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G. C. Vachon “c_ster” (SFO) gives the Creative Labs Vado HD 5 out of 5 stars
I judge consumer electronics by my mother’s user experience. I rate this Creative VADO HD a five-star performer. Why? Because I bought it for my 70 year old mother [a complete technophobe] who wanted a video camera to keep me up to date on her gardens and her life. With virtually no guidance, Mom was Video-documenting her daily life. If her 10 year old Volvo had a strange noise, I was suddenly sent a Volvo video from Mom asking my advice. If the dog was sleeping close to the mangy cat – I was sent a “isn’t this cute” video. When the city decided to change an intersection, Mom was there documenting the shoddy work to show/email the city supervisors. Spectacular sunsets on the beach? Mom’s got her VADO in her pocket. As an aside, Michael Moore and Francis Ford Coppola probably shouldn’t be worried about the competition. 
The video quality is pretty good [even with Mom's Parkinsons]. The colors are rich, the adaptation to different lighting is good. The sound quality is not bad [for such a tiny device]. The huge amount of video that can be shot is staggering [We had to increase Mom's bandwidth on her DSL line because of all the video she is shooting/sharing].
Mom likes the Vado so much, she bought me one. While we live on opposite coasts [Mom on Cape Cod and my wife and I in Santa Cruz], we often swap sunset videos. Vado brings us closer. And that’s worth many times more than the few hundred dollars that Vado costs.
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Jaronimo (NJ, the garden state) gives the Creative Labs Vado HD 5 out of 5 stars
This could not be simpler to use. Really. I just recently received my Vado HD 8 GB pocket video camcorder. This is so incredibly easy to use, it could not be simpler. Unless we could figure out a way to control it with brain waves?
I have used mini camcorders before. They do not have the video stabilization of the high dollar camcorders, but if you pay a little attention while you film and keep it reasonably steady, you will get great video footage. The sound quality is also very good for such a small unit.
This Vado camcorder also comes with an HDMI cable to connect it directly to the TV so you can watch videos you just shot. Well you can if you have an HDMI connection on your TV or home theater system. If not you can pick up an RCA cable to watch those videos on your TV.
The Vado camcorder comes with a USB cable to hook it up to your PC. The software is preloaded on the Vado and will automatically load to your PC. It is very simple to upload the video to your PC and you can even edit the video clips into a movie.
The Vado has a two hour battery and charges through the USB cable.
I recommend this unit if your are looking for something of good quality, something very compact, and something ridiculously easy to use.
