite). Ratchet's movements are a little choppy, and movement for enemies and everything overall seems a little weak.

On the upside, graphics are good and the interface is nice and clean. The gameplay only has minor differences (such as you can only shoot with R1 and have a constant crosshair) and some of the new gadgets and toys make the game really interesting. Raritanium upgrades are back, and you get a gun to turn enemies into Snowmen.

Gameplay 8/10

I give it a little lower of a score because I am comparing it to the previous story-driven, third-person titles. The Playstation 2 titles were quite similar to Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time, but this one deviates ever so slightly. By no means the end of the world.

Re-playability 7/10

Ratchet and Clank games are good at providing ways to keep playing through skill points, difficulty levels, trophies, and of course challenge mode. It is not like an RPG where each character you pick provides a drastically different experience, but a 7/10 is favorable to what the series is known to offer.

Graphics 8/10

Ratchet and Clank games are not known for godlike graphics, but they look pretty good. The characters are detailed, guns look sharp, and the really only thing to complain about are the choppy movements.

Comedy 9/10

Always a strong suite for the series, I was cracking up early and often. Specifically at the cinematic for the new arena.

Story 9/10

The story to Ratchet and Clank never really held a whole lot of interest over me until it hit the Playstaion 3. A Crack in Time's caught me by surprise a few times, and this one might do the same to you.

Overall, Into the Nexus is a good game, worthy of your purchase. I am not disappointed one bit and the low price makes it only more enticing. Recommended to all R&C fans, no question. The series is back.

Honest reviews on Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus - Playstation 3

It feels like it's been a long time since we had a true Ratchet and Clank sequel. We had spinoffs such as All 4 One and games like Full Frontal Assault that didn't quite feel like Ratchet and Clank. Into the Nexus certainly feels like a true Ratchet and Clank game, and yet it still falls short of the glory that the two Ratchet and Clank: Future Games released earlier did (not including Quest for Booty).

The game begins with our heroes escorting Vendra to the Vartex Detention Facility. Things don't go as planned, however, when her brother comes to her aid and things get a little screwed up. It forces Ratchet and Clank to have to stop her. It's a simple story that contains many of the things you'd expect from Ratchet and Clank. Though it never really hits the notes of Tools of Destruction or A Crack in Time, the story isn't bad. The only thing about it is that it's just such a short experience without feeling like a fully complete one in some respects. Previous outings have typically been bigger and filled with more intrigue but Into the Nexus is short and sweet, even when including all the side quests.

On the other hand, those familiar with Ratchet and Clank will, more or less, feel right at home as the basic formula isn't really all that changed. The game is still throwing various obstacles at you and there's still a lot of fun to be had with weapons. There's not a whole lot new here. You've got weapons like the Winterizer that turns enemies into snowmen for good measure. Other weapons such as one that gives your enemies nightmares for good measure. There are also some that return like the fusion bombs, but for the most part there's nothing that makes Into the Nexus stand out in the same way that previous games have. That's not necessarily a bad thing and at this price there's not much reason to complain. It just feels like it's not quite a leap forward when compared to previous titles in the series. It's still good and will be loved by any fan of Ratchet and Clank, but it still doesn't quite feel like the next big thing for Ratchet and Clank.

Like the gameplay, nothing about the presentation has really changed either. The character models are the same. It's still a gorgeous game with a great design. Though it doesn't look any different from A Crack in Time that's not bad at all. A Crack in Time was a marvelous looking game and so is this one. By now we know what the PS3 is capable of and sometimes the aesthetic quality is important. Into the Nexus has that. The voice acting and cutscenes are also really well done. Likewise, the music is absolutely amazing here.

In the long run Ratchet and Clank Into the Nexus doesn't do anything wrong. It just feels like it doesn't want to change anything either. A lot of the stuff here feels like they're running down a checklist of what needs to be included for a Ratchet and Clank experience. Hunting for those gold bolts or acquiring skill points can't exactly extend the length of the game by very much. Some gameplay segments are really well done (the opening moments especially) but there is certainly the feeling that this one was a little more rushed out than previous installments. What's going to keep it down the most is the excruciatingly short amount of time you'll spend getting through the campaign. And it isn't that the campaign is short that's so strange about it. It's actually that the story comes to a close somewhat abruptly. You'll feel like perhaps more could've been done with it. Nevertheless for the price it's worth checking out for Ratchet and Clank fans

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This game is simply amazing, I've been putting off the ratchet and clank games since the ps2 days 'cause I judged them as kid games but the humor in this game is top notch, humor I don't think the young ones even appreciate or realize it's there. The game play is fun and there's much variety in weapons and upgrades this is an awesome change of pace to the over saturated market riddled with shooters, splattered guts and profanity. This game is a masterpiece, it also comes with "Quest for booty" download code which I haven't tried yet but if it's anything like this one I'm sure I'll enjoy it. This is a must buy for young and old alike this brings me back to the days of the N64 and makes me hate myself for "growing up" and skipping out on these gems, but no longer!

Review of KINYO GZ-501 GameZone 5.1 Surround Sound System

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List Price: $89.95
Sale Price: $39.99
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I bought the kinyo set, it was the cheapest 5.1 surround i can get (i'm in college an all, you know the finances are tight)

And i am surprised at the quality of the set, i mean, this is a freakin' steal at ! perfect for my xbox 360, gotta hear the gunshots behind you in COD4!

update: now its !

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I bought this at game stop for about $100. I knew it wasn't going to blow any one away or anything but I thought it would be better than standard noise comming through through the TV. Here is my problem...s... One after I had it hooked uop for about a week the Sub started smoking!!!! I quickly turned off the surround sound and unplugged it and took it apart to see why. I never figured out why everything looked fine so I put it back togather that hasn't happened since??? 2 weak sub it rattles a little bit even before I took it apart. you can't ajust the speaker volume speaker settings. 3 the remote is small and worthless. Every type of remote you have for you tv to your stero to wireless game controllers cross talks to the reciver randomly changing the volume of the surround sound!!!! 4 the blue lights are almost blinding in the dark I had to put a pice of tape over them just to watch movies and play games in the dark 5 you can't change speaker wires since there built into the speakers 6 short rear speaker wires and short front speaker wire also 7 you can't hardly hear the center speaker on 5.1 surround 8 every speaker plugs in to the sub... that being said it is a cheap surround system the front and rear speakers do work well to put out noise the sub and center chanel just suck but if you turn it up to about mid volume it sounds ok ( thats another thing that sucks there is no numbers or any indicator as to how loud the thing is on the remote is a volume up and a volume down and when you press it the center chanel wich has the volume control buttons just flashes blue when your turning it up or down)