Navroute Neptune EZ Silver DVR Underwater Video System (30 meter)

The camera is too light and current moves it easy . Lens focuses too close no depth of view in water . Go pro type lens needed . Wish I could return this one . Waste of money .

Philips PB9001/37 9-Inch 1080p Portable Blu-Ray DVD Player

• Blu-ray Disc playback for sharp images in full HD 1080p
• 22.9 cm (9") high density (800x480 pixels) LCD display
• Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA for HD 7.1 surround sound
• Full Resume on Power Loss
• DVD, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, (S)VCD, CD compatible

I've used this player about 4-5 times a week for almost 4 months so far, and it's been completely reliable and trouble-free. I love it!

The audio quality is rich and full, especially when using a headset. The player has dual headphone outlets, so it's easy for two to share (ideal for keeping two kids happily occupied on long family trips).

The video quality is superb; colors are vibrant and deeply displayed; images play back with absolutely no shakiness, jerkiness, or blurriness whatsoever, regardless of the speed of action on the screen. I haven't experienced any skipping, even while viewing with the player bouncing on my knees. The screen is easily viewed from several angles; unlike some players I've seen, you don't have to sit directly in front of it to get a good view of the action. You can play Blu-Ray discs or regular DVDs & I've found that even my own DVD-R home movies play great.

There's a USB port so you can view photos or video or music stored on a flash drive; I've used mine to play back a family slideshow with audio--it actually sounded better than it did on my laptop (& I have a very high quality Toshiba with harman/kardon speakers).

There's an ethernet port you can use for upgrading the software & accessing BD-Live content.

There are only two drawbacks for me, which weren't bothersome enough to lower my opinion of the player:

1. HDMI port is OUT only (which means it can be used to play Blu-Rays and DVDs on your TV). I was hoping the HDMI port could be used as an input to power a Roku 2 XD Streaming Player 1080p to play Amazon Prime Movies or Netflix, but no go. Ah, well.

2. For some reason, there's no volume control on the remote control; you have to control volume via a button on the player (but no real biggie, since I'm generally just an arm's reach away from the screen).

You can, however, use the remote to play, fast forward, rewind, skip by scene (forward or back), access the main menu, access the popup menu, choose audio options, turn subtitles off or on, turn the player off or on, find out where you are in the film (minutes played/minutes total), perform a time search, zoom, repeat, picture-in-picture, and lots MORE. There are even four color buttons (red, green, yellow, and blue) for selecting tasks/options for blu-ray discs.

The player's the perfect size for me; the footprint is just 9-/12" x7-1/4" and 1-5/8 thick (when sitting on a tabletop). It has a nice, solid heft and the laser player is very quiet (no humming!). The DVD's are inserted by opening the player and pressing an "open" button that allows you access to the recessed disc compartment--I like this design much better than one that inserts from the side because it's much easier to feel the "snap" as you nestle a DVD in place. There's a thumb notch to make removing a disc easy.

There's a very small sliding power switch on the bottom (left front) of the player that you MUST turn on to use the player or charge the battery. The battery can be charged while you play (nice touch); if you want to fast-charge the battery, plug in the AC cable and turn the bottom power switch to the "off position." I usually just charge while I play discs (there's a charge indicator light on the front edge of the player--red when needing charging, green when fully charged).

You can play discs either with AC power or just battery power (pretty obvious--it's a PORTABLE player).

Screen size is 8" x 4-3/8" (9" diagonal) & the resolution is excellent. The display can be set to do 4:3 Letterbox, 4:3 Panscan, 16:9 Widescreen, 16:9, and 21:9 Cinema. HDMI Video output can be set at Auto, Native, 480i/576i, 480p/576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, or 1080p/24Hz. There's even a setting for HDMI Deep Color, which enables or disables vivid images with over a billion colors on Deep Color enabled TVs.

This player can play blu-ray discs, DVDs, DVD-R, DVD-RW, VCD/SVCD, Audio CD, DivX Plus HD media, MKV media.

File formats it can play include:

VIDEO: .avi, .divx, .mp4, .mkv

AUDIO: .mp3, .wma, .wav

PICTURE: .jpg, .gif, .png

The carrying case is not bulky; it's nicely padded and has a divided compartment for storing the AC cable and remote. It's made of a nice black canvas on the outside with a top flap with velcro closure and two carrying handles. The inside is a nice, smooth black nylon.

I really do love this player; my favorite use for mine (beyond movie viewing use) is using it as my "exercise buddy" with my favorite workout DVDs like

Super Callanetics Amazon.com Exclusive DVD, SWAT Workout: Rapid Tone and Firm **RESISTANCE BAND INCLUDED**, and Pure Barre: Pershing Square 1: Ballet, Dance, Pilates Fusion Workout.

Highly recommended for its great video quality, portability, and ease of use. If you have any questions about any of the features, just leave a comment & I'll do my best to find an answer for you. Cheers!

Buy Philips PB9001/37 9-Inch 1080p Portable Blu-Ray DVD Player Now

If you have both blu-ray and dvd's and you don't want to leave your blu-rays at home; this is the player for you. It plays blu-ray, DVD, DVD-R & RW, and pretty much everything else. You can also plug in an USB drive with a movie on it and watch it. It comes with the cord you need to hook it up to your tv. You can hook up 2 headphones for joint enjoyment. There is the LAN hook up, HDMI hook up, a spot to put the USB drive, and comes with power cord and car charger. Also, it comes with a remote, my only complaint would be that you can't control the volumne with the remote.

Read Best Reviews of Philips PB9001/37 9-Inch 1080p Portable Blu-Ray DVD Player Here

I will start off by giving Philips customer service a nice plug. When my first BR player shipped to me broken, they promptly replaced it at no cost to me. Of course this shoudl have never happened in the first place. The problem comes from the flimsy springs they use to hold the disc tray lid. They snap off quite easily I guess, as the player had both of them snapped upon its arrival. It is not preferable to tape the lid closed every time you play a disc.

Once I procured a working product, I found that the philips player did everything I hoped it would, but it didn't do it particularly well. One main selling point to the product was the ability to play downloaded movies on it from a usb port. The player is wildly slow in reading external hard drives and flash drives. Worse, there is no way to navigate within the video file. For example, if you are on a place, watch the first hour of a film and then have to turn it off, there is no way to get back to the spot you left from. This is a massive problem.

On the bright side, the screen is excellent and it hooks up very easily to TVs via HDMI. It is hard to give it a full recommendation though with its cheap craftsmanship (especially for the price) as well as its somewhat limited functionality.

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I've been wanting both a portable DVD player for when I travel as well as a BluRay player for home and I love how this device combines the best of both worlds. The size is convienet and not bulky at all and so will fit easily in my carry on bag for when I travel. It comes with its own little case which fits all the hookups, remote and charger that comes with the device. Although I wish that it was just a little bigger to store some DVDs in it as well or had an over the shoulder carry strap but overall its a good little case for something that comes standard.

When I first got the player I had a bit of difficulty turning it on as I'd never really played with a portable player before and so didn't know about the switch on the bottom. But once I got over that brain fart moment it was very intuitive to use. I watched one movie just on the screen was very clear and the size was just right. I also purchased an HDMI cable to watch a bluray movie on my living room tv. It was super easy to hook up and the remote made navigating the menu options a breeze. I also like how when you turned off the player when I restarted it I was able to pick up right where I left off.

I loved this player far more then I thought I would and know that I'll be using it a lot in the future.

This item shipped fast and was a cinch to start using even for the less technically inclined. Huge points to the company for including at-a-glance, idiotproof instructions all on a single, impossibletomiss sheet!

This literally came with everything you need except your favorite dvd : instructions, cords, convenient carrying case and remote they even included batteries for the remote! Lightweight and the size of many day planners, this will be perfect for travel or curling up with in your favorite chair.

Sound and picture quality were both excellent, and I expect to get tons of use out of this player!

JVC XVN420B Progressive Scan DVD Player , Black

• Digital Direct Progressive Scan Output for high-resolution images
• Express Play Start, Rolling Pickup
• Illuminated Disc Tray with Dimmer Control
• Playable Formats:DVD-Video, DVD-RW, CD, SVCD, VCD, CD-R/RW, WMA, MP3, JPEG
• Vari-Play, Variable-Speed Playback with Sound and Subtitles

From the day I took this player out of the box, I have struggled with it. It regularly freezes up when an item is selected from the menu. To un-freeze it, you must either open the tray or turn off the unit. It's garbage. I expected more from JVC.

Buy JVC XVN420B Progressive Scan DVD Player , Black Now

The last few players I had (Sony, Yamaha and Apex) froze up and skipped on me all the time. The JVC player has been working fine now for almost a year and has never frozen or skipped. I love the blue illumination and my CDs sound great.

Panasonic DMP-BD35K 1080p Blu-ray Player

• Blu-ray Player; BD Live
• Home Theater audio system and a VIERA HDTV converts the home entertainment experience into a true-to-life cinematic experience
• VIERA Link: Operate with your VIERA Remote Control
• SD Card Slot
• 7.1-channel surround sound.

I take my home theater hobby pretty seriously, that's why when it came time to invest in a Blu-Ray player (finally the wait is over!!!), I did a ridiculously great amount of research. I was willing to spend much more money on a blu-ray player, but the prices have come down so much, you don't have to! I narrowed down my extensive search for the right player to the Panasonic DMP-BD35K and the Sony BDP-S350. **I BOUGHT THEM BOTH AND DID A "SIDE-BY-SIDE" TEST!**

I have some nice equipment, so I feel that the test was an excellent representation of the capabilities of these two players. My equipment includes a 100-inch Stewart screen with a 1080p Sony Pearl front projector, an Integra 9.8 DTC processor (with all the latest surround sound goodies), a 7-channel NAD amp, 7 Paradigm Signature speakers, and a dual M&K subwoofer (for full 7.1 surround sound).

I do understand electronics, but the Sony manual was really hard to follow. After only one call to Sony, I eventually got the player set up properly. After I set up the Panasonic, everything became much clearer. The Panasonic manual is so much better. But, who really cares about manuals? How do these two players perform side by side?

Audio for BOTH Blu-ray discs and standard DVDs: The Panasonic unquestionably has better audio. Compared to the Sony, the highs were much clearer. The 7.1 surround sound put me right in the middle of the "explosion" (my first test blu-ray disc was National Treasure I) when the Charlotte blew up. The biggest Audio difference was the bass. The bass in the Panasonic was so much better than the Sony. In fact, my old Sony standard-DVD player had better audio than the Sony BDP-S350. I'd give the Sony 3 stars with the audio. The Panasonic had outstanding treble, bass, and surround: 5-star audio!

Video for BOTH Blu-ray discs and standard DVDs: The Sony's video was good, but the Panasonic's video was fantastic! The skin tones were more realistic and the colors were more vibrant with the Panasonic. The Sony seemed to have a thin gray film over everything -like looking through a filmy-dirty window. The Sony had 4-star video (it looked good, but not nearly as good when directly compared to the Panasonic). The Panasonic and its upscaling gets an easy 5 stars!

Both my wife and I did the "side-by-side" test by going back and forth between Blu-Ray discs and standard DVDs. We didn't discuss any of our thoughts until we each independently formed our own conclusions. After seeing and hearing both players, we were both in complete agreement that in every way the Panasonic DMP-BD35K was superior to the Sony BDP-S350.

By the way, the card slot on the Sony for BD-Live is very hard to get to. I do like Sony as a brand for some things, but not Blu-Ray players.

For those of you who are doing your research, hopefully I can save you some time to answer if you should buy the Panasonic DMP-BD35K or DMP-BD55K. I called Panasonic and asked the differences; besides the price, there are only two differences. The 55K plays DivX's. If you don't have any DivX's like me and most of the people on planet Earth, this doesn't make any difference to you. The only other difference is that the 35K can only output Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio to a receiver/processor that has an HDMI input. If your receiver doesn't have an HDMI input, you won't be able to get them out of the 35K. If your receiver does have an HDMI input and you'll be using an HDMI cable, then you have absolutely no need to buy the 55K. With the 55K, if you have an older receiver that does not have an HDMI input, you can use the 55K's analog audio outputs so that you can have Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio. That's a nice feature of the 55K if you have an older receiver but want the latest surround sound formats.

Also, to save you some research time, I've already checked out all of the professional reviews including the ones on CNet.com: The Sony is considered ok, and CNet liked the Panasonic so much that it is the first Blu-Ray player EVER to receive CNet's "Editor's Choice Award."

I have to go to the store now and return the Sony player that I bought. I'm keeping the Panasonic!! :-)

Hopefully you found this review helpful!

Buy Panasonic DMP-BD35K 1080p Blu-ray Player Now

I was very interested to see this unit perform as I had previously owned the BD30 for about a week and it was a piece of junk and I returned it. I bought this unit a week and a half ago and so far no problems at all.

Setup was a breeze as I just connected it to my Onkyo receiver via HDMI. The bootup time seems a little faster than the previous model, and the video performance with Blu-ray discs seems cleaner too. One thing I like is the fact that it will resume playback on SD-DVD and Blu-ray discs (without BD-Live). The sound quality is fantastic and it seems they fixed the issue with an attunated LFE output on the previous model. Upconversion of standard DVD seems very good. I also own a Toshiba HD-A35 and love its upconversion quality and the BD35 is every bit as good if not better. I also like the zoom feature that allows me to see DVDs that are not anamorphic being scaled and still fill the screen. With this zoom feature applied, my Star Wars original version DVD still looks very good. The ethernet port on the back will allow me to do future firmware updates without having to burn a CD. The owner's manual says if I have an internet connection connected all the time, the player will alert me when updates become available cool!

The manual that comes with it covers the BD35 and BD55 and it looks like the only difference is the availability of analog 7.1 outputs and DviX playback on the BD55. One thing I will say is that these players do not play DVD-Audio or SACD discs. It will play DVD-Audio discs with Dolby Digital and DTS, but not the Advanced Resolution audio stream.

I haven't used the BD-live function yet, but there is a slot on the front of the player for a SD card which make using the BD-live feature possible.

So it looks like Panasonic finally got it right!

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DMP-BD35K 1080p Blu-ray Player Here

I had been looking for a blu ray player for some time, however the prices were just too high. Then I saw the Panasonic BD35K in one of my audio/video magazines. They gave it a great review and the price was $299. I went to Amazon and they had it for less than $250 so I ordered it on a Monday morning and received it on Thursday with no shipping charges. My receiver does not have an HDMI input or output so I connected the player directly to my 55 inch 1080P SONY SXRD TV using the HDMI port and I connected the digital optical audio out on the player to my receiver. The on screen setup menus were very easy to follow and the user manual explained everything. I thought I would try an action movie as the first one to see how the picture looked. I went to Blockbuster and got "The Incredible Hulk" and boy was I pleasantly surprised. The movie loaded in about 30 seconds the picture was just gorgeous and the sound coming from every speaker in my 5.1 surround sound set up was fantastic. My subwoofer definitely was given a good work out. The explosions just completely enveloped me. So far I am extremely pleased with this player and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a reasonably priced Blu Ray player.

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I bought this product due to the reviews I read on Amazon. What I looked most forward to was the fact that it "upscales" my old DVD's to look "almost HD." Almost?? This player upscales my old DVD's so well that I have found myself wondering if I need to buy the more expensive blu-ray movies at all. Even my old black and white movies on dvd look unbelievable. I was very relieved as I have an extensive collection of DVD's and was upset at the idea of having to replace them all with the new blu-ray format.

Just to be sure I immediately went out and bought several blu-ray movies to play on it. Unfortunately, I experienced what I soon learned was called "audio drop-out." During a few of the movies I purchased, and many of my old DVD's, the sound would cut out many times during playback. If I paused the movie and then continued, it would work until the next drop-out; at which point I had to go through the "pause-play" routine until I was sick of it.

I went to the Panasonic site and tried to get an firmware update as I did not have it connected to my router. No such luck. It was not yet uploaded to their site so no way to download it to a disk and then upgrade from there. I called tech-support and they told me there was indeed an upgrade that would fix the problem, but it had to be connected to the internet.

As my HD-TV is another room than my router, I purchased a 100 ft. ethernet cable and ran the firmware upgrade. It worked better than I could have possibly imagined. Not only is the audio drop-out gone (on all DVD's), the picture is even better, which is hard to believe as it was already magnificent.

I cannot possibly recommend this product any higher. It has saved me thousands of dollars that I feared I would have to spend on replacing my old DVD's. As a matter of point, the only blu-ray movies I will spend the extra money on is perhaps ones made with super special effects. There is no need to buy the blu-ray DVD's with this player for regular movies. Neither my husband, my techie son, or anyone else can tell they are not watching a HD movie with this player.

Thank you Panasonic, and Thank you Amazon reviewers who talked me into this particular player.

Update;

Time has now passed and I must say that the only problem I have had was that when we lost power in the house due to road work in our area, I had to re-download the firmware upgrade. Back to perfect.

I have found no problems with handshake issues. No problems with slow starts. I noticed the price is going up, as I got mine much cheaper here on Amazon. What's up with the price increase?

First let me talk about the BD35 itself. This is a great Blu-ray player. Good price point, awesome picture and audio quality, reasonably fast load times, very good upconversion of standard DVDs (about comparable to my Toshiba A3 HD-DVD player, which the BD35 is replacing). If you are in the market for a Blu-ray player, this is a great choice (it didn't get a CNET Best Of award for nothing).

For those of you who own non-anamorphic standard DVDs (for example, Tombstone or Backdraft), you will be happy to know that unlike my A3, the BD35 automatically detects the non-anamorphic nature of the DVD and zooms it to fill the screen (no black bars on the sides). Sure the picture quality is less than an anamorphic standard DVD, and much less than a Blu-ray but at least it fills the screen properly and is better than a sharp stick in the eye.

That being said, I'd like to play the part of educator, so please treat the rest of this review as a Public Service Announcement.

EDITED 12/8/08 TO ADD: avsforum members have figured out that my connectivity issue was not a HDMI Handshake issue. However, I am leaving the Handshake comments in the review as in general they are still applicable.

People getting into the world of HD need to be aware of HDMI Handshake issues. What is HDMI Handshake you ask? Well, you can use Google for a more detailed explanation, but basically HDMI incorporates a Digital Copy Protection called HDCP. Let's say you have a Blu-ray player connected to a AV receiver connected to your HDTV. Well, the Copy Protection basically requires each connection to exchange an authentication key (i.e. the Handshake). Only if all handshakes along the path are successful will video be successfully sent to the HDTV. Unfortunately, it's a complicated subject, and video failure due Handshake issues can be a matter of cable type, older components, firmware not up to date, powering up components in the wrong order, or a whole host of other items. It currently seems to be the Bane of the Home Theater World.

NOTE THAT ANY HANDSHAKE ISSUES, GENRALLY, ARE NOT THE SOLE FAULT OF THE BD35 (which is why I did not deduct any stars).

People with older HDTVs (especially with DVI inputs) seem to be more susceptible to Handshake issues. www.avsforum.com is a great resource if you want to learn more about this.

As an aside, I would like to say that the Powers That Be (whoever is in charge of HDMI) are really doing a horrible job. I personally know what 720p, DVI, HDCP, and HDMI 1.3 means. I also know that the solution to any given problem can be a matter of cabling, or firmware, or settings, or powering on components in the right order. But I can guarantee you that my Mom, or my mother-in-law, or my father-in-law, knows none of these things. I don't possibly see how the HDMI people expect people to buy a Blu-ray player when so many issues abound! It's just too complicated. There is going to be a large subset of the population who don't know about these issues, don't care about these issues, and aren't going to be willing to buy a Blu-ray player when it can be so complicated to get their Home Theater system to work properly.

I went through many headaches trying to solve this problem and learning about this I hope this is of some use to readers and sheds some light. Best wishes to all, and enjoy the dazzling picture and audio quality on your BD35!

Panasonic DVD-RV30 DVD Player

• Dolby Digital and DTS output
• Component-video outputs
• Virtual surround sound and dialogue enhancement mode
• High-speed smooth-motion scan
• 24-bit, 96 kHz audio digital-to-analog converter

I have owned a DVD-ROM drive since they were first introduced three years ago. I thought that DVD-ROM would be the standard media by now, but I guess I was wrong. The picture is very bad and movies on the player look like slide shows! So I decided to get a DVD player.

I researched for several months for the right player. I researched models from Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, and Pioneer. I wanted to buy a player for around $250 that only played one disc (I didn't need a multidisc model) and had excellent picture and sound quality. Also, I didn't need a player with Dolby Digital or DTS decoders built-in to the player. My receiver could do that. After researching and researching, I became interested in the Sony DVP-S360, the Pioneer DV-333, and the Panasonic DVD-RV30 player. All three players are good players, but people have been complaining that Sony's "PrecisionDrive" is very loud especially in the quiet scenes of a movie, which could get kind of annoying. Also, many reviewers were saying that the Sony produces a nice, but "soft" picture, not a crisp DVD-like picture. Many reviewers complained that the Pioneer DV-333 is not built well and also produces a soft picture.

Everyone seemed to love the Panasonic DVD-RV30 DVD player. They all said that it produced a very clear, crisp, and vivid picture that rivaled the $1000+ DVD players and that the sound it produced was great. Also, since Panasonic is offering a $50 mail-in-rebate, I decided to buy the Panasonic DVD-RV30.

Setup took me five minutes. I took the player out of the box, plugged the power cord in, plugged the TV cable in (only composite cables are included with the player), and inserted the batteries in my remote. That was it!

This player has many features including:

Virtual Surround Sound (VSS): Uses your stereo system's speakers or your TV speakers to produce delays in the sound recreating a surround sound experience. This is personally one of my favorite features of the player. I thought it would be a gimmick that didn't work, but it works really well! I am amazed at the sound produced when VSS is on!

Dialogue Enhancer: Dialogue enhancer is supposed to increase the center channel of your home theater system by 6 DB which allows for the dialogue to come out clearer. Even on a normal TV system, dialogue enhancer definitely improves those DVDs where the dialogue is so hard to hear. I usually always leave dialogue enhancer on. Also, at night, I can turn the sound down and yet still understand what people are saying. This way, I won't wake up my family! :-)

Digital Cinema Mode: Supposed to improve the detail of the picture in dark scenes. I personally have not used this feature yet.

A direct-bass output is also featured. It allows you to connect your player directly to a subwoofer to enjoy the same kind of bass effects you would only usually get through a home theater system.

Other features include component video out, S-video out, and optical sound output for Dolby Digital and DTS. I am currently testing this player using just composite cables, and the picture is so amazingly clear on just composite cables! It is like you are in the movie when you use component video output cables, but your TV must support it. Check your TV manual to see whether it supports component video, S-video, or composite cable connections.

The remote is very intuitive and easy to use. All of the features the player is capable of is easily accessible through the remote. My only complaint is that you can't select a chapter in any sort of one-click way. That would have been a great feature, but it is not necessary.

I really like the resume feature this player has. If you decide to stop to run an errand in the middle of movie, even if you turn off the player and back on, the player will "remember" where you were in the movie and immediately take you there!

I have to agree with all of the reviews I read. Sound quality and picture quality is superb! Details are very crisp and easy to see, and fast action scenes are like a walk-in-the-park for this player. I threw all kinds of movies at my player, and it didn't seem to stress at all with any kind of scene. Even layer changes are very smooth. I did not even notice a single hint of a layer change in the movies I watched.

Finally, after playing about four hours worth of movies, the player did not get hot at all. The DVD inside the player wasn't even hot. Everything about this player seems very solid and will last a lifetime.

All in all, this player has to be one of the best players out onthe market right now, literally.

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This entry-level DVD player comes with some nice features. The Virtual Surround Sound may not be completely obvious on all DVDs but it certainly enhances the quality of the sound for a good cinematic experience even if you are like me and only have to speakers. The Cinema button on the player is supposed to clarify darker scenes and make the picture more theatrical. It does lighten the scenes a bit but you will probably find yourself keeping that function off and allowing the darker scenes to be dark; only turning it on to find details in poorly lit scenes. The remote, though small, is quite easy to use and you can adjust to it quickly. Many of the buttons are a little small, but you rarely use the features on the small buttons anyway. Overall, I give this five stars for getting everything necessary and a little more for [the price]. So, if you are looking for the best DVD player at entry level, I would choose this one...oh yeah, the one-year warranty is always nice, too.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DVD-RV30 DVD Player Here

I don't have a digital-ready receiver so I decided to get a low-end DVD. I did a little DCD-player studying with the intent of purchasing a Sony S360 (my friend has one). We've watched movies together on it, and it was so much better than my PC DVD that I had to go get one. *+*I then learned that the Sony makes a weird whirling sound while playing. The sound continues as long as a movie is playing, and can be heard if the soundtrack of the movie is quiet.*+* Because of this reason and because I wanted to be different from my friend, I bought the Panasonic. I am VERY happy. It's small, lightweight, and doesn't have the audio and video gliches my PC DVD has. I'd say if you don't have a digital receiver or a receiver at all, buy this model.

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I really did my home work before I bought this unit. I compared sound specs, video specs, and DTS capability. You don't need to know one piece of technical info to understnad my review.

I went to a local store and looked at five units between 199 and 350 dollars. This RV-30 offered as much as any at the best price. I even asked a kid at (a stoor) what the real difference was. He said he could have bought any one but got this one because it was the best.

I bought it and use it daily. [wasn't supposed to open it until xmas]. Super picture quality and easy to use. Not one draw back at all.

The Panasonic DVD RV-30 is the first DVD player I havepurchased.The player was easy to setup and run. I spent a lot of time reading reviews, not only from Amazon but other websites. I was looking for a good entry level DVD and the RV-30 and Sony's 360 models were the two having the least problems of the low end models.

Setup was easy and the manual was complete (Yes, I do read manuals). I did spend quite a bit of time searching for a specific item of information in the manual, but again, it is very complete.

I found the video and audio to be as expected. The picture looks extremely good on my 27" Sanyo using a RF modulator bought at Radio Shack specificly designed to connect DVD players to older style TVs. I don't have RGB connectors on the TV. I patched the yellow video cord from the DVD player to the RF modulator and coaxial from the modulator to the TV.

The sound goes to a receiver with digital decoding using the optical output from the DVD player to the receiver. The receiver does all the work and does it well. I'm sure the RV-30 is helping but the receiver does most of the work, and the sound is excellent.

Now the reason for 4 versus 5 stars. At about 1 hour 16 minutes to 1 hour 24 minutes into a movie, all the DVDs I have played skipped. They only skipped once but skip they did. Before this time period and after the time period has passed, no skipping. I'm at a loss but am going to continue to use the machine to see if this unique problem goes away or maybe occurs only on certain DVDs. It could be a dirty disk surface (all the DVDs I've played are rentals) but I'm just not sure.

Other than this one problem, everything is perfect.

Oh, by the way, I read other reviewers of DVD players talking about how long it takes the players they own to respond to remote control commands. Whats this all about? This unit responds very quickly to remote commands. By the time I find the button, press it and look up at the TV screen, the command has taken place. I guess some people have very, very quick eye to hand coordination

TViX High-definition Digital Network Multimedia Player w/H.264 decoding

Plays any kind of video I can throw at it in perfect 1080p and Hi Def Sound. Very easy to use.

edit: if there is a problem with the video at all the whole player shuts down and has to be rebooted. very annoying.

JVC Picsio GC-WP10 Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Blue) NEWEST VERSION

I recently noticed that true HD was making its way to the pocket video camera market. There were two others that came out very recently that I was looking at (a Panasonic and a Kodak) before I decided on this JVC. The deciding factor was that this one is waterproof and is capable of time lapse.

Upon what must have been a delayed release, I finally got mine today and must say I am glad I went with this one. There's a little weight to it as you hold it in your hand and cosmetically, well with all the ugly gadgets out there I have to give the designers at JVC props for making this an attractive, even sexy unit, one that I would not be ashamed to take home to Mother. I want to call this a matte finish or something... look at the high res pics and you'll see what I mean.

The quality of the video is as good as you would expect. I am hoping that future software updates will be more feature rich. You can record audio but there don't seem to be any options or settings with regard to the quality. I'm assuming it's recording in mp3 format and if it is, I'd prefer to be able to select the bit rate (320kbps). The time lapse feature is cool and I'd love to see the ability to shoot at a very high frame rate so as to be able to capture a water balloon popping. Overall, the user interface is simple and will not take long at all to get used to.

If you plan to do a lot of time-lapse you'll want to purchase the optional power adapter which will cost you about $35 (Ouch!). Get yourself a 32gb SDHC card and a 2tb external hard drive and you'll be good to go. I won't be able to test the waterproof feature until next Summer. Finally, I can't comment on the on-board editing software because I use a professional editing suite. I'm sure it'll suit most basic needs.

Peace

UPDATE: I had a chance on Monday to shoot some video at our local Zoo. I learned a couple of things worth noting. The battery fully charged does not last long. We weren't at the Zoo for even three hours and I ran out of juice before we left. It makes me wish the thing ran on batteries. The second point is the zoom...I'd advise against using it. If you watch this video, you'll see some outdoor/indoor stuff, and the use of the zoom. I'm noticing what is common among digital zooms, clarity is drastically sacrificed. The indoor shot of the bird is most obvious. I assume that both of these issues are similar to other cameras in the same category. Hopefully in ten years the battery life will be greatly improved. I can't help but wonder if a simplified interface wouldn't help conserve the battery power. Still, not a bad camera for the price.

I'm not sure how anyone could write a review for a WATERPROOF video camera without actually testing it in WATER. I bought this camera to take white water rafting last weekend.

Forget the touch screen; you don't even need to use it. Once you have the camera set up how you want it, hit the Screen Lock button. Then you just use the big red stop/record button. You can even use the video/picture button to quickly switch between videos and photos. I left the camera turned on for the entire 3-hour trip, strapped to my life vest. I could quickly lift it up, hit record, and catch some great videos. I was able to take some nice snapshots before and after the trip too.

The sound quality is about what you'd expect for this kind of camera, but you can clearly hear everyone in the raft, including the guide who was all the way in the back. I can't imagine why you would need much better sound quality than that.

The battery lasted for the whole trip, no problem. As far as charging it, it just uses a standard USB-mini connector, which you can find on just about every device manufactured these days. If you don't have a computer (seriously?), you can get a car adapter or a wall adapter for about $5, or you can get a USB battery backup pack for about $10 to $20.

This was $99 at Costco, and it came with a 4 Gb memory card which is good for about 45 minutes of HD Video. I swapped it out for a 16 Gb card for $20, which gave me 3 hours of recording time.

NOTE: The original video was shot in 1080p at 12850kbps. Amazon downsamples their videos to about the 700 kbps range and 480p resolution. Even YouTube cuts the bit rate for HD video in half. So, unfortunately, there isn't really a practical way to highlight the full quality of any HD video camera online. It does, however, accurately demonstrate the audio quality, and the waterproof functionality.

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GREAT video, either 1080P 30 FPS, or 720P 60 FPS (the faster frame rate is better for moving subjects). It also has modes for YouTube and Apple that I haven't tried yet and don't forget it does time lapse sequences as well!

The color touchscreen controls are very intuitive. You won't need the written manual.

I was disappointed by the stereo audio which sounds thin and phasey. (Perhaps I have a bad unit?)

It does a credible job of shooting stills, although they are not as sharp, nor do they have the dynamic range available in most $100 digital still cameras. But the submersible Picsio fits in your pocket and shoots great HD video!

Picsio also will record mp-3 stereo audio, but the audio quality is marginal in my unit. (I am talking myself into exchanging mine to see if the audio should really be better. Good audio should be technically easy to achieve compared to HD video.)

As an all-in-one camera, this waterproof Picsio is perfect except for the audio deficiency. The softer still shots are acceptable considering everything else this very well-made camera does.

Post script: I have discovered that I cannot return or exchange the unit due to my own ignorance of the Amazon 30 day return policy on electronics. My fault. Now I must send the unit to the JVC factory warranty repair center in Texas. This I will do since I think the audio on my unit is surely not up to specs. More later.

Later post script on 12JAN2011: I sent my Picsio to the JVC Repair Center in McAllen, Texas. About 10 days after sending it, a technician from the JVC Repair Center telephoned me to ask more specifically about the audio problems I had described. Being a retired radio and television broadcast engineer with some 50+ years experience, I described in scientific detail the audio problems my unit exhibited. The technician obligingly said that he would confer with JVC engineers on site and compare my unit to others known to be working properly. The next day the technician called back with the news that "all of them worked the same". He said there was nothing more he could do but to send it back which he did.

Now I again have this well-made camera with excellent video and the same very poor audio.

JVC has either screwed up in the design or in the repair of the Picsio.

My advice: Don't buy the JVC Picsio unless you're looking for a video only application. My Picsio is going to be relegated to duty as an overly expensive video-only security camera.

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There just wasn't anything in this offering from JVC that made us (or anyone we gave it to) actually want the PICSIO GC-WP10. The operating system makes the touch interface sluggish, unresponsive at times and unintuitive to use. If you are using to your iPhone, iPod Touch or Android device by now, going to this device to take pictures or video will be a step back.

As for the optics and resulting video or pictures (regardless of the resolution 1080p, 720p or otherwise), they looked on par with a totally average cell phone camera. We have seen higher quality (albeit lower resolution) video come out of our iPhone 4s or Android 2.2-enabled smart phones. We have certainly seen better images come out of our digital cameras with HD video recording support.

Given that the JVC PICSIO GC-WP10 is only waterproof to 10 feet and is currently retailing for $180, we strongly recommend you either look at buying a waterproof digital camera for the same money, or if you have a very nice point-and-shoot like the Canon S95, using that money to buy a waterproof housing for that camera to get superior quality pictures and video instead.

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There's a reason the price has dropped on this this $70 since I bought it less than three months ago: It's not very good, the reviews are tepid and it was overpriced for what you get.

The PRO's:

1) It is waterproof.

2) Attractive onscreen interface.

3) Big screen for viewing

The CON's:

1) Short battery life.

2) Touchscreen is problematic. Is the camera recording? Did I touch it hard enough to effect a change?

3) Screen is big, but only a small portion of it is used for monitoring while recording. And even worse, it's virtually impossible to see in bright light. You need to go indoors or find shade to see it while recording or to share those recordings with others. (A common problem, it would seem, with these glossy screens.)

4) Stereo recording, yes, but very low fidelity. Tinny and unappealing.

5) Poor performance in low light. Images get grainy and color fades quickly as the sun goes down.

6) Bulky compared to most flip cameras.

I really wanted to like this camera--spent $199 to get it last October. Then I sold it for $50 less a few weeks later on ebay. I don't know what the other waterproof flip cameras are like, but this one needs some serious work. Sorry JVC.

TosLink 1 x 2 Optical Audio Splitter Adapter

I was very skeptical when buying this spliiter/switch after seeing so many bad reviews. It worked for me after little trial and error and here is what I found. For all those who complained that these splitters/switches do not work, this is what you need to do to get it right. I bought this splitter from eforcity, so I cannot say about those shipped by other sellers.... It works both ways i.e. as a splitter and as a switch.

1. For it to act as a switch, the critical thing is that only one source needs to be ON. Some sources send signal even when on stand by mode. To check whether it sends out signal, just plug one end of the toslink cable into port of the source(cable box, ps3, etc) and check the other end for red light. when on stand by, the light should not be lit.

2. The second most important thing for this splitter/switch to work is the length of the cables used. I used all 1.5 ft cables and they work perfectly. Earlier I had 3 ft cables coming out of the cable box and ps3 to the splitter and then 1.5 ft cable to the home theater. The ps3 did not work but cable box worked (not consistently though) as the signal attenuated too much by the time it reached the home theater receiver. I am not sure if there is a shorter cable than 1.5 ft and it would be great if you do have them. 1.5 ft cables work fine. I got the 1.5 ft cables from RiteAV.

Finally, the basic test to see if it works is to check for the red light after the connections. Connect in the way shown below and check for the light near the * before connecting to the receiver. Make sure only one source is ON at a time. If you see light and it still does not work after plugging into the receiver then it means that the signal attenuated too much and your receiver cannot pick it.

source 1 -->

...................splitter -->* receiver

source 2 -->

--> = 1.5 ft toslink cable

ignore the dots...

Good luck!.

I read all the responses posted in the comments (turn off one device to use the other) and it works perfect!

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In looking around, it seemed that some of these splitters had issues when used to connect 2 devices to 1 input. As long as the "other" device is powered off when you're using the shared input, it totally works.

When our blu-ray is used, the Xbox360 is off and vice-versa.

Can't beat the price!

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If you are using this to connect 2 devices to one receiver then you need to make sure one device is off while you are using the other device. I use this splitter to connect my Xbox 360 and my PC to my PX5's. I also have to turn off the receiver and turn it back on when switching devices or it will not pick up the signal from the other device. Works great if you follow those simple rules. If both of your devices stay on this will not work for you. If you can't turn off one device then this will not work for you.

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I'm pretty happy with this product. It's an inexpensive solution to my problem of having only one optical input on my AV Receiver and needing to connect both my PS3 and Apple TV to it. Both AppleTV and PS3 are connected the end of the splitter with two inputs, and then the other end of the splitter with only one output is connected to the AV Receiver. It only works when only one of the devices is off and not transmitting signal at the same time as the other one, but luckily both these devices don't transmit signal when they're in sleep mode.

DOD MI800 Mini High Definition Camera

It does work. But I have a lot of issues with it. The viewing window, on a camera this small is almost useless, but even funnier, it was delivered foggy! It is an internal lenses that is dirty so I can't clean it either. As I don't plan on using it anyway, I didn't return it. The internal battery doesn't last very long. In video mode, it will last maybe ten minutes. The external battery would cure this, but it makes the the set up a lot more cumbersome. Oh, and recently, that external battery unit has failed. Photos taken with it are grainy, but for it's size, it's ok, I wasn't expecting a 8 megapixel photo. It's a tiny camera and as a novelty, it's ok.

Hi,

It's really nice CAM but they said it's about 8 mega pixels. I tried it I think it's less then 8.

the Video is really nice I like it.But it takes about 13 meanest not long as I thought.

thank you.

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Panasonic DVD-S55S Digital Remastering Progressive-Scan DVD , Silver

• Plays DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, CD-R, CD-RW, JPEG, and MP3/WMA CDs
• Progressive-scan video output for seamless, flicker-free picture on high-definition and HD-ready televisions
• Cinema Mode diminishes glare and improves the visibility of details in dark scenes; Depth Enhancer reduces image background noise
• Digital re-mastering enhances CD playback
• Dialogue Enhancer boosts center-channel volume during Dolby Digital 5.1-channel presentations

Big pluses imho:

1. Bookmarks

2. WMA support (in addition to MP3, etc)

3. Amazon's price was not just competitive, it was amazing.

4. Arrived to my door in great shape

All the other goodies are here too: built-in decoders (sometimes it's really useful to have these built-in), zoom support, simulated surround sound (which actually works), DVD Audio/VCD/JPEG/MP3 support, speaker delay setting, progressive scan, etc.

I personally found the on-screen display/setup to be easy to use & quite sophisticated for this level of price. Also, according to reviews elsewhere, this model is one of the absolute latest panasonics out there, with the latest/greatest firmware, etc. in other words, people often thought that dvds look better played on this model, relative to other players in the same or slightly higher price range. Mine was built in June 2003.

For what it's worth, decide whether you need built-in decoders or not, if you want to save money. I personally wasn't willing to live without them or bookmarks, and amazon's price for them (and all of the above) was still amazing.

This thing hooked right up & worked flawlessly straight out of the box.

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My family has been buying Panasonic products for years, but this is the first time I've ever bought one of their DVD players. I've previously had a Sony and a cheapo KLH Home Theater in-a-box. When I was looking for a new player I knew that I wanted something that looked nice, had progessive scan (for the future), could play DVD audio, photo CDs, and MP3s. Oh yeah, and should be affordable for a college student.

Enter the Panasonic DVD-S55S.

1. DVDs boot up quickly and it plays them perfectly. I've tested a few movies out and I don't even notice layer changes (a BIG problem with the KLH). There does seem to be a fair amount of flicker with contrasting colors on some menus.

2. Photo/MP3 CDs play well and are easy to navigate. However, vertical photos don't seem to play and MP3 filenames can be cut off if they're too long. The flicker shows it's ugly mug again on photos, but is easier to ignore.

3. Features galore! Progressive Scan, DVD-A (don't assume that all players can play these!), Dynamic Range Compression (kind of evens out the louds/softs of the movie), Optical audio output, Component video, and several ways to tweak audio/video for better quality.

Overall, I'd give this player 4.5 stars but had to round up. The flicker problem could just be my TV or the way I'm hooking it up, I don't know. My only other real criticism is the remote. It's just kind of there. A little ugly but very usable. So, if you're looking to get into DVD or looking for a cheap player that will be able to keep up with you for several years, look no further than this one!

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic DVD-S55S Digital Remastering Progressive-Scan DVD , Silver Here

To ktk3438 who gave this player 1 star, in part because it doesn't have a feature to save the disk position this player can do that, you need to hit a button on the remote to save the position. This player has a great picture even when only connected to an analog TV with an s-video cable. I haven't got around to getting component cables yet. The optical out provides great sound with both dvds and cds. I haven't tested the jpeg viewing capability yet. For the feature set, picture and sound quality at this price it's hard to beat..

Want Panasonic DVD-S55S Digital Remastering Progressive-Scan DVD , Silver Discount?

This dvd player is a very good progressive player for the price range. It plays everything smoothly from regular dvd, dvd-audio, mp3 to vcd and svcd. I've owned other more expensive dvd players but none come close to this one. If you just like to listen to cd music you will be amaze on how the "re-master" feature on this player help to push the sound to another level. The menus is very easy to navigates and the picture is beautiful.

Fortunately, this will be my last Panasonic product. I was happy with this DVD player (I don't ask for much) until it stopped reading *any* discs after 6 months. It produced an error on the screen. When I called to find out what the error meant, they said it was "still under warranty" and to send it in, which I did.

After 4 weeks, they contact me to say that only the parts are covered for a year labor is only 3 months. So the part is covered, but not the labor to put it in! They wanted sixty-five bucks to "fix" my DVD player, which was apparently under warranty.

So, after spending 100 bucks on this unit, it's in the trash after 6 months. BUYER BEWARE and pray your unit breaks within 90 days.

Philips Prestigo SRU8010 Icon Universal Remote Control

Philips SRU8010 Prestigo Icon Universal Remote

Overview:

I am writing this review on behalf of my wife. This will be the first universal remote my wife actually will use. She loves it. I have scaled Mount Everest. The unit is long (9" x 2.25"), but the length accommodates the bright, backlit screen at the top, which is the one feature she loves the most. For much more detail on the screen and button layout, you can download the user manual here:(Note that the picture on the front of the manual shows black number buttons with white numbers, but our unit shipped as silver buttons with black numbers, which actually stand out more.) After you have programmed all your preferences and macros, memory is maintained while changing the 3 AA batteries--but the manual does not indicate how long memory is maintained without batteries. Here is how the setup goes.

(1) Devices first. After first putting in batteries, a Setup Wizard comes on screen and easily takes you through an initial process of getting your basic devices (TV, cable box, DVD, receiver, etc.) and functions (On, Off, etc.) operational. A multitude of codes are stored in the Philips unit for almost any device and configuration (even TV/VCR combinations). Be sure to know what you want to name a device, because you cannot change the name once you have gone through the setup procedure. (Well, you could, but you would have to start from scratch, completely reinitializing that device, including loosing all manually programmed buttons and all macros particular to that device.)

(2) Favorites second. Then, you set up your channel favorites. Very helpful before you get into your favorites setup would be to draw up a list of your channel numbers, the broadcast name, and the order that you would want them in. I know this takes a little time, but, believe me, the effort will pay off, because changing the order of your favorites once they have been set is most tedious. The Favorites have nice, readable icons (hence the word "Icon" in the remote's model name) in a large database covering not only the major broadcast and cable channels, but also channels of which I was not even aware. The icons show up beautifully on the bright, backlit display at the top of the remote. Once inside a particular Favorites list, pressing the small "Side Keys" next to a channel on each side of the display accesses that channel favorite. Your can have up to ten customized, namable Favorites lists, with each individual list having 36 channels stored. Wow. That's a bunch of channels and flexibility for all family members. You even have two dedicated Favorites list buttons on either side at the very top of the remote, one "His" and the other "Hers." Super! Just what the doctor ordered at our house. This Favorites feature of the remote is probably the most user friendly and nicest part of the remote.

(3) Learning third. Those remote control functions that still do not work once a device has been setup can be learned (and you will always have some function on some button on an old remote that YOU want that nobody else cares about). You simply get the Philips unit ready, specifying which button on the Philips you want to program with that function, point your old remote at the bottom of the Philips unit (not the top), and punch that button on your old remote. The Philips returns a "Successful" if the IR code has been received, or lets you try again if you did not have the two remotes lined up properly. Sometimes all the main buttons you need for that device work straight out of the box using the Philips programmed code number for that device. On occasion, though, one button you need does not work. Say, for example, the Philips code number for your VCR gives you all your transport buttons (Play, Stop, Pause, Advance, Rewind), but, inexplicably, the Record button does not work. No worries. You just program the Record button manually using the learning function on the Philips unit and the Record button on your old VCR remote. Works like a charm every time. For those buttons that represent oddball features on your old remote, you just will have to remember what substitute function you put on that Philips button. When you have multiple devices and remotes, trying to remember too many "customized" buttons that do not correspond with the screen icon on the one surface of the Philips unit when constantly switching from one device to another gets to be difficult. Here I think the KISS principle may apply ("Keep it simple, stupid"), at least for me.

You have two physical places to put the learned functions: (1) the "Main Keys," which is Philips's terminology for most of the buttons on the surface of the unit, including the Power button itself, and (2) the "Side Keys," which are not actually on the side of the unit itself, like the name might suggest, but the ten smaller buttons arranged vertically on the sides of the display screen, five on the left, and five on the right. Any button, Main Key or Side Key, can be one simple IR command or an entire macro.

Special Features:

This remote has many nice features that you can read about in the downloadable, pdf manual. I mention two in particular.

(1) Punchthrough. A nice feature of universal remotes these days is called "punchthrough." This is lingo for being able to operate the volume on you receiver, for example, regardless what mode the remote is in, whether "Receiver," "TV," "Cable," "DVR," etc. So, if you are in TV mode watching a movie, the volume buttons on the Philips remote still control the volume of your receiver, not your TV's volume. The Philips volume buttons (and mute) "punch through" all the other devices to the receiver's volume control. Four control categories on the Philips remote can be set to "punch through" to a particular device in this manner: Volume, Channel, Play (transport functions), and Quit.

(2) KidSafe. Another feature of the Philips remote that parents will appreciate is called "KidSafe." This feature uses a password-protected function to limit access to favorite groups, settings, or any forbidden menu. at least from the remote. When using the remote, the kids watch only the channels you allow, with access only to volume and mute, and cannot mess with any settings of the remote.

Minor Complaints:

(1) Codes: Be aware that inexpensive home-theater-in-a-box units (HTIB), even those from major brands, are not well represented in the device codes of the Philips unit and mostly have to be programmed manually--doable, but inconvenient. I was trying to simplify from a very expensive and complicated setup that my wife never could enjoy on her own, nor could friends visiting for the weekend, without me there to insure every little button and device was set up just right. Could not even watch the news, for goodness sake, without an act of Congress. I finally wearied of all that and capitulated to a HTIB that reduced the number of individual components and a morass of remotes. However, several important functions of my inexpensive HTIB, though a major name brand, I had to program manually on the Philips remote.

(2) Buttons. The buttons on the remote are big and easy to use in the daylight. However, the "Main Keys" buttons, most of the buttons on the surface of the remote, are not backlit. I did not realize how dependent I had become on my backlit remotes. Watching a movie in a dimly lit room makes some specially coded buttons that are not the obvious Play, Stop, Menu, etc. buttons a stab in the dark that can ruin a good movie moment if you happen to hit the wrong button trying to guess. This complaint is NOT true of the beautiful, backlit display screen on the Philips remote and its "Side Keys." Also, the Mute and Last buttons are nowhere near the volume and channel buttons, a poor user-interface decision. These buttons are both small and located all the way down under the number keypad. You can "get used to the position," but why have to? This placement is completely illogical, perhaps a compromise made necessary because the volume and channel keys actually are unnecessarily big in the first place. Room could have been made for a Mute key underneath a smaller volume rocker, and ditto a Last button underneath a smaller channel rocker. This suggested placement would have been a minor change to achieve a major goal of much more user friendly from the git-go. (My wife already has asked numerous times, "Now, remind me, where is my Mute button?")

Major Complaints:

This Philips universal remote is really good, one my wife will actually use for the first time in our married lives, but getting the device up and running not always is a bed of roses. I will feel better about the remote as time distances me from the initial battle to get the unit set up fully with all necessary macros running smoothly and predictably. I would be embarrassed to admit the actual number of hours I put in getting every single glitch worked out, but I hope you will not think me a dufus. I am quite technically and gadget proficient, having owned a ton of electronic, stereo, recording, theater, and studio equipment. Hopefully, you will see more why I had trouble as I work through the following list.

I realize that not every problem I had is purely the fault of the Philips remote. One problem is timing. Timing on macros is a huge consideration of which some consumers may not be fully aware. The reasons are numerous. For example, different TVs have different warm-up times, especially older DLPs and plasmas. You have to wait on the TV to warm up before the TV lets you have control through the remote. You have to estimate this pause in the sequence of working out a macro into which the TV turning on is configured. Even more complicated, in some macros the TV has to come on first. In others, the TV has to come on somewhere along the way. You might even have to experiment a good bit when to bring in the TV if you just cannot get a macro running smoothly. Another example of timing problems is the newer HDMI input. These inputs have to go through a form of electronic handshake before they establish their audio and video connections and are ready to go. Again, you have to estimate enough of a delay to give these inputs time to get on board with the rest of the routine.

These type issues are not the fault of the Philips unit. You can have problems with timing with any universal remote that records macros.

However, other problems clearly are the shortcomings of the Philips unit itself. Perhaps I can save you some headaches, aggravation, and time because you will have more of a heads up on this unit. The unit is really good, and can be had for a steal of a price for all the features, but you might have to pay in other ways, such as time and frustration. The following are my major complaints due to the problems I had setting up the remote or unhelpful characteristics I discovered the remote had that detracted from my ability to describe the device as truly user friendly in every way.

(1) Macros: The macro implementation is the worst part of this universal remote. I found the macro function excruciatingly frustrating for several important reasons.

1.1 MACROS CANNOT BE EDITED IN ANY WAY. If your entire macro runs perfectly except for the very last step, you have to start from scratch all over again. I must have done this a million times over the weekend I was setting up this remote. You cannot edit any macro once recorded, say, to increase the amount of pause a tad in one step. You cannot even change the name of a macro without re-recording the entire macro! Unbelievably, the naming function is available only while recording the macro.

1.2 THE INTERNAL TIMER IS INACCURATE. On any universal remote, you can put pauses in between macro steps, and many macros for one reason or the other will need pauses. The Philips remote lets you put in pauses of supposedly 1 second increments from 1 to 9 seconds. However, the Philips timer, at least on my unit, is way off. Their "1 second" is really only about 1/3 of a second. So, if you need an actual 1 second pause, you need to program "3 seconds" on the Philips unit. Thus, their total of "9 seconds" really only gives you about 3 seconds in real time. If you want a 6 second pause, you have to put in TWO steps in your macro. The first step asks for a "9 second" pause, the maximum value the Philips allows, but that step only gives you 3 seconds in real time; the second step is a "dummy" IR command (one that does not actually activate anything from an old remote) for another "9 seconds" that gives you another 3 seconds in real time for your total 6 second pause. I am ashamed to say this timing problem took me half a day to figure out. I literally spent an entire morning trying to program macros without success with regard to some important macros that depended on timing. Be aware that various hidden timing problems might be present in your home theater setup that can frustrate your attempts to record a successful macro. If the internal timer of your Philips remote is as badly off as my unit is, you will have to calculate as best you can what the Philips "1 second" increments are in real time before wasting your time trying to record macros that need pauses of a certain length.

1.3 "SUCCESSFUL" DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN SUCCESSFUL. When the Philips unit has received an IR command in programming a step in a macro, you get a screen that says "Successful." In fact, on occasion, the Philips might have received only PART of the IR burst, so the command is really bogus, but you will not know that until you have saved and tried to run the macro. The promise land can seem so close (you have completed a complicated macro, every step supposedly "successful"), yet you actually can be so far away (you run the macro, and something does not work). You might suspect a bogus step, because the macro always will break down at the same spot. This failure is really aggravating because you have to rerecord the same macro completely from scratch every time. If you happen not to remember exactly what you did, in exactly what order, with exactly what timing sequence, you are doomed to what may seem to be an endless recording loop that you just cannot finish successfully.

(2) Names: YOU CANNOT CHANGE NAMES ONCE PROGRAMMED. Names of devices are called "Labels" by Philips, such as "TV," "DVD, "Receiver," etc. Neither the names (labels) of devices nor the names of macros can be edited once set. The reason for the inability to change device or macro names is a simple software programming stupidity: assigning of names is an internal step in the setup procedure for a device or in the recording feature of a macro, not a generally available edit function of the system menu. Put bluntly, you have no general edit function for names of devices or macros--an incredible oversight in software engineering. So, if in setting up a device you name that device, say, "FM," that has specially programmed buttons on the Philips remote, as well as a few special macros, and later think to change that "FM" device name to "Tuner," since the device also has other bands, such as AM, Shortwave, etc., you're completely out of luck, unless you want to start from scratch with that device, recording all over again all customized buttons and all macros.

Curiously, you CAN change one set of names on the Philips unit, the names of various Favorites list. The edit function for the names of the Favorites lists is found on the main system menu, so the software engineers were not oblivious to nor incapable of writing a system-level edit function for names. Why they did not think to include an edit function for changing the names of devices and macros is an inexplicable oversight, and renders the Philips remote another step removed from a sense of being truly user friendly.

You also cannot change the ORDER of your list of devices once established. So, if you want to put "Cable" first at the top of the list because that one will be the most used, but you just happened to add that device in last when you initially were setting up the remote, you're out of luck.

(3) Favorites: CHANGING THE ORDER OF FAVORITES IS A PAIN. Your "Favorites" is your customized list of your favorite channels. Once the order is set, changes are possible, but extremely cumbersome. All you have is a basic "swap" feature: select one, then select the position you want that one in, which swaps the current occupier of that new position with the old position of the one you are moving. Thus, if you want to move #10 to #2, you simply are swapping the current channels that occupy #2 and #10. The only way to maintain the favorites list order is to "walk the ladder," that is, keep exchanging the channel you want to move up one position at a time until you arrive at the desired position. Much more user-friendly would have been an "insert" function (insert #10 before #2, simply pushing #2 and all following one slot down) rather than an "exchange" function (exchange #10 with #2). Very tedious.

(4) Stability: THE UNIT HAS NO PHYSICAL RESET BUTTON. This absence is important, because the system did freeze on me one time in the learning mode (macros). The screen froze, and no button gave any response. Not finding a reset button anywhere on the unit, and not finding any description in the manual what to do if the system froze, I panicked. I knew I could take out the batteries and force a restart, but in doing so, I thought I was going to loose everything, all device setups, all macros, etc. Finally, determining I had no choice, I took out and immediately put back in one of the three batteries. This action returned control of the unit. To my great relief, all previous settings were preserved. I just took a while to recover from the heart attack. I now worry about a system freeze that also looses all the data. Yikes!

(5) Interface. THE UNIT HAS NO EXTERNAL INTERFACE. This remote holds great promise and offers a robust feature set at a highly competitive price. This promising remote, however, has no USB port, no way to interface with the world outside. This lack of a USB port is quite sad. No port means no updates or bug fixes. Any software problems discovered never will be corrected. No port means no interface improvements. No important input from actual consumers in the field will ever be implemented. No port means no computer connectivity. Imagine being able to write macros on the computer and correct individual steps, or reorder steps, change timing, or edit device or macro names in a jiffy, or shift the order of devices or favorites just by a simple click and drag. Finally, no port means NO BACKUP OF THE DEVICE. Having already experienced a system freeze in one weekend of heavy use trying to program the macros, I now worry that this lack of backup may be a hidden Achilles Heel that will be heartbreak hotel if the device looses all its time-consuming settings suddenly.

Summary:

Pros:

(1) Neat, uncluttered, logical layout, easy to read

(2) Beautiful, bright, easy to read backlit display

(3) Favorites lists, icon based, with large selection

(4) Large database of device codes

(5) Easily customizable

(6) "KidSafe" feature

(7) "Punchthrough" feature

(8) Competitively priced, nothing with this feature set even close

(9) Multi-user customizable (everyone has their own favorites list--great!)

(10) One button programs can work multiple components, inputs, etc. with macros

Cons:

(1) Device codes for some HTIB units have to be finished manually

(2) Recording successful macros with more than a few steps or pauses most difficult

(3) Macros once recorded cannot be edited, not even names

(4) Internal timer for macros is inaccurate

(5) "Successful" IR input when writing macros not always successful

(6) Changing list order is impossible (device list) or tedious (favorites)

(7) Devices cannot be renamed

(8) No physical reset button for system freeze

(9) No external interface for updates (e.g., USB port)

(10) No computer connectivity, software interface

(11) "Main Key" buttons are not backlit

(12) Mute and Last buttons small and poorly placed

Conclusion:

I regret the days necessary to program the unit. I regret the lack of certain editing features. I regret the lack of an external interface, both for updates or software editing, or a reset key. However, the unit finally is programmed and running smoothly and dependably on an entire home theater system. The backlit screen is beautiful and the icons easily read and user friendly. My wife is on board and a happy camper. I cannot beat the price and feature set. I am keeping the remote. If the unit freezes up or fails somewhere out there in the future (hopefully not too soon!), I will look first at Philips, hoping that they will have a new and improved model that addresses my major complaints but still at a competitive price. I would conclude four stars in general and recommend the unit, especially keeping in mind the price point, but with great reservations about achieving successful macros if they have any sophistication at all and some frustrations about missing functions, layout, etc. You at least should try out the unit and see for yourself whether this universal remote will meet your own needs, expectations, and budget.

*******************

6 Month Update--December 22, 2008

All is well. No issues or problems. No system freezes. Changed batteries after four months. Remote retained all settings. Everyone can use the remote pretty much with just one of two explanations of the layout. Even my 84 year old mother-in-law operated the remote to access favorite TV shows during the day while visiting with us a week. The station icons were great for her to find channels. Nice. Very nice.

Some have complained the buttons running down the left and right sides of the screen for direct access of channels are too small. But then, some complained that the remote was too big! These type of ergonomic issues you will have to decide for yourself in actually handling the device yourself. Yes, the side buttons are small. All I can say is my severely arthritic mother-in-law had no problems with the buttons at all.

One note on batteries: the remote has no indicator of low charge. At first, I thought the remote was going bad on me. Buttons and macros began to malfunction. Then, I finally thought to try changing the battery, and problem was solved instantly. Thus, you need to know the low battery Indicators. They are: (1) buttons begin to respond erratically (mute does not mute this time, but next time does mute), and (2) macros respond erratically (sometimes running all the way to completion successfully, sometimes stopping in the middle of a multi-step procedure).

This is the first universal remote I ever have tried that did not cost an arm and a leg and actually works. I would continue to recommend that at least you should give the unit a try to see for yourself. The remote has a few ergonomic issues for some, has poor implementation of recording macros, and minor nit picking here or there, but, the bottom line is, this remote works, works well, and is a steal of a deal at the price.

*******************

1 Year Update--June 8, 2009

I just changed the batteries again, which reminded me to check in with an update to the review, since we are just about at the one-year mark. These batteries (standard Duracell Coppertop) went for 5 months and a week. Thus, the first two sets of batteries averaged 4.5 months. I would extrapolate from this sequence that you should plan on changing batteries about three times a year. For the bright backlit screen, this service is pretty good, actually. We use the remote a lot, so I would suppose this battery life might be considered average. All memory was retained during battery exchange.

The remote still works beautifully. No problems. Good buy. Would definitely buy again if unit needed replacing, unless an updated, more user-friendly model had come out. If you survive the initial programming hassle, you should have smooth sailing.

This is an excellent learning remote that comes under at least two brands: the Philips Prestigo SRU8010, and the X10 ICON Remote.

The capabilities are pretty much endless and initial set up is very fast. First of all, when you turn the remote on for the first time, it asks you what type of device do you want to set up, for example, TV. Then it asks you what brand. The top 8-10 TV brands pop up on the first page and if your TV is not there, then you can just scroll forward alphabetically until you find your brand. Then you select it. If the remote has, say, 7 different TV device codes (you know the kind that you normally find listed in a book that you have to type in one at a time to see if that code was correct), then you just hit the power button until your TV turns on (if it was off) or off (if it was on). Then it allows you to play with the remote's buttons in this mode before you make your final selection to make sure that device code is the most compatible with your TV. If it is not, then you can go back in to the previous screen and continue hitting the power button until you get another hit. Once you find the best code, then you save it and move on to the next device DVD, VCR, receiver, CD-player, etc. The thing is packed full of codes.

Then you can set up these two buttons for HIS and HERS channels. You can set up you favs and they all show up on the screen when you hit the HIS button. She sets up her FAVs under the HERS button and you can have a quick way to get to you favorite channel with the push of one button.

For me, the best part of this remote is the learning and macro capability. This means that if the devices that were set up above don't have all of the buttons from your other remote controls, then you can use your other remote to send a signal into the ICON remote and program that function to a particular button. In addition, if your TV requires you to hit the input (or source) button 5 times to change from TV to HDMI mode, you can add more inputs to the learned button to create the macro. For example, you can program buttons at the top of the remote which has a screen like a cell phone to learn a macro which will transmit the TV Input button 5 times by just pushing one button. Another great part of this is that you can call it whatever you like (i.e. TV input 5x). Being able to name it makes it great for your wife. My wife really enjoys using this remote now that it is totally customize for our viewing.

There is another feature that is especially fun called Punch Through. Simply put, you can manipulate this remote so that the volume up and down always controls the volume on your home receiver (or any other device that you choose) no matter what other source you have selected (i.e. CD, DVD, ...).

The few pitfalls of this otherwise completely awesome remote are no RF signal transmission. For those of you that use X10 light dimmers, appliance modules, and such to control things around your house will be sad to know that you will have to buy an X10 IR543 to be able to use this remote to control your X10 devices. The IR543 takes an IR (infrared) signal from this remote and sends it through your house wires without using the RF (radio frequency) controls. Next, it would be a beautiful thing to be able to save all of the information in the remote (device codes, punch through settings, learned keys and macros) to your computer. There have been instances when users have said that the remote has locked up during the learning/macro function and they lost all of their programmed information because the only way to get the remote out of the locked up state is to pull the batteries which clears all of the learned memory if the batteries are pulled during a "freeze" state. This would be much less of an issue if you could save your data to a computer and then be able to retrieve it if the remote locks up.

I have to say that I love this remote and think you, too, will love it if you get one and work through the learning curve read the manual because the remote is not intuitive at first, but once you are up to speed it is a breeze.

Enjoy!

Buy Philips Prestigo SRU8010 Icon Universal Remote Control Now

I just got mu SRU8010 last week and I love it. I have been shopping around for a while, and most of the choices either seemed too expensive (logitech) or too cheesy. Finally, I stumbled upon this remote. I had 8 remotes that I needed to get rid off.

1. Sony WEGA 42'' HDTV

2. Toshiba DVD recorder

3. Toshiba DVD player

4. Boston Acoustics Audio reciever

5. Play station 3 (with Nyko IR remote control)

6. Dish Network Reciever

7. Monoprice HDMI 4x1 switch

8. JVC VCR

I was able to program 5 of the 8 items above straight out of the box and the setup took less than 10 mins.

My audio reciever, HDMI switch and PS3 remote had to be individually programmed (yes, Nyko IR remote does let you use PS3 player as your blueray disc player and can be controlled via universal remote, love this). The remote to remote programming feature made it a breeze, all though renaming items from standard names in the learning mode is down right ugly.

Pros:

Neat design, large buttons. easy interface, easy programming.

Cons:

Slightly heavy (I guess all universal remotes are). Renaming units in the learn mode is down right ugly (need to use work around to get correct namings, but thankfully this is a one time job).

Overall:

Excellent value for the money and great prodcut. Will recommend to anyone looking for a universal remote.

Read Best Reviews of Philips Prestigo SRU8010 Icon Universal Remote Control Here

This is one fine remote and at a reasonable price. I love the logo based favorites channel list which will display as many as two hundred icons (two pages per user and ten users). If that's not enough you may custom label the on-screen titles for both the favorites list or for custom device commands to exactly match your original remote. The color screen is very bright and crystal clear sweet. :) I haven't yet set up any macro's but reading the short manual it should be easy to create all I will ever need.

All hard buttons and even the screen buttons can be "learned" (I didn't use any of the built in codes) from the original device remote. I completely cloned my Denon 3808CI receiver remote in about ten minutes. The remote has punch through however I fine it easier to simply "learn" the volume up/down (for my receiver) for all devices and/or any other commands that apply across several devices being used. Super simple to set up and customize this is a great remote.

The only cons I could fine are it would have been nice if Philips had designed the remote to turn on when picked up (you have to press any button to turn the display on), and the placement of the 'Mute" button should have been placed closer to the middle of the remote. I can't comment on battery life or longevity of the remote as I have only had it for a week.

This is what I control with this remote.

Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player:

Pioneer Elite Pro 150FD plasma HDTV:

Denon AVR-3808CI A/V receiver:

Dish Network DVR:

Sony 400 DVD Mega-Changer:

Five port HDMI switch:

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Great features and price.

We have used it for over 5 months without having to change batteries although it is in use everyday. We love it and ALL our other remotes have been put away.

The Phillips remote has much more punch through than any of the original remotes. In other words you don't need to aim it very precisely at your home theater components.

The well lit screen guides you through a very easy setup procedure for the equipment. It will help you find the codes that turn equipment on/off and let you test that it works.

It took no time to set up my TV, Cable box, Audio, DVD and VCR.

However very few features worked for our brand new Motorola/Comcast cable box but it was easily solved by the lean feature for the buttons* on the Phillips remote.

So don't worry if it doesn't have codes for existing or future equipment. Also I found that it may be faster to teach it new tricks using an old remote than to search for a code. You can even teach it to operate the motorized blinds in your home theater and the thermostat for the air conditioner (provided they already come with IR remotes).

My overall objective was to get rid of all the original remotes and hopefully be able to turn all the relevant equipment on/off using one button. The first part of the objective was accomplished using the learn feature for each button combined with the easy macro leaning feature. You may want to write the commands down before you start recording the macros. See example below.**

ON/OFF ISSUE RELATED TO ONKYO AUDIO RECEIVER

Most users will not have a problem getting everything to work using the red ON/OFF power button however the remote for my Onkyo audio receiver has an ON button and an OFF/Standby button. So it was necessary to program one button to turn the equipment on and one to turn it off. The big ENTER button on the Phillips made it easy to overcome this obstacle related to the Onkyo audio receiver/amplifier.

The net net solution for this Onkyo on/off issue was to set the remote up for 3 scenarios.

* Watch TV/Cable

* Watch DVDs

* Watch VHS videos.

Therefore I have instructed the family members that if they watch TV/Cable (or DVD, VHS) to use the red button to turn the entire system (all components) off .

Thereafter select DVD or VHS from the remote and press the Enter button (this will turn all relevant equipment on). This will prevent the typical (out of sync) scenario where some equipment turns on while other equipment turns off. It also ensures that the audio receiver is switching to the right input channel.

END OF ONKYO RELATED ISSUE (very few users will encounter this issue which should not be blamed on the Phillips remote)

The Phillips unit allowed me to enter ALL the features of the original remotes. The unit can do what you want it to do and for $65 it's a bargain.

Some reviewers have complained that it is too heavy neither my wife nor I think so. It has a robust feel and the large buttons are easy to see and operate. Also the well lit display is awesome.

* You simply teach the Phillips remote the buttons that don't work by pointing the original remote toward the back end of the Phillips remote while in learn mode. The procedure is fast and very simple. (I ended up teaching it number buttons, arrow buttons etc in order to make the cable box channels and Guide navigation buttons work.)

Another VERY NICE feature lets you type labels for any kind of function available on your original remote (such as "Tape Tracking" or what ever you want) next to the 10 side buttons located on each side of the display (you can enter up to 26 custom features/commands for EACH device such as TV, DVD, VCR etc.). It makes it much easier to read a text string on the well lit display than trying to figure out all the symbols on the original remotes.

** Examples of Macros (make a list of the steps before you start recording)

TV selected on the remote

The ENTER BUTTON is used to turn all necessary components on in order to watch TV

Macro programmed into the ENTER button:

* Turn TV on

* Turn Onkyo Audio amplifier on

* Turn Cable box on

* Switch Onkyo to V2 input

The RED OFF-BUTTON is used to turn all components off

Macro programmed into the OFF button:

* Turn TV off

* Turn Onkyo Audio amplifier off

* Turn Cable box off

DVD selected on the remote

The ENTER BUTTON is used to turn all necessary components on in order to watch DVD

Macro programmed into the ENTER button:

* Turn TV on

* Turn Onkyo Audio amplifier on

* Turn DVD player on

* Switch Onkyo to DVD input

The RED OFF-BUTTON is used to turn all components off

Macro programmed into the OFF button:

* Turn TV off

* Switch Onkyo to V2 input

* Turn Onkyo Audio amplifier off

* Turn DVD player off

VCR selected on the remote

The ENTER BUTTON is used to turn all necessary components on in order to watch VCR

Macro programmed into the ENTER button:

* Turn TV on

* Turn Onkyo Audio amplifier on

* Turn VCR on

* Switch Onkyo to V1 input

The RED OFF-BUTTON is used to turn all components off

Macro programmed into the OFF button:

* Turn TV off

* Switch Onkyo to V2 input

* Turn Onkyo Audio amplifier off

* Turn VCR off

Have fun!!!

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