Video Reviews

This is the first time that I have bought a reciever of this type. I was reading all the reviews and recommendations from everybody before I bought this sucker. I actually bought it at a good price at the time ( 379 bones ) knowing from comments that the manual was lousy. I figured that it shouldn't be all that bad since I have a technical degree. Receiver was great. But it took me a fairly long time to get it work right with the subwoofer ( I had to fumble with a bunch of settings before I found the right one ). Still, it's a great system for the future.

I purchased this amplifier about three days ago. I had been looking for quite some time looking at sony, pioneer, denon, yamaha, morantz, onkyo, and some others that were so expensive I can't even remember the names of them. Of all the brands I looked at I chose this one because of the things I had heard about it from friends. With cost being no factor I wanted something dependable, sleek, powerful, and good sounding. This reciever is all that and then some. My home theater is now complete. Compared to the other brands I looked at (including the $5000.00 ones), this one seemed more reasonablely priced and more so high quality. It sounds great, looks great, it is great. Thanks to the JVC engineering. I needed something that was compatible with my DVD player and something that would sound great with my music. I have front speakers that were $1200 for the pair and I needed something that was powerful enough and clear enough for them. This amp is. I would reccommend it to any future buyers looking for one, not to mention it does have a very nice light set on the face of it. That just adds to the look of the home theater. Im glad my friends reccommended this to me. Thanks guys!

I have owned this receiver for a couple of months and bought a JVC DVD Player with the receiver. The sound and clarity is outstanding. I tried units like Yamaha and harmon kardon and found that this unit has more features and sounds identical to the Yamaha or H.K. The TEXT CompuLink between the DVD Player and the receiver makes using the unit extremely easy. The One Touch Operation keeps a memory of all the settings for the different functions used on the receiver. The remote is great. I use it to operate my satelite, tv, vcr, dvd, and receiver. The DTS and Dolby Digital is great on this unit as well. I would recommend this unit for any individual that wants a clear, precise, digital sound for a fraction of the cost of a high-end unit. JVC uses the Motorola DSP chip for its decoding. This is the same chip used by all the high-end units.

Over all I'm inpressed with it after using it for 2 days. Beats using a keyboard to control a race car sim. Had trouble getting it set up with NASCAR Racing 3 though, it doesn't recognize all of the available buttons, so the shifter does not work in that program. The paddle shifters work fine though. If anyone knows a work around for that I'de like to know.

Over all nice product very heavy, feels quite sturdy. The clamp does not fit on my desk too well but holds enough to keep it in place. The force feed back adds a little bit of extra realism to the game and took no effort at all to get to work.

I would buy it again, nice product for a nice price.

This steering wheel is the best. I've used many different racing wheels, including others by thrustmaster, and they all worked well. The force feedback wheel is by far the most realistic wheel i have ever used. I used to do some stock car racing in my younger years and let me tell you, this wheel drives and responds like the real thing, assuming you have the force feedback options setup correctly in the game itself. When you get hit in the rear and go into a spin, you can feel every bump, spin and crack in the track. I highly recommend it!!!

My son loves racing on line with Nascar2003 and others...We have bought him many Logitech racing wheels. They are not bad, but the pedal shafts are made of plastic and break very easily. For roughly 25 cents, they could replace these with metal and greatly improve the longevity.

This Thrustmaster works better in every way. The shafts are metal and they last forever. The shifter makes for more realistic racing. If you have enthusiastic on line racers in your house choose this one, or keep buying new ones every 4 or 5 months. The first one we bought 18 months ago still works fine. Just bought another so two can race at the same time in our house!

As with any computer accessory, your experience may be very different, but this card has never been quite right for me. The updated drivers from the website need to be re-installed before I play any graphics intensive games. I have to turn features off on every game, but different ones for different games. I've never gotten The Sims to play correctly unless I window it, which means I'm not using the graphics card to it's full extent.

The reson I bought this card over other choices is it's built in support for multi-head display, and every day I think about taking my old graphics card back from my wife's computer and finding that old cheapie second graphics card I was using and doing dual head the clumsy way that worked better.

All that being said, it does dual head display and only takes up the agp slot. When it's working well it does look pretty good. I don't know about frame rates so I can't tell you anythign there. I'll probably leave it in until the GeForce4 comes out, and then replace it, but it won't go in the hand-me down pipeline, it'll go in the "free to a good home" box.

Radeon has been my video card of choice for some time now. This card offers decent preformance for a great price. FYI, if your looking for the best graphics, go with a 8500. For everyone else, go with this card. I know I did.

I bought the Radeon 7200 back in September when it was initially released, and have had absolutely no complaints ever since. Although I was disturbed at the rather cheap packaging (no foam, no insulation, and a generalized instruction manual that is used for every version of their cards), the video performance is close to flawless.

The ATI CD-ROM includes a very stable Windows 95/98 and Win2k drivers, which I have confirmed work without fault. The sheer amazing thing about this card is that I'm able to reach refresh rates of up to 200Hz at 640 by 480, which is absolutely ridiculous (85Hz is the suggested minimum). At the current setting of 1024 by 768, I'm able to get 100Hz refresh rate, still better than I've ever achieved with any other card.

Although I don't play that many games, the DVD playback is completely crystal clear, and I believe I'm getting more than 30 frames per second during playback, although I haven't confirmed the actual number yet. In any case, those of you who wish to rely on the hardware decoding of this card will not be disappointed, either.

If there are any cons, I'd have to say it's the included software. The ATI CD comes with a downright pathetic DVD playback software, so I strongly encourage getting Intervideo WinDVD or PowerDVD. Don't bother with the default player because it's just horrendous. Also, for those of you who are serious gamers or need the most powerful card, note that this has 64MB SDR (single data rate) memory. You Quake3 and Half-Life players should probably look into getting the DDR version for better performance.

All in all, consumers who are just looking for a reliable and solid graphics card for [a reasonable price] will truly appreciate the 7200. It provides flawless DVD playback (given you have the right software player), and has incredible refresh rates. True 3-D gamers, however, should probably consider the DDR version instead.

My AVR 110 was a great unit, but failed quite soon after I received it. Then was in repair for quite some time. Once I contacted Harmon Kardan directly though, they decided I had waited long enough without a receiver and replaced it for me. I appreciated the gesture and hope my new unit is more sturdy. It is a great sounding piece of equipment.

I researched mid priced A/V receivers for a while, and after I ruled out Sony, Yamaha, Kenwood, Aiwa, and all the other companies that rely on customers assuming that bigger numbers mean better product (now lets see, how exactly does sony sell a 100w x 5 receiver for $200 again? I've seen charts where it drops much lower as the volume goes up), that left H/K and Denon standing.

I really didn't want to spend too much on my receiver and this receiver was right at the max. Denons have very good reputations, but A: They look cluttered with all the buttons on the front, and B: I found their interface somewhat confusing.

This unit on the other hand, is VERY simple. I skimmed the manual, which is not the best I've seen, but as I said, this receiver is not brain surgery. The front of the unit has 5 buttons to select different tuning options and then a few sets of scrolling buttons for surround sound modes, source select, etc. I was up and running with all the channels and speakers calibrated to my liking within an hour.

Logic 7 is quite lovely for movies, TV, or video games. It uses the rear speakers and gives you some nice depth. 5ch stereo is another nice feature, but just sends the same sound out of all 5 speakers. I haven't played with the other modes much (except for DD and DTS, which I use all the time for movies), but they are Hall, Theatre, Vmax (far and near), Prologic, Prologic 3-Stereo, and, ofcourse, just regular stereo :)

The binding posts on the back for the speakers are a blessing and the fact that there are S-video jacks for every video input.

Other reviewers have commented on the remote, which I'll admit, isn't great, the buttons are too close together. If you do get another remote, make sure its one that can learn fuctions (such as the Sony RM-VL900 like I have). There is a button on this remote that I haven't been able to access from the front panel of the unit. That function is: night mode. This "night mode", brings more detail to Dolby Digital and DTS sound tracks when you're listening to them at lower volumes.

Note: there's an AVR-120 out now, that is the same as this, but offers I believe 5 more watts per channel and has Dolby Pro-Logic II which is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. I'll find this out when I get my AVR-520.

Don't underestimate the power of this receiver. Its' 50/40 watts per channel is far much better than Sonys', Yamahas', or any other Japanese famous brands'... 100 watts per channel. Every single small sound will be delivered to your ears straightly, smoothly, and satisfactorily, guaranteed...

It's may be a little too high in price but it's worthy for every single of your peny. REMEMBER, you get for what you pay & don't !!!...

This unit seems to work well put when you play a tape the VCR sound is VERY loud and distracting.

This particular model is great for a kitchen! I especially like the clear, bright picture and the features of commercial skip, automatic time correction and front aimed speaker.

This is one of the finest combination TV-VCRs I have seen. Panasonic and Sony both make good 13inch TVs. One reason is the incredible picture quality it has for this size screen size. The picture is crisp and sharp. It makes VHS tapes look incredibly good.

I replaced a 7 year old Canon HI8 camcorder with this one. I've had the 109 for a couple of months now and here are my comments.

GOOD:
Size: It is really small and compact. Well built and solid.
Motor noise: My camera has no motor noise. Absolutely none. I have seen some reviews that say their camera has motor noise. My suggestion is, if you get one that does, replace it. Perhaps you got an early one or a gray market?
Battery life: I get about 2 hours with the standard, tiny battery. Interestingly, the same reviewer that said he had motor noise claimed to get less than an hour with his battery. There must be something wrong with his camera.
Low light: Seems to be pretty good and better than competition.
Simplicity: It is very easy to use as a point and shoot. There are only a few buttons. The LCD screen doubles as a touch screen for the menu.
Docking station: Makes it convenient to plug-in to the computer because the docking station is always connected to the computer, and to a wall outlet for charging.

BAD:
Small LCD screen: I guess this is a tradeoff with the small camera size (but if you have seen Sony's new T1 still camera, they know how to put a large LCD on a small camera). Also, the LCD can wash-out in sunlight, like most other cameras.
Docking station: Although convenient, the only way to recharge the battery is to plug the camera into the docking station. This means, for trips, you have to take the camera, the cord, and the docking station with you. This is inconvenient and bulky. Sony could have easily made the cord plug into both the camera and the docking station for recharge, but Sony instead has elected to release an optional "compact" battery charger for around $70. Typical Sony. Similarly, the camera itself has analog video outputs. To get digital outputs, you have to go through the docking station.
Microphone: It is placed on top of the camera, so it does pick up some non-directional noise (from places other than directly in front of the camera). It seems to be somewhat directional though because it doesn't really pick up noise from the shooter.

I just got this camcorder, and played with it about an hour, so it might be a bit premature for a detailed review. Yet, my first impression was "wow". It is slick, compact and good-looking.

That was until I inserted the tape. Someone said there is no motor noise. Not ture. This is really major drawback especially for me since one of the major reason I bought this was to replace my aged Samsung SD60, which had an excessive background noise. I compared these two side-by-side, and noise level is about the same to my surprise. I recorded video, and yes, there is white noise (from the motor) in the background when played back on my TV. This explains why the built-in microphone on Sony is located on top of the camcorder.

Still, this is an awesome camcorder. I do like the touch screen LCD, which will be taking some time to get used to, and mostly the compactness and slickness of it.

Things can add up to put this camcorder in good use. I already spent more than a few hundred bucks on accessaries; Polarized filter lense, portible tripod, extra battery (NP-FF71), matching carrying bag. And considering to buy the microphone to reduce the amount of the noise from the motor being recorded.

Lastly, the battery (NP-FF51) seems to drain quite fast. I would not last an hour in typical use. An extra battery seems to be a must.

I bought this in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during a camera fair. I guess the most important thing to me was size, as I wanted to make sure the camera was with me as often as possible. Having a small camcorder REALLY increases its utilisation, as it's not much of a bother to bring it with you to most places. I felt it would have been a pity to spend all that cash on something and yet not fully utilise it. I have had it for 2 months and have since used up 6 miniDV tapes. It helps also that it is simple to use. Good for the point-and-shoot users as well as the slightly more technically inclined.

I've only really used the video function as I have a Canon Ixus400 which takes care of my still-shot needs. But the still pictures taken with the PC109 are not bad for those rushed moments. You can even snap a still pic while recording video, but only to 640x480.

Outside and in bright conditions, the picture quality is excellent. In dark situations, of course the image quality suffers. This is the case with any camcorder, and I feel the PC109 does better than other compact camcorders. I have purchased a light (HVL S3D) which helps a little. Also has some features like "twilight mode" and "backlight" for subjects lit from behind which also help.

The mic is placed on top of the camera. Not the ideal place, as it picks up noise not from the front of the camera. It sounds okay when played back on TV, but could be better. I will probably purchase a mic for the hotshoe.

The LCD Screen is ok for a camera this size. Very clear in most situations. Direct sunlight makes it a little harder to see, though.

This camera handles Analog input AND output as well as Digital Input AND Output. I have hooked it up to an older camcorder to convert to miniDV. I have hooked it up to TVs (A/V) and computers(iLink and USB). I've made VCDs with the supplied cables and software. I've recorded video from computer to tape. No problems.

Extra:
1) Touch Screen - Very stylish. Also lessens the clutter of buttons found on most cammcorders. You can also customise the menu with features you use most often. Some labels on the menu are not self evident though.

2) Hot-shoe - definitely welcome. For using a light, mic etc. Canon Elura models are otherwise comparable but lack a hot-shoe. This is why i bought the PC109.

3) No discernable motor noise.

4) Placement of buttons is quite logical. I have had no trouble pushing the wrong buttons. After some practice, very easy to operate.

5) Cradle - quite useful as you dont have to keep plugging cables into the camcorder itself. Just drop it into the cradle.

6) Battery life of included battery is okay. enough for a 60 minute tape and a bit more.

7) Super Steady Shot seems to do the job.

Could improve:
1) Doesnt have a focus ring. You have to use the touch Screen.

2) No built in light. The PC105 at least had a built in flash for still shots.

3) Mic Placement on top. Not the ideal location but practically all the vertical cameras do this. Most of my shooting is done at close quarters so not a big deal. I will eventually get a zoom mic though.

4) Tape door is on the bottom. A minor issue for me as i rarely have time to set it up on a tripod.

5) The Software provided is quite basic. And its weird that when i convert to VCD, it handles the data in 10 minute pieces.

I bought this tv when my Sony KP-53XBR300 53" Projection TV went out after six years(the red "pot" went nova) and to fix it was out of the question. As the Sony KP-53V80 had very good reviews I went for it. Bad idea for me as the more I watch it the worse the picture gets. Sharpness was nowhere to be found, the soft colors will not blend, and an all black screen has an area that shows white. The Sony KP-53XBR300 53" Projection TV was the best I had ever seen. The reviewers for the Sony KP-53V80 said it had the best picture. Not this one. I bought this one for the price and the reviews, I should have paid more and got the Sony KP-53XBR300. Just thought you might want to know.

When my Sony 53"XBR300 went nova and I was told by fourrepair men that it would cost too much to repair...I wentshopping and I came across these reviews. As most of the the reviews said that the picture was the best they have ever seen I thought that I would save.... Now I wish that I had spent the extra bucks and got another XBR300. .... My equipment is top shelf with a Sony DVP-S7700 connected with Monster component video cables and I use a Sony satellite system (SAT-A50, refined with a REPLAYTV. Selecting the picture mode from the presets was not much help as the "Vivid" selection was worthless, the "Standard" was the factory preset, too bright. The "Movie, Personal 1 and 2" modes can be adjusted but getting warmth and sharp is next to impossible, at least on the set I got. One of the nice touches on the V80 was the convergence adjustment, which is automatic. As I don't use cable or the sound from the tv very often I won't review those features. So, maybe it is the set I bought and maybe it is the best I can expect for the price. I did not buy it for the whistles and bells: I really bought it for the monitor (CRT) and that is my disappointment.

This was my first large screen tv purchase and I was a little apprehensive that the picture might fade from view as you move side to side.

The Sony has no fade that I have been able to see. It has a clear picture -- similar to looking at a regular "tubed" TV.

The only complaints I have are:

a) The remote control is very touchy. The large buttons stick out a ways and I'm always brushing up against them by accident.

b) The speakers seem a little underpowered. I don't know if these large screen tvs are meant to have external speakers, but I sometimes have trouble hearing the sound. The brilliant picture however makes up for this shortcoming.

I recommend this TV as a real solid purchase. Everyone who has come over remarks on how clear and nice the picture is.

Nor does the gf4ti4200. They both won't offer satisfying performance for nex-gen games. Even for current applications, you'll suffer a major performance hit. Not to mention the continous debate of money and more between the radeon and geforce series graphics card, the gffx was a failure. the gf4 ti was a great hit. Currently radeon and ATI's technologies own's the graphics industry, not to mention MATROX isn't doing any better than NVIDIA. They released they're new pharhelia int he summer, which wasn't bad, just had graphical and performance issues. GF3 ti200 isn't much better than the geforce 2 in performance in older games. In current games, it of course beats it out. In nex-gen games, it's hard to say. In 3Dmark2001SE, I scored 5550. Most of the tests at default settings ran averageley at 30fps. That shows that you'll be able to get a decent frame rate in most 2001-2002 dx8.1 games. (Dell Dimension Intel Processor 1100mhz, 440mb ddr, winxp home, two 18gb maxtor hds, etc...)I'll be upgrading to an all knew dell dimesion XBS, P4 3GHZ 800 bus, 1.5GB ddr, Radeon 9800, two 60gb hds, Winxp pro, (etc) this summer. That should provide what I need for next-gen games. OK so I'm loosing my talk, just don't buy this card if you want next-gen quality graphics and performance!!

The geForce 3 ti 200, my fave graphics card for [less]! I have one in my computer, and it kicks ...! If you're a casual gamer, this is the card for you, however, if you're a hardcore gamer, like me, you need the geForce FX 5950 Ultra, which I NEED, but anyway, this card ROX with the visulation on iTunes!

Familiar question? NVidia makes great chips but they definitely make it confusing when it comes to deciding which card to buy. First is a Geforce, then a Geforce2, oh wait, here's this MX version, now there's two different MX versions, now a Pro and a GTS version... oh I see an Ultra version. Oh man, now a Geforce3, now a TI200 and TI500. Are they deliberately trying to confuse us?

To sort through the insanity I went to the 3DMark website. As of the time of this writing, the results stand as follows (from fastest to slowest):
1. ATI Radeon 8500
2. NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti 500
3. NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti 200
4. NVIDIA GeForce3
5. ATI Radeon 7500
6. NVIDIA GeForce2 Ultra
7. NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS/Pro

Any of these cards will run anything currently out without breaking a sweat. In fact, as many reviewers have pointed out, many of the newest features available in the Geforce 3 and Radeon cards haven't even been incorporated into games (yet). Compare prices and determine which on the list is within your price range. As of the time of this writing, this PNY GF3ti200 is offered for much cheaper than the original GF3 sold by Visiontek, yet the ti200 is a faster card.

Regarding the Radeon vs. Geforce debate, it's nice to see healthy competition or else NVidia would be selling their cards for much more $$ I'm sure. That said, I'm very unhappy with ATI's unstable drivers and poor tech support. Keep that in mind when deciding on a card.

Hope this helps you in your decision.

Nice little videophone. Th quality is not the greatest but I never expected to be. I'm happy with it so far I might buy more who knows. I recommend it if your not looking for perfection if you are look elsewhere.

I bought this 6 months back and one of my friends(Varaprasad Thupili) forced me to buy this. Infact I bought 2 of them and I took it to India and gave it to my inlaws. My wife speaks to her parents every week using this and she never had any problem. Connections are simple and picture quality is also good. My friend varaprasad and I talk to each other very often using this Video phone and picture quality is even nicer within US.

My Parents saw this product at their friends place and told me about this product. It is a simple and wonderful product. Now I can communicate with my parents easily. Also My parents can now watch their Grand Son. It reduces the distance between you and your missing ones and gives peace of mind. This Product is Simple and easy to Operate. Also with the Amazon's Wonderful reduced prices, it is definitely a Great Buy and a Great Gift.

Bought tried tested. A nice quiet operating vcr. All the listed features work to my satisfaction.Sometimes I'm hard to please.I give it 4 stars. One thing I notice is,when using reverse mode(while in play) it has to think if it wants to do that. It will.When power fails...No Problem. All stored memory is still there when power comes back.On screen programing is great and easy to use.I like it and think you would be happy if you had this unit.

I bought this because of the reliability of Panasonic VCRs. The remote has incredible range, and doesn't need to be pointed even in the general direction of the VCR, unlike my Sony. The tuner is great. Much better picture quality than my Sony. The only drawbacks are the ability to channel caption only 34 stations, no XDS decoding, and the remote control doesn't have separate off buttons for TV and VCR, and the buttons require a pretty firm press. Possibly to keep you from accidentally changing channels when it gets caught in the cushions.

I've gone through my phase of "high end" vcr's. The truth is, now with DVD and formats I'm not even aware of on the horizon, VCR's have reached the highest function they ever will. The advantages to that, are that vcr's will be around for a while longer, while everyone catches up. And for REALLY low prices, you get a full function, quality picture and stereo from vcr's like the Panasonic PV-9662 Hi-Fi Stereo VCR.
We've had ours for over a year. The set up is simple, plug in the set, plug in the cables between the vcr and tv. Turn em both on and hit set up on screen. It's done!
The Panasonic PV-9662 Hi-Fi Stereo VCR includes Auto Head Cleaner, Front A/V Input, Auto Clock Set and VCR PLUS Silver.
This has been a great purchase for us. Easy to use, great picture and sound.
John Row