Video Reviews

i have a celeron 500mhz with 128mb ram and i get 70FPS constant on unreal tournament in 1280x960 and 80FPS in quake3 in 1024x768 with FULL details settings. for some reason i go down to around 30FPS when i go to 1280x960 with full detail on quake3, so i just play at 1024x768, not much difference. half-life gets me 90fps in 1280x960. re-volt (that race game wit the remote control cars, pretty good game) gets me 130FPS (not kidding) in 1280x960. GET THIS CARD!!

You will not be disappointed with this purchase. I compared the price with many other camcorders that had the same features and I couldnt believe what a savings this was. When I recieved it it took apprx 1 hour to charge the battery and I was recording.. I must add the durablilty is Great! (I dropped it on our cement garage floor and not one thing was broken with amazement! ) Great buy-& lots of fun with a professional touch! :)

This Camera is great its got cool special effects great color great zoom Ive used it for countless movies like movies with like a story line and then some home movies. Its light long battery life has a when you shake like we all do when its filming it dappens it so its not as noticable that your not useing a tripod. If you have a video capture card itll be perfect to put on to your computer and edit. If you like makeing movies with plots, scipts, actors and so on this is the camera for you.

This is the first camcorder I have ever used that looks good on an HDTV. No... Let me correct that. It looks great!!!

Have you ever wondered why a normal camcorder looks so bad on an HDTV? It's because an HDTV is very high resolution. When you connect a traditional camcorder (even a Mini DV), the TV sees a much smaller, comparatively low resolution picture and must scale it (digitally enlarge it) to fit the screen. It doesn't matter if you have a $400 low end cam or a $4000 high end cam... Scaling the picture on virtually any HDTV will ruin your camcorder picture.

JVC solved this on the GR-HD1 with the world's first consumer HD camcorder. Basically, it's the first consumer camcorder ever that makes a picture which correctly fits a widescreen HDTV. It records a picture with 720 x 1280 dots, compared with 480 x 720 dots for a normal camcorder.

The result? The detail & resolution is simply phennominal! The colors look great! The video is much more appealing to watch in widescreen because it more closely matches your natural field of vision.

The only thing you need to be careful of is the frame rate. This shoots 720/30P. What that means is it takes video at 30 frames per second. As a result, if the camera uses too fast of a shutter speed you may see a "jitter" in things that move on-screen. The fix is really easy: Simply take the camcorder out of the "auto" mode and lock in a 1/30th of a second shutter speed. This eliminates the vast majority of the jitter. What you are left with is a superb high resolution video with a subtle "film-like" quality.

You don't have to be Stephen Speilberg to appreciate this. This is the ideal camcorder for any type of family video. Think about the great stuff happening today that you'll want to be able to watch 10-20 years from now, and still be happy with the quality.

If you own an HDTV, no other camcorder else even comes close!

This is one of the best VCRs I have ever seen. I am not talking about special features or bells & whistles. Simply put, this machine records and plays the best picture I have ever seen. I bought one of these last weekend for a spare room. First I tested it out on my main TV set. I made recordings and played them back and also played back pre-recorded tapes. I could not believe the picture reproduction. The greens, reds and blues were perfectly balanced and matched. Color alignment was perfect. This is the best resolution I have ever seen from a Standard VHS recording.

Great features with JVC reliability! Sound presets you can actually HEAR the difference. Adjustable speaker set-ups that tell the receiver how to process sound. Compulink 3 is a great JVC bonus that gives you greater control over an integrated component system and is compatible with older JVC products. Puts SONY to shame in terms of reliablility ("protect" light on a SONY receiver, anyone?), and has more options and inputs than other receivers in its class. Forward thinking JVC also has made it Dolby digital ready, and made room for all of the speaker outs that you'll need. Only complaints: it only has one Tape/MD input, so if you have a tape deck and an MD player you have to use the VCR input (not possible for some people). Also, no optical ins-or-outs. A little large, and pretty heavy, but well designed aesthetically. For people who want great sound, a decent price, and superior technology without the "show-off" qualities (read: flashing lights, buttons, and strange control systems for features you will never use) of higher priced models.

I've owned this A/V receiver for six months now and could not be more pleased. It is loaded with all the latest & greatest features a home theater receiver should have, including Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS-ES (6.1) and Dolby Digital-EX (6.1) processing, and six discrete analog inputs for high resolution audio sources like DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD. It also has pre-outs for all six channels plus subwoofer, four digital inputs (1 coax, 3 optical), and inputs for Phono, DVD, MD, TV/DBS, CD, CD-R, VCR x 2... Simply put, a receiver that can do almost everything and do it pretty well too. I say "almost" everything because the only area where it fell short was an additional amplifier for the back surrounds for 6.1/7.1 surround sound. In other words it is only powered for 5 channels (LF,C,RF,LS,RS). However I was aware of this and purchased a 2-ch outboard amp from [local store] for the "back" surround speakers. Undoubtedly adding the extra amp would have added to the price substantially when *most* people don't have 7.1 systems anyway (much less 5.1).

I originally purchased this receiver primarily in order to play high resolution DVD-Audio and the sound quality from this source is nothing less than spectacular. My feeling is that if a component (DVD player/receiver) can play music well then movies are no sweat and this is very true with this receiver. It handles music and movies equally well. Some people pay literally thousands of dollars to get this kind of performance from an AV receiver. At this price this is a steal!

It's the quality you would expect from JVC. The picture is clear , the sound is good, and the 4 head VCR records and replays tapes great. I've gone through 4 13" TV's in the last 5 years, so I'm hoping that this one will last longer than my prior ones. I wouldn't buy another Emerson which started eating tapes or Sharp which had the sound go out on it. We also have an Orion AC/DC 13" TV/VCR which is still working fine, but is not quite the quality of this unit.

If you're one of the lucky ones to have a Canon GL2 camera, you probably know that case options are few and far between for this 3CCD camera. I made "do" with a generic Lowe Pro camera bag for a few months, but based on a suggestion from a friend, I went for the Kata CCC-1111 model. It's not specifically listed as being compatible with the GL2, but it really should be.

The fit is tight in the main compartment if you have the extra large eye cup and the lens shield on the dvcam, but it still fits nicely. In fact, you have a few options as to the fit and layout of the bag - there's two dividers inside meant to accomodate smaller miniDV cams, but you can remove one, and leave the multi-level divider in place, and simply place the Canon GL2 on it's side in the top.

Fit and finish are superb. The trap door access on the back for the bottom of the case is a great idea. The two side pouches are removable, but hold secure while used. The straps are first rate, everything about this bag is almost perfect for the GL2. I have the bag loaded with shotgun mike, XLR adapter, two lapel mikes, spare batteries, charger, 10w light, and even have room for a Nikon CPX2500 digicam. Highly recommended.

I've been searching for a decent case for my Canon GL2, which is an unusual shape in 'consumer' or 'prosumer' digital miniDV camcorders. I tried bags from Lowe Pro and others, and they always seemed bulky and not quite right for the GL2.

The Kata bag was one I had my eye on, and when I finally was able to see one on a trip to Seattle, I knew it would be perfect for the GL2's long body and accessories.

And it nearly is. If the bag's inner compartment was about 1 inch longer, it would be completely perfect. Fortunately, this isn't much of a detriment - the soft shell of the bag and large amounts of padding can accomodate the long body and eyecup/viewer on the GL2 without much of a worry.

The bag looks extremely cool too - it doesn't look like your typical camera or camcorder bag. It's long, has a funky shape to it, and they have a unique "trap door" design to the bag that lets you put in a false bottom (velcro secured) platform to rest the camera on, and still stick accessories, spare film cassetes, etc below the camera - which you can then access via the secondary "trap door" enclosure on the back of the bag. Makes for very quick access to stuff.

The bag also includes two end pouches for storing cords, cables, tapes, batteries, chargers, etc, and they are held very securly with a three point connection - a plastic clip in the middle and two tight 'bungy cord' loops that attach to the bottom of the bag. Again, superb design shown here.

The carrying handle is nifty - you can adjust it's height, something I've not seen on another bag.

The shoulder strap is also top quality and stays secure thanks to the rubberized portion that rests on your shoulder.

You can also wear this with an optional belt attachment, and there's places to attach a tripod or monopod. All in all an excellent design, superb usability, and it looks way cool. If you own a GL2, this is the case for you.