Flip UltraHD 2009 (black)

Pros: Very portable
My wife and the kids can use it
Video quality is surprisingly good

Cons: Picture is a little jittery - no matter how still you try to be
Microphones pick up background noise.
Customer support is weak.

Summary: It is what it is - a brainless expression that fits.

I picked up the Flip Ultra HD last week after spending time looking into all the options available. The Vado was not sold near us ? and the feedback was mixed.
The Flip was meant to be remarkably simple to use ? so I got one from the local Wal Mart.

I brought along on an overnight field trip with my son's 3rd grade class. Big fun.
It is incredibly easy and fun to record the spontaneous moments of life on the Flip.
The kids were interviewing each other and making their own movie without any help from me.

BUT - now we want to watch the video. Andt is basically DIY at this point.

[Keep in mind that this is happening over Memorial Day weekend and it is definitely unfair for me to base my grade for support during a holiday - but I am annoyed because I have grandparents here that want to watch the new fangled HD camcorder footage. So customer support is getting thrown under the bus along with me. I am not going alone.]

The site says the minimum requirements to run the software is an Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz and at least 512 MB of RAM.
Our home PC has an AMD 64 3200+ and 512 MB of RAM. It cannot support the software. I wanted to know if it would be worthwhile to add RAM, or if the processor was too slow (even though the Athlon is closer to 3.2 GHz). Not a question that could be answered. I was read and then emailed the requirements as posted on the website.

So rather than editing a movie - I figured we can watch the raw footage on the HDTV. I have an HDMI cable so I read the minimal advice offered on the website - connected it to our HDTV ? nothing.
I have tried every setting on the TV ? just not getting any sound or picture.

I spoke with tech support ? they read from the website's HELP section.
Word for word. Basically said they couldn?t help. Tried to say maybe it was the cable that was the issue.
Couple of problems with that explanation ? the cable works fine with other electronics and Flip does not have any of their over priced HDMI cables in stock. And haven?t for a while.

They sent an email saying just that..

?Thank you for contacting us.
While many accessories may be compatible with the Flip, we do not currently recommend any one product specifically mainly due to our inability to test and certify the breadth of products on the market.
We apologize for being unable to provide you with a more definite answer, and we hope you won?t hesitate to contact us further.?

Not sure what I would contac them further about.

I am sure as soon as I figure out the HDTV problem and the system requirements, I will love this thing. But right now everyone is wondering why Dad buys technology that he cannot operate.