Rating: 
Summary: Compare it against the archos AV series
Review: ok, so people wonder how the below reviewers know so much about this product. one, research on the internet. two, some people go to trade shows where the company demos the product before it's released. and three, there is more info up on the thompson website about this product. thompson is the rca brand in europe and other areas of the world.now to compare against the archos av series, this product's major competitor. i bought one of these and returned it. the main reason i returned it was the mp3 interface/features were lacking. i hated to have to create playlists and open folders to play a song. i like my creative labs jukebox zen better for those features. another reason i didn't like it was because of the little joystick navigation. the button on the rca unit looks better. AND why archos doesn't include any (even if it was simple) carrying case is a MAJOR disappointment when you are spending over $500 for a player. on the good side, the screen was nice and the audio quality was ok. but i then found out about the rca unit and returned the archos immediately. plus the rca unit is about $150 cheaper. if you HAVE to have the capability to plug in a (not yet available) digital camera/camcorder attachment, then buy the archos. why i like the rca unit better? size (thinner, but wider), no flimsy joystick that can get caught in my backpack (specially without a case), integrated compact flash for downloading my digital film, and yes it has a carry case. i've had my rca unit preordered for months an can't wait to get it! P.S. I gave it only 4 stars because I don't have one in my hands yet.
Rating: 
Summary: How can ANYONE review this product yet?
Review: It HASN'T been released yet - what are these people talking about? They probably have not even touched one of these yet. RCA doesn't even acknowledge this product on their web site yet?
Rating: 
Summary: Great Product
Review: Great Idea, Sound Product, and extremely innovative! Great operating system, and screen flaws are nonexsistent. Accepts more formats thne the archos pvp, making it a far better device. Two tumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: The screen needs improvement!!!
Review: Ok its beautiful at first, but any type of sunlight (even the slightest light) the screen becomes useless and if it rains or is humid watch out!! The item does not to be in the rain just the humidity causes the screen to fog up!!! But dont try and wipe it down even the slightest wipe causes a permanent rainbow smear!!! [$$$] I would not buy this item for [$$$] You want a review, well your not gonna get an accurate one because unfortunately the lowest i can give a rating is 1 star. They should have no stars!
Rating:
Summary: DONT WAIT, GET IT NOW !!!!!
Review: The first RCA LYRA portable to incorporate video playback, the palm-sized 20GB RD2780 RCA LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox delivers a complete digital entertainment experience in the palm of the hand. About the size of a small picture frame with a 3.5-inch Thin Film Transistor (TFT) LCD screen, the RCA LYRA Audio Video Jukebox also acts as a computer storage device, compatible with multiple audio and video codecs, and can be easily connected to most standard television sets. Measuring a compact 5.2 x 3.14 x 0.98 inches, the versatile RD2780 can play mp3, mp3PRO and Windows Media Audio files. "Adding video functionality to the digital audio product line is a natural progression for us as we continually seek ways to expand our consumer base and add value," said Redmond. "The RCA LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox is designed to go beyond the digital enthusiast audience and attract both young consumers and frequent travelers looking for an easily portable entertainment source that will deliver hours of entertainment." Consumers can watch up to 80 hours of pre-recorded television shows, feature films, or home videos directly on the RD2780. It easily connects to a television set via its composite video output and includes both audio and video recording mode. Since the device is essentially a computer peripheral with a hard drive, the display screen can also be used to organize digital audio song files or other types of stored data, including computer files such as word processing documents and presentations. The RCA LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox is also a portable photo album, since JPEG images can be viewed on the RD2780, by either transferring them directly from the PC using a USB 2.0 high-speed connection or by inserting a Compact Flash memory card. The vast hard drive in the RCA LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox can accommodate up to 100,000 JPEG images. Using the enclosed MusicMatch management software, users can also organize hundreds of hours of mp3 audio files using ID3 tag song data to display artist, album, song title and genre. Music fans can listen to their collection of mp3 files using one of nine playback modes, including normal play, shuffle and repeat, or by programming their own playlists. While listening to music files, the user can also navigate through the library and "tag" songs he or she would like to hear later, or delete from the device. Other convenience features include auto resume, which "remembers" the track location and volume setting when the power was shut off, and returns to that same spot when the power is returned. Adding to the overall value of the RD2780 are the included AC/DC adapter, e.clipzä clip-style stereo headphones, an audio/video patch cable, carrying pouch and recharge cradle. The RD2780's car kit provides hours of audio entertainment through a cassette adapter. The RD2760 can play for up to 15 hours with its Lithium Ion rechargeable battery
Rating:
Summary: The answers you want
Review: I've had a few days to play with this device now. It works very well for recording from any video source with RCA plugs. I've 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 couldn't find answers to so I decided to answer them for you. 1. The battery is sealed in the unit, you can't 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 don't seem to have any DRM protection.
4. It doesn't 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. It's great for travel and as a distraction at work. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: 2nd thought
Review: Ok, here is the scoop with this thing: I've 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 mp3's 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 froze and takes forever to start. Does anybody 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 mp3's, 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!!
Rating:
Summary: iPod + Lyra
Review: 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 />
Rating: 
Summary: Compared to the Archos AV320
Review: I'll 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 can't. 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 can't 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:
Haven't 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 can't 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 doesn't. 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 you're 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 haven't 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 don't care since my local Circuit City carries both of them and has a 30 return policy if you're 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.
Rating:
Summary: Learn it and Love it
Review: 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.
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