Video Reviews

Gamecube is the best system out there and the best of all time.
Its only 99$ with a zelda disk. It is small and has a handle. You can pick of three colors. IT has fast loading and doesnt make a horrible noise like the ps2.Also it doesnt has a sliding disk thingy. That can break. A wireless controller and the following exclusive tirles. Mario kart, mario party 4 and 5, mario golf,mario sunshine, animal crossing, starfox, zelda, wario world, luigis mansion, metroid, sonic, monkeyball, kirdy, rogue leader. and more.
also you can buy a hookup so you can play gameboy advance games on the big screen. and finally a huge space memory card. buy a cube

PS2 may have a better range of games, but it's technology is already outdated compared to Gamecube and has very limited memory. In fact, multi-platform games are often scaled down to work on the PS2. 3 main problems people have with GC are:

1. No CD/DVD compatibility: Nintendo wanted to make a system for GAMES...I have my own CD and DVD player, why would I want that on my game system? The small size of Nintendo's discs allow it to be so small in size and mobile and proves a challenge for illegal copy making.

2. No Online Capabilities: NOT TRUE...anymore that is. You can now buy an internet adapter and more and more games are coming out that support online play.

3. Nintendo is a "kiddie" system: Nintendo aims to please all of it's gamers young and old...not just one group, and there are an increasing number of mature games on GC. Nintendo is doing it's best to get rid of the "kiddie" title.

**Just a word of advice...Don't listen to the Marketplace sellers trying to rip you off by selling GameCubes for up to almost $300...they only cost $99, and that's brand new. Also, you can get the Zelda classis 4-in-1 disc on Nintendo's online store and a lot less than the 3rd party sellers are asking. If you get a gamecube that includes the game...which many do, you don't have to pay for it at all.

Just a word of advice...Don't listen to the Marketplace sellers trying to rip you off by selling GameCubes for up to almost $300...they only cost $99 new. Also, you can get the Zelda classis 4-in-1 disc on Nintendo's online store and a lot less than the 3rd party sellers are asking. Many of the systems come with it at no extra cost.

I have owned this TV for almost month now, and am still very proud of my purchase after viewing lots of tubes and projections in the showrooms. I currently have my DSS connected to the s-video input (RCA audio), my DVD to color stream (RCA audio), my VCR to RCAs, and local TV to coax, and my camcorder to the front panel RCAs - and can switch between them all with the touch of ONE button on the remote, no more messy cable swapping. The TV itself is well-designed, all though I found the on-screen menus a bit frustrating, but I never use them, just that magic one button on the remote. This TV is loaded with inputs/outputs that similarly priced models lack - look carefully. The picture quality is stunning, I ranted and raved about it out loud the first night I watched a DVD using the Color Stream inputs. I don't have a receiver, and the built-in audio suffices with a noticeable difference when switching between normal and surround modes. Its plenty loud. I think the 170lbs weight is a misprint, my neighbor and I moaned carrying it up 6 small steps. This TV is VERY heavy and not easy to carry (it wants to tip over). The remote is a poor design, I bought a cheap universal the very next day. I kept picking it up and trying to use it backwards, cuz of its awkward weighting and couldn't find a single button in the dark. For a quality picture with plenty of integration options, this is an EXCELLENT value. Despite its minor inadequacies, I give it my highest rating. And don't forget to buck up for a delivery/setup service.

This TV is extremely popular for all the right reasons. I own several TVs and was looking to upgrade to a large screen. I went around to many stores to compare the picture quality of several manufacturers. This model was equal or superior to all in the 35 inch or above category, except for HDTVs and WEGAs which cost thousands. I have digital cable and the picture on this Toshiba is even better than the set I replaced. My VCR was simple to hook up and, even though it is not new enough to take advantage of the S video or component video, the picture quality is superb. I can't wait to upgrade my VCR now and also purchase a DVD player to truly take advantage of all this TV has to offer.

We bought this TV in December of 1999 and have never been sorry. We wanted a 36" set with component video inputs and over 800 lines of resolution, and this one fit the bill. (When we bought it, only the Sony WEGA at $1600 had component inputs.) This is an excellent set which has served us beautifully for over 4 years. If only I could say the same thing about the DVD player we bought at the same time....

The picture is stunning, sharp with accurate color, the sound is quite good (I always use the stereo for movies), and as I said, the quality is top notch. My degree is video production and I'm very picky about picture quality. I've never been disappointed.

It is a big beast, but on an entertainment center with wheels its not a problem for us (except when we moved.) The Amazon red carpet service delivery was absolutely worth it.

There are many similar purchasers of the Sony S7700 that are extremely disappointed in the sound quality of this unit and have had another piece of equipment previously who's audio was far superior and cost less money. For example, my previous player was a Sony S-530D which had within 6 months lip-sync problems, an audio that would periodically cutout, and a picture that froze and broke-up into pixels (similar to satellite broadcast problems), however, its' audio was excellent when it worked. Now that I have moved to the top-of-the-line in Sony DVD players, I am again disappointed and am of the opinion that they can not make a quality product that is complete. Thus far, I have contacted Sony to see if they are willing to do anything about the situation and to determine if the reported down-sampling of the digital output from 97 MHz to 48 MHz is the cause for the poor sound quality or, if not, whether they will do something about this issue. At this point I am not very optimistic about Sony satisfactorily addressing this issue and offering a fix via a service center. Unfortunately, out of all the buyers who have this same issue and want good sound quality, none have posted results of pursuing the down-sampling fix by MSB to address this issue-does it work or is it something else. This unit was supposedly designed to be a top quality audio player since it has dual discrete pickups with separate lasers for CD and DVD at the optimal frequencies, however, the audio output is dismal at best for both. If I were the manufacturer of this product, I would be so embarrassed about my top-of-the-line product, I would move heaven and earth to rectify this issue, we can only assume that they are either incapable or don't care.

I have owned my Sony DVP-S7700 player for some time and I never had any problem with it. Therefore, I was amazed that some people actually had a problem with this player as posted in some of the other reviews. I, for one, found the sound quality to be excellent. Incidentally, of all the professional reviews I read on the S7700, never once did I see a review mention that the sound quality of this unit was only fair. Articles I have read have also compared this player to a top-of-the-line cd player. And I agree with them. After installing my player, I can honestly say my cds sounded better. This has me convinced that not all cd players sound the same. My only thought for people who are having sound problems is perhaps they should have a home theater technician look into their setup. Maybe all that is needed is a small adjustment and then they will know what the rest of us are talking about when we marvel about how great a DVD player this is. In case you are wondering, I do not work for Sony; I am just a very, very satisfied Sony customer.

Is it possible to fall in love with a DVD player? If it is, then this is the one that will grab your heart. Let me say it plainly - the Sony DVP-S7700 is an awesome player. I've used several different models, but this is definitely my favorite of the bunch. And that's saying a lot, because I was extremely surprised when I was able to watch home video authored on DVD-R, DVD+R and DVD+RW discs. Except for DVD-RW media, I use the S7700 as my reference player to check the quality of burned DVD's, which leads me to believe that if the S7700 can play the disk, then 99.9% of all second generation players will play the same disc too.

Let's talk picture quality - I was really impressed. The image (via both S-Video and Component) was tremendous. Rich, vibrant colors and deep, detailed blacks. I saw no artifacting at all - the player just crunched right through even the toughest scenes. The hyperdrive scene of Lost In Space looked phenomenal. The whole sequence is white-washed with bright sunlight, yet no artifacting was visible, and plenty of detail was still apparent. On the other hand, the dark interiors of Star Trek: First Contact were nicely conveyed by the 7700, with a good range of contrast and plenty of shadow detail. The warm hues of The English Patient were beautiful in appearance, with lustrous golds, reds and browns rendered, and nicely accurate flesh-tones. As I've seen with DVD in general, the S-Video picture looked to have a slightly crisper, edgy quality to it, and very slightly more saturated color. The Component signal, on the other hand, was more film-like, and had more accurate color rendition - I definitely preferred it.

So how about the audio performance, you may be wondering? It's equally good. There are dual analog outputs, as well as a coaxial digital and an optical digital out (there are no on-board audio decoders). The player features the much-loved Sony Audio Priority selection feature, whereby the player automatically finds the 5.1 track on most DVDs (with the exception of some titles from Paramount, for example, where this feature has been software-disallowed on the disc itself). The 7700 also reads the proper flags on DTS-encoded DVDs, allowing you to output the sound data to an outboard DTS decoder. I saw no problems with audio sync whatsoever.

As for audio CDs, believe it or not, the 7700 performed as well as my stand-alone Sony CD player. The sound was rich and full, with little of the edgy quality that some DVD players add to CD audio. I was really surprised at this too.

The Sony DVP-S7700 is simply the best DVD player I've yet had the privilege to use.

kambizm@msn.com

My wife purchased a Sony camcorder model DCR-TRV-103 in the summer of 2000 and gave it to me as a gift for to take on our 25 day tour of Europe in September ,2000. After familiarizing myself it I never had a reason to use it until on our trip. About half way into the trip the unit failed in Rome , Italy with about two weeks left on our tour. After returning home I sent it to a Sony Service Center near St. Louis and received it back about a month later. I did not use it again until the following August for about 15 min. to record a Christening at our church and it Worked o.k. I didn't use it again until Christmas day to record our last holiday in our present home .All our family was present. After nearly an hour I checked to see if the cassette had finished and I was shocked to see it had failed with the same exact failure as the first .I believe it should have held up longer than two hours of recording time since the repair but not so. Now Sony refuses to make the repair good ...

I have had this camera for about 3 months, and I am very satisfied with the quality of the camera itself (not surprising from Sony), and the quality of the results. Considering the resolution (500 lines, compared to 240~260 for VHS & 400 for S-VHS, both of which are analog), I don't really see any great advantage to going with DV technology, except that a full digital camera is a bit lighter and the fact that you can record up to 2 hours on a DV tape, compared to 1 hour on either 8mm or Hi8 tape. I use both tapes, by the way, and there is no readily noticeable difference in quality. As far as the weight, since I do a lot of handheld recording, I find that I like this one better because a lighter camera is more difficult to keep steady. The recording sound quality is very good also, as well as being able to record in darkness! The ONLY, and I mean ONLY thing about this camera that bothers me is the fact that more of the on-camera controls are not duplicated on the remote control, such as fades, backlight, etc. I do a lot of active videography, and even though I have a very steady hand, it's very hard not to jiggle the camera when trying to turn on a fade or the backlight or one of the picture processing modes. Other than that, I would highly recommend this camera to anyone.

We purchased this camcorder after doing research for severalweeks. We bought it with scuba diving in mind as eventually we willbuy the expensive underwater housing.

I can only say that I have been extremely happy with my purchase. One of the first events I captured was my girlfriends little sisters HS graduation. The picture quality and sound play back especially during music performances was great.

We did but a 8 hour battery which added a little weight but runs for seems like forever. We also bought the telephoto lens for those really far away shots.

I normally turn off the digital zoom unless I have an extremely steady hand or have it on a tripod. As you get into the higher zooms if the camera is shaking the pictures gets unusable. Put it on a tripod and at full digital zoom it almost looks as good as optical zoom.

I've used it to capture pictures and then pass this to my computer and have been very happy with the special effects as well.

Robert

I owned Sony analog camcorder for long time. Recently I bought this one for digital storage and compact size.

I am suprised to see very poor quality video compare to my old analog camcorder. video is really dark and not worth taking in home(Even on bright day). I continue use old analog camcorder for family video.

The DCRHC20 was not one of the camcorders on my shopping list, but that changed the minute I picked it up. It is small and lightweight(about 1lb), and by that I mean I can hold this thing all day without getting a cramp in my arm. Compared to the Sony 8mm I used in the past, the video quality on this blows it away in every way. The night shot is beautiful, outside shots are crisp and vibrant, and the indoor video is easily adjusted to compensate for lack of light. I have only played the video back on the TV so far, and it looks and sounds amazing! A hot shoe is on this thing to accept a video light, microphone etc. Sony thought of everything. All of the hookups are there for the VCR, computer, or whatever you want to hook thing in to. I have not tried the included software so I cannot comment on it at this time.

It is a wonderful camcorder if you want it small, easy to use, and packed with many other features that I don't have time to list. You can't go wrong with this one, see for yourself, and have fun with it.

i figured i would review it since Amazon's reviews have always helped me in the past. I am going from an old Canon 8mm, so this is my first DV camcorder. First, it is very small, in a good way. It feels solid, but not bulky. The controls are very responsive and fast. The LCD uses a touchscreen menu, i wasn't sure i would like it, but it's great. Since the menu can change with every screen, you aren't limited by a few buttons. It also has an integrated manual lens cover. The charger plugs directly into the camera, so no bulky chargers either.

The quality is good, but again, i haven't done anything more than a few test shots. I already have a 4MP digital camera, so i didn't care about photos and i didn't want to buy into Sony's Memory Stick scam. Apparently after a photo, it records 7 seconds of sound. Quite annoying.

My goal is to shoot vids of my kids and burn them to DVD with my PC. The camera comes with all the cables you need, except the firewire/IE444?/I-link cable. You can do USB transfer, but i've heard its not as good as firewire. I am very happy with this purchase and plan on keeping it.

Sending mine back-- liked the small profile and features. Shot a few minutes of video on a new tape. Brought it home to watch it and ate the tape up when I tried to rewind it. I'm glad I was only trying it out, I'd hate to have the tape of something important get eaten by the machine.

The Canon Elura 2MC MiniDV camcorder is a marvel of technology. It packs several great features (progressive CCD for great image quality, firewire output, up to 40X zoom, digital effects, etc.) into the smallest camcorder commonly available. Rather than repeating several of the great points mentioned by other reviewers, I'd like to elaborate on two specific details:

1) Size: The incredibly small size of this camcorder will absolutely change the way you film events - rather than spending a majority of your attention on the camcorder when filming a scene, the camcorder almost disappears in your palm and allows you to concentrate on your subject - and not on the act of capturing the moment.

2) Progressive scan CCD: The design of the image capture system means that every frame is captured completely. This differs from other CCD designs that captures half of the pixels each frame and combines two sets to create a still image. The Progressive scan system makes for crisp video images and clearer stills.

A couple of Pro's:

- The manual is clear, detailed and well laid-out.

- The camcorder comes with a battery charger than can hold multiple batteries (although it only charges one at a time).

A couple of con's which should provide only minor annoyance:

- The camcorder does not dome with the 4-pin to 6-pin firewire cable that is required for computer connectivity. While I was able to purchased one for only $15.99, why isn't one included?

- The memory that holds still images (Canon's own MultiMediaCard) is proprietary, and replacement/expansions for this memory is difficult to find (and can't be ordered from Canon's website). I would have preferred either of two popular formats: SmartMedia or CompactFlash.

- Battery life is quite short (using the 2.5" display, the battery is done after only 40 mins). While this is required to reduce size, any sort of extended use will require several batteries.

------------

Overall, this camcorder sets the standard for all of Canon's competitors to meet. It's size advantage is even more impressive because this camcorder has all of the functionality of it's larger competition and more. This is a great camcorder for family/personal use - only those individuals whom need very high-end functionality (triple CCD or advanced white balancing) will need to look elsewhere.

This camcorder combines ease of use, picture quality and convenience in a very small package. It has a wide variety of features, most of which I have not even begun to play around with.

For travel purposes, I can't imagine going anywhere without this compact yet powerful camcorder -- you can throw it in a fanny pack and hardly even notice it's there (but be sure to buy the 2 hr extended battery if you plan on shooting footage for more than 1/2 an hour). It also doubles as a digital camera, but take note that the digital photos it takes on the multi-media card are not suitable for print-quality photos; rather, it's a handy way to take pics and send them over email or post them to a website with decent picture quality without having to go and buy a digital camera (or travel with both).

It's also great for capturing high-speed action with the digital scan mode. Tape a golf swing, hockey game or skiing action and replay it in slow-motion.

I have no complaints to level against this product, and I have no reservations recommending this if you're looking for a high-quality camcorder that you can take just about anywhere and not have to worry about weight and bulk.

The picture quality is better than my JVC 4 head Hi Fi VCR.The stereo dbx sound is flawless. The remote works quicker than any Ihave ever used. It records stereo movies from Showtime and HBO to tapes that equal factory videos. Still pictures are completely noiseless, as in search and reveiw. The only complaint I have is that the so called lighted remote is not really lighted. I own eight VCR's and this is the least expensive one I have purchased. And yet it is just about the best.

I have recently purchased and used the "Panasonic PV-9450 4-Head Hi-Fi" VCR. I read the VCR's manual to see a list of features, available for this device. After reading the manual and seeing the features, I was impressed. The feature I favor the most is the timed recording (the ability to set a time range and date for programs to be automatically recorded) feature. I'm impressed with this feature for the reason that I miss some episodes of my favorite TV shows and movies that come on while I'm at work, so I can really use this to record and playback anything on TV that I miss. Another aspect of the VCR I like is the low price when purchased at Amazon.com (although, that can change anytime). It is very inexpensive for a VCR. In fact, it's the least expensive VCR I have ever seen advertised. The manual is pretty easy to read and understand, so anybody can learn how to use this VCR in no time.

An excellent VCR, only wish they still sold it. So easy to program, good picture quality and a great price. I'm looking to buy another VCR and will stick with Panasonic. I particularly like the date/time stamp when you record a program. I have owned many VCR's going way back to the old Betamax days(still own it too) including Sears, JVC, Symphonic, Daytron, Phillips but this by far is the easiest to use.

Unfortunatly when shopping for a prosumer camera in this price range weighing the pros and cons is definitatly tough. The canon XL1s is and Excellent camera that captures the ENG style most pro cameras at this range misses. However before getting all hot and bothered over that the camera has trouble focusing in low light and a very pixilated picture when it does. The Mic on some of the the XL1s's pick up body noise which is extremely distracting since zooming is a loud function. They sell an adaptor for about $$$ but I have no idea how good it is. To boot there are no XLR plugs on the camera. So guess what. You got it another adaptor.
Ok its not all bad In fact there is some good. The 16:9 crop bars are excellent for professional shooting. The ENG camera build is of the professional style so you look like the real deal. For the Director in us all the focus ring allows for a makeshift short depth of field... excellent for a film look. At this price you have to bite the bullet and weigh the pros and cons and hope when your return peroid ends you made the right decision.

The picture quality of the XL1s is outstanding and it is known to be the industry's leading pro-sumer camcorder. It is also an extremely versatile camera, allowing you to change lenses, vary your audio options (such as connecting to professional audio sound systems), and film in both frame and wide-screen formats. The only drawbacks are that it is quite a leap in complexity and it doesn't have a pop-out viewfinder, which means you're stuck looking throught the eye-piece or have to buy an attachable view-finder.

It isn't for your average videographer who wants to just take video of family and vacations. It is actually being used to film documentaries and for professional services such as filming events such as weddings (which is what I use it for).

Due to its size, weight, complexity, and cost (especially when you add the optional accessories such as filters, additional lenses and microphones, etc.), you had better be very serious about videography before you invest in the XL1s. If you are, you will be thrilled with this camera.

What's reviewer: "a customer" & "Tyrone Brumwell"...thinking! There is a Canon XL2 comming out next month in August. I contacted Canon USA and verified it. You can do the same at 1-800-OkCanon. SAVE your money for this new beauty ($4,000) it will be worth it! Read the specs at canon's website. The Xl1 and XL1s, don't come close!!!

Where I work, we once had a discussion about Monster cables and if they really do provide a better signal than a decent less-expensive cable.

So, we injected a range on freqencies through the Monster and looked at it on both an O-scope and a spectrum analyzer. We then did the same for a cable of the same type, but not a so-called Monster.

The Monster had *slightly* less attenuation, however the attenuation was not constant and the fluctuating attenuation introduced fluctuating harmonics. The differences between the Monster and the other cable, however, were along the same lines that one would expect to see from two similiar cables from different manufacturers.

My conclusion is that Monster cables simply are not worth the price. As for the construction itself, I don't find it very durable. It gives the appearance of durability, but I was not impressed with how the connectors were applied. For as much as these things cost, there should be better workmanship.

Professional cables can be had for half the cost of Monster cables. Monster cables are high-end low-end cables, where the high-end aspect is mainly in price. Its no suprise that one wouldn't find Monster cables being used in any professional sound studio.

I believe the "better picture aspect" of Monster video cables to be attributed mainly to psychological factors.

My advice would be to get the Microsoft HD AV Pack (which is what I'm using myself) for $20 and use the $40 you'll save on a game.

I bought this cable because I've long been a fan of Monster's products. My first thought on opening the package was that the cable itself is beautiful. Then I began to pay more attention to things.
The audio and video segments are side by side which caused some dismay because I wanted to run sound through my receiver. If you pay another 40 and get the proprietary optical cable, you can wire your sound through a receiver but this would mean spending 100 on cables for your Xbox. I have no doubt that there is an improvement but I have doubts as to how detectable it will be. The package does say a separate optical cable is necessary but in my purchasing haste, I failed to notice this.

I prefered to just get the standard HD kit from Microsoft for 17.99 and then hook up my own component cables and optical cable.

I feel that a $60 cable for a game system should include an optical cable for sound. Requiring the purchase of a proprietary optical cable instead of allowing any optical cable to connect is another slap in the consumer's face.

Although, I was a bit skeptical about paying that much money for a set of cables, in the long run they have paid off. These cables, with my sony flat-screen tv, provide some of the clearest picture I've seen so far and my tv's not even hdtv! Also, buy the monster cable lightwave 100x cables because it provides the best sound possible on xbox.

I had been "window shopping" the digital video format for about 2 years. My criteria were simple. I desired a quality picture, simple to operate (meaning I had a fighting chance), and a minimal digial still picture option. I narrowed my selections down to the Canon and a simular sony model. The fact sony uses the memory stick and my other devices use the Secure Disk helped me make my decision. The first test for the camera was a trip to Italy. I was extreemly happy with the video quality in both low light (nothing like the old church test) and bright sunlight. Too, the still pictures were very good in full sunlight, but indoor with flash (including my childrens' sporting events) I have been less happy. The truth is, I knew I needed greater still resolution, but I considered the still fuction more of a bonus. The size of the camera is also nice, given I have larger hands (the canon mc40 was just too small). Ease of use is great and there are clearly more options than I will ever desire. I am very happy with my value for money.

I have worked with professional level Beta units, and prosumer DV cameras such as the Canon XL1. Although the Optura lacks some of their useful features, like zebra striping, it has fantastic image quality that rivals 3-CCD units, in a very compact package.

Having the flash is a must to make the still mode useful, if you ever want to use it. Exposure was good and image quality fairly good, considering it is only a 1.3 Mpx image.

I have larger hands but I found the camera very comfortable to hold. I have had problems with other Canon gear because I find they design for very small hands compared to Nikon.

I have not seen any of the rewinding problems reported in the other review of this product, after about 20 hours of use.

My only complaint is that low light performance can be weak. I would be concerned about trying to shoot good video in candlelight conditions (i.e. Thanksgiving Dinner) but those would be tough conditions for any camera. Nor would I ever consider using something like Sony NightShot -- I'm not interested in family video that looks like war footage.

A great camera, at a better price point than the comparable Sony PC-110.

After 6 months of researching digital camcorders, I finally settled on the Optura 100MC. I am glad that I did. It got some heavy use over the past month and I am extreamly pleased with its performance.

Highlights:
> Great video
> Easy to use (once you read the instruction booklet)
> Fits nicely in your hand
> Numerous manual options to control lighting, etc...
> Takes real good digital stills
> Fun to use
> Have not encountered any tape eating problems

Drawbacks:
> Instruction booklet is long so allow about 3 - 4 hours to read it in order to get the most out of your camcorder
> High price but you can find it cheaper by doing a little searching on the internet
> Cover on front of camera to protect DC adapter plug and S-Video port is attached by a cheap plastic connecter
> Audio pickup is not that good

I am extreamly happy with the Optura 100MC and it took me a long time and a lot of hours of research to locate the most bang for the buck. Definetly consider the Optura 100MC if you are purchasing a digital camcorder.