Video Reviews

you would think for the price it doesn't skip but it does!

This player, though the price is attractive, and support DD and DTS output.. have to work with a good reciever to bring out the sound that it support, since the player itself have no means of decoding the signals of the DVDs. Therefore buy it if u must as a basic player and nothing more.

I bought this player on a recommendation and am very pleased with my purchase. Although it depends on your criteria, I think this is a very good buy.

I don't have an amazing entertainment system. I cannot judge its capabilities in that area (although there is an obvious improvement over video). I wanted a DVD player because I am a movie buff and I love the extras. And that's what I got. It is easy and hasn't given me any problems.

The only thing (and this goes for all DVD players, I found out) is that you might require another piece of equipment before you can get it to work. Look at the back of your TV. If you only have one antenna spot, you need to buy an RF modulator too. Just a little tip that I didn't know about.

In summary, I would recommend this player. Be warned, though, because it causes a hysteria where you feel you must watch WAY too many movies!

I have a satellite dish, and didn't realize until we got this vcr all set up that it wouldn't work with the dish! We started with the setup menu, and tried to program it to record, and it wouldn't recognize the satellite channels! It is going right back to Amazon[.com], and hopefully the next one we try will actually be compatible with the dish. If you have a satellite, don't even bother with this vcr. I am sure it is wonderful, but we didn't even get as far as putting a tape into it, and now we have to pay to have it shipped back. How frustrating!

Great deal for the price. I've had this unit for a couple of weeks now and have had no problems. The remote is really easy to use and the menus for timed recordings and the manual time setup (if your pbs station doesn't broadcast the time) are idiot proof.

You won't have to get your kids to tell you how to use this one. ;)

4 head hi-fi for under 50 bucks. For the $$$$, I expected something rather cheesy but, the unit is really put togehter well and performance thus far has been great. Buy this unit and you will be pleased.

This Sony software is actually made by Pinnacle Systems, and thus Sony's helpdesk will refer you to Pinnacle. Boy did I need help! The software came without a serial # required to install it, and it took me almost 8 hours with email, fax and phone with Pinnacle to get a serial #. The FireWire card supplied did not include the promised installation instructions, so I had ...[to] guess. Once I got the serial #, the installation went well, but Pinnacle's help desk is not an impressive outfit. Once installed, my Win XP PC instantly recognized my Sony Mini DV camcorder, and I downloaded my tape onto my hard drive with good intuitive controls.

First off... I have not tried this!!!!

BUT! When I got here, my first thought was.... OK... what is this, since amazon does not seem to supply ANY information about it at all. So I went hunting, and I figure I'd share my finds with you.

Key Features:

- Add titles, narration, special effects and more
- Capture one hour of DV tape in 150 MB of disk space with SmartCapture feature
- Create DV tapes, MPEG files, AVI clips, or RealVideo files for web-streaming
- The perfect companion to your DV or Digital8 camcorder

Package includes

2-Sony DVM60PR MiniDV Tapes
1-IEEE 1394 PCI Board
Pinnacle Systems Studio DV Editing Software
Instruction Guide to Movie Making
1-IEEE 1394 (Firewire/i.link) 6-Pin x 4-Pin cable

There was a note on the same page that I found all this saying that this only supports NTSC, NOT PAL version...

overall, this looks like a pretty good deal for those who want to transfer their MiniDV's to their computers, only gave it 4 stars since A) I personally haven't used it, and B) When it comes to video editing, I'm more a type A personality, and I think I'd like more control than this product would give me. but thats just me :)

hope this helps

I have just bought this "audio editing package" as a part of my first video camera kit. I found it great because it contains all do you need to begin working on your digital videos, the software interface its very intuitive and very easy to use and you can be making things on broadcast quality very soon.

The only complaint that I have, and the reason why I only assign 4 stars to this product, it's that the documentation is very poor (actually doesn't mention anything about the PCI card setup) and also I didn't find any help on-line to accomplish this task (neither in the websites of Sony and Pinnacle) .

If you have a medium knowledge on setting up a PCI device within your PC and you are interested in begin video edition this product is for you. (By the way the only difference between this package and the D8 labeled it's the media tapes they have inside).

With such excellent reviews of this VCR I did not expect any problems...unfortunatly I was wrong. The VCR boasts a cable box controller that is supposed to "bounce" off your walls to control the box. This feature did not work with my standard cable box unless the box teetered off the side so its sensor was directly over the VCRs sensor (whickh is placed on the left top corner of the VCR instead of the middle). The setup and program features are archaic and the remote buttons are awkwardly placed.

The first VCR which truly communicates faultlessly with a DSS box. An amazing product.

I bought this VCR listening to all the wonderful things people have said about Toshibas VCR. They have special technology in all of their VCRs for better veiwing. Combined with monster cables this VCR produced crystal clear video and great Hi-Fi sound. I have one complaint, but a small one. On most other VCRs, if you leave a movie paused long enough, it will just stop the movie. On this VCR after that amount of time, it would just continue playing the movie. This problem is easy enough to cope with by pressing the stop button if you are going to be away for an extended period. Good Value, great buy. Remember, for the best audio/video buy monster cables to interconnect your TV to VCR.

It plays well, but it can really annoy you. The VCR plays some tapes well, but other tapes jump like crazy. These same types play just fine in our other VCR. Also, the DVD plays some DVDs. Others begin with a lot of jumping or skipping, when they play fine in our other player. Also, it has the habit of skipping ahead to the next chapter on DVDs. And the DVD player is EXTREMELY annoying. If a DVD is in the player when you turn it on, the DVD begins playing automatically and often won't let you stop it right away. Apparently, it didn't occur to the designer that perhaps I might want to play a video. Lastly, the remote is designed with only one fast-forward and one reverse button. You press them to skip back or ahead a chapter. To search, you have to hold down the same buttons. In short, it's really easy to skip to another chapter rather than search.

We've already decided that when we replace this unit, we're going to pound on it a few times before throwing it in the trash. I wouldn't even GIVE it to anyone.

I have had this product almost a week. I really like it. I am concerned about the combo and quality issues. So far I really like it. The only complaint I have is that the remote is not very responsive. I have to push the buttons quite hard and sometimes multiple times before it takes.

I haven't have it for very long, but so far I love it. The picture is great, and the sound is fabulous. The remote was a bit intimidating at first, but turned out to be fairly easy. I have not had any problem getting the remote to work smoothly as long as I remember to point it at the sensor. If I do that, it works great.
The only complaint that I have so far, is that the manual could have been put together in a more onganized manner. Flipping back and forth just to do one thing got to be more than a bit agravating.
Overall, I am happy with my purchase. So far, I recomend this product.

I just purchased this stand from Amezon.com. This is very poorly make speaker stand. The base is very weak and made by plastic-like material, very light. And it is very over-priced compared with other similar speaker stands on the market. Not recommended at all!

Light-weight, but durable enough. Love being able to put wires through the tube upto the top, saving the cluttered look you might have elsewise.

Some simple assembly required.

Sanus stands and other products are the best. Beautiful to look and solid. THe ability to add weight to stabilize th stand is a plus.

I just purchased this stand from Amezon.com. This is very poorly make speaker stand. The base is very weak and made by plastic-like material, very light. And it is very over-priced compared with other similar speaker stands on the market. Not recommended at all!

Light-weight, but durable enough. Love being able to put wires through the tube upto the top, saving the cluttered look you might have elsewise.

Some simple assembly required.

Sanus stands and other products are the best. Beautiful to look and solid. THe ability to add weight to stabilize th stand is a plus.

I just purchased this stand from Amezon.com. This is very poorly make speaker stand. The base is very weak and made by plastic-like material, very light. And it is very over-priced compared with other similar speaker stands on the market. Not recommended at all!

Light-weight, but durable enough. Love being able to put wires through the tube upto the top, saving the cluttered look you might have elsewise.

Some simple assembly required.

Sanus stands and other products are the best. Beautiful to look and solid. THe ability to add weight to stabilize th stand is a plus.

I liked the size and the quality of pictures. The digital pictures were good also. The problem is getting the pictures to play back. Seems the clogged head syndrome appeared. The picture was distorted and now after 1 month, I have to return the camera for repairs. For the cost of this camera, one would expect to use it more than once every month. I think the price of this camera should reflect that of one that has a manufacturers rebuild. Recent research shows we will be waiting for parts to get it fixed.

This one, and others break. They break without warning, and you are out 500 to 800 dollars.

Buy the camcorder from a store that is authorized by Mack Video (they do all camera, and video repair)

You can get a 4 year video warranty for about $50 and it's a good warranty.

Just got my sharp minidv and is a beauty, very simple to use, did not have to look at the manual at all, menu's are very clear and logical,is light and small, just a little bigger than my fuji digital camera, video recordings are excellent and sound is very good to excellent, depending on what mode you choose.
IMHO a very good buy, I'd like to have a screen protector and I think the smart media card should be included.

This system is a piece of cake to install. Two people make it easier and faster. Make sure you have electrical outlets at both locations where the monitor and camera will go. Then, FIRST take the camera and set it in the area where you will later mount it. Then set up the monitor where you want it. Good picture? Congratulations! Poor picture? Try adjusting the antennas on each device to hopefully achieve good reception. (Poor reception will have rolling lines through it.) Still poor reception? Box it up, send it back, and buy a wired system. Perhaps the First Alert brand. It worked well for me.

This little camera works nice in daylight and low light conditions, but does not work very efficiently on dark areas. Also if you install it close to a glossy surface, like semi-gloss or gloss painted concrete, you will recieve IR bounce that looks like a halo at night. The monitor works nice and the sound is clear. If anyone knows where to buy additional cameras, please drop me a line at emc2_gardo@hotmail.com. Thanks!

I bought this unit to monitor my barn. I have 17 mares to foal and want to keep a very close eye on them. My barn is over 300 feet away from my house and this unit works beautifully. The monitor works with up to four cameras. I now have 3 cameras hooked up to my unit and am considering buying the 4th camera. Its easy to install, easy to run. I have a crystal clear picture in one stall, and a not quite as good of pictures in the other two stalls which are a little further away. I love this product.