VideoSecu 4 Pack 100ft Feet Video Audio Power Cables Security Camera DVR Wire BNC RCA Cord with Bon

a great article, me to run very well, it is a product that meets the needs for which it was acquired, and does not disappoint me, complying with each and every one of my needs.

Unpacking is nightmare! Buy a cord that is wound up in a circle. Instant tangle right out of the package

Buy VideoSecu 4 Pack 100ft Feet Video Audio Power Cables Security Camera DVR Wire BNC RCA Cord with Bon Now

Micca MPLAY-HD Net 1080p Full-HD Digital Media Player and Network Streamer With UPnP Client and Int

More than I expected, for the price this is a great product, it has played every format I have in my external 500GB HDD with great video and sound quality.

These are the Pros I want to highlight:

1.Video & sound quality, this streamer supports up to 1080p and do it great, using HDMI cable the sound's great too.

2.Video modes, I like to watch my movies in full screen mode even if they come in 4:3 or 16:9, this device supports many video modes like: movie mode, subtitle mode, full screen mode, wide screen mode, etc, so no matter how is your movie formatted, you can always get your HDTV screen full.

3.Subtitles, I live in Costa Rica and although I'm doing OK with English I really like foreign films, especially oriental, and this device has no problems with subtitles, you can change position, size and even color.

4.Menu, it comes with a nice menu (isn't the PS3 menu, but come on), and I think the response time and reception from the remote is good, you don't need to be right in front of the device to make it work

5.Additional features, I just wanted a media streamer for the movies and videos in my HDD, however this device has some more features like Internet Radio, Picasa and Flickr access, UPnP streaming from PCs on your LAN, photo and audio files streaming, All of them works OK

And these are the Cons I found:

1.This device can read DVD .ISO images and load the entire menu on your screen, this is a really cool feature and it works most of the time, however I've had issues with some particular images, sometimes I can't enter to all the features on the menu, and sometimes it won't read the file at all, I don't know if there is some particular reason for that, maybe the software you use to make the image or something.

2.You must be careful when watching a movie to avoid touch the Menu of any other button on the remote that take you out of the movie because I haven't found any way to come back again to the point I was watching.

3.Don't lose the remote since there's no way to use the device without it.

Overall I really like this device, it's very functional, cheap and has cool features, I recommend this one if you're looking for something that do the job really well and is not so expensive.

This isn't a terrible product but if you have requirements such as mine, it plain sucks.

The device itself is nice.

The GUI is easy to navigate and is visually appealing enough.

Remote is nice too but again limited in its function(no skip forward, or file info)

It will play virtually any kind of mp4, avi, mkv you name it. Internet radio features work fine. Playback/pause/ff/rew work great.

Firmware upgrade was a snap. Although I'm not sure what it accomplished as nothing really changed with functionality.

Here are the cons: UPNP is the only method of streaming your videos over a network. This is a disaster as UPNP has proven to be mediocre when it comes to streaming hd video on these players and you have to mess with your windows library (yuck!)

There is no way to discover shared folders as they have to be added to your windows library for upnp to stream the content. This is fine except the quality is poor compared to open source folder sharing. A Huge difference in playback from usb drives. Lots of skipping/stuttering when streaming over a network in 1080p or even 720p but nearly flawless with media from a external usb disk or flash drive. And the system will not show you simple file attributes like size or resolution which is always good. No slo-mo.

As a simple media player for use with external devices and flash drives its awesome. As a network media player it fails hands down.

Buy Micca MPLAY-HD Net 1080p Full-HD Digital Media Player and Network Streamer With UPnP Client and Int Now

Hands down this Micca MPLAY-HD Net has been the perfect addition to our home! From being able to play everything we have asked it to do and even more. Had a WD HD TV player and this blows it away when compared to what it can do and it actually comes with a FULL sized remote and many cool features. Received this item 3 days earlier than expected date!! YEAH! Easy to hook up and update the firmware (you have to D/L the firmware from Micca online and use a USB drive)Has media slot for card reader and that is so cool when wanting to see on your TV photos you just took. HDMI hookup and user controls were awesome! Clarity, ease of use and simple straight forward menu choices makes it so much easier to understand and find what you wan to view or listen to. Wow.. tried the internet radio features and this is outstanding! Hooked up to 2 usb drive (1TB and 2TB) and had no problems in loading and finding all connected devices. Playback was so clear we thought we had a new TV! You can also copy and delete files from the drives too! That is amazing! (wish it could read PDF files... maybe in a future firmware update.. we hope!) So much more to try out.. but as of now.. this totally is exactly what we wanted and more! Yes, we would totally recommend this to family and friends. (even those who aren't electronically inclined or device impaired!)

Read Best Reviews of Micca MPLAY-HD Net 1080p Full-HD Digital Media Player and Network Streamer With UPnP Client and Int Here

So far it's run all my HD and AVI files. Easy to use. The only downside, as some others have said is that the remote control is a little weak and you have to point directly at the box. Very happy with this device.

Want Micca MPLAY-HD Net 1080p Full-HD Digital Media Player and Network Streamer With UPnP Client and Int Discount?

If you are like me, you may have thought this version of The MPlay could stream wirelessly. It can not... Well, not as of yet. There is an Icon that's on the set-up screen for wireless adaptor, but if you attach one it will show, "Unknown Device." This is a big minus for this device, and Micca on their homepage,in their mannual, and on blogs have stated that they "may" make one which works with The MPlay, but as of now, there is none available for it. Some of these blogs and discussions go back almost 2yrs.;so maybe they don't plan on making one compatable with this device. I just thought you might like to know that if you are thinking of purchasing this device, you will have to wire it up via ethernet cable to your router to get it onto your network, which may steer many customers elsewhere. At the time of this review, The Net version is $5.00 more than The regular MPlay-HD... so dicide for yourself if it is worth waiting another year for them to make a WiFi dongle for this device or another reviewer finds a dongle compatible with this version of the product. Micca does make a dongle for its EP series media players, but it will not work on this version, according to reviewers. Patriot makes a dongle for their media player box. and there is one commonly used by WDTV Media Box users,but made by a Diff. company(AirLink 101).There is also a plethera of non-branded WiFi adaptors. One of these options may work,but I don't know for sure. Another obstical may be, it needs a firmware update to use this function. I have ordered a few nonbranded (cheap)adaptors to test out. I will repost if I find one that works. Right now, don't buy this product,unless you don't mind tethering it up to a long messy ethernet cable to use any of its network functions, such as facebook, internet radio etc. UPDATE: Micca Dist. sent me an email stating that the processor chip in this model is not powerful enough for WiFi. So there you have it. If you need a model that streams wirelessly on your network, you need to step up to The Micca EP line or get The Patriot Box Off., or WDTV Plus or Non Plus.

iriver PMP-140 Portable Media Player (40 GB)

• Plays digital music and video files, including WMV, MP3, WMA, DivX (AVI), BMP, and JPEG
• 40 GB storage total storage capacity--up to 160 hours of video, 1,200 hours of music
• 3.5-inch color TFT LCD
• USB 2.0 support, audio inputs and audio/video outputs, built-in FM tuner and voice recorder
• Includes rechargeable lithium-ion battery; up to 16 hours (audio only) and up to 5 hours (audio/video)

I got this for xmas, and despite being 26, i play with it everyday like a child with their favorite toy.

I'll try to really cover the points that i was concerned about, as the general stuff such is pretty well explained in the description.

Size:

Yes it's a bit bigger then the ipod or the music only irivers, but it's still smaller then a cd player, and is about the same size as the new gameboy DS. So size isn't really an issue for me, and with having big hands (yes i like the original xbox controllers!!) it's a great fit.

Construction:

Feels very solid, I don't have any fear of breaking it if i drop it, unless i'm throwing it around. The usb port door is likely the only thing that could break on it easily, but i'm always gentle with things that cost a lot of money, so again not an issue with me.

Button layout and use: So this is the exact opposite of ipod. The controls are unique and this is one of the few times that i've had to read the manual to figure some things out, but even if you're confused, there's a help button that you can hit at anytime to give you the hints you need with the buttons. Took me about a full day of messing around with it before i became comfortable and could navigate with no problems.

Screen: the picture on this is absolutely amazing, really impressed with the colors and the contrast between darks on such a small screen. Bright colors are bright, dark are dark, and there is little bleeding that i've been able to notice so far with the videos that i've put on it. Very very happy with the screen. Viewing angle isn't too shabby either, so if you're sharing, you don't need to sit on each other's lap to both watch.

Software: Besides the internet connection that you have to have, didn't realize it at the time, and had to use dial up when i tried to install, zzzzzz) and make sure you have direct x installed, the software is great, and easy to use. I've put an entire season of one of my fav tv shows on it using the provided software, and it works like a charm. For all you replay tv owners, this is a dream, record to your pc, then put on your iriver, any show you missed you can now watch on your way to work, school, whatever.

Overall, i am thrilled with this gadget, i think they could use a solid firmware update to address the little things, like spelling tunner right) and better recognition with the .ogg files (had a little hitch with that earlier), but i can find issues with anything if i look long enough.

IRIVER if you're reading this... sell a remote for this, i'd be nice to be able to keep this in the case all the time that i'm just listening to music.

IF you have the cash, and want to buy something other then ipod (boo mac/apple) that gives you a huge amount of flexibility for music, photos, radio and movies, this is the toy for you.

Hope this helps!!

Buy iriver PMP-140 Portable Media Player (40 GB) Now

I was looking for a player that could play my huge library of .wmv format TV shows (I have 200GB of them) and according to the Amazon review here I would have been mislead into buying this product.

It's NOT a .wmv player.

If you want that, go for the iRiver PMC-120, which is a Portable Media Center device and natively supports .wmv files.

Unfortunately the PMC has much less useful functionality than the awesome PMP model.

Looks like iRiver don't make the perfect player for ME yet. I'd like a PMP-80 or PMP-120 that plays .wmv files without needing to convert them first.

Read Best Reviews of iriver PMP-140 Portable Media Player (40 GB) Here

I have had my PMP 140 for around 15 days. In this review I will briefly describe the pros and cons of this device

Pros: this device is all you need, with a 40 GB storage capacity, you can store 160 hours of full length movies, 1200 hours of songs, and thousands of pictures. It can record directly from any source with a headphone jack, it has an integrated voice recorder, it has a FM tuner, and it even has a stand. The screen is 3.5 inches, so it is pretty decent. But what if you want a big screen? No problem, you can easily connect it to a TV or monitor and it shows up there! This pack even comes with a case. All together, the sound is high quality and the graphics are also good.

Cons: This device does take a moment to turn on (around 15 seconds) but what do you expect when you have thousands of songs, pictures, and hours of movies! It takes a little while to get used to the navigation of this machine, but when you do learn it, it is very easy to navigate. It even has help button that tells specifically what each button does at that time. The actual speaker on the device is mediocre, but the earphones are very high quality. In order to put full length movies, you must get a ripper, which converts videos to different files compatible with the PMP 140. The rippers cost around $30.00-$40.00. Another con is it just barely fits in your pocket. I would not recommend you use this device while jogging, or running. No, this device would be best used on the road. The bad part about using this on the road is the battery life is not good. I would suggest, if using this device on the road, you get a car adapter. (the pack does not come with one.)

Overall, buy this device! It is very high quality. I would say that the cheapest place to get this would be on ebay.com. I got my PMP 140 for $320.00.

Want iriver PMP-140 Portable Media Player (40 GB) Discount?

This is a good product, it works well and has the advantage over the iPod of letting you dump the music files right into the device folder without using iTunes. It has a great screen that is larger than the Photo iPod and runs .avi videos well. I have over 200 music CDs, hundreds of photos and I'm backing up my laptop hard disk to it. However, it is clumsy with the user interface but I hope iRiver will have an operating system upgrade soon to fix the problem. Then I will rate it Very Good.

Wow I just love this new media player plays songs at Top Level quality sound, crystal clear picture too nice everything! It's got TONS of space 40GB of disk space which is enough to watch movies, thousands of songs, and is portable to take with you anywhere. Easy to connect to the computer as well, simple USB cord. Just plug it in and go.

I think what I like about this the most is just how simple it is to use, I thought it would be difficult, but it's very easy -you can take songs from your home computer and just transfer it to the media player with a touch of a button and you can listen to songs or watch videos or store pictures, etc.

This is an awesome buy and I'd recommend it to anyone -it looks very sharp and has excellent quality sound and picture.

A very satisfied customer

TASCAM CDA750 Recording Studio Equipment

• RCA unbalanced and XLR balanced I/O
• Common outputs which can be selected sources as Tape or Auto or Mix
• Power on play (CD and Tape), Power on record (Tape only)
• 3U rack mountable
• RTZ and Dolby B cassette

The tape player failed shortly after purchase and had to be returned to repair center in California. I paid shipping and "handling charge" about $80. The unit is made of fragile plastic and is not really "well made." The warranty is pathetic and I do not recommend this unit.

Save 40% Off

Canon FS-CF Portable Compact Flash DTE Recorder, HD Video Recording for Canon HDV and Mini-DV Camco

• Solid State Acquisition to Editing in One Step: By recording to solid state Compact Flash cards, the Focus FS-CF can be used in extreme conditions, including high-shock and high-altitude environments.
• The Direct To Edit Advantage: With the FS-CF Portable Compact Flash DTE Recorder, you will go from acquisition to editing with unparalleled speed, efficiency and reliability.
• Industry Standard File Format Support: The Focus FS-CF brings the most popular DTE file formats to solid state recording. When used with 25Mb/s HDV cameras, the FS-H200 supports QuickTime 1080i50/60 and 720p25/30 recording for Final Cut Pro use as well as M2T 720p/1080i recording.
• Removable Compact Flash Slot: The FS-CF features a CF card slot on its side for insertion of standard Type 1, UDMA, 30MB/s minimum Compact Flash Cards (16GB min.). Compact Flash cards feature a fast interface and very high capacities (currently up to 64GB) at low cost.
• Native QuickTime HDV Support: With the FS-CF, you can record 1080i 50/60 or 720p 30 clips as native QuickTime HDV. The FS-H200 extracts and decodes the audio from the incoming HDV stream, combines it with video stream and wraps is as a QuickTime HDV file.

I love this device. I can now use my Canon XH A1 without tape. In fact, I can even use the record start/stop on the camera and this device detects the presses. My only complaint is that the controls are hard to use if you want to change settings or to delete a clip but I don't do that very often. The record start/stop/pause is what matters most and these functions can be controlled from the device also.

I have been able to edit the videos on Premiere and also play them unedited on Windows.

Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)

• Multiple playable disc types
• Embedded content provides including Netflix and Pandora
• Compact design
• Region: Blu-ray: A, DVD: 1

I was finally forced to shop around for a blu-ray player when both of my older upscaling dvd players recently stopped playing dvd's reliably. After checking around EVERYWHERE, researching pricing, features, and customer satisfaction for under-$90 blu-ray players, I found this model here on Amazon (sold by Paul's Electronics in MA and Fulfilled By Amazon) for around $75.

First, it is important for all potential buyers to know that this Region 1 DVD/Region A Blu-Ray player has only an HDMI output connector; it does NOT have any component or analog composite output connectors. However, as all high definition televisions have HDMI input connectors (which "carry" both the video and audio signals together via one HDMI cable connection) this should not be a problem.

Like all HDMI-connected Blu-Ray players these days, video and audio quality is excellent, including its implementation of relatively newer HDMI a/v technologies like TrueHD and HDMI Deep Color. Upscaling of older dvd's, and automatic detection and correct display of all discs' aspect ratios and resolution output is equally excellent (actually, impressively so). Loading speed of Blu-Ray discs is decent for a Blu-Ray player of this price (Blu-Ray discs typically take *much* more time to load than do standard dvd's, regardless of brand of player). Internet connection (via wired Ethernet), data retrieval, and direct-to-player firmware updating is all very quick, easy and trouble-free.

As with almost ALL relatively inexpensive (under $150) Blu-Ray disc players, this one does NOT "auto-resume" playback of *standard* dvd's from where you last left off watching them after removing and later re-inserting them into the player (whether or not a Blu-Ray player will perform such "auto-resume" functionality with a *Blu-Ray* disc is in fact dependent on whether or not that particular Blu-Ray disc was manufactured to include that feature).

The player's currently-available sources of online streaming media are relatively limited, but its implementation of VuDu is TRULY excellent; even with a download Internet speed of less than 2 mbps/sec. you are likely to be able to consistently view a VuDu 720p HD stream without buffer interruptions (provided you connect the unit to preferably a 100-base T Ethernet router jack, using at least a high quality Cat 5e if not Cat 6 cable); if you connect it this way with an Internet speed of at least 2.9 mbps you'll likely be able to stream full VuDu 1080p (at least to begin with, just ignore the VuDu app's lower "recommended" video quality level VuDu allows you to sample the first two minutes of most videos at any of the resolution levels available for that video before committing to renting or buying the complete program).

Many streaming devices have idiosyncrasies regarding how they function with the various streaming services that come with them, and this Blu-Ray player has two such idiosyncrasies:

1) Regarding VuDu While VuDu allows all consumers to browse its catalog via a device's VuDu app, in order to actually rent or purchase a video you must go online to create a VuDu account and store credit card information to which on-demand charges (from a device's app) will be posted. After you've created your online VuDu account and stored your credit card info there, if you go into this player's VuDu app and check your account info (from within the app) you will see the app stating that you have a credit card stored online but that the card has "expired" and that you must go online to update your credit card info even though the credit card that you've stored in your VuDu account has *not* necessarily expired. This is a "bug" known to VuDu but it is purely cosmetic and has no effect whatsoever on the functionality of the VuDu service and app as long as the credit card data that you've stored in your online VuDu account is current and otherwise valid, the app will let you proceed with renting, purchasing and viewing videos.

2) Regarding NETFLIX If you set this player to *automatically* check for its own firmware updates (through its Ethernet connection), at some point the player will begin to "forget" your Netflix account login information and require you to re-enter the information. This is a "bug" known to Samsung; the only known "work-around" is to disable the player's automatic checking for firmware updates (within the player's Settings menu system: "Settings" -> "Support" -> "Software Upgrade"), thus requiring you to perform such checks *manually* (which you also do within the same Settings menu).

Lastly, Samsung now strongly recommends that consumers of this player do a "hard re-set" immediately following EVERY completed firmware update. This is accomplished by turning the player on, making sure that there isn't a disc in the player, turning your tv on such that you can see the player's "home" screen, and then pressing and holding in the "Play" button THAT'S ON THE FRONT PANEL OF THE PLAYER (*NOT* the Play button on the remote control) for about 8 SECONDS until you see the message that the player's resetting itself to factory default settings. Unfortunately, this will then require that you once again manually reset most of the player's settings to those which you need and/or desire.

NOTE: If you do a "soft" system reset ("Settings"-> "Support" -> "Reset", which leaves certain settings unchanged) you will be asked for a PIN. Using the number buttons on the player remote enter whatever Security PIN you may have previously set; if you have not set one, enter 0000.

NONE OF THE ABOVE IS STATED IN THE CURRENT VERSION OF THE PLAYER'S USER MANUAL THAT IS INCLUDED IN THE UNIT'S BOX, and it's *VERY* important that you register your product with Samsung online so that they can email you with important information regarding the product's firmware, features, and operational procedure updates.

So far I've only had the player for about a month, but I'm already convinced that in spite of these idiosyncrasies I bought the best under-$80 (delivered) blu-ray player currently available.

12/24/2012 I'm still extremely happy with this purchase; it still functions as well as it did when I first bought it over 7 months ago. Additionally, Samsung has been very good at notifying registered owners via email of when its streaming video services may be temporarily interrupted due to scheduled system maintenance. However, the last firmware update for this particular model was issued by Samsung a few months ago and I'm not expecting the company to offer very many (if any at all) additional firmware updates for it as they now seem to be concentrating their Blu-Ray player update efforts pretty much entirely on their newer and somewhat more expensive "Smart Hub" streaming services models.

Buy Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Now

The player played videos intermittently at first, I was ready to return it. Then my husband (being the techinician that he is) thought that a firmware update might fix the problem. So we connected the player to the internet and downloaded the latest firmware and that fixed the problem. We didn't encounter any problems anymore when playing DVDs. Fair price for a neat product!

Read Best Reviews of Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Here

This Blu Ray player the (BD-E5300) is perfect for me! I don't stream movies via the internet (Netflix, Vudu, etc...) so I can't comment on how well is streams or if it freezes or not. I just use the player for my currect collection of DVD's and Blu Rays and let me say it plays them all just fine. The Blu Ray player upscales so good that it makes my DVD's almost look like Blu Ray discs. I also like the remote because it has an eject button and the remote can control your TV's volume and source. There is nothing wrong with this Blu-Ray player, it's pretty basic and that's all I need to play my DVD's and Blu Ray discs. Oh yeah, it has the "full screen" mode too, so just incase you have some movies that won't fit your screen, no worries this Blu Ray players takes care of that with that "full screen" mode option on the remote. No negatives about this player. I love it!!

Want Samsung BD-E5300 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Discount?

My husband and are completely disappointed with Samsung and this Blu-ray player. We purchased this in August and have literally thrown it in the trash in less than 6 months. The Blu-ray portion stopped working just a few months after purchase. We spent hours trouble-shooting from updating the software, checking the connections, etc. We then called customer support who had us do everything we spent hours doing the day before with no luck. They said they would have a tech call us back...no one called. My husband then put in for a service request. We were then told that we had to go through the trouble shooting online site AGAIN. Then we were told we could ship it to them (which would cost nearly $20 out of out pocket) and if they "do not find anything wrong", Samsung then charges $55. Unfortunately we were already outside of our Amazon warrenty and Samsung was worthless to deal with. My husband and I will no longer be buying anything Samsung after the horrible service we received.

DO NOT BUY!!! We literally threw it away!

If you're looking for a BluRay player, and don't need 3D capabilities or a web browser, then this just might be the best buy available. As another reviewer has observed, it's the best player in this price range. I'm giving it 5* because picking some nits for something this good at this price just seems unreasonable.

I've been very pleased with my Samsung TVs and BD players, they have proved to be excellent in video and sound quality (which to me is 90% of the evaluation). I bought this one to replace an older Sony BD player that was getting cranky with newer disks (even after updating). With this unit after I plugged in HDMI, ethernet cable, and power, it automatically turned itself (& the tv) on, and presented a simple configuration screen, and followed with an online update. After that, it was a pleasure to sit back and enjoy a movie.

I cannot honestly tell you that the picture from this was better than the one from my 2 year old Samsung BD-C6500 player, If there were any differences, they didn't jump out at me. The box itself is smaller and lighter, and instead of LED controls, this one has little buttons. Although those LED controls are cool-looking, I have to admit that these clunky buttons are a lot easier to find and use. The remote is smaller as well, and comes with Netflix & Pandora buttons (I don't like that, but others might).

I didn't test the streaming features, and probably never will, since my TV has streaming capability as well, and I tend not to use streaming that much.

I like the way the Samsung BD players integrate with the Samsung TVs, automatically turning on/off, and setting the optimal picture settings. I wouldn't buy them just for that, but it's a nice plus.

Zoom H2n H2 n Deluxe Digital Recorder System with Accessory Pack, Soni-Case, 16GBSD, HP10 Headphone

• Includes Zoom H2n as Packaged by Zoom PLUS:
• APH2N Accessory Kit for Zoom H2N plus 6 foot Stereo Mini Cables
• Soft SoniCase Carrying Bag for Travel/Storage and Protection
• Samson HP-10 Heaphones For Monitoring and Playback
• (4) Energizer Lithium-Ion 8x Batteries for Long Recording Sessions

Very good value and a convenient way to get the essential stuff. The remote is fantastic!!!! Earphones are what you'd expect for the next-to-nothing price, so you may want something better. The bag is a generic lap-top bag that requires creativity with it's non-specific design. But hey, did I mention it's inexpensive?

Buy Zoom H2n H2 n Deluxe Digital Recorder System with Accessory Pack, Soni-Case, 16GBSD, HP10 Headphone Now

Records awesome clear sound, only downfall is indeed the lack of soundproofing the case, so if you are handling the device while recording you need to be very carefull not to rub hands on the case, it makes very unpleasant noise on recording, but for using with stand or mounted as a boom is great!

Read Best Reviews of Zoom H2n H2 n Deluxe Digital Recorder System with Accessory Pack, Soni-Case, 16GBSD, HP10 Headphone Here

I needed an easy way to record music in different rooms of our music building (other than music hall which is setup for recording). This records to a WAV file in stereo, surround, and other mic positions thus making it easy to dump to the computer and edit with your favorite software before burning to CD. There are some editing options on the unit itself like Normalizing which is very cool for digital recording. I bought a tall boom stand and an adaptor for the boom stand that converts threads it to a camera mount (http://www.amazon.com/CM01-Camera-Digital-Recorder-Adapter/dp/B001GWCC4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333374507&sr=8-1)...which fits the bottom of this mic. One can adjust the input levels with the volume wheel and watch the meters grow and shrink so as not to go over zero DB while recording. For me the meter is on the correct side of the unit because I am recording other people/groups. If you buy this to record yourself this could be a problem because there would be no way to see your levels as you record...you would have to experiment with a few takes and play it back to make sure it is loud enough or that you don't distort by going too loud. For the price this is a great, simple way to record. I recommend.

NEW CPD538 16 Channels DVR with no hard drive 480FPS Network viewing and control, remote control, N

The device is simple and easy to use

recording automatically when you connect the camera to the device

Setting the device is easy and clear

According to my vision of the humble device easy to use and appropriate comparison value

Save 71% Off

Maxell 16x 4.7 GB DVD-R Spindle 50 Discs

I bought this 50-pack of Maxell 8X DVD-R's because I was impressed with the product description, which said that Maxell used high-quality "metal azo dye." I discovered, however, that, while these DVD's seem to work OK for data-storage purposes, they do not perform as well as I was hoping when used to create video DVDs.

For whatever reason, it is possible to successfully burn and verify a video DVD that is perfectly readable and yet "skips" on some (or most) DVD players. These semi-random glitches seem to occur most often at the outer edge of the disc, and hence are usually noticed at the end of a long movie that fills the entire DVD. And yet the recorded DVD is perfectly readable in the sense that you can use it to produce a flawless ISO image on your hard drive: If you watch the movie from the image rather than the source disc, the movie will run smoothly from beginning to end, without any skipping.

Before I bought these Maxell DVD-R's form Amazon.com, I was using a cheap brand that I bought at Wal-Mart. These discs would exhibit this "skipping" problem about 20% of the time. I was hoping that the Maxell DVD-R's would work close to 100% of the time.

On the contrary, I found that they exhibited the glitches consistently on at least one of three DVD drives the very same NEC ND-3520A drive that I used to burn the discs. When recorded at 8X speed, the DVDs skipped at the end (outer edge of the disc) on the NEC drive and at both the middle and the end on my PlayStation2. When recorded at 2X speed, they worked fine on my PlayStation2 but, surprisingly, still skipped at the end on the NEC drive used to record them. A standalone Sylvania DVD player was able to play any disc I threw at it without skipping, whether the disc was recorded at 2X or 8X.

I have since bought some Maxell DVD+R's from a local store, and they have been working great for me so far. I don't know exactly why these Maxell DVD's are superior to the ones I purchased from Amazon.com. Perhaps because they are the "+" type rather than the "-" type, or because they have a different manufacturer: I've noticed that, whereas the Maxell DVD-R's I bought from Amazon.com had a "Ritek" manufacturer ID, the DVD+R's have a "Maxell" manufacturer ID. (The manufacturer ID is pre-recorded on the media and tells you who actually made the disc; this will not necessarily be the same as the brand name. Most burning software will allow you to view the MID via a "disc information" option.)

Another anomaly that I've noticed is that, even though the discs appear to be silver or white in the picture at the top of this page, the discs that I actually received in the mail from Amazon.com were gold on top. Incidentally, the Maxell DVD+R's I bought from the local store were silver-topped, like the ones in the picture. (Maybe it's just a glare in the picture?)

The bottom line is that these Maxell DVD-R's will work for you if your intention is to create Data DVDs. (I'm still using the ones I have left over to store data.) But if your intention is to create Video DVDs, my advice is to avoid spending too much money on a gazillion-pack of a particular type of DVD media before you've tested a few of them on the DVD player that you want to use to play your recorded DVDs. Remember that it will not do to check just the beginning of the DVD, because the glitches tend to happen near the outer edge. Instead, try using all of the available space on the disc, so that it records all the way to the outer edge, and then watch the last 5 or 10 minutes to see if there are any glitches.

Every one of the discs burned properly in my DVD burner in the computer as well as in 3 DVD recorders. The recorders are all the same model, Panasonic DMR-ES10. The burner is a Samsung TS-H552U. I would buy these again if the price remains low enough. I use these at work and at home.

Buy Maxell 16x 4.7 GB DVD-R Spindle 50 Discs Now

Unfortunately, all DVD media don't perform the same. And to make matters worse, companies like Maxell often source from multiple suppliers. In the battle to determine drive/media/player compatibility, Videohelp.com has set up a forum to track user experience, http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia.

Searching for Maxell DVD-R 8X, Maxell media with media code 'MXL RG03' has an xlnt rating. However, Maxell media code 'RitekG05' is mixed. This helps explain B. Mayfield's situation.

Good luck with your own search.

Read Best Reviews of Maxell 16x 4.7 GB DVD-R Spindle 50 Discs Here

Excellent quality and so easy to use in my Panasonic DVD Recorder. Will continue to buy this brand since it works so well and I've been told that not all blank dvd-r's and dvd+r's work in certain brands of recorders.

Want Maxell 16x 4.7 GB DVD-R Spindle 50 Discs Discount?

I have not had a bad burn of the 150 Ive used to burn vhs movies to dvd, dvd to dvd, and tv to dvd on my jvc dr-m100. Anyone complaining about these discs is having a problem with some other component of their burning system.

Save 32% Off

VideoSecu Outdoor Day Night Security Camera Infrared Weatherproof CCTV Home 1/3" CCD 420 TV Lines 2

This little camera is very well built with an alumimum body and sliding sun shield. Please note that the camera bracket that I received is not the one pictured on Amazon. The good news is that it is smaller, the same color as the camera and may be metal, just not sure. I really think they have upgraded this part of the camera. Nice! This camera is about half the length of two other cameras that I just recently purchased. SVAT CV31 Hi-Res Outdoor CCD Security Camera w/Long Range Night Vision Please read my Amazon review on this camera! Both of these cameras are about the same in picture and construction quality. The Svat camera comes with 60' of power/video cable with RCA connectons only. Your may need these 20 Pcs of BNC Male Connectors Adapters for RG59 Coaxial Cable 1FV to complete hookup to your DVR card in your computer. If plugging into a TV you will not need these connectors. The VideoSecur camera has the BNC connector so just order your video/power cable with BNC connectors VideoSecu 3 X 50 Feet Power Video Cable with BNC RCA Connector for CCTV Security Cameras 1QA The VideoSecur camera does come with the power adaptor, you just will need the power/video cable. The BNC connectors twist lock at the connection, RCA cables do not. I like the BNC connectors better as they will not come apart. The day time picture is great. The night vision is about the same on both cameras up to 45 feet or so with no additional lighting. I just installed 2 motion detection floodlights which are also a great 5 star product from Amazon (Heath Zenith SL-5525-WH 250-Watt Quartz Motion-Sensing Light) and these make the night picture almost a good as daytime. The Svat and the VideoSecur camera will both do motion recording when hooked up to a DVR card that supports this feature. Since I have motion detection on my cameras and floodlights I can clearly indentify which one of my neighbors cats is digging in my flower bed and leaving paw prints on the roof of my car at 3 AM in the morning. How about that! I put some signs up that I purchased in the windows warning folks that they are on camera and being recorded. I do feel much safer in my home and I think that a potential unwanted guest will probably move to another home to commit a crime. (Sorry about that neighbors). I certainly would not hesitate to recommend this 5 star camera. The only thing I can't say is how long they will last, only time will tell. I can say that all 4 cameras I have ordered where packaged well for shipping and all worked right out of the box.

Note that all security cameras with built-in IR illuminators suffer from a common issue: the illuminator picks up on dust motes and tiny insects floating in the air right in front of the lens and turns them into giant bright white blobs, triggering video-based motion detection (if you are using such). This generates numerous false alarms.

Fortunately, the solution is simple -turn off the IR on the camera and use an external IR source. This camera doesn't have a switch for that purpose, but you can simply unscrew the cylindrical case near the front, revealing the IR module surrounding the lens, Unplug the IR module, and that problem (at least) is solved. For extra McGyver points, you can remove the IR module from the camera, connect it to 12Vdc, and mount it away from the camera but pointed at the camera's view -Voila! Night vision without the giant blobs. I assume that removing the module would void the warranty, but what does McGyver care about warranties?

For the McGyver-impaired, there are nice 850nm IR illuminators available from Amazon for under $10 ("YY Trade IR30" OR "YY_IR30", ASIN B001P2E4U4). This is a good match to the built-in illuminator in the camera.

For an inexpensive color camera, this unit has exceptional low light capability, and excellent IR sensitivity at 850nm, the wavelength of most IR illuminators. The IR functionality is pixel-by-pixel, meaning that you can have a scene that is partly illuminated by natural light and partly by IR, and the natural light portion will be in color, and the IR part in glorious monochrome.

The 3.6mm lens provides an excellent wide field of view.

The supplied mount is flexible and sturdy, although not a true ball-socket mount.

The supplied 12Vdc supply is the smallest I have seen.

The supplied security sticker... is a security sticker.

Buy VideoSecu Outdoor Day Night Security Camera Infrared Weatherproof CCTV Home 1/3" CCD 420 TV Lines 2 Now

The camera appeared to be high quality. Much better than the cameras that came with my Swann DVR. Color day and night. Had good range on the IR. Unfortunately half of the IR led's are out or dim. Beyond the Amazon and seller's return date of 30 days, does not appear to be any warranty. Contacted videosecu.com, no reply. Oh, well! Still works, just doesn't shine out as far. Will not purchase any more videosecu cameras and cannot recommend.

Read Best Reviews of VideoSecu Outdoor Day Night Security Camera Infrared Weatherproof CCTV Home 1/3" CCD 420 TV Lines 2 Here

Here is a video of my yard man out in the yard. The camera is up about 10 Feet high. As you can see the coverage is great. The colors are correct on this camera. If you are using a low budget bullet-cam (like the ones in the bundled kits)... do yourself a favor and upgrade. This also has superior night vision compared to the zMODO bullet cam I replaced. The only think I can think that I do not really care for is the mount. Also, If I were to buy another camera, I would suggest finding one with 500-600 TVL (Depending on your DVR's resolution options). Overall this a great camera for the price!

Want VideoSecu Outdoor Day Night Security Camera Infrared Weatherproof CCTV Home 1/3" CCD 420 TV Lines 2 Discount?

I am impressed with this camera. I ordered it to replace one I had over looking the drive way. WOW! What a difference there is. Instead of seeing part of one car in the driveway and one in the street, I see the entire driveway with two cars and the front. A very wide street view! And the night view is excellent. I have uploaded a picture of the view at night overlooking my driveway at night with no lights on. The three other cameras have some night vision, but this new camera really shows everything. And for the price I paid....it's a deal. Amazon got it here very quick, I hooked it up in minutes, and adjusted the camera within seconds. The arm that mounts the camera is metal, and you can adjust easily. Once it's locked into place it stays steady. You cannot find a better wide view/night vision camera for this price!

Save 85% Off

Panasonic DVD-RV20 DVD Player

• DTS and Dolby Digital output
• S-video output
• Title/chapter preview with marker function
• Dialogue enhancement mode
• 5-speed smooth scan

This DVD player is a good buy for the price. I purchased this item quite some time ago, and it has definitely lived a long life life living with 5 guys who watch DVD's all day. It has great clarity, and the VSS sound is great for those of us who can't afford Dolby Digital sound. Overall it is worth the price because Panasonic is a good brand. I am satisfied, and that is not easy sometimes!

Buy Panasonic DVD-RV20 DVD Player Now

Over All, The DVD Player Is OK, But It has It's Faults. For example,

#1. It Doesnt Support MP3 CD's,

#2. It Doesn't Read CD-R's.

#3. It Doesnt Play Video Disc's.

It Says That It Supports Video CD's, Yeah Of Course It Plays DVD's but It Doesn't play video disc's burned to a CD-R. I Would Not reccommend this DVD player to anyone. It Doesn't Do much of anything.

Samsung SHR-1041K 4CH DVR Surveillance System

We needed some kind of security system installed as we have some problem neighbors doing juvenile stuff on our property. So far, so good on this unit. We bought it from a "big box store" so we'd be able to return it easily if it wasn't quite what we wanted. This week, we set up all four cameras at the front of our house. I had no problems getting everything to work straight out of the box. I like the long cables but I think I'd like to see higher quality cameras provided. They're fine and they're in focus and everything is recognizable, but I doubt I'd be able to do any facial recognition from across the street. The "quick guide "wasn't really much help in trying to find the main administrator menu on the machine. "Virtual keyboard"?? Found it by accident by madly clicking on the screen. Once I got into the system, it became easier of course and I already feel safer just knowing that my property is being "watched". I'll write an update on how the system is working after I've had it up and running for a couple of weeks.

Update April 2010: I've now had this unit for about 5 months and it still does exactly what I wanted. It sits there quietly doing its thing; it's nice being able to review the recordings and discover which of our neighbors left the HUGE tire marks on the driveway or which local drunk peeled off at 100mph on Friday night at 2am. Nice to have the proof especially when they vehemently deny it! We've also been asked by our HOA to provide evidence of underage driving on our streets. Their Momma denied it (no not our little angels!) I provided the video evidence to the HOA. No more problems since then. Glad to help! Archiving scenes is pretty easy once you've done it a couple of times. I use a generic USB drive. No problems.

Any criticisms? Yes, but minor ones really. I don't like the "FF" or "REW" features. You'll be revewing footage at, say, 5x speed, see the scene you want to review and it flies by while you're trying to press the 1x button or PAUSE or REVERSE button on screen. Very confusing. I'd also still prefer to have higher definition cameras, so I could make out licence plates/faces but even so, just having the cameras there acts as a great deterrent. Don't get me wrong, I don't sit there scrutinizing every second of footage. Most weeks I never even go near it. But it sure makes me feel safer and a little bit more informed about the goings on our crazy street.

To set this up you need to hook up a monitor, keyboard, and mouse directly to the DVR. Once setup, then you can remove all and hook up to router on network. Trying to get it setup for first run through router is next to impossible.

This works great with XP or with a monitor directly connected to the DVR.

The DVR has a problem with IE8 and Win7. Can get picture and sound, however, the picture keeps blinking off and on. We recently converted all computers in house to Win7. All show the same problem (where all worked perfectly before). I will be looking for a firmware update for the DVR which should be the fix.

The balance between color and night vision is fantastic. The ability to search recorded history works great. I have a more expensive system, and its quality just can't live up to this product.

Buy Samsung SHR-1041K 4CH DVR Surveillance System Now

This is a pretty good system for the price, but the night vision is just horrible. It is all fuzzy and you cannot see anything at all. I haven't been able to get my remote to work either.

I do like how they give you very long chords for the cameras.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung SHR-1041K 4CH DVR Surveillance System Here

For the price I paid, this system is perfect. In my particular situation, I wanted a DVR compatible with my older cameras and cabling since they're still in working condition. What was obsolete was my old VHS recorder, which only recorded one frame at a time and had to be changed daily. If you are looking to keep your older rj11 cameras, for home use, this system is ideal.

Want Samsung SHR-1041K 4CH DVR Surveillance System Discount?

Would recommend for a great starter surveillance system. I have it installed under carport and porch, so they have been out in the weather (TN) but don't take direct hits from it. The night vision is ok but works better with outside lights. You will need to by a monitor. Frr starters it works great and for the price I paid it works great.

Sony DCR-HC38 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom

I have had a sony Hi-8 Camcorder for ten years now, and was genereally pleased with it. However, I wanted to go digital. I didn't want to spend too much money, certainly not on my first digital venture. I did a lot of online reading, and got the impression that HDD cameras didn't perform too well, and mini DVD limits your time, so went for miniDV.

I have had the camera just over a week at the time of writing.

Pros: Good clear image. Audio Quality. Nightshot Plus. Ilink. Small size. Ease of Use. 40x Optical zoom.

Cons: Sony Accessories, particularly batteries are far too expensive. I shall be looking for 3rd party sources. No headphone jack. No accessory shoe. Cannot control playback except via touch screen LCD. No firewire cable supplied. Cannot charge batteries off camera without purchasing a seperate charger.

Comments.

It comes with some basic editing software on CD, but I cannot comment on this, as I have Adobe Premiere 1.5, and I am using this with no problem at all. If you want to transfer your video into your computer, you need a firewire cable. Usually for a PC you need a 4 pin to 6 pin one. You can buy them on Amazon MUCH cheaper than the local stores, so I recommend ordering one if you decide to buy the camcorder.

All in all, I am pleased with it so far in terms of video and audio quality. One annoyance. If you buy another battery, you also need to buy a charger, as the power supply you get with the camera will only charge the batteries whilst they are in the camera. This isn't much use if, for example, you want to charge a battery at home, while you use a fresh one outdoors. The extra chargers are around $40, as well as the cost of another battery of course. By the time you buy an extra battery, that off-cam charger, a case, a couple of filters, and a firewire cable, you can almost double the cost of the cam itself!

I agree with the first review posted here for the most part. I will add that I have tried the software and was not impressed. First, upon installation I received an error message that said the software was not Windows certified, and that the installation could cause my system to become unstable. Well, it did. After installation, my system crashed on a daily basis. I have sensed uninstalled and contacted Sony. They basically said it doesn't matter that it is not Windows certified because it is Sony certified. Alrighty then. Once I uninstalled, the crashes stopped. Will be looking for 3rd party SW to use. It also worth noting that the camera is equipped with a USB port, which I was told at Best Buy could be used for downloading video to your PC. The cable is not included of course. When I did have the software installed, it did not recognize the camera when hooked up to USB port. In the PDF and hardcopy manuals included, the USB interface is poorly documented. In the chapters where it mentiods the IEEE interface, it says this must be used to download the video. Does not mention USB as an alternative. When I took it back to Best Buy for answers, it even stumped the Geek Squad. According to Sony, you have to select the USB Stream function on the on the cameras integrated menu. I still cannot get it to work after following Sony instructions. Usually, USB ports on a camcorder are reserved for downloading still shots on cameras that have a slot a for flash memory. The HC38 has no such slot. They should have left off the USB port and put in a mic/earphone jack. Plan on installing a firewire capable expansion card if you don't have one and forget any ideas of downloading via USB.

Buy Sony DCR-HC38 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom Now

I purchased this camcorder to replace my 8yr old Sony Hi-8 video recorder as the Sony was failing. I also wanted to "digitize" my videos

so I could download onto my computer and back them up via DVD. I read that mini-DV tapes were the best value for recording, so I opted for this unit.

This is a very average, easy to use camcorder. Controls are easy to understand. All play or record controls are on the LCD. Here's my assessment:

* Image quality is fairno better or worse than my older Sony unit. Being a digital camera, I expected the image quality to be much improved.

* Image quality under low light is fair to poor. Very grainy and sometimes hard to see.

* Convenient "Backlight" button is very useful. If you are filming a subject with a bright background, the camera's aperture senses the bright light and gets smallercausing the subject to appear dark. This backlight button will open up the aperture and allow more light in-providing a more balanced light on the subject.

* There is no easy way to "date-stamp" your videos. On my older camera, I could push a button and it would show the date & time on the video. This is a very useful option. To put a date stamp on the HC38, you must go thru a menu of items on the LCD. This is inconvenient when filming.

* You can NOT download videos from the camcorder to a computer without a firewire port on your computer. This is a major limitation as other camcorder mfgrs don't have this restriction. The camcorder does not come with firewire cables. You have to purchase them separately.

* Image stabilization seems to work well.

* High level Zoom isn't very stable. Don't expect to get stable videos using the 40x zoom

If you want a very easy to use and very average camcorder, this is it.

Do your research. For the money, I think there are better camcorders on the market than this one.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCR-HC38 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom Here

I don't have a huge amount of experience with camcorders, and this is my first ever use of a MiniDV camera. I can say it's very easy to use, lightweight, and meets all my expectations. Also, even though it's not advertised as being Mac compatible, I had no trouble getting this to work with iMovie and my Mac. It was truly plug & play. iMovie will import a separate clip for each time the recording was stopped. A firewire cable must be purchased separately, but a generic Belkin 6-pin to 4-pin cable works fine. No need to buy a Sony-branded iLink cable. Great battery life from what I can tell so far. No frills as far as accessories, though. Not so much as a neck strap, and as already mentioned, the firewire cable doesn't come with it either. Interestingly, the playback controls are all on-screen touch controls. There are no buttons.

Want Sony DCR-HC38 MiniDV Handycam Camcorder with 40x Optical Zoom Discount?

The Sony DCR-HC38 camcorder is a great little video camera. I have used it quite often since the purchase and even for someone who is not very adept working electronic equipment, it is easy to operate yet takes great videos! I highly recommend this camera, it's certainly worth the cost!

Denon D-F101S Micro Stereo System

• Stylish, powerful micro-system for living room, bedroom, kitchen, or home office; measures 23.2 x 11 x 10.8 inches (WxHxD)
• 2-channel amplifier pumps 70 watts per channel into supplied speakers
• Includes a pair of Denon engineered and European tuned, 2-way bass-reflex speakers
• 5 audio inputs including a phono input for a turntable
• Optical digital-audio output simplifies hookup with a CD or MD recorder

This shelf system arrived earlier this week and I wasted no time setting it up in my small living room as my primary audio system. It takes the place of my Bose Wave Radio/CD and I certainly consider it an upgrade. I have listened to a number of different genres and artists on this new system, and what really impresses me are the live recordings. The imaging is fantastic. I can pick out easily the placement of the different instruments in the live recording. Studio recordings are all lively and crystal clear. The bass, with the speakers about six inches from the wall, is sufficient for my tastes, and definitely more thumping than my Bose. I cannot really gauge the FM or AM reception because I stick with XM, but it comes with two antennaes for both bands. Also, I have not tested the sleep modes, timers, or alarms because this is in my living room, and there is no need for me to use them. This system is strictly for my listening pleasure and it really delivers. I have a Squeezebox (made by Slim Devices, which I also highly recommend) on top of the system and aesthetically the entire system is alluring.

My one dislike is the remote. Its plasticky and feels cheap. It is also more bulky than it needs to be.

If you have the money to spend, and I admit the price is up there compared to other shelf systems, you will not be disappointed. I am not an audiophile (only because I don't have thousands to throw around) and I can't give you many technical details on why this system sounds so good. But I do know that Denon is a good brand, and they back up their stereos and components with good warranties. I give this five strong stars and recommend it to anybody interested in a great sounding stereo.

Buy Denon D-F101S Micro Stereo System Now

I purchased this system for use with a laptop on my desk after extensive research and listening to mini systems. This fits my needs perfectly. I paired it with a Yamaha YST-FSW100 subwoofer to kick up the bass a bit. Nice clear, clean, crisp sound. I'm an older rock'n'roller that just wants good sound from my older cd's (Savoy Brown, Ten Years After, etc.). This system has nice bass, treble and loudness adjustments that can easily be made by hand and not just the remote. Very easy to use. This Denon F101S system has satisified all the requirements I wanted in a system for use on my desk while playing on my laptop. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine!

Read Best Reviews of Denon D-F101S Micro Stereo System Here

Very sosphisticated audio system. This is beautiful visually and the sound is very bold. It sounds as if I bought a more expensive sound system. Wether rock, r&b, and jazz it has own flavor. I made the right choice.

Want Denon D-F101S Micro Stereo System Discount?

I bought this system for my bedroom. I wanted something with good sound and small.

The good part: nicely built, lots of connectors, good looks.

The bad: sound quality is good but not fantastic (far from it!). For $700 you could assemble a much better sounding system. Of course it would be bulkier and not so sleek. But still, bearing the Denon brand I expected more than what I got.

Some reviewers are suggesting that you attach a subwoofer and I might try that.

Save 14% Off

I'm in my late 50s and gave my 30 year-old still useable sony receiver (100 watts per channel) to my teenage son as a birthday present who is moving into his first apartment as a summer student at College Of Charleston. I wanted a replacement unit that was small, simple, low tech look with good nondigital sound for my analog tastes. I am very pleased with most of my requirements being met but attaching the supplied speaker wires to the unit and speakers turned out to be quite a chore! I remember in the old days of spliting the outer layer to splice the copper wires and that is what I had to do with the supplied speaker cables. You would think that a more modern hookup would be available! Anyway, I attached my Teac reel-to-reel, manual turntable and cassette deck and found the sound to be total bliss. I play lots of early 20th century opera (78s of course) on my turntable and have been VERY pleased with the reproduction of sound especially with the recent Enrico Caruso remastered songs converted to digital. All-in-all a great value package with pure, clear and concise sound worth every penny!

Sony DVPNS725P Progressive-Scan DVD/CD Player

• Single-disc DVD player with support for DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R, CD-RW, and MP3 CD
• Progressive-scan video output renders seamless, flicker-free images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs
• Precision Drive 2 with Dynamic Tilt Compensation improves readability of damaged discs
• 12-bit video DAC with 108 MHz processing for pristine video (through component-video, S-video, and composite-video outputs)
• Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel digital surround decoding and output (for use with compatible AV receivers and speaker systems)

The picture quality of Sony DVPNS725P is better then SONY DVP-NS425P in 480i & 480p mode. No distortion or blurring is found even w/o the progressive scan, just a little gritty. Once you turn on progression scan the picture clears up. Sony DVPNS725P has only a 10% difference in sharpness/clarity/color/hue/contrast between 480p progressive scan & 480i non-progressive scan mode. However, I believe that the unit's 12 Bit Video DAC with 108Mhz processor, regardless of 480i to 480p mode is why you see such little difference. The vertical lines simply double using the same picture quality in 480i mode improving video clarity overall.

Equipment:

TV: Sony Grand WEGA 42" KF42WE610

Video Monster 3 Cable: 1-Meter Coax Cable, 1 Meter Monster Video 3 component Cable

WARNING, WARNING, WARNING!

Component/Coax wires do affect the quality of your home video experience. The best DVD player connected to the best Plasma/LCD/DLP/LCOS TV will have negative effects on picture quality if you are not using the best grade of Component/DVI/Coax cable. Yes, you will have to shell out more money for theses accessories (in my opinion Monster Cable has proven itself in my house). However, this is the only way to achieve your large screen TV's maximum video performance. It appears that it's not only necessary but simply required! I get mad every time I read negative reviews on this DVD player or my TV when they never invested in high-grade video cables or, their TV is only 480i compatible & not 480p compatible (they can't properly use the DVD player's progressive scan feature). Please check your manual to verify 480p compatibility for your TV, as some are only 480i compatible while others are only 780p to 1080i compatible!!!

Here is a tip to improve picture quality for analog cable/antenna viewers:

Use a A/C powered, 2 port, coaxial, Electroline Drop Amp to improve analog cable

reception. The 18 gauged Satellite coax cable runs from the cable co. to the Electroline Drop Amp in my house. The 1 Meter Monster Video 3 coax cable (gray colored wire) will run from the Electroline Drop Amp to the TV thus improving picture quality.

Summary:

If you own a 32" to a 19" TV the SONY DVP-NS425P is more then adequate. However if you have a TV larger then 32" you need this DVD player along with high-grade component/dvi/coax cable to produce the clarity/color/contrast/hue necessary for a great theater quality picture.

Buy Sony DVPNS725P Progressive-Scan DVD/CD Player Now

While this player looks good physically, has a nice remote, and some nice features like the DVD jacket display during stop mode I found it has terrible 3:2 pulldown for film mode. I checked it using several movies: Monsters Inc. (which looked incredible), but films like Forrest Gump, Sweet Home Alabama, The Matrix, and Fellowship of the Ring looked so bad compared to my Toshiba SD-4700, I had to take the Sony back. The picture looked overprocessed with noticeable artifacts to the point I couldn't even watch it. Especially tried the lobby scene in the Matrix all the marble made a dizzying effect of inaccuracies on the screen. I really liked the player overall, and the video mode looked great, but film mode was just too bad to bear. I'm going to try the Toshiba SD-3900 next, which should be comparable to my 4700. Wouldn't recommend this for a serious home theater lover.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DVPNS725P Progressive-Scan DVD/CD Player Here

Two years ago, I got a DVD Player. One of the super cheap ones that you used to read about people being trampled whenever put on sale. I loved it, primarily because it was not a VCR. Soon after that, I invested in a DVD ROM for my computer. The quality of the DVD on a computer was drastically better both in audio and video. But a 21" monitor just doesn't compare to a television plus, after watching a movie at night and just wanting to get to sleep, turning off a computer is just too much. Might sound silly but actually try it a couple times. You'll agree.

Each had their benifits, but this Sony DVD player bests both.

It's sharpness and color was as good as the computer out of the box. However, there are four settings to tweak the color so all of the sudden, the movie has the same tints, brightness, etc, as in a theatre. Furthermore, there is a setting to improve image quality: it's off by default, but can be adjusted to smooth the picture or increase sharpness, just like the gausian blur or edge enhance filters in photo editing software.

I have not noticed a delay during layer switching something that was painful on the old settop player.

The audio out of the box is equivalant to the old settop box, and inferior to the computer just because of the computer's better speakers. However, this Sony player offers a number of virtual atmosphers. It features the normal 2 channel unedited mode as well as type Sony calls "TVS Wide", which simulates multiple channels just like at a theatre. It still lacks huge bass (I don't have a subwoofer connected so your results may vary) but it is better. Also, there is a nighttime version of each method it keeps things like dialoug at normal volume, but reduces the volume of loud events, like explosions. TVSWide Night is a delight to use.

This Sony player actually lets you go frame-by-frame. This is possible with nearly every player, but with both the computer and the old DVD player, it was too difficult. WinDVD (software I used on my computer) didn't have a button I could find to do it, and the old player did, but it showed the distracting interlacing lines. Because of this player's picture smoothing, they disappear.

Also, if you eject or turn off this player whilest playing, it automatically saves the position in the movie. It saves up to 6 movies, if I remember correctly. EG, put on a movie, eject it part way through, watch 6 more, the original movie's position is forgotten. But watch part of it, 4 more, and then return, it remembers. This was possible with the computer but wasn't automatic and didn't exist on the old player at all.

Even the extraneous details of the player as a player have settings. For instance, the front panel lights and display the brightness of them is settable. So at night, you can have the movie playing with no LEDs at all.

The remote is fairly nice. The most commonly used buttons play, pause and stop, lie directly under your thumb. The navigation buttons are below, so you can simply roll your thumb down. The chapter controls, fast forward and reverse, and frame-by-frame controls are all an upward twist of the thumb away. But the subtitle, audio, angle buttons are all out of reach without repostioning your hand, as are are the menu buttons and the player's setting buttons. Its usable, and better than most remotes, but isn't going to win any awards.

I don't have a Dolby stereo so I can't speak towards the multi-channel quality of sound.

The one negative I've found is that I tried playing a video CD and it wasn't recognized. The manual does say it will play Video CDs.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this player. It has replaced DVD player and relieved my computer of DVD playing responsibilities. It's not the cheapest DVD player (nor the most expensive by a _long_ shot) but it's very feature-filled, and the fine-tuned picture and audio settings alone make this worthwhile.

Want Sony DVPNS725P Progressive-Scan DVD/CD Player Discount?

I bought this over a year ago for $125 bucks from a local retailer. Obviously you can get it for less today. I chose it because I needed a second player for my bedroom TV. I decided on this model mainly because I liked the superior 12 bit/108MHz Video DAC, that it had both optical & coaxial digital outs, and of course progressive scan. I also really liked the design, how small/thin this is. It features 6 disc resume, CD-R/RW, MP3, and DVD -/+ playback. I would've rather had black over silver and I wish it had a digital clock but that's a minor issue. This model has always played my movies flawlessly and I've never had any problem w/ it. Set up was a breeze. The picture is crisp and the on-screen menu is easy to set up & adjust. One minor complaint, the front display has a mirror tint to it which kind of darkens the display a bitthe disc tray has the same, guess sony was going for a stealth look. The remote is good and well laid out, but I know it could be made smaller, ie: not as long. It fits my hand well though w/ the back finger groove. Overall, this is a great little DVD player at an affordable price. I'd recommend it.

The DVPN725P is a great DVD player! I haven't had one problem, and neither have 2 friends who have this same model. The best thing about this Sony is that it is very consumer friendly and easy to use, with a remote that is simple and equally easy to use. I'm sure there are always a few in a product run that have problems or are defective. But the one I have does everything I tell it do, and does it well. Certainly a recommendation from me for the Sony DVPNS725P.

BRAND NEW SWANN SW343-DP2 / DVR4-950 The Perfect Security Kit for Home or Business Surveillance Sec

Very easy to use but, The picture quality is poor. Unless you know the individual, you will not recognize them. For the money it's worth it. If you want a good security system. I would recommend this one. It,s pretty good for the price.

Save 39% Off

Technical Pro DVB80 Professional DVD Player

• Specifications -
• DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD, MP3, Kodak CD & CD-G compatible
• Auto region playback & Pal / NTSC Switchable
• Dual Karaoke / DJ mic inputs
• Audio outputs - 2 RCA (main) + 5.1 RCA

finally.... technical pro came out with this new unit... the dvb80... much better quality than the older version/dvd 70... with the dvb80, about the same design, but built with much better quality parts.. sleek design, easy to use, removable rack ears, and a good quality picture... for a non blu ray player, it is well worth the money...

Buy Technical Pro DVB80 Professional DVD Player Now

The product was slim and fit into my portable system well. It had plenty of options for audio hook ups and seems to be a great product for the price. I need more time to fully disclose the quality of all the functions, but I give it 4 out of 5 stars. The company did a great job geting the product to me in a timely and well packaged fashion.

Read Best Reviews of Technical Pro DVB80 Professional DVD Player Here

This has a few really useful featured for me, such as vga out. That's not common on dvd players, and is the standard I use for all my live video performances. So far it's held up for me and done what it's needed to. It's in a case that hits the road regularly, and this coming summer will really be put through the ringer. I really only use it as a backup video source if computers crash though, so it hasn't been run very much. I'll update after I abuse it.

Want Technical Pro DVB80 Professional DVD Player Discount?

I purchased 2 of these units 3 months ago. One unit no longer works, and the other has to be reprogrammed on a regular basis. The units are in conference rooms and get moderate use.

This unit worked perfect for a replacement piece. I was in the market to replace an older DVD, and this fit the need

Samsung UN55B8500 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV

• 7,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
• Auto Motion Plus 240Hz
• Medi@2.0 Internet@TV - Content Service; DLNA Wireless; Content Library (2GB Flash Memory); USB 2.0 Movie
• Fast 2ms response time
• 5 HDMI — Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) (side)
• 5 HDMI and Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) (side)

To clarify I own this tv and am not just basing this review on time spent in a store browsing. This tv has been hard to come by and the only place I could find that had it in stock was my local Best Buy with a Magnolia section.

Design: Samsung is noted for their sleek design and this tv is no exception. Samsung says it has a charcoal touch of color but I really didn't notice any color in the bezel. It is black and goes to clear at the outer edge. It sits on a metal stand with a clear neck holding the tv. At the bottom middle of the tv below where it says Samsung is a blue light which can be turned off. I noticed the light flickers ever so slightly when a command is sent from the remote you are using. The tv is VERY slim. Only 1.6" at it's fattest point. This is amazing considering this tv is a fully backlit LED unit with local dimming. Truly amazing and a design that will have your friends jealous.

Picture Quality: This is the best looking LCD tv made today. I have viewed many other LCD tv's including the Sony XBR8 and the Samsung A950 from last year and this one is the best looking I have seen. From a picture quality perspective the XBR8 is closest but not quite up to par with the 8500. Realistically if you had either of these sets in your house they would look spectacular. The blacks on the 8500 are so dark it approaches the level of blacks in the best Plasma tv's. In a dark room I could not tell where the tv screen ended and the bezel began because the screen was so dark. The colors are superb and can be tweaked any number of ways to your liking. I prefer the "Natural" mode for everyday use and the "Movie" mode for watching blu-ray movies. The 240hz refresh is nice but the best thing is that you can independantly control Blue and Judder settings. Cranking up the 240hz tends to produce what some call the "soap opera" effect but this can easily be eliminated by tweaking. There is also a Game mode which I use when gaming on my PS3.

One interesting thing I found out was that the Movie mode using the Warm 2 setting is pretty much spot on from a calibration perspective right out of the box. I say that because I have a Spears & Munsil calibration blu-ray disc and when I ran the tv through the calibration process using Movie mode on Warm 2 I literally only had to tweak one setting by one or two points. I could see many people just flipping back and forth between Natural and Movie modes, depending on what they are watching, and not bothering to calibrate the tv as it looks great pretty much out of the box.

I also wanted to mention that standard def looks good on this tv. It doesn't look nearly as good as HD but it is totally acceptable in my opinion.

Sound: Having such a think profile I expected the sound to be horrible. Surprisingly it was quite acceptable. While I would recommend a surround sound system I never felt like the tv speakers were all that bad. My wife has never mentioned anything and I have never been watching a tv show and thought, "oh the sound stinks". I would say it's about average which is ok to me considering the tiny amount of space Samsung had to work with. While audio-philes may not like the tv speakers/sound I think a lot of people would be totally fine with it.

Viewing Angle: I sit about 9' to 10' away from the screen and have not noticed any real issues with the viewing angle. Of course no LED LCD will have a viewing angle as good as a plasma but unless you are sitting at an extreme angle you probably won't have to worry too much about this. I think this is more of a personal preference...sure the best picture is right in the center of the screen but I don't think sitting to the right or left a few feet makes the picture dramatically different. Maybe a video-phile would notice but my wife doesn't notice and has never said a thing.

Reflection: Be aware that this is NOT a matte screen, it is a reflective screen. If you have windows directly facing the tv then make sure you have curtains or blinds that can block out the light enough not to bother you. I don't think it's anymore reflective than other Samsung tv's but coming from a matte screen prior to this it was a big change for me.

Widgets: The tv comes with internet connectivity for Yahoo Widgets, You Tube, Twitter, USA Today Sports and several others. You can either buy a Samsung USB wireless stick to connect the tv wirelessly to your network or you can plug an ethernet cable directly into the back of your tv. I have an ethernet cable plugged directly into the back of it. First things first, the widgets do not load fast. I'm not sure why but even using a direct internet cable into the tv they still do not load fast. No idea why but they are slooow. Slow enough for me to be annoyed and not use them much. It's odd because when I went to the You Tube widget and looked up a video it played quickly and was smooth. Hopefully Samsung will have a software update to allow the widgets to load faster. Right now I would say they are just a novelty. If they can decrease the load times and add more apps such as Facebook, then I think this has potential. But people are not buying this tv because of the widgets, they are buying it for the picture.

Overall I think this is an excellent tv. Is it expensive, yes. Does it have the best picture of any LCD available, yes. If you have the money this is a great tv. I use a Harmony One remote and it works flawlessly with this tv. PS3 games and blu-ray movies look incredible. The only quibble I have with the tv is the screen reflectivity and that is more a result of my room setup than the tv itself. Whether I'm watching HD football, playing a PS3 game, watching a blu-ray movie or watching The Office I have been blown away by the picture this tv can deliver.

UPDATE:

I wanted to clarify something that seems to be a bit confusing. I refer to this tv as an LCD tv which it is. Samsung refers to this as an LED tv. Basically this tv uses an LCD panel (thus it is an LCD tv) but it uses LED backlighting (as opposed to typical CCFL backlighting). Samsung marketing has had great success with the term "LED tv" but in reality it is still an LCD tv but with LED used for backlighting purposes. Just wanted to make sure nobody is confused when Samsung refers to it as an LED tv and I am calling it LCD....in a way they are both right but this can be confusing for a consumer.

I also wanted to comment that I have now had this tv for almost 5 months and it has performed wonderfully. I did have an occurance of what some people had called "Crop Circles" but this was remedied with a firmware update so no issues since. Overall I am still blown away on a daily basis by this tv. Whether it's watching the super bowl, the olympics or Lost this tv has been spectacular.

UPDATE 2 Aug 23, 2010:

I am now approaching 11 months of ownership and I have not had a single problem with this tv. Picture quality is as great as the first day I bought it. I know this tv is hard to come by these days but it is worth your time and money if you find one for a good price. I don't believe Samsung has a replacement for this set yet. There are many 2010 model Samsungs that are LED edge lit but I do not believe there is a true LED backlit tv for 2010 yet which would be the true successor to the 8500.

FINAL UPDATE Dec 14, 2010:

Having now owned this tv for well over a year I can say it has been the best tv I have ever owned. I have not had any problems with the tv at all. It has handled HD broadcasts, PS3 game playing, Blu-Ray movies and everything else I can throw at it. This will probably be my final update as this tv appears to be no longer available which is a shame but understandable as tv manufacturers always have to bring something new to the table every year. In my opinion this is still the best tv on the market, even better than the new Samsungs which all appear to be edge-lit LED. Of course I am a little biased! To this day people still comment on how incredible the picture is, and this is coming from others who own HD tv's also. This is about the only electronics product I have ever owned where I am not envious a year later when a new version comes out. I would pit this tv against ANY other tv currently in the market.

FINAL-FINAL UPDATE Aug 2, 2011:

I am coming up on two years of ownership of this television and it is still performing great. I have had one or two instances where the screen did something odd but it was fixed by turning the tv off and on again. Nothing major. I recently used the Amazon video on demand application on the tv again and it still works great. Even after almost two years people who come over still comment on how great the picture looks on this tv. If there are any left out there and you can afford it I would still recommend purchasing one as it is still one of the best tv's, if not the best, available today....of course I am a little biased too:-)

Buy Samsung UN55B8500 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV Now

The UN55b8500 is Samsung's current flagship model and is the successor to the LN55A950.

Picture Quality

A full LED backlit LCD offering a stunning 7 million:1 contrast seperates the B8500 from other LCDs by reaching deep into pitch black, formely only possible with plasmas. Some LCDs turn off pixels to achieve inky blacks ok for still pictures, but too slow to work with most video basically a gimmick to inflate contrast numbers. The B8500 however, masters the darkest blacks and brightest whites to produce a bold three dimensional effect or "pop." In a dark room, the b8500 outperforms every LCD on the market, shy of the coveted pioneer plasmas. In a moderate to bright environment however, the B8500 absolutely dominates.

The highly reflective screen can be annoying for those with unfortunately placed light sources or windows without blinds. A matte screen, as on the LG 55LH90, might be a better fit for some, but a matte screen diffuses the light causing the entire screen to lose those desirable inky blacks. I can't say one is better than the other, but for a TV that can produce such dark blacks, I think the glossy screen makes more sense.

Motion handling is the best of any LCD I've seen thanks to seperate blur and judder adjustments and very few motion artifacts. Blu ray discs will exhibit perfect cinema-like panning or, if you want, a more smooth and clear pan similar to a home video. My verizon fios hd occasionally shows judder when there should a smooth flow of movement. The b8500 can help minimalize this, but it is not powerful enough to eliminate it and if set poorly, it can be made worse.

After some quick, basic calibration colors are vivid and mostly accurate. Noise and artifacts are very minimal on 720p and nonexistant on 1080p. Haloing (i.e. white text on black background cause background to lighten near text) is only visible rarely unless viewing from greater than 30° off center and increases in severity as viewing angle increases. Viewing from greater than 30° off center vertically or horizontally also causes a slight loss, contrast and color depth. Viewing from greater than 50° off causes a significant loss in contrast and color, creating a flat image and showing major haloing effects. The ideal viewing range is within 15° of center, though if centered vertically, image is barely degraded at all up to 30° off center. Ideal viewing distance is roughly 8 to 14 feet for 720p and 5 to 10 feet for 1080p, though don't take those numbers too seriously, you can obviously enjoy this tv from just about any distance. At 4 feet or less though, the 46" model is a better choice.

Ease of Use

The preset picture modes are all quite good for those who aren't picky and just want to watch their tv and the b8500 does a decent job of assigning settings automatically based on the input. Of course, high-end buyers are more likely to calibrate sources to their liking or hire a pro. The tv will remember settings for dynamic, natural, standard and movie profiles for each source. That gives you a lot more flexibility than only having one or two, but it is complicated by a confusing lockout of various settings depending on how the source is identified. You can change the name of a source and find more or less settings available for adjustment, but how this works should be clearly documented. Also, there is a little lag when navigating menus, making constant adjustments of the many, many, many settings somewhat slow and annoying. The layout of the menus themselves and the amount of adjustments available is wonderful. The remote control works using RF so you don't have to point the remote at the tv. The remote is a little bulky, but offers all the buttons you'd want for operating the television easily. The scroll wheel is inaccurate for navigating menus and only really works as a directional pad.

Design

While, I prefer the touch of grey on some other samsungs, the small blue light on the bottom of the b8500 is stylish, attractive and best of all, can be turned off. The bezel is attractive, thin, and highly glossy, but can be distracting when it picks up too many reflections. The 1.6" thick screen is amazing, but how often do you look at the side of your tv? The 61 lb. weight without stand is quite light for a 55" tv, but again how often will you move it? It does seem to use fairly little power and creates much less heat than a plasma tv. The swivel stand works well, also quite attractive with a brushed gunmetal finish.

Sound

I did not play around much with the sound as I use a 5.1 setup. I assume most people purchasing this tv will use external speakers, but the internal ones sounded just fine for what they are.

Comparisons

Competing models include the LG 55LH90/55LHZ, Toshiba 670u, Pioneer 500m/600m, Samsung 52B750/55B650/58B860, Sony xbr8 and Panasonic V10. My personal experience with display models showed the plasma screens to perform poorly in bright environments. Given the open layout and 20' ceilings of my living room, plus my wife's preference for at least dim lighting, this ruled out plasmas. The 58B860 in paricular lacked the light output to produce bright enough whites in all but a pitch black environment. The 55LH90 seemed to be the closest competitor and much cheaper, with the xbr8 and 52B750 being close behind. The LH90 however, seemed to produce too many motion artifacts, couldn't deliver quite as much "pop," along with a slew of more minor negatives.

Misc.

Upgrading from a Syntax Olevia 37 hvs (matte screen LCD), this tv has truly blown me away. While the perfect (OLED?) TV is still out of reach, the b8500 leaves little room for improvement. Input lag, a major concern for video gamers, runs under a tolerable 40ms according to my Rock Band 2 manual calibration with game mode turned on. With game mode off, the input lag increases to 140ms, which is easily noticeable. If running through a receiver, try component -> component instead of component -> hdmi for least lag. Game mode disables some processing but not the LED backlighting. The picture with game mode on even using a component connection (1080p) is incredible, though in need of some anti-aliasing on occasion. Turning off extra processing not disabled by game mode seems to have little effect on further decreasing lag, but I tend to turn them off. Auto motion is disabled in game mode, so expect some minor blur/ghosting.

The B8500 also has a ethernet port for connecting to the internet and your home network (including DLNA or Anynet). A cd included with the tv helps you play media from your PC. Widgets will automatically update to display weather, sports, news, etc., but are a little slow and less convenient than popping open a laptop. Still, it's a good idea to plug in the tv to your router at least occasionally for firmware updates.

Conclusion

For those in the market for a 55" HDTV, the b8500 is the most versatile and polished product out there. While a couple extremely high end plasmas beat out the b8500 in a dark room, no other LCD performs as well and the plasmas quickly lose out as you increase ambient light. The attractive and practical design and feature rich menus complete this incredible package. While the 55LH90 is easy to recommend to those focused on price vs. performance or in love with matte screens, the UN55B8500 is clearly a step up and would make a remarkable addition to any loving home. Prices should come down as we head into the holiday season and onto the super bowl, however these seem to be selling as fast as they arrive for now.

UPDATE: After upgrading to firmware 1008, I experienced a sort of "crop circles" phenomenon caused by a malfunction in the smart LED backlighting. If you search online, you'll find several reports as it is a very widespread problem. I have posted a picture exhibiting the problem above. It can be fixed easily by turning your tv off and on again, but may reappear occasionally. I'm guessing it will be fixed by firmware update eventually, but no word from Samsung. Regardless, I'm still very pleased with my purchase. If the crop circles weren't so easy to fix, I'd probably be fairly upset with the problem. However, it was subtle enough only to notice against a still, uniform and light background.

2nd Update: Crop circles have not returned yet. I expect them to from time to time, but it seems more of a random thing than a problem that takes time to set in. Forum posters seem to have received word from Samsung that this issue is resolved and they are starting to roll out firmware updates (for now just as usb sticks to those reporting the problem)

As for calibration, I used Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition [Blu-ray] to get my brightness, contrast and sharpness set properly. I came up with very similar numbers to what I've seen others post. Contrast 87, Brightness 47, Sharpness 30 (though i couldn't tell much difference fro 0 to 30). Setting the color space requires pro equipment, so I looked online for some numbers and they seemed to work better than default. Of course, it's a great idea to get your set calibrated by a pro because optimal color settings are not going to be the same between most b8500's. I use dynamic profile for daytime, standard for game mode, natural for sports (and some other tv shows), and movie for everything else.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung UN55B8500 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV Here

I have to echo Bearcat's rating as he is very thorough and accurate, but I want to throw my 2 cents in. When coupled with Samsung's own super-slim wall mount, which is just a glorified cable hanging on two sturdy disks, the TV sits amazingly close to the wall. Another neat feature that I found hard to believe--When watching movies from an external hard drive, the TV can read a large variety of video CODECs. It can read MP4, AVI, WMV, and MPG files. I'm not sure about the Audio support, but I haven't had any luck finding a movie file that I have that won't play right off an external USB hard drive. The TV also has about 1GB of internal storage to keep files on.

All the Widgits are slow, but they are sill usable with the exception of the Video-based widgets, which I find way too slow to load to be of any use. I'd rather power up my computer if I'm going to be doing any internet-based activities.

Of course, I'd be remiss not to mention how amazed I am with the picture quality. I'm upgrading from a 55" CRT-based TV, and watching this TV, for me, is like watching TV for the first time. The major selling point on this TV over Samsung's similar 55" offerings is the local-dimming feature. Many HDTV's I've seen over the years simply adjust the entire backlight to achieve deeper blacks and brighter whites, but they simply can't do both at the same time. It is very distracting for me to watch the backlight on those TV's ratchet up and down while watching a scene with a varying brightness. This is where the local dimming feature comes in. This TV can do both brights and darks, at the same time! I have waited for many years to find an TV that isn't distracting to watch. My wait was over with the release of the Sony XBR8, but it wasn't as affordable as I'd like. Once I saw the crisp visual quality of the Samsung 8000 series, and read of the local dimming feature of the 8500, I was sold on this TV and I ordered it without even sampling the picture. I could not be happier.

Want Samsung UN55B8500 55-Inch 1080p 240 Hz LED HDTV Discount?

Purchased a Samsung UN55B8500 March of '09 by December of '11 (less than 2-years) television abruptly lost picture (black screen) although the power-on lamp remain illuminated, television wouldn't turn off with remote while the clicking sound of an internal relay cycling could be heard unit had to be unplugged to shutdown. Plugging the television back in and powering up with remote illuminated power lamp but picture would not return while continuous relay cycling could be heard. An internet search indicated the problem was being experienced by other owners.

A help call to 1-800-Samsung went out resulting in a contact phone number being provided to the only local repair shop shop was called, said they'd call back and never returned call. Internet search quickly revealed overwhelming negative consumer experiences with repair shop.

A couple days later a second call to 1-800-Samsung was issued, requesting to speak to a Samsung service technician denied. An electrical schematic (which should have been included with product purchase) request was then issued, which Samsung refused to provide.

Conclusion the Samsung UN55B8500 did not meet reliability expectations (21 months) but more importantly Samsung refused to provide adequate service support as well as pertinent information necessary in restoring the UN55B8500 to operability.

As an owner of the UN55B8500 I can NOT recommend this product or any other products manufactured by Samsung due to substandard component quality and product support.

FWIW: Pixilation around quickly moving objects could not be corrected utilizing picture adjustment options.

Up-date, REPAIR information: Although two different technicians incorrectly diagnosed the MAIN board (main board has component HDMI etc. connects) as being bad it was fine, while the culprit was the POWER BOARD which sports the clicking relay and power capacitors, i.e. the board connected to the power cord. Industry Technicians indicate installation of under-rated capacitors are a common problem with LED/LCD circuits. Replaced Part (#BN44-00307A / made in Korea) power board which returned television to operability. Be careful some internet part providers are selling refurbished boards, get a NEW board and/or replace appropriate caps on bad board. Additionally, Samsung's part supplier did NOT have the required part in stock (imagine that?), while indicating up to a two week wait for part availability, they also refuse returns on ALL items sold all part and parcel to the Samsung experience. FWIW: New POWER BOARD was purchased from PartStore.com 1-866-933-5552 which returned televison back to operability.

You're welcome.

Save 33% Off

I have been looking for a big screen for a while now. Years even. I had pretty much resolved that I was going to get the Sony XBR 8. It has local dimming and is nearly universally referred to as the best LCD unit out there. My problem was that I wanted something with some of the more modern connectivity and interactive bells and whistles. The Sony XBR 9 and 10 added some functions, but were inferior to the XBR 8. Then came the Samsung 8500 series. Just like the XBR 8, it does not do edge lighting but rather uses LED for lighting only in the areas that need it (local dimming it REALLY gives you deep blacks). I got a chance to see the Sony XBR 8 and the Samsung 8500 side by side and while the Sony was good... the Samsung took the game to a whole new level.

To give you an idea of my setup, I have DirecTV and a PS3 which I use to play my Blu-Ray, Netflix and DVD discs.

The very first thing you will want to do when you hook up your set is connect it to the internet and check for updates. When the set was delivered, I jumped right in and start checking out the picture quality with DirecTV. As I went through channels, some in HD, I was starting to get worried. I was seeing some areas that seemed washed out and was noticing things that had me thinking that the set was not handling motion as well as I had seen in the showroom. However, once I checked for updates, found some, and installed them, everything was well. The issues I was noticing went away and the set performed flawlessly. Now any items I see are the result of the quality of the content.

CONNECTING IT: Do NOT pay tons of money for HDMI cables. You can trust me on this. I bought one $99 cable a $45 cable and a $9.99 cable. I tested all three and there was absolutely no difference in picture quality. The bottom line is that the signal is digital... it is a string of ones and zeros. You either get a picture or you don't. I tested these cables for a week and was able to return the expensive ones. This is not like the old stereo speaker cables or component cables that used to connect your tape deck to your receiver or your receiver to your TV. You could actually make an argument for expensive cables in those cases because it actually carried the signal. In this case, it just does not make a difference.

The HD content on DirecTV looks amazing. The lower resolutions stuff is REALLY going to stand out as bad, but that is the result of the source.

Netflix content surprised me. Now you can get Netflix content off a variety of boxes... so I cannot comment on all of them. However, I can tell you that with either an xbox 360 or a PS3, you are going to be pleasantly surprised by the quality this set gives you. The HD content on netflix is not quite as dazzling as your going to come to expect from HD, but it is amazing considering it is streaming material.

The quality of Blu-Ray discs (I have so far only played Star Trek and 300, but they are STUNNING) on the PS 3 is top notch. If you have an upscaling DVD player (Which the PS 3 does) you will find that the DVDs will look better than you have ever seen them look before. I just sat down to watch 'V for Vendetta' on DVD and it looked amazing. The upscaling is definitely improving the experience and the Samsung is really making it look its best.

Whatever you connect to the Samsung 8500 is going to look amazing. However, don't count on them sounding amazing. The built in speakers are a bit problematic. They seem to be pointing towards the back of the unit. As built in speaker go, I have heard much better. I am currently shopping for some external speakers. I suppose the good news here is that the unit has easy support for external speakers.

The interface is also a bit of a pain. Not horrible, but a bit wonky and the menus seem to lag a bit behind input from the remote. The one ray of sunshine in this is that you will find that fine tuning the picture is relatively easy and straightforward. I was able to get a picture I was happy with after about 20 minutes of fiddling without ever having to dig up the manual. Also, the presets are actually pretty good. I don't think you need to tweak the "Movie" setting at all if you are doing a Blu Ray or DVD night with the lights turned off and some popcorn in your lap.

It integrates easily with a ton of things from iPods to iPhones and hard drives. It also supports widgets but I have to admit I have not really jumped onto the bandwagon just yet.

The delivery from Amazon came off without a hitch. The guys brought it in, set it up and let me do a quick inspection to make sure it was not damaged in any way.

While the pricetag may seem a bit high, I think you will find that the price on Amazon is just about the best out there. I did quite a bit of shopping and found I was saving more than a few hundred dollars buying it on Amazon it also helped that I had a ton of Amazon gift certificates at the ready! If you are on Amazon Prime, delivery is then free and once you do all the math, you are saving a whole lot of money.

But, is it worth the extra grand to get this unit instead of the Sony XBR 8? No doubt in my mind. I have since gone back to the store and seen the Sony and can clearly see the contrast difference. The 8500 just blows everything else out of the water when it comes to reproducing those deep, rich blacks. With the better HD quality source, you are going to feel like you could reach right into the set and grab ahold of Leonardo DiCaprios spindly little neck.