RCA RD2780 20GB Lyra Personal Digital Multi-Media Player
By: RCA Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 140
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 On: 2008-09-15
Worst piece of crab Ive ever purchased. Terrible navigation and very poor workmanship. Lasted about a year before breaking. Buttons came off even though I took care of it. Horrible menu system and no multi-task capabilities. Worst engineering Ive seen. Ill pay extra for an iPOD and be much happier.
 On: 2008-01-03
Cool Product. This product is flexible in what you can do with it. I like its ability to play different media and formats. Doesnt support all video formats (CODECs). Battery life could be better. Carry Case is difficult to remove & replace. Priced well below its competition. Slightly bulky. Great for travel or hospital stays. Priced fairly.
On: 2007-11-23
This player looks great and the specifications sound nice. However, the firmware is really bad and RCA did not provide a working update. There are problems with so many files, that are not supported. Many DivX dont work at all, some work with bad synchronization errrors. Even some MPegs, a much more standardized format, dont work at all. With some MPegs, I just see Fatal Errors. All the files I tried, and it was a lot, worked pretty well on a PC, a DVD-Player, and even on an iPod. If you want to watch videos, look for sth else, thatll save you some stress.
 On: 2007-01-10
was good at the beginning but now it all falling apart, the audio output is not even working now and I have to result to getting my audio from the line out.
On: 2006-09-23
Doesnt even deserve the one star!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought this for my daughter for a Christmas present last year. It never worked at all. RCA support SUCKS!! I spent hours on the phone with RCA & didnt get anywhere. I always thought RCA made good products but have learned otherwise from this miserable experience. I sent this product back to RCA for a refund about a month ago & havent heard anything. I will feel lucky if I do get a refund after reading these reviews. I WILL NEVER EVER BUY ANOTHER RCA/THOMSON PRODUCT AS LONG AS I LIVE & WOULD ADVISE ANYONE WHO READS THIS TO DO THE SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF BEATING YOUR HEAD AGAINST A WALL IS FUN FOR YOU THIS IS THE PRODUCT FOR YOU.
On: 2006-09-15
My wife bought this for me for Christmas last year. It doesnt work - for a whole number of reasons. After reading the other reviews here Im afraid to send it back to RCA. I cant even get in touch with anyone there I have to send it blind and hope they take care of it. Dont waste your money.
 On: 2006-09-15
The Lyra was my first PVP machine and I picked one up in January 2004 not long after its release. I was enamored with its sleek screen with dazzling video, cool interface, respectable audio fidelity, and other amenities - including the ability to record directly from a video source. I auditioned one for a month before after much hand wringing, forced to return to Best Buy just before my 30 day return was about to expire. There were a number of factors which led me to do so; glitches with the interface, video issues, system freezes, etc. Finally, I experienced a complete lock-up of the interface that not even the pin reset could undo. Mind you, my Lyra wasnt abused in the least - never dropped, rocked, or jolted. I *really* liked the Lyra even in spite of its considerable flaws but had no choice but to return it. Ive moved on since then to a much more issue free Creative Zen Vision M and have no regrets...but you know what they say about your "first love". Sigh.
On: 2006-08-11
The toggle switches are poorly made, first they were very difficult to use and now they have both broken off!!! This product is not worth the money!!!
On: 2006-06-12
The first thing that happened to me, was the toggle button for pausing, fast forwarding, etc. broke off the first time I used it. I am returning it for the newer version
X3000 that has one big toggle button and I hope it is not defective. I like the Lyra for what it has to offer and that is why I am trying the newer version. Hopefully, I will not be back here with another bad review.
On: 2006-01-22
After FINALLY getting the thing to accept the music from my computer (the "directions" that I got were a joke) I took it to work to listen to some of the tunes. I couldnt believe that the battery indicator was on low only after a few hours. This pretty much blows any hope of taking it on long plane or train rides unless there is an AC outlet there.
It took a while to realize that it wasnt crashing every time I turned it on. It just took a long time to do some functions. While the battery is working, I do enjoy it. This is my first mp3 player so I dont have anything to compare it to. I havent attempted video on it yet...Im wondering if Ill be able to get through an entire movie on that battery life.
On: 2006-01-19
I purchased an RCA Lyra model 2780 in early January. This unit worked as expected for about 2 weeks before it exhibited what I found later to be a known flaw with the model, a faulty headphone jack.
I contacted RCA/Thomson to attempt to find a place to repair the unit, to be informed that it needed to be sent in to the warranty center. So I posted it to the warranty center with the specified copy of the bill-of-sale, and was informed that I would need to wait a week or more for the company to "receive" it.
Once it was received, I was then informed that it would not be repaired, it would be replaced. And that they were allowed one month to replace the unit. So I waited one month. Upon finishing that month, I was informed that the company would be paying me the cost of my unit, that this was the only option. So I re-sent in the bill-of-sale to a fax number. I was then told that it would take 6-8 weeks for them to send my refund.
Yesterday (3 weeks later), I was contacted by a supervisor and informed that I would not be receiving a refund for my defective property because it wasnt purchased from a recognized dealer of RCA Lyras. And today I am informed that I will also not be receiving my defective equipment back from RCA/Thomson.
So far, Thomson has repeatedly misled me about expectations, wasted hours of my time in dealing with a poorly-staffed and poorly-managed call center, and Im now informed I can receive neither my property or a refund from Thomson.
Not only will I not purchase another item from RCA/Thomson, I will be letting people know through a variety of online and RL connections exactly how poorly their product is made and supported by the company.
On: 2005-12-28
The first day I got the RCA player it broke. The warrantee doesnt cover anything, but the hard drive. Then we followed the instruction to update the item and it freezes up. We were put on hold "long distance call" for half and hour and then found out they have to replace it and they said that as to big of expense for the company. This is a pile of BS from GE and RCA!!!! It is a pile of trash.
On: 2005-12-19
It seemed like a really good buy - under $200 for a 20GB A/V player,however, dont let the disk drive capacity and the recording features fool you....unless you dont intend to listen to MP3s on it. The biggest annoyance, one that puts you off using it, is a migraine causing loud click at the start of each track. It is there no matter what volume you set the unit to. Secondly, it takes forever (a minute or two) to start playing a track from the menu. Third...dont leave home without a pin to reset the unit every now and then. It just would not turn on.
On: 2005-12-15
The style of the RCA RD2780 is awesome. It can do lots of things: record tv shows and vhs and DVD movies. copying music is fast!!! I just have two concerns though...I just purchased this last November...so I am still learning how my Lyra works...its just frustrating when I try to listen from one song to the other, I always need to press the Menu button or the on/off button when I choose another song. I just recently recorded a Dvd movie, dont get me wrong, the movie was crystal clear...but...when I try to test to skip some scenes...I couldnt do it. when i try to press the forward button, the machine goes to pause...Hope you Lyra RD2780 fans could help me out on this...I would really appreciate it!!! but over all, I love my RCA RD2780!!! Its cheaper than the Ipod and it can do lots of things too for a very reasonable price, so go ahead, buy one and youll know what Im talking about. (by the way, you can also store and see photos!!!) Hope this would help you...God Bless
On: 2005-12-13
None of our units proved durable enough to use anywhere else but at home using headphones, connected through USB to the computer, or to the TV/Stereo using the line out. After going through the reviews last year, we initially purchased a matched set of these for two teenagers for Christmas 04. The first unit was DOA out of the box - the seller replaced it, no problem. We since have had the other original unit replaced, and then the replacement replaced, due to the known headphone jack problems. This was after lengthy phone calls with RCA customer service and a lot of run around on the first replacement. Now, the replacment for the original DOA has the same headphone jack problem AND will no longer connect to external power and charge. RCA initially said theyd replace it as well, but after 3 weeks with no communication or replacement delivery from RCA, we called back and were informed that there are no replacements in the system to send. A refund was offered in December 05 with a 6-8 week turnaround. The refund was finally received in June 06 even with our frequent follow-up contact - it turned out that RCA-Thompson was holding the refund at each review tier for 6-8 weeks. This was definitely "not ready for prime time product". After the customer service experience, I would not recommend an RCA product to anyone.
On: 2005-11-14
I bought this a year ago thinking it was a step above the iPod because it played video and pictures. Besides the fact that the new iPod can now do both, I was still wrong. For one thing, this Lyra is quite bulky, making it very inconvient to bring around wherever you go, which is what I like to do. Another thing is its much more difficult to sync to your computer. You can use it with Windows Media Player, but whenever I tried to add even a few cds worth of music it seemed to take forever because it had to convert all of the files (even though they were alread mp3s) Navigation is another feature that the Lyra is bested by the iPod in. It takes so long to scroll through all the artists on the Lyra. You just have to old the down button for what seems like hours to get to the artists in the middle of the alphabet. Playlists are another things that the Lyra just does not do well in. The only way I ever figured out how to make playlists was on the Lyra itself, and this took forever. Youd have to go through and select the songs you want (which as I said earlier, takes forever scrolling through the songs) and then add them to the playlist. But you can only have so many selected at a time, so it enlongated the process further. Battery life is just not acceptable. It seemed to last a good amount when listening to just music, but viewing pictures or videos drained it much quicker. Im not sure you could get through a whole movie on one charge. The final thing was after just a year of very light use (it was too heavy to bring with me too often), it just died. Wouldnt turn on or anything. Now lucky for me, I had bought the extended warrenty at Best Buy, and when I took it back, they gave me the new 30 GB iPod video, which as I have mentioned, enjoy and use much more often then the Lyra. So save your money and buy an iPod instead.
On: 2005-11-03
Cmon People!!!!!!All the geeks of 2005 reviews are idiots!!!Im not gonna say my Lyra rocks but it is good. It may be heavy and a little big but it does all kinds of things.Download all the new stuff from RCA web page and its great!! Look ignorants, If YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY A LYRA JUKEBOX THEN YOU ARE A CIVILIZED PERSON. Dont drop the THING. OF COURSE IT WILL BRAKE EVENTUALLY! IS LIKE DROPPING YOUR CAR FROM THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING. And this is the reason it comes with the ugly leather case. Take care of it. Youve just spent 300 dollars in somthing then you should take good care of it. So, the lyra has an awsome screen, a bunch of EQs, perfect quality in music and excelent resulution for the pics. Just one detail, if you love listening to music more than lokking at video and pictures and dont really want to use the office documents folder where yu can keep all kinds of stuff, then get the iAudio X5 which is really great also. Another detail to geeks, if you dont like it CHANGE IT!!!!!You have like a 15 day guarentee for free. I recomend the Lyra jukebox for older people above 18. For the majority of young people, smaller things such as an ipod or and iriver are better. But I still think lyra rocks. Buy it, but be PACIENT!!!!!
Somtimes americans are so......never mind.
On: 2005-10-26
CONS: Cant really use while walking/running(too big). Headphone jack stopped working. Most of the time it had 5 minute waiting period (frozen) for loading songs. You cannot scroll music while listening, hence going back to the menu and having to wait the five minutes again. The knobs came off so i had to select songs only by growing my fingernail long enough to reach the selector. If you still are adamant about buying this, MAKE SURE you carry around a paperclip to reset this device for its inevitable freezes. The best part is...it stopped accepting the charge from the power source. What a piece of garbage!
PROS: 20 gigs/plays/records (some) video / looks nice and feels good when it is shattered with a hammer
On: 2005-09-11
Ive had my lyra for several days now, and well the first day all of the cons were there.
<> slow menu changes
<> out of sync audio
<> ect...
Then I had a thought, the lyras a usb hard drive, and all of the "disk access" related issues have a easy fix....Defragment the HD. Over a usb 1.0 connection it took me 9.5 hours to defrag it, but once that was done the menus are more responsive, and the files load quicker.
Treat it right and it will do all it can for you.
Just dont bad mouth it if your wanting it to do more then it was designed to do, for being the size of a paperback it does a lot.
On: 2005-08-26
I would give this 0 stars if i could. Dont waste your money on this product. I bought this item last winter and the headphone jack recently stopped working. I sent RCA the player for a replacement. Let me tell you that the people that work there are incompetent. They first said that I would have to pay $69 for labor and that it would take 7-10 days for me to receive my replacement. 10 days went by and I called them back, and they said it had not yet shipped but that I should expect it shortly. 12 more days, now three weeks total, and I called them back and they told me that they had sent back the original to me because there was something wrong with the Serial number. They said I should have received it, but I had not, and they had no idea why. Three days later I called back and apparently what they told me before was a mistake and that they had not sent it back to me. In addition, the mix-up was because the headphone-jack breaking was a KNOWN problem and therefore I would not have to pay the $69, but that it would take another 7-10 days. 12 days later, more than a month now, no replacement so I called back. Apparently, its on back order, and they could not give a range for when I should get my replacement. At this point, I no longer want to deal with this company so I ask for a refund, which takes 6-8 weeks. I would rather wait to get the refund and buy a different product, especially since the headphone-jack was a KNOWN problem, which means it would probably happen again. Do not waste your money on this device, you WILL regret it.
On: 2005-07-19
Ok well, Im 14 Years old, and i have had my Rca Lyra Av for a few weeks (for a birthday present), and i think that everyone that has had a problem with this device is either ignorant or stupid, or both.
Yes it isnt perfect, but a lot of your problems are solved from using your head.
If you want to copy Dvds from your dvd player, and it complains about copyright protection, you need to plug it in and start recording, unplug it at 6 secs, and plug it in again at 11 secs (make sure its still recording)
Right, now some people obviously need to update the firmware, if it cant play Mpeg-1 files or anything other than .avi format video files. You can just download it at the rca site.
Yeh alright i gave it a 4 because it wont play ALL the formats id like, the buttons are crap and the battery isnt great either.
Also, The interface is a little bit slow, and you cant navigate the menu while listening to music. Also i wish they could have included an andapter for australia, because ive had mine shipped from the states.
So, anyone thinking of getting this, i suggest this over the ipod, although if you just want it for music, go with the ipod 20gb instead (they are about the same price here) Its got a nice screen, plays video as well as music, its not too big and looks nice enough (not as nice as the ipod though)
Buy this if you want to stay resonably future proof, all my friends have ipods which will be probably left behind when the future approaches. There are going to be better devices than this, but not for this current age.
On: 2005-06-22
First of all, the battery life was supposed to be 8 hours. After then initial charge, I was lucky if I got a complete movie out of it.
Initially, support was responsive to my problem, but I ended up waiting an additional 30 days for my replacement unit as they were on back order.
Upon receiving my replacement unit, I found the battery life to be comparably short (to the first)- this after several hours re-creating my folders and play-lists.
So I learned to live with the brief battery life, but two weeks later, the unit dies completely.
Im sure my experience is not indicative of the typical quality for this unit, but its been quite dissapointing nonetheless. I have heard the battery problem is not unique to my unit, so dont expect 8 hours. I do hope your unit last more than two weeks, though.
On: 2005-06-15
This jukebox isnt too bad. It works as a harddrive, in fact, the storage on this device is actually a labtop hard drive. It uses music match, which isnt too bad. You can also just drag music/video/pictures onto the system. The screen is pretty nice. Pictures and video come out pretty clear, although it only plays mpeg video files.
It records from the tv also. This is a really neat feature.
What i hate about this item is the battery. I would say it lasts about 90 minutes of continuous play for music. For video, its much less. However, if you turn it on or off, it cuts down the battery time by about half. I wouldnt reccommend this simply for its battery life. Its horrible.
The menu is also slow, and can be hard to navigate. You cannot navigate through the menu while listening to music, which is highly annoying.
When recording video, the audio and video is not always synchronized. RCA def. needs to fix this.
Overall, i would not reccommend this device, not until RCA releases new firmware.
On: 2005-05-19
I reviewed my Lyra on this site a year ago after buying it. It has good functionality and was quite good at storing photos, the principal reason why I purchased it. However, during that year, I found much not to like about this product. It has a short battery life, only fair sound, is rather large and many of the small buttons, particularly the volume control, are hard to accurately press. None of these problems are that bad but what is bad about the Lyra is its unreliability. It has a flaky operating system and froze up repeatedly during the year that it worked. At times, it would not accept a download from a compact flash card until it was reset. One brand of compact flash card crashed the Lyra everytime I tried to use it. When I bought a new camera with an xD card, I purchased a CF adapter to download photos to the Lyra. Bad idea as this arrangement only worked 1 out of 10 times and on the other occasions also crashed the Lyra. Finally, after 13 months, my Lyra developed the well-known "USB Transfer Mode" failure where it stays in transfer mode and will no longer boot. RCA will exchange it for $100. Forget it, I have no desire to start over again with another Lyra that is certain to give me trouble and fail prematurely. I finaly did what I should have done originally: I bought an IPod photo and I am extremely happy with it.
On: 2005-04-21
I bought this item to 1- use it to store my music library, 2- watch and record my favorite tv show, 3- store data on the go.
The "thing" failed on all the above!
-The music interface is slow and hard to manage.
-When playing mpeg4 movies, the sound is out of synch with the image.
-the data transfer takes HOURS!!!!
Dont even start me on the battery life.....
Just dont buy it.
On: 2005-04-20
2 Lyras broke at the same time. RCA support required me to send them back at my own expense for replacements promised back to me 10 days from the day RCA received them. After 27 days from the day they received them, I decided to call for the status. They said they were backordered with no delivery date in site. I requested my money back. They said the could not start a request until exactly 30 days have elapsed. They said IF a refund was approved it would take 8 to 10 weeks to process the check.
Now Im out $280 including tax and shipping without even having the units in hand for paperweights or skeet targets.
Also tech supoprt said it supports 1 gig sd cards but aftger testing many brands and sizes I found it only supports 256k cards.
DONT BUY RCA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 On: 2005-02-20
Yes, It is bit complicated to learn to use at first- But the time spent learning how to work it is well worth it. I wanted something I could record TV shows "on the fly" without using a computer, as well as my music files and this does it dandy! As for looks, it has a look and feel of quality- real chrome trim sets off an overall classic good looking design making it appear to be something in a far more expensive class. The price is great, and for what you get I would choose this over an Ipod any day. Connecting to my 3 computers went fine on Win98, Win ME, and Win XP Pro.
On: 2005-02-09
Got this for my son for his teenage birthday. He wanted an ipod, but theyre just so antiquated already. He loves this machine, and all the buds are clamoring over it because he can play movies, funny TV clips, all his favorite music, and show photos. It also can play stored movies and music onto a friends TV or stereo, or do a slideshow from our cameras CF card. Also comes with a tape adapter to play your music on your cars tape player. The size is still pocket-sized and not too heavy (around 12oz.). The video screen is excellent and shows up much better than the Archos models. Comes with nice earbuds and has great sound quality. A HUGE plus is that it comes with all the accessories you need: case, USB cable, two audio/video in/out cables, self-contained battery, tape player adapter, etc. Has 20Gb memory, and if you go to the yahoogroups user site, youll see that alot of techhies have upgraded their Lyras to 80Gb without much difficulty.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-12-29
I got this for Christmas from Circuit City instead of an ipod. I thought I was being unique and was a shrewd researcher. I didnt want to go with popular opinion of buying an ipod to fit in with the popular opinion. Well I was wrong, this is a difficult to use, frusterating product. THE IPOD WORKS MUCH BETTER. On the Lyra it easily loaded my jpg photos but it took a long time to view them. To rename them it took much time. Also it supposedly supports MP3 format. I mistakingly loaded music from iTunes onto it in MPA4 format which would not work, then I labored for hours converting all my music to MP3 and loaded it onto the lyra. I put in my headphones then turned up the volume but nothing would play. There is also supposed to be something on it that prevents you from recording hollywood made dvds onto it because of absurd copyright infringement, [...] The unit also has A RIDICULOUSLY SHORT BATTERY LIFE OF 4 HOURS which doesnt seem so bad until you are on a car trip or airplane flight or are just sitting in your room to listen to music for a couple of hours. It seems to die almost instantanousely. Oh yeah, I neglected to mention it is bulky and weighs down your belt and resembles a 80s cell phone. Well not quite, but it sure DOESNT HAVE THE BEAUTY OR EASE OF USE OF AN IPOD. I returned this item to the store the day after I got it.
WHY SHOULD YOU BUY AN IPOD INSTEAD...... I recomend to you that you buy the ipod mini over the regular 20GB model of ipod because the mini has the compactness we all deserve. It holds between 90 and 100cds which for most of us takes about 5-10 years to collect. For the person that buys 1 or more cds per week or participates in music "clubs(pay for 1cd, get 120" or isnt afraid to pirate 1000 more songs please buy the 20GB or 40GB version of the ipod.
On: 2004-12-23
I just recieved this RCA Lyra for my 14th birthday...llike another reviewer, when constructing a *wish list* I looked into the acclaimed IPOD and also competitive Archos MP4 player (similiar to the RCA LYRA). Probably like most of you, from reading reviews, good and bad, this item is a lot to spend your money on. I hope this review changes your mind. This incredible device strives where other competitors fall. Easily able to move files, audio, video, pictures, and word documents onto the device is amazignly simple. When looking forward to the device, I was expecting a screen lacking crystal clear picture =yet I recieved a detailed picture on a small, yet sufdficeint screen. If questiopning to buy this product I encourage you to do so. Although not able to record live TV like the archos, this device can rtecord dvds and vhss as well as cds. You can plug the device into any car to hear it through the cars internal speakers as wells as put in output into a television.
On: 2004-12-22
Pros: Amazing amount of space. I have audiobooks, video television programs, and music on mine right now.
Software is easy to use. I actually had an earlier version of the jukebox program that I got with my first MP3 player (gathering dust somewhere. It had 16 meg of memory!) And if you use this program to digitalize audio tapes you need to be aware if you install the new version that they have made this feature available only on the upgraded version that you have to purchase separately. The other software is great.
Screen is small but clear.
Cons: I dont like the front controls. They are like cheap video game controls and feel "mushy".
This is well worth the purchase price though!
On: 2004-12-22
ok you might have some doubts about this product form soem of the other reviews but trust me this product is great as long as you update the software when you get it. ok this picture is just amazing, the sound for your songs is also very nice, not quite as good as an ipo but an ipod doesnt have video. it is soo easy to record video you plug it in turn on the dvd and press record an thats it, if it a copyrigted dvd here is a tip when you first start recording unplug the wires, the systemw ill check to see if it is copurigted and it wont find anything after about 10 seconds plug it back in and the system wont know the difference, you can put so much on this little thing i am so glad i bought it
On: 2004-12-21
So I bought this lyra thinking it looked pretty cool in comparison to the IPOD, and not too expensive at the same time...but after it broke...5 times...and i had to send it all the way back to the company only for them to re-send me another model which would break within a time period of 30 days, I decided that maybe I should stick with an IPOD or ANY other mp3 player...DO NOT BUY THIS UNLESS YOU WANT TO DEAL WITH SENDING IT BACK TO THE COMPANY EVERY OTHER MONTH!!!
by: Anonymous On: 2004-12-07
Well the ipod is a popular item(featured in 50cents music video P.I.M.P)and the Sony Digital Walkman is featured on a commercial with Macy Grey singing "Walk this Way",Aerosmiths best song the RCA 20GB jukebox is much better. It is a lot better, has 5X the GB of ipod mini, you can watch movies on it(3.5in color flat screen)and import your dvds onto it(holds 80hrs worth of video):unfortunately you have to record the movies onto it from your DVD player and not your computer. I suprised myself be finding such a superior product. It may be a little more difficult to import songs from iTunes but includes 2.0cable for imports of the same speed as both Sony and Apple. It costs the same as the 20GB models of the Sony and Apple but again YOU CAN WATCH MOVIES ON A FULL COLOR HIGH QUALITY FLATSCREEN. IT HAS LESS MEMORY THAN IPOD PHOTO BUT CAN DO MANY OF THE SAME THINGS FOR HUNDREDS LESS($279+tax at Circuit City vs. Ipod Photo which Id estimate at $400)
PLEASE BUY THIS SUPERIOR PRODUUCT,BE COOL,START A NEW TREND.
On: 2004-12-03
THIS IS A SEXY,SEXY PRODUCT BETTER THAN THE IPOD. IT IS CHEAPER THAN IPOD PHOTO BUT I WAN TO KNOW HOW TO PUT DVD FILES ONTO IT. PLEASE WRITE IT DOWN STEP BY STEP. MANY PEOPLE WILL BUY IT IF THEY KNOW ITS A EASY WAY TO CARRY AROUND VIDEOS AND MUSIC.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-12-02
Hey im only 14 and wow i just got it for my birthday and it is one of the best products ever.I read this review baord for about one week before i biught it. Let me tell you if you have any doubts forget them because i was thinking th same thing then when i got it it proved me worng. This product delivers everything it says and my friend has a ipod and this is supier to its sound. If ur worried about not being able to record dvds dont worry, you can! Just read the other reviews and they will help you greatly. The screen quilty is very sharp and clear and playback looks great on it. Be sure to get the firmware upgrade and trust me its not that hard to figure this thing out, come onim only 14 so you should be able to do.Well good luck and have fun.
Written december 1 2004
by: Anonymous On: 2004-11-22
I found this product in the Sharper Image Catologe and thought I had to have it. It records movies, TV shows, music, etc. But I was perplex as to how the video from a show or movie is transfered to the player. I was assuming the A/V cords, like the ones you set up a videogame system or DVD player to the TV with. If that is then I was definetily going to get it, but I was confused by the reviws above. If anyone knows how video is transfered, please leave a review telling how. Im going to be checking back to this page as much as possible.Thanks.
On: 2004-11-21
I found this product in the Sharper Image Catologe and thought I had to have it. It records movies, TV shows, music, etc. But I was perplex as to how the video from a show or movie is transfered to the player. I was assuming the A/V cords, like the ones you set up a videogame system or DVD player to the TV with. If that is then I was definetily going to get it, but I was confused by the reviws above. If anyone knows how video is transfered, please leave a review telling how. Im going to be checking back to this page as much as possible.Thanks.
On: 2004-10-25
I have an iPod Mini and i love it but it only plays music!!! Yet I still love it. I am thinking about buying this item because it look and seems better then the Archos and you can recorde video + dvds to this. So i would get this product over the Archos because im going to italy in april and i want somting to keep me occupied (for 7 houres) oh ya i also have a portable DVD player but it is way WAY to big so if your thinking about getting a portable dvd player over this dont unless your just going to use it for 1-2 houres at a time. <br />
On: 2004-10-22
I have already exchanged my Lyra for a replacement because the first one locked up. The second one has taken 2 fatal hardware crashes. Functionality wise the rocker buttons are the worst. I never know what event if any will be processed and it takes forever for the event to be processed. The next issue is the shuffle all functionality is poor. With over 2000 files I should never hear the same song very often. However, the first song played each session is always the same and the same song repeat between sessions. I have heard the same song 3 and 4 times a week. My guess is this file number is used as the seed to the random file number generator, therefore the probability of generating the same file number increases dramatically. I should also be able to shuffle all songs for a specific Genre.
On: 2004-09-23
I chose the Lyra RD2780 because it could play videos and had a color screen. Why pay the same price for a monochrome iPod? lol. I havent had any problems with playback or crashing since I update the firmware. File transfers are easy. Just drag and drop and thats it. You dont need any special software besides the device drivers. This is my second Lyra (different model) and I must say I am truly a fan of all RCA mp3 players. The only drawbacks to this mp3 player is that it is very bulky and the screen isnt as big as it seems. Its 3.5" (I believe), but theres two black side borders of the screen to make it seem bigger but it isnt. Anyways the screen is a good size.
On: 2004-09-22
I chose the Lyra RD2780 because it could play videos and had a color screen. Why pay the same price for a monochrome iPod? lol. I havent had any problems with playback or crashing since I update the firmware. File transfers are easy. Just drag and drop and thats it. You dont need any special software besides the device drivers. This is my second Lyra (different model) and I must say I am truly a fan of all RCA mp3 players. The only drawbacks to this mp3 player is that it is very bulky and the screen isnt as big as it seems. Its 3.5" (I believe), but theres two black side borders of the screen to make it seem bigger but it isnt. Anyways the screen is a good size.
On: 2004-08-14
This item is excellent.... i give it 5 stars i have had a long time to review this so i would know...all the problems that people have can be fixed with updates,warrantys, or by this review...(lol)Mp3 sounds wonderful..the movies are good...but
this item has its glitches.. as long as you update right when you get it and before you put anything on it or do anything with it, it will be fine..... a little slow cf transfer and it is picky with the different types of movie files are allowed on it....
here are some helpful tips
HOW TO RECORD A COPYRIGHTED DVD ONTO THE LYRA:
step 1: pick your dvd and plug the cables into the dvd player...
step 2: start recording your dvd and after 6 seconds stop the movie (where you are allowed to resume it) or unplug the connection cables attached from the RCA to the dvd player... the LYRA takes about 9 seconds to determine a copyrighted dvd so after about 7 more second replug the cable back into the dvd player and there you go...BUT NEVER STOP RECORDING ON THE LYRA WHEN YOU UNPLUG THE CABLES...it wont work...
HOW AND WHERE TO REPLACE THE BATTERY ON THE LYRA:
This website i am about to give you sells the battery for the lyra and gives instructions on how to replace...there are screws on the lyra that you need a certain screw driver for (included with the purchase of a replacement battery)..FOR those who said it couldnt be done..you were wrong....(...)
NEW SOFTWARE UPDATE INFORMATION:
Reliable sources from RCA tell me that hopefully soon to be released updates will allow more movie transfers and new features that arent available already.. also they are hoping to come out with a digital camera attachment for the lyra...(release date unknown) the camera is a rumor but RCA said themselves they are going to work with the rumor... Many new things might be available in the next year
-possible longer battery life
-more hard drive space
-more advanced audio features
-for movie buffs, different movie types being allowed....
that is all i have heard so far.. hopefully amazon will post this so all the wondering eyes looking for good reviews can find this .
On: 2004-08-13
This item is excellent.... i give it 5 stars i have had a long time to review this so i would know...all the problems that people have can be fixed with updates,warrantys, or by this review...(lol)Mp3 sounds wonderful..the movies are good...but
this item has its glitches.. as long as you update right when you get it and before you put anything on it or do anything with it, it will be fine..... a little slow cf transfer and it is picky with the different types of movie files are allowed on it....
here are some helpful tips
HOW TO RECORD A COPYRIGHTED DVD ONTO THE LYRA:
step 1: pick your dvd and plug the cables into the dvd player...
step 2: start recording your dvd and after 6 seconds stop the movie (where you are allowed to resume it) or unplug the connection cables attached from the RCA to the dvd player... the LYRA takes about 9 seconds to determine a copyrighted dvd so after about 7 more second replug the cable back into the dvd player and there you go...BUT NEVER STOP RECORDING ON THE LYRA WHEN YOU UNPLUG THE CABLES...it wont work...
HOW AND WHERE TO REPLACE THE BATTERY ON THE LYRA:
This website i am about to give you sells the battery for the lyra and gives instructions on how to replace...there are screws on the lyra that you need a certain screw driver for (included with the purchase of a replacement battery)..FOR those who said it couldnt be done..you were wrong....(...)
NEW SOFTWARE UPDATE INFORMATION:
Reliable sources from RCA tell me that hopefully soon to be released updates will allow more movie transfers and new features that arent available already.. also they are hoping to come out with a digital camera attachment for the lyra...(release date unknown) the camera is a rumor but RCA said themselves they are going to work with the rumor... Many new things might be available in the next year
-possible longer battery life
-more hard drive space
-more advanced audio features
-for movie buffs, different movie types being allowed....
that is all i have heard so far.. hopefully amazon will post this so all the wondering eyes looking for good reviews can find this .
On: 2004-08-11
Bought one of this companys mp3 players and I lost my cord which connects it to the computer. I ordered a replacement and waited WEEKS to get it despite the next day air priority shipping. For over a week they showed that it was ready to ship, but they still didnt send it out. If you buy this item, pray you never have to replace a part!
On: 2004-08-01
Forgiving this device b/c it is the 1st of its kind along with the Archos AV line, I still found some aspects of this device sorely lacking.
+s:
+RCA has released numerous updates for this device which they are not normally known for.
+It is Ultrafast when transfering data to and from the device.
+It comes with a very nice kit including a car charger and carrying case.
+Great sound.
+Love being able to browse by genre, album, artist, ect.
+I only took up 1 gig and I was able to load almost every single picture I own on the drive, so people can see pics of the new baby anytime.
+It definitely functions as billed with only a few quirks.
-s (i.e. the quirks):
- Battery life on the device is substandard.
- You cannot browse the menus while music is playing.
- It has crashed during choppy mp3s.
- It is VERY specific about the encoding to divx. You can only use divx 5.0 320x240 29fps video and 128 or 160kbps audio, otherwise it will crash when you try to play a clip.
On: 2004-08-01
Dont get your hopes up with this device for you may be sorely dissapointed. I really was looking for a nice quality Video player to transfer my DVDs over to and some of my books on tape. What a dissapointment. The DVD ripping process to the limited AVI file formats for audio and video were awful. The device has very specific settings for recorded video/audio codecs and I ended up trying like two dozen rippers till I finally found one that would work. The playback of videos was very dissapointing, stopping the playback or fast forwarding caused the audio to get farther and farther out of synch. Now let me step onto books on tape. I love books on tape and wanted to rip some of these as well but the audio bookmarking is just not there so if you are trying to do that forget it. The software (current and installed to todays date) is horribly lacking in this department. Trying to do some straight recording is terrible because of this as well. Bookmarking is a must for audio playback. Now lets jump back to video recording this device supports. I wanted to record direct from my DVD player to the device and it comes up with a message that the DVD is copy protected. Now we all know this to be true but the DVD belongs to me and it is my right to make a copy. I do not like RCA telling me that I cant do something that I know I can legally. This has got to change before this device will make it. If your looking for an audio player stick with an IPOD. Stay away from this device.
On: 2004-07-31
Forgiving this device b/c it is the 1st of its kind along with the Archos AV line, I still found some aspects of this device sorely lacking.
+s:
+RCA has released numerous updates for this device which they are not normally known for.
+It is Ultrafast when transfering data to and from the device.
+It comes with a very nice kit including a car charger and carrying case.
+Great sound.
+Love being able to browse by genre, album, artist, ect.
+I only took up 1 gig and I was able to load almost every single picture I own on the drive, so people can see pics of the new baby anytime.
+It definitely functions as billed with only a few quirks.
-s (i.e. the quirks):
- Battery life on the device is substandard.
- You cannot browse the menus while music is playing.
- It has crashed during choppy mp3s.
- It is VERY specific about the encoding to divx. You can only use divx 5.0 320x240 29fps video and 128 or 160kbps audio, otherwise it will crash when you try to play a clip.
On: 2004-07-25
i just got this yesterday from Future Shop, Toronto, Canada. They have a tag saying it supports MPEG1, MPEG2 and MPEG4. I have tonnes of MPEG2 music video files in my hard drive and I download them into the RCA jukebox. IT DOESN"T PLAY. help please
On: 2004-07-20
I purchased this product back in December of 2003 when it first became available after many many production delays. Unfortunatley it appears as if those delays were not unfounded. This product can be best and most easily described as "Unfinished". It has been over 7 months sice priduction launch and consumer availability and all the features of the product are still not available. When it comes to reliability I can safely say that I have had nothing but trouble with mine. I have been forced to do a warranty exchange twice in about a 4 month period due to chronic and eventually permanent lock ups. The tech support for this product is sub-par in my opinion and in fact i was forced to have RCA/Thompson issue me a buy back on my device as they were unable to supply me with a 3rd replacement device. At some point in time this may be a great product, but given its current form and track record in the few months it has been available you would be wise to consider another product for the time being.
On: 2004-06-22
Ok, here is the scoop with this thing: Ive had this device for about 6 months. About 3 months ago I wrote a review about how good this is. That is until yesterday I decided to load 2000 more mp3s to the +-900 I already had. Man! Was that a mistake or what? When I try to listen to them now, the A/V Jukebox will freeze and takes forever to start. Does anyone else have the same problem? If that situation keeps on going I am afraid that my first rating of 5 is going to be degraded to 3 because it certainly does what it says will do, but it does it wrong!!!!
Note:
Ok guys, I found out the reason why it was freezing: When you make a folder that contains more than 300 mp3s, it takes the device a long time to locate the files. What I had to do was split those folders into smaller ones and that way it takes less time to locate the songs. Of course RCA does not say any of this on their user manual. Shame on them!!
On: 2004-06-20
The RCA Lyra is so niuce to use, it is very easy and so portable that you can fit it in pretty much any pocket. The RCA Lyra can easily have enoug battery to power a video play back for up to four hours with the new free update which you can download from rca.com and I havent even gone far enough to see when it died when listening to music. Its perfect for travellers who get bored on an annoying trip. the only problem is that it pixelates with dark colors.... but its not that bad !!!!!
On: 2004-06-18
Ill try to be objective here. Overall, I think that both the RCA Lyra 2780 and the Archos AV300 series are both totally spiffy products. I must explain that my rating of 3 is based on a direct comparison to the Archos. All by itself, the Lyra looks awesome, but my rating is context based.Ergonomics:
The Lyra definitely looks sleeker than the Archos. The OS looks nicer too. Functionality:
The Lyra does have the analog video recording built-in, whereas the Archos uses an included plug-in module to do the recording. On the other hand the Archos can do digital video recording where the Lyra cant. The Lyra has a built-in CF card reader, the Archos has a plug in SD card reader module (not included ~ $30). MAJOR POINT for the Archos and against the Lyra - Lyra cant record video or DVD that has copyright protection on it, which is a lot of what most people want to record. The Archos can handle it. Both offer firmware updates free on their respective websites. Lyra can play mp3, WMA, AAC, where Archos can play mp3 and WMA. Both can record audio from line in, but Archos line in jack doubles as a mic jack for non-powered mics. Archos also has a built-in microphone and can record to mp3 and, with the firmware update, WAV. Lyra can play pictures in slideshow mode with programmable transition timing as well as playing a selected mp3 as soundtrack - nifty! Sorry Archos people, you are out of luck on this one. Lyra forces you to take time to profile all your audio before it will be playable on the unit. As far as I know, Archos is just drag, drop, and play. Battery life:
Havent checked this out on either model myself, but the listed play length for video on the Lyra is 2hrs and 3.5hrs on the Archos. Also, with the Archos it is possible to buy replacement batteries and you can open the Archos to replace the battery fairly easily (purportedly). The Lyra is supposedly sealed so you cant swap the battery out with a fresh one. For a review of the Archos product, including a note on comparing it to this product, I found the review at http://shanebrinkmandavis.com/homepage/Archos/AV300/ quite helpful. In the end, both products have features that the other one doesnt. You just have to decide what you want. (For me, using it as a DAT was important, which tipped the scale.) As far as I see it, the Archos is maybe heavier (not by too much though) and more expensive (~ $150 more), but the main advantage of the Archos over the Lyra is the digital copyright content copying ability. Nobody wants to buy a product that you have to jump through hoops (download from Napster, burn to CD, rip from CD, upload to player) to use. Seems like the firmware updates take care of a lot of issues that other reviews have mentioned. The longer battery life was another small plus, as is the built-in mic. At any rate, if youre trying to decide between these two, you should really just look at all the reviews, weigh them, look at the technical details for both, and decide for yourself. I havent dealt with Archos, but if their customer service is bad as other reviewers have noted, then you may want to consider that as well. For myself, I dont care since my local Circuit City carries both of them and has a 30 return policy if youre dissatisfied for any reason. :) Personally, I shied away from the Archos at first because of the cost and liked the Lyra a lot because of the looks and the slideshow ability. After digging more though, I decided to pick up the Archos because of the copyright issue and the built-in mic. Hope this review helps.
On: 2004-06-14
As the owner of a ten year-old, 8mm tape, chunky sized Sony handheld VCR/TV unit, I really looked forward to this RCA Lycra. Boy were my expectations too high! As someone else said, RCA made a premature release. I am tech savvy and cannot record video from my computer using every codec available. This is only good for recording directly from the TV (cable box, TV set, VCR). The provided RCA web link does not even work!! The video is very poor. I know its analog, but so is my Sony and its video qualitys better. The RCA has several features that are not yet active. So why put it on the market? After plugging in the USB, theres no previewing until its unplugged. After unplugging it, you are asked to reset the unit...huh? Then the unit turns off. You turn it back on, in my case, only to discover that the video file does not play. This is a tease because while Im tempted to return it, I am already attached to the "idea" of it. I will record mostly from the cable box, so it serves that purpose. I also have a long commute to work and thisll make it easier. Im sure improvements will come, but they should never have put this on the shelves as-is now. It only gives the competition an idea of what NOT to do.
On: 2004-06-14
After reading reviews and seeing that most others are having the same problems I am with the RCA jukebox, Im going to return mine after all. Id rather not have one at all than be a $400 tester for RCA on this prematurely released product.As others, I am going to go with the Archos. I cannot afford it now, but at $300 more, and 60 GB more, including more features, and its not a 1st generation, itll be worthwhile to save and get a superior unit. Update: I returned the RCA jukebox and bought the Archos 20 GB. It was only $100 more and is worth every penny. I wont elaborate here because this is for RCA Lycra reviews. However, I must say that Archos provides software for you to transfer video to the proper codec. Please dont waste your money on the RCA JOKEbox.
On: 2004-06-05
Ive had a few days to play with this device now. It works very well for recording from any video source with RCA plugs. Ive been using it to record shows from digital cable to watch at work. However, there were a few questions that I had before I bought that I couldnt find answers to so I decided to answer them for you.1. The battery is sealed in the unit, you cant buy a spare.
2. The battery will last for about 4 hours of continuous use.
3. The .asf files that the unit records can be played back on any Windows PC. They are MPEG-4 video with MP3 audio and dont seem to have any DRM protection.
4. It doesnt have a built-in speaker...
5. You can copy images from a compact flash card to the unit without a PC so it works great as a portable hard drive for digital cameras. Overall, the device is awesome. Its great for travel and as a distraction at work. ;-)
On: 2004-06-05
Great concept but needs a bit of work. It is great having the video capability and the playback on the screen is very good (very very bright for showing photos though - needs to be adjusted when switching between video and still photos). The interface is easy to use although it would be nice to be able to adjust it and set your own preferences/look.Thats the good - what about the bad. Flash card compatability is a bust. Of my four flash cards, only one worked, the Lexar 40x 1GB card. I had to get rid of all the other cards in exchange for more expensive prograde cards to be able to use it for its primary function of downloading/storage of digital images while travelling. Unfortunately, the copy all function, when enabled, didnt function all that great/all that often. Its good that RCA supply a case for the Lyra but the plastic screen cover provides way too much deterioration in quality to be practical. The case also makes using the somewhat flimsy rocker switches difficult never mind the smaller volume buttons etc on the top. The Lyra was unable to play any .AVI movie clips recorded off my Canon digital camera which is a problem. Software codecs notwithstanding to be able to get this to work via a computer - I dont carry a laptop with me when Im in the middle of the tundra and want to playback the clip. Finally, its only 20GB!! Sounds a lot but load it up with a decent selection of music and movies for a longish trip and theres not much room left to be able to download photos. Overall, I was pretty happy with the Lyra even with the negative comments above as the concept of the device was great and what I was looking for and the basic functionality and ease of use (I didnt have problems copying video straight onto the Lyra albeit I was doing it via the audio/video cables supplied off Videotape or DVD and not via a computer) was pretty good, even for a non-computer head like me, even if the "Saving to Hard Disk" drove me crazy all the time. That changed, however, when the machine crashed and locked up on me during a photoshoot to Zion NP. During lunch I was downloading the mornings images to free up space on my CF Cards and to review them in comfort rather than burning up the camera battery. After about 80 images were downloaded, couldnt do anymore. Fortunately I managed to have enough card space for my one day there to be able to not miss any images. Then I had the problem of dealing (or trying to deal) with RCA customer service. To be fair, once I eventually got through to them (no mean feat in of itself), they acknowledged there was nothing that could be done to retrieve it other than sending it in for replacement. Five weeks later and the replacement is still on backorder and Im sitting with a nice looking but totally non-functioning block of metal and plastic. Unable or unprepared to wait any longer due to a pending 3 week trip to Alaska where I have to have something to back up photos on a daily basis, Ive gone with a Flashtrax - 80GB of capacity and Ill live without the video capabilities. Fortunately, RCA have agreed to buy back the Lyra from me so all is not lost other than a lot of time and frustration. Hopefully future versions will be less problematic as the idea is great.
On: 2004-05-06
I gave the RCA lyra AV 4 stars only because it is a bold new product that has few competitors and deserves praise for being a high level of versitility out of a 1st generation product. That said, if there were many PVPs out there on the market, then I would not recommend buying this particualr one because it has many quirks.Cons:
1) Battery life is pretty short. But this isnt such a big deal to me. It comes with an AC and car adapter so the only place you have to wrroy about this is outside.
2) When recording video, it is slightly out of sync. I recorded the Matrix Reloaded onto it yesterday and the lips were slightly out of sync. Just enough to be bothersome, but still watchable.
3) Many JPEGS show up as "format unreadable." For no reason whatsoever the RCA lyra chooses not to read some JPGs while allowing others to be read.
4) Limited readablity of video formats. Simply put, if you dont have a program with AVI MPEG layer 4 codecs, dont get this. It is annoying that it doesnt read a wider range of formats.
5) The included software is NOT Apple MAc compatible. I am an Apple user, and while the RCA lyra AV showed up on my desktop as a disk drive PERFECTLY without installing drivers, the included Musicmatch and firmware transfer sowftware is for PC ONLY. When you recieve your Lyra, you will absolutley NEED to update the systems firmware. YOU MUST have acess to a PC-compatible computer in order to do this. NOT A MAC! But otherwise, transfering movies, pics, and mp3s to the lyra on a mac is a simple drop and drag procedure.
6) You CAN NOT read Text, Excell, Word, PDF, or any other files on this machine. This is slightly decieving, because the description DOES make it seem like this is possible, by saying "view files such as word and excell documents." What this means is that you can LOOK at the file NAME and see that it is there, but cant look at the FILE itself!
7) Not to be petty, but the machine looks GREAT, except for these odd orange stripes ugglifying the back panel. Poor choice of color.
8) Cheap buttons. It has these little plastic joysticks that feel loose. One of mine is not even centered. This machine, for this price, should have touch sensative buttons like the apple iPod. This is only a minor drawback though. Pros:
1) AMAZING sharp screen. A pleasure to watch video on. I mean, I never thought I could sit there and watch a movie on a little screen like that, but this screen is so crystal sharp that I was blown away.
2) Even though lips are out of sync, the sound and video quality of video recorded directly onto the lyra is SUPERB! I mean, it is just freaking incredible. The sound will blow you away. Again, a pleasure.
3) The look of this machine is great. Except for the buttons, it feels solid. Nice silverish color and black screen. The operating system is flashy and full of colorful graphics and sybols. It looks pretty.
4) Although I dont LIKE the case it comes with, the fact that it comes with a leather case at all is a plus. Any case will extend the life of a product.
5) Lots of great features. Allows you to set the recording time so you can start the recording at the begining of a 1 hour TV show, and it will automatically stop at after 1 hour. This is great so that you dont have to attend to the machine. Overall, I think this is an AMAZING first generation product with about as many quarks as a typical first generation product has. It deserves 4 stars because I believe that it delivers everything it promises. Dont believe anyones review that says "THIS IS AMAZING!! BEST PRODUCT EVER!!" or "THIS THING IS TRASH!! GARBAGE!!!" They are extremes and dont accuratly represent the RCA Lyra AV. The truth lies in the middle. My verdict: If you ABSOLUTELY MUST have a PVP, and cant wait a few more months untill the consumer market grows with many more PVPs, then get the RCA LYRA. I promise you wont be dissapointed. But if you are weary about getting a PVP, and are (...) and want a perfected top notch machine, wait it out. Hopefully Apple will come out with one and will blow away all of the competition! But for now, I say the RCA Lyra AV is just plain fun to use! -propynyl
by: Anonymous On: 2004-05-05
RCA Lyra audio performance is kinda low, i give it 4 out of 10.
I have to do 4th time exchange.(*trulely) at bestbuy Whitemarsh....
Bad points of RCA lyra....2780
First, the decrease volume button is really easy to break. Second, the software have some error.
Third, the reset hole is too small to reach in to reset.
Forth, the the compact disk is limited(perhap it only read up to 512mb not up to a Giga).
Fifth, The hardrive cannot updatable.
Sixth, the protected case come with it really nice, but it will make the decrease volume but breakable, and the plastic screen will attach to the RCA lyra screen making hard to see the screen.
Seven, Every single cord(power, serials, 2 output..) is kinda little short)
Seven, if the one who have only cd player in the car, (s)he can get the ip transfer to radio thing, not RCA product.
Eight, the battery will not last up to 15hours, if only you dont touch any button to led the light on it will last up to sum=10 hours.
Ninth, during recharge, the screen is dead, no notice of recharge if under saving battery mode even off.
Tenth, product have no manual to point out which button will capable of what....only include cd have adode manual in it..*(what if i dont have a printer, few english or other languages it included(note only one kind of peaces pager were translated))
11)The player stick in the case very well to prevent fall out...but it really hard to take it out, if take it out *(decrease volume will might brake), and reset button was completely coverd in the case) u will know what i mean if u brought one.
In my final word, every device is not perfect, but this device RCA lyra..2780 is better than a Ipot, if u compared to and ipot 20GB is about same price but less fetures than RCA lyra...I really like it.
*and someday I would like RCA company can have a new update softwar(better one) and also the new update can read 40Gb, 60GB, or higher..Because the movies is take sooooo many spaces. Thanx
by: Anonymous On: 2004-05-05
i love my new lyra but i recomend u buy it from digitaldistributors.com Mine arrived broken and when i called they sent me a new one saying that i hasd just recieved a "lemon"... I sent mine back and got a new one the day after
by: Anonymous On: 2004-04-26
I just bought this thing from Amazon and all I can say is WOW!!!!This is probably the best purchase I have ever made. This thing is everything I ever expected and more!! Its easy to use as well - even my wife can operate it! I have to say, everyone out there who is thinking of buying this, stop thinking. I bought it and I am extremely happy with it the moment I powered this thing on. YOU ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS PURCHASE! I GUARANTEE IT!!!
On: 2004-04-24
I just got this new toy and at my first reaction was wow...what a great toy. But be aware, the lyra is about 1 inch thick, so it is bigger than what is shown on the picture -- they jsut angle it so it look slim.
Anyway, the firmware 0.17.10 SUCK, it made most of the divx movies unplayable while having the the stupid mpeg4-asp error message poping up. Luckily the new firmware 17.11 fixed this problem. Also, be aware that it only plays divx codec, and some xivx. As a result, you might be spending most of your time converting your darn movies you already saved into divx -- use dr-divx for this.
Once everything is done the machine was a joy to use. It works beautifully. But, it is really bright though. So much that it might dim the color a little. The images is very sharp.
the mp3 player have great sounds, comparable to the ipod.
Anyway, you have to be patience with the thing, but once you understand it, its a great thing to use. This product has many gret potiential that i hope the next frimware will add on more goodies, maybe for format being reconize? shesh, how long does it take to get a licence.
The fact that this product will only get better, conforts me. Beaware, this is for the computer savey, but the fact that your even thinking about it mean you must be savey about codecs in the first place.IF you thinking about getting the the Argoes instead, that toy is one is HUGE, and expensive, lyra is more bang for your buck.
On: 2004-04-20
Now that the new firmware has dropped, many of the issues have been worked out. For the money and for the abilities the Lyra A/V has it is a tremendous piece of machinery. Taking all the factors in the Lyra far outpaces the cheap looking model put out Archos, its only competitor. I imagine other manufacturers will soon follow of course. I would definitely recommend the Lyra to anyone and everyone without hesitation now with the new firmware in place. Only the lack of communication from RCA themselves is slightly disappointing. I find it interesting that this Amazon message board yields more information about the Lyra than the RCA site itself. But I guess thats spilt milk. My only hopes would be to see the operating system move faster between functions, more Mac compatibility (as far as the installation discs are concerned) and more codecs for movies. But again, if you were weighing all your options, the Lyra kills any other portable on the scene to date. Good stuff!
On: 2004-04-13
Guess what people. On April 3, 2004, RCA came out with a new firmware upgrade (Ver. 17.9) for its RD2780 A/V Jukebox. It is the best yet!!
I was really disappointed when I just bought this device and noticed all the features it had but were not available yet. Finally yesterday, I went to their website and there it was..,, the new firmware upgrade, Even though it doesnt have completely all of the features ready to use, it has a lot of stuff that I personally was dying to try and now I will!!!Some of the enhancements are: *Audio Graphic EQ enabled! Choose from 21 unique settings as well as a customizable 5 band graphic equalizer. *Video Book marking enabled! Bookmark and restore up to 10 separate time-indexed locations from each movie on your Lyra™ AV. *Smart Tagging and Playlist Creation Enabled! By using the plus and minus keys, songs, photos and videos can be tagged for creation of and adding to "playlists" for each media type. *Video Indexing Feature Enabled! When the menu button is depressed during Video playback, a NEW video banner is presented with +/- 30 second and +/- 15-minute fast forward and fast rewind (small and large arrows). *PAL Recording Frame rate Bug has been fixed! So do yourselves a favor and download this last firmware version and start getting the best out of your Lyra RD2780 A/V Jukeboxes!!
On: 2004-04-07
Good points:
For such a small screen, it looks good.
Easy to carry around.
It does a good job of saving and retrieving computer files.Needs work:
Software just plain stinks. This has to be the worst software written since the Commodore 64. First, the "Saving settings to hard disk" - what a waste of time. Let us turn this feature off. I use a bunch of 2 minute videos and after I view a 2 minute video, I have to wait 45 seconds while it "Saves settings to hard disk". Extremely annoying and no way to turn it off. And, on MP3s, specifically books on tape, where you WOULD like to bookmark the spot you left off, the feature is not available. On MP3s, they require you to "Profile" your MP3s, whatever that means. It takes a good 10 minutes to profile your MP3s, and every time you add another album, you have to re-profile. I have owned 6 MP3 Players, and NEVER have had to anything like that. As near as I can tell, there is NO advantage to doing a profile. It also would have been a better idea to use batteries vs. this rechargeable lithium-ion deal, that, like the iPod, will burn out and then you have nothing. With regular batteries you can use rechargeables, and if the batteries happen to run down and you dont have time to recharge, you can just run into a store and buy batteries. RCA used to make a lot of money selling rechargeable batteries. Are they out of that business now?
by: Anonymous On: 2004-03-24
First of all, let me just say that I love my Lyra! Simply put: It does pretty much exactly what Id hoped, and more. I can EASILY rip my DVDs to the device (Thanks to a clever technique discovered by another user) and copying files to the device from my PC is a snap. Playback quality of Video and Audio is remarkable! Thats what I wanted from the device, and it delivers in spades.
Now let me caution you however. This is no Ipod! If ease of use is a critical factor for you, and you dont care about video, dont buy the Lyra. Buy the Ipod, because its interface is without equal. The Lyra interface, while a good start, is slower, less intuitive, and incomplete. Once you putter with it for an hour or 2, you can get around these issues, but I am still eagerly awaiting the addition of such features as equilizer functions, and managing playlists (Yes, you can port in your MusicMatch playlists, but it will be so much easier built in.BTW, I had a chance to play with the Archos jukebox for a short time. Personal opinion: Archos suffers from poor interface in similar ways to the Lyra. Some features better, some worse. Plus, I prefer the design of the Lyra, as well as the protective case. So, to sum up: Do your homework! Be sure an A/V jukebox is really what you want before you invest. The Lyra is certainly priced competitively with the Ipod, or Archos, but you must be prepared to take the good with the bad.
On: 2004-03-16
Purchased early january. Love the video features. Did like the photo features. Mp3 features lack a few things. The video recorder/playback is cool, works fine for me. Being able to connect to the tv is great. The photos were cool until it lost the ability to read jpeg(i still see the photo but it doesnt fit the screen). I get an annoying, file format not supported. Mp3s play ok but you dont get the ability to search for another song while listening to the current selection. Adding costume album art creates, file format not supported, and no play. Desperately needs a current playlist to add songs on the fly. It takes eight seconds to load a song once selected. A lot of features still unavailable. Overall I feel I didnt get my moneys worth considering that two months later and im already troubleshooting problems. I have all current firmware/application updates. I use it with a brand new dell.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-03-16
Just purchased this product. Tryed to get a solution to my problem from the RCA "service" dept. They acted like they didnt know what I was talking about and told me to send it back to them!
In a nutshell- Quite often in the "shuffle all" mode there is a pause of up to a minute between songs! I would like the next song to start instantly after the prior song ends. Can this be fixed?
On: 2004-03-12
Like the story of the talking dog that no one could understand but that amazed everyone because it could talk at all, the Lyra AV Jukebox has amazing capabilities, but it doesnt do anything particularly well. A few examples:* It supports MP3 and WMA audio formats, but doesnt support Windows Media files with any kind of digital rights management, meaning that files purchased from services like Napster have to be burned to audio CDs, then ripped back into WMA or MP3 format, and finally, copied to the Lyra AV Jukebox.
* Copying a large library of audio files to the LYRA is S-L-O-W. Using the (included) MusicMatch software, it takes hours to transfer my approx. 4GB library to the Lyra, vs. 10-15 minutes to copy the same library to my Rio Karma using the Rio Music Manager.
* Many, many features are still unimplemented, five months after I purchased the Lyra; attempting to use them will get an error message that says, in essence, "Try again later when we release new firmware."
* Transferring video to the Lyra requires extensive trial and error, and no software to do so is bundled with the player by RCA. Ive had good success with a combination of DVD Shrink (freeware) and Dr. DivX (paid software) with custom settings. In short, Id recommend that you wait for RCA to implement all the features that were supposed to be in the product from the beginning and fix the products performance problems (which, at this point, may never happen,) buy the Archos (which also has problems but nowhere near as many as the RCA,) or wait for players that use Microsofts portable Media Player software later this year.
On: 2004-03-07
This product is actually really good. I did a lot of comparison shopping between this and the Archos model, and although the Archos model is superior it is also made cheaper, with cheap plastic, and is from $150-200 more than the RCA Lyra.So I opened up my Lyra and tested it out, and I played the sample audio, videos, and pictures and it look great. The operating system was very slow and clunky though, and a lot of the features didnt work yet. I went online to the RCA Lyra site and I downloaded and installed the Feb. firmware and that helped a lot, because it included all the fixes from previous versions of the fimrware as well as many new ones. The speed of the OS is better now, although its still not perfect. Flasing the firmware was easy, as ripping the cds with musicmatch and getting them onto the device, and recording or viewing the device on the TV was a snap. You need to encode your videos into DiVX to play them on the Lyra but just download Dr. Divx and its a snap. I downloaded a bunch and it worked fine. The thing thats great about the Lyra is that it can only get better. The new firmware will come out and fix even more stuff and add a bunch of extra features. Also all the accesories are nice as well as the case. Right now the Archos model is better, but this one is cheaper, and once the firmware bring it up to date, it will be just as good, if not better than the Archos, and at a better value. As for video I got it to play for 3 and a half hours until the machine died, with the LCD brightness at default(half). I set the backlight timer at 5 seconds, and played audio and got a good 8 hours out of it, so maybe its just the new firmware but it works fine. Im glad I purchased this model after this new firmware release though, because it made the device a lot better, and I can imagine the headaches that it gave users when it first came out with the 1st firmware. You have to have basic computer skills to get this running though, because you need some extra programs to get around encoding and stuff, but it was easy for me. I just think RCA should have had all the features working before they released this though, and give a little bit better support. Overall this was a good purchase for a good value.
On: 2004-03-01
I bought this unit with some concern as the reviews were a little mixed. After a month I can say that it is one of the best gadgets I have ever owned, including the iPod. Used on its own, it makes PERFECT videos off a cable box or VCR. I used it on a recent trip to London with 25 kids videos recorded. Whether used on its own (as on a plane) or plugged in to a TV, the replay was excellent with good sound. Reviews said there was macroblocking and other artifacts -- perhaps with the old software, I have seen almost none.
MP3 playback is on a par with the iPod but with greater loudness available. In sum, in one little device I can hold my entire family photo album, a few thousand songs and over a dozen movies. It is worth more than what I paid for it. Highly, highly recommended.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-02-24
I have a specific use for this item and it involves video that I have downloaded off the internet (legal download)After jumping through hoops and trying everything, I discovered by trial and error and some nice analysis software from GSpot.com, that, if you use EO video conversion software and install the DivX 5.1.1 codecs and use the MP3 audio codec, you can make the video work on the Lyra. Its the only conversion software that I have found that works (and I tried a half dozen). The problem with EO is that it doesnt correct for the audio shift so the audio is a second or 2 ahead of the video. This is not a problem for me, but it probably is for everybody else. BTW, if you dont use the right codecs and try your video on the Lyra, it locks up and you have to use a paper clip to reset it. Recording off TV is easy, but dont expect to be able to record movies or DVDs - there is a protection scheme and it doesnt record. I havent tried MP3s - I didnt buy this to use as an MP3 player - its too big and it costs too much for that. I did transfer some .jpg pictures over to the Lyra. Only about half of them showed up. The rest said "format not supported", which is wacky, because I created the .jpgs in Photoshop 6.0, which I always thought was pretty standard software. There isnt (currently) any way to adjust brightness or contrast on your videos, so everything I uploaded to the Lyra looks washed out. I can correct that. Overall, this is not ready for Prime Time. Its looks like they are updating software, but right now, forget it. If you want to upload the soaps or some other TV shows, it is very easy to do. But for computer stuff, its not worth it. BTW, its a dinky little picture, but I expected that. Others may be disappointed. One other thing. Right now there is no way to shut of the "saving settings to hard drive" which happens if you turn a video off in mid-play. It takes forever to save those settings. This is a feature that needs to be turned off. I need to be able to get out of a video and into another video a lot faster than that.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-02-05
Very simple. This unit is supposed to record video from an
outside source. Somethimes it does, sometimes it just shuts
itself off.
RCA wont do anything about it and just ignores me. Im buying
the Archos.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-29
Wow i just wrote a long hate letter to put on here but the profanity was too strong so im just gonna write one little thing. RCA you are all absolute morons it seems like you are run by a dung throwing monkey. OMG why would your realease a product before it is ready!(morons). All I gotta say is that you killed such a good product and I hate you. I still love my Lyra and will never return it but to the creator who is hopefully reading this just get up walk over to the window and jump out.Ahhh glad i got that out
On: 2004-01-25
Last week I bought a Lyra 40GB mp3 jukebox and really enjoyed the storage, how it functioned as a hard drive, the sound, and ease of use.The one thing that kept nagging me was how the 40GB mp3 jukebox was $299 and the Lyra AV was $399, so why not spend the $100 more and get the video player/recorder? At first I loved the RCA AV device and spent the entire weekend playing with the features that were available. It was good improvement over just a pure mp3 jukebox, however after a few days the drawbacks and limitations became clear. These are some big problems: 1. The video you capture is in ASF format and not avi, which makes editing in a common video editor a far tougher task. 2. The picture play back is only for .jpg files and not all jpg compression files worked. 3. Battery life with video only or mp3 only was very close to the same, which is alarming. The battery indicator also would go from full charge to 1/2 to 3/4 and never showed the correct charge. In one mixed function test the system ran for almost 3.5 hours. After another full 6+ hour charge it ran for about 2.5 hours in the same conditions. 4. The latest January 15 firmware adds a few features and fixes some problems, however a large amount of functionality is still missing. 5. RCA restricts users from backing up copyrighted works. People have figured out a work around, however there are several things that could be done to tighten copying, which severely restricts the usefullness of the device. 6. The system OS also runs slow. Checking the Lyra status screen took more than 2 minutes for some reason. At random times switching songs, stopping playback, or performing simple functions gives you 10-30 seconds of lag and it almost appears as if the system locked up. The best things about the RCA AV jukebox include the nice TFT screen, the sleek form factor, the lower price, how so many accessories are included in the box, and how it forced Archos to lower the prices on their competing products. If the RCA came out with complete functionality, recorded in avi format, and offered the same functionality as the Archos players it would have been a serious hit. As it stands the RCA player is functional, has some good points, but it fails in a side by side comparision with the Archos. The promise was there, but the delivery was not. Perhaps with jukebox 2 from RCA or after 6 more months of firmware updates the Lyra will be better competition, however there is a good chance future devices will be even further restricted as time goes on because media companies will just blame them as tools for abuse, ignoring the fact that any PC or Mac out there is a far better tool for any person wishing to pirate media. I initially gave the Lyra a 5, but now feel it deserves a 2.5-3 for what it currently delivers. I am moving to a Archos AV340 because after my experience with the Lyra and after further research it appears the additional money is well worth it when it comes to these types of devices.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-25
thats it my subject pretty much said it. I want to be able to play games, take pictures, and whatever else u creative little RCA people can up with.(i hate you)ummmm i dont liuke that we are kept in the dark i would like it if you could tell us what is in development or give us some forums. Also you RCA people are probably not even reading this but what the hell im bored.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-23
As is, with the most recent firmware upgrades, the Lyra does a very good job on both video and audio. Many features still arent available though - get to work RCA - with better support the Lyra RD2780 could be a grandslam. This device is ripe for some clever porters to vastly improve it.The unit seems very sturdy, compact, and well made. The control joysticks take a little getting used to, but they work well. The included accessories are more than adequate, I especially like not having to buy a case. Video recording is easy and works well, but RCA needs to incorporate a start time option. The "wait six seconds, pause the record, and then start it again at 11 seconds" method for recording copywritten DVDs is an absolute godsend. Video playback is awsome for such a small device. As noted in previous reviews there is some pixelation in the dark (black) areas of videos, but its not a major problem unless your expectations are very high. I would put the video on par with, and maybe slightly better than, some of the less expensive portable DVD players on the market. It takes maybe 10-15 seconds to load a 2 hour video file before playing. Audio capabilities are more than adequate for me. Playback is smooth and clear. I dont experience the lag times some people have talked about between songs. It takes maybe 5-10 seconds to load a playlist, and then it plays all the songs smoothly. Here again though some features arent yet available, RCA needs to get the equalizer feature working. Connecting to a PC is easy, and downloads are fast, no problem there. I havent tried to download from a compactflash card. Battery time is really very good considering this is a hard drive based unit. I have watched 3 straight hours of video before running out of power. This was with the screen brightness turned way up. Ive never run the battery out during audio playback, but I havent used it for long periods of time. The battery meter is very rudimentary, and doesnt give a good indication of how much battery time is left...an area for improvement. The picture viewing feature works well and allows you to zoom and rotate. There are other picture features that dont work yet. Bottom line: The Lyra is a very good device that works well as is, and is well worth the money, but there is room for improvement. If RCA comes through with the promised firmware upgrades Ill be totally satisfied. The only reason Im critical at all is that the potential is here for a really awsome device, and Id like to see RCA (or someone) explore that potential. Suggestions for RCA: 1)Get all the features working. 2)Get the user manual finished and online. 3)Offer accessories such as an external battery pack (for those extra long flights), and maybe a plug-in video/digital camera...the possibilities are great for this device. 4)Get some smart programers to explore the unused capabilities of this thing (such as allowing people to customize the desktop/menu page, and better file exploring/manipulating capabilities).
On: 2004-01-23
Nice idea, unfortunately almost every feature of this device was not active and was awaiting some "future software update". Totally beta level release. In addition, it had the most painfully slow operating system Ive ever had the misfortune of using. Save your money for the next generation one from Creative that debuted at CES this year. The Lyra is garbage.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-23
Ok to get your videos to play on this device you need DivXgo to www.divx.com and get the program called Dr. DivX this program allows you convert all your videos to DivX in 3 easy steps. Its very easy to use. This device should really come with this program included. Too bad thier support doesnt even know this.
On: 2004-01-21
Does anyone no how to upgrade the firmware to the rd2780 using a mac.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-20
The RCA website has terrible customer service so Im asking users of this product, did RCA ever fix the terrible pixelation of dark areas yet? Im gonna buy this as soon as possible based upon all of its good reviews*.*reviews that have been written after the firmware updates.
On: 2004-01-18
I recieved this product for Christmas and was confused by the controls and recording areas but after a day or two, I had mastered both. Recording TV doesnt have any copyrighting problems, but you must use the techniques talked about below to copy DVDs and VHS from the player directly. XViD codecs do not play properly, but I imagine this will be fixed in the future. The latest firmware has some problems with folders and I am waiting for this issue to be resolved. The video playback is so/so, once again, it will be fixed in the future. Dark areas are garbled and video is occasionally squished. There arent any performance or audio issues in the video or audio.
On: 2004-01-16
I just picked this baby up and after about 5-6 hours of playing around with it i found that this is a awesome little machine, Copying audio/video is a breeze and audio/video playback is excellent(Note the 2780 handles dark areas pretty bad) The only gripe i have about the 2780 is the lack of features right now, alot of basic features that should be included IE: Playlists,Password Protection & Name Tags instead you get a "Will be included in a futeure upgrade meesage", Small price to pay for a new product on the market,Dont let these minor problems effect your decision on buying this gem
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-16
Isnt it all the same features that it got on the other update? am i crazy here? i havent had my lyra in a week due to my horrible accident with it(brother) but i kinda remmebr most of the featuers they mentioned. just wondering if i was the only one?
LYRA ROCKS!!!!:):):):)5 stars!
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-16
Got this a couple of days ago and love it. The image quality and UI is pretty awsome. I was disappointed with the lack of features availability so I called yesterday and talked to the Lyra support people. He said they are dropping codes about once/month. Wouldnt you know it they just dropped 15.19a yesterday. I also wrote an e-mail to them asking for more features like "COPY ALL" from CF. I have a digital camera and was looking for a combo MP3/photo wallet device. the RD2780 gave me these plus a PVP. I looked at the Archos Gmini but the UI and display are kinda cheesy and unimpressive. I would recommend everyone calling and writing to RCA asking for more upgrades quickly. The Lyra # is 580-634-0115 Option 2.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-14
I want the absolute best in headphones but i dont know where to look. Does anyone have any suggestions? LYRA ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):):)
On: 2004-01-12
This is my second mp3 player, and since I work in the portable electronics section at Circuit City I have to know my stuff and I was very careful in choosing this. The player is fantastic- but has a few drawbacks. The player only records in mpeg4 video and mp3 encoded audio, so be prepared to either buy some $30 converting software, download one (legally, of course, ahem), or only use a few video files that happen to be the right format. It does take some time to find the tracks to play audio, in particular, but anyone who doesnt have fifteen seconds to wait while their mp3 player gets the track ready has some serious patience issues. Note: it only takes that lag to find the artist, after that, every track by the same artist loads instantaneously. The battery life is not terrific- a little less than the ipod on audio (about 6 to 7 hours) and only a few hours on video. Not atrocious, though. The good parts are far more numerous. Video and audio quality are outstanding, the recording is easy and terrific (if you get that error message, make sure the plug is ALL the way into your input on the player. It happened to me too), its incredibly easy to use, very stylish, I cant say enough. And for all those people who cite the lack of immediately available features- youre wrong. The only feature youd like that isnt available is the playlist-on-the-fly thing, and theyll get that out soon. All the rest of the features that arent ready are things you wouldnt use anyway. This is definitely the best product on the market, and to prove it, I dont even care if you buy it from my store. Thats how good it is.
On: 2004-01-11
The lyra is amazing. From past reviews on this site i was a bit worried about this product, but once i got it my worries were gone. This thing does every thing it says it can, some features say you cant do it until a later time, but if you hook your lyra up to the computer and go to the hard drive, then you can do pretty much every feature and those features are mostly just editing anyway. the copying dvd trick is great too, let it record for about 6 seconds and then press stop and let it record nothing for like 10 seconds, then press play and then you got it. i have no complaints so far, it transfers files fast, easy to acsess files, great sound, good video, it has lots of memory, and by accessing the lyra through your computer, it has lots of sorting and editing features. only downside is that it has poor directions for use and may take a while to figure out how everything works, other then that this is a great product that i would recommend for purchase. it is also much cheaper then the other models out by at least 150$ from what i havee seen. hope this helps.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-09
I bought this thing for my wife and she hasnt been able to get it away from me. Like the rest of you, I was worried by some of the older reviews, but after using it, Ive found that the critics are wrong. I spent hours ripping DVDs and converting to DIVX (for personal use of DVDs I own), and just recently discovered the way around the copyright protection for recording directly from DVD player (mentioned in an earlier review). This makes it 100% better. The features available now are more than sufficient and will only get better as they release more. The only downside is that when recording video, you cant specify a later start time, which kind of defeats the purpose. Hopefully this will be an added feature.
I loaded a movie and took it into the car, hooked it up to the car stereo(included attachment) and was blown away!
Also: I made a photo slide show of my honeymoon and set a sappy song to play over it - brought tears to my wifes eyes.
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-06
yes i agree with you the dust is evil and its because the geniuses put holes on the top of the lyra above the screen. the same thing happened with my gameboy sp and it pisses me off. anyway im returning my lyra for a new one because the dust and my stand. LYRA ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):)
On: 2004-01-05
I want to buy the best 10-40GB mp3 portable player, and I check this one but in the RCA website says that this device doesnt play WMA and here in Amazon, the specifications of the product says that this RCA device can play this music format as well. Those who has this portable device, could you tell if this little thing can play WMA as well? And coparing to the Rio, IPod and the RCA 40GB, which one is better? Thanks
On: 2004-01-05
I love my lyra also, but I have dust on the lower right corner that is inside the LCD screen. It is VERY annoying! Otherwise, I think it is great for the price and form factor, plus with ALL the include accessories, unlike the Archos.Just remember to upgrade the firmware at RCA.com which is very easy to do. As RCA updates the firmware, this product will only get better. Plus, you can get this at circuit city for 359...the Archos is at least $100-200 more (depending where you shop), plus the screen on the ARchos is a cheap plastic, and you dont get a carrying case to protect it. The Lyra screen seems like glass, but is probably a good quality plasitc. I already dropped my Lyra on my hard wood floor, but becuase I had it in its included case (which is thickly padded), no harm was done. If this was the ARchos, its cheap chinese plastic would shatter!
DVDs CAN be copied onto the Lrya!! There are 2 ways: You can always use a store-bought product that converts your DVDs on your computer to MPEG 4 avi files. I personally use Super DVD ripper which I got off the internet. Ive seen others at stores like Circuit city or Best buy for around 30 bucks. Second...to record directly to from a DVD player, hook up the Lyra to the DVD player via the inputs on the Lyra. REcord...up to 6 seconds. At 6 seconds, disconnect the INPUT to the Lyra (or stop playback on the DVD player...both ways work the same....The goal is to cut the signal from the DVD player). MAKE SURE THAT THE LYRA IS STILL RECORDING...DONT STOP RECORDING. At 11 seconds, hook back the input to the Lyra or press play on the DVD player (if you chose the "stop playback" method). VIOLA!! you are now recording a copyrighted DVD. Remember, this is only for archiving your PERSONAL collection. Nobody condones piracy, because in the long-run, we all lose!
Also...to the guy whose brother broke his stand on his Lyra..Just exchange it at the store you bought it for a new one! Tell them that the stand just broke with normal use. They cant prove a thing. Just show them your receipt.Happy new year all!
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-04
Wanted to know if there was anyway to add a photo as sort of a wallpaper at the begining screen in the top right corner because I have seen so many different pictures there on the Rca site and other pictures i have seen. If any1 knows just post it on reviews or contact me at Speedy064@optonline.net
On: 2004-01-03
It is true that many functions need firmware upgrade to be activated, but the unit is very functional out of the box and there was a firmware upgrade posted on 12/30/03. I absolutely love the video functionality. All you have to do is hook it up to a laptop or desktop with TV-out capability and you can go straight from DVD to lyra. I recorded a 2hr movie with 128Kbs Mp3 sound and the file was less than 700MB, wich means I can transfer it back to the PC and store is on a CD-R until it is time to go on a trip. Before my trip, I will load about 10 of these movies back on to my Lyra and add an additonal 10GB of mp3 audio and still have room for more. It will record straight from a cable box or VCR and let you watch last nights football game while youre on the bus/train or in the waiting room of the dentists office. This thing kicks ass!
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-03
I absolutely love my Lyra so much but my brother my stupid stupid brother had to drop IT!!! Nothing is wrong with it except for my awesome back stand which doesnt close. AHY im so pissed. I had to put it away because I cannot look at it. I sent an email to customer support for rca and am awaiting an email telling me if i can get it repaired and where. I am so upset I love my Lyra so much.*cries*:(
by: Anonymous On: 2004-01-02
you may be like me and think that this is the coolest new thing to hit the market but its not its a great idea and all but its just not ready yet if you want somethign good get an ipod they rock.
On: 2004-01-01
THIS THING IS SO GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!! OK this thing is so awesome. at first you will have problems but ti will suddenly just click. dont listen to those geeks they have problems. I do not see anything on this that you can dis besides that sum of the features are not there look if you have just bought it and you need help send me an email at speedy064@optonline.net
On: 2003-12-31
I have had the same video formatting problem that a lot of people have had. Avis wont play. Its just because the format of avi doesnt match. you must find video converter software. a good site to get one is here http://www.avsmedia.com/. hope ive helped.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-30
I am fully aware that this product is still in development software wise, but the functionality out of the box, the price, weight, form are the qualities that swayed me from the ARchos. Out of the box, the basic functions of listening to MP3s, watching DIVx movies, and storing my photos are all there. When all the promised upgrades are implemented, this will be one hell of a Personal AV player.In size, quality and form, it beats the Archos. Where the ARchos seemed like a toy, the Lyra seemed more elegant. It is 50% textured plastic and 50% aluminum which makes it sturdy. I have successfully made a lot of DIVx movies for the Lyra using Intervideo DVDCopy. They all played without glitches but I am sometimes annoyed by the blockiness in dark or black scenes. I am sure this will be fixed by firmware/software upgrades soon. MP3 playes just beautifully. I really like how it feels in my hands, not too small to easily lose, not too big to warrant leaving it at home like the Archos. It is also cheaper than competition. Overall, I am satisfied. All the accessories included are way useful for me. For the Archos, you have to buy everything extra. For the Lyra it all came with the package which is thoughtful.
On: 2003-12-30
Ive had a Hango Personal Jukebox (10GB) for a number of years. An AV device seemed like the way to go for an upgrade. Dont buy a Lyra. The controls are difficult to use and too sensitive. Joystick style controls??? I test and review hardware/software for a living and anyone that tries to shove a joystick style control on a network device is immediately slapped for being CHEAP and stupid. The menu navigation is poorly contrived and missing most of the useful features (smart tags, playlists, etc...). And God forbid you try to "stop" an audio playback. You cant. You have to exit by manipulating a tiny button on the side of the device. I have long finger nails and its nearly impossible to use the "menu", "on/off" and "record" buttons. The crappy leather case makes it even more difficult to control. From a performance standpoint, it will only accept 128kbps MP3s so if youve already got a collection you may need to rip it again. It does NOT do buffering of any kind (which the Hango PJB has done from DAY ONE) so if you try to move from one song to another (good luck - this in and of itself is a pain) you have at least a 5-10 second wait while the device finds the next song and begins buffering it. It definitely appears to be an embedded windows device - slow, slow and slower. Trying to use it in the car today was so painful Im ready to have my husband take it back and throw it at whoever sold it to him. It is poorly designed physically and ill-conceived of in terms of functionality and usability. In short, its a piece of crap that isnt worth much more than a paperweight. It is NOT worth the asking price. Buy an Archos if you want AV or a PJB from Hango if you want MP3 playback thats USABLE.
On: 2003-12-29
The Lyra is a great concept. Storing vidio, audio, and pictures display. The reality is that the product is not fully functional. So dont expect to have the features that will make it useable. You will constantly see "this feature will be availabe in a future release". The user interface is clunky and there are a number of file formats that are not useable. If you try to contact Thomson (RCA) to find out when updates will be available they will tell you nothing. It can only be surmised that the promised updates will never be available. When you install the basic operating software expect to be pushed marketing information. Buy this subscription, this software upgrade, and on and on. This product is a nice looking incomplete marketing night mare. Save your money
On: 2003-12-28
Ive got to say that after reading all the reviews listed here I was quite worried about how the Lyra A/V I had ordered would perform. After three months I finally got it and I am very relieved. I promptly installed the updates available on the RCA website and everything functions as it should. There have been a lot of complaints about some of the functions not being available yet but thats no big deal, Id rather have a functioning MP3/MPEG-4 player now and get the non-essential functions later. Also, if you cant make the Lyra A/V work right all I can say is you must not know how to use it, try reading the instruction manual, you can also download that at RCAs website.
On: 2003-12-28
I finally figured it out after 2 long days. Ok what you gotta do is go onto the www.divx.com and get the 15 day free trial for doctor divx. Then you just download an avi file then use the three simple steps of doctor divx to encode it in Mpeg4 format and you can easily just zip it over to your lyra. I already have about ten of ym favorite shows on it and some of them came pre encoded. Also if your like me you were confused with the recording thing. Just hook the end of that wire with the audio video at the end into the line in of your lyra. Them hook the audio video parts inot a dvd player ( has to be a free DVD player you will see the details in the older reviews)or VCR. then you simply press record pick your time and then the picture shows up on your little screen and it records. Only problem is the copyrighted stuff which you can easily get passed with a free DVD player which I have seen cheapest around $139 (yes I know It sucks). It really is amazing that this amazon review board has been more helpful to me than that cr**py RCA site of frustration.
On: 2003-12-27
Overall impression after several days of use is that I am just disapointed. The hardware makes your drop your jaw in amazement but once you start using it the sodtware makes you scratch your head inc confusion on why this was released. About 80% of it advertised functions do not work yet because the software doesnt exist on it yet. WHen attempting to enter or view functions that arent available yet you are prompted with the message "Feature will be available in furture firmware upgardes". You will get that message MANY times as you try to use the device. Also be prepared to Wait. Thats right, Ive seen some shorter load times on my playstation one. IT waits to save configuration information and it wait about 30sec to a minute to start playing an MP3 even when just moving to the next song. Video playback is a joke. Expect not to be able to play any of the videos you have on your computer as it will only play very specific video codecs. The batterly life is the BIGGEST draw back of the entire device. I have yet to have it last longer than 3 hours doing anything from only audio to watching video the whole time. This again is partially due to the software since the screen will be 100% on and bright during all function time unless you turn the backlight to off all the time in which you will have trouble seeing the screen. Expect to carry a charger around with it 24/7 or risk it going powerless extremely fast. It has never last a till I get home form work yet from the just over an hour commute each direction. Dispite all this bashing this device has GREAT potential. have about 6 more months of software upgrades it might actually be usable the all of a sudden worth is with better batterly life and functions that actually function.
On: 2003-12-26
This will not be a comprehensive review but rather a few points I do want to enter into the fray. I have a love/hate relationship with the RCA Lyra A/V Player. As a tech gadget lover (but not wealthy enough to buy many of them)I think this purchase will definitely give me more than my moneys worth by the time its all through. As such, it delivers on its main functionality- video (most of which I have recorded off my TV thru the included RCA cables), audio (a nice mp3 collection) and photos. The thing I hate about it most at this moment is having to wait for new firmware releases, of which the Lyra is in need of. Battery life: Ive consistently gotten 4 plus hours from the device, but I was told Id get 12 hours audio and/or 4 hours video. I have yet to come close to the 12 hours of audio. Backlight: It doesnt turn on/off on the timer set like its supposed to, ergo, I have to turn the backlight off in order for me to conserve battery, yet it still doesnt seem to conserve battery. Frustrating. Even with these qualms, I still stand by the product. It serves me well and I know this product will have a bright future. Its only on firmware 0.14.10, so the software engineers have a long way to go to make it as good as it can be. I look forward to seeing its evolution into what I desire and expect out of my gadgets.
by: Anonymous On: 2003-12-26
I am so damn confused. Im using kazza to download video files that are avi type, but when I transferred the files they dont play. Then I tried to record fromt eh T.V. and it gave me an error message: warning! no video signal is present Cannnot record!. I went to the faq and followed the instructions and nuttin. Im only having trouble with video and this is very very frustrating. If i need to change it to mpeg-4 plz tell me how or sumptin I need instuctions!! gave it 5 stars cause its kool
On: 2003-12-24
I just got it and already I love it!!! The first thing I noticed about it is that the screen is AMAZING. I was worried that the 2.5 inch screen was gonna be too small, but its perfect for watching videos. The resolution is perfectly clear, I cant wait to record a full movie on here! The battery is good for 4 hours of watching video so it gives me enough time to watch a full length movie on a plane ride. And who cares about the firmware? As long as I know theyre improving it, and I can download both video and music already, Im definitely a happy customer.
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