Video Reviews

The B&W viewfinder is better than color for manual focus and contrast. Having both in the package is a plus and not a negative.

The Sony DCR TRV310 works _very_ well as a Windows XP camcorder. Windows XP Professional include Windows Movie Maker. This el-cheapo free-bee isn't adequate. In 2002, Microsoft released a free upgrade: Windows Movie Maker 2. Version 2 ROCKS. With a whole host of new camera effects, a zoo of fades, excellent title and credit control, and very controllable multiple audio tracks, it's possible to do quite a bit of movie editing, without paying a dime more for software. Version 2 even allows you to re-record your finished video back onto the camera!

I bought my Sony DCR TRV310 used (partly broken). Since the input/output connections don't work properly, I just plug my TRV310 into the FireWire port, and use Windows Movie Maker 2's capture mode to control the camcorder -- right on the computer screen!

I sent somebody some video I had shot, stored as a .WMV file on a CD-R. He sent me back a note thanking me for the DVD!!!

This model is aging, and its cost is going down. Since it does everything you'll want, including playing back 8-mm and Hi8 tapes directly into Windows XP in digital format, it's still an excellent buy -- and an even better value than ever!

Windows Movie Maker 2's minimum computer requirements are, CPU 1,500 Mhz (1.5 GHz), 512 K RAM, lots of disk space (20 GB+), and a FireWire port. Since Windows Movie Maker 2 uses Microsoft-specific storage formats, you may want to spend a few $$$ to purchase third-party video editing software, which will record to more formats, or give you DVD authoring capability.

Suggested equipment upgrades for the TRV310: External clip-on microphone for better forward gain & extended bass sound; 8-hr InfoLithium battery HIGHLY recommended.

I bought this camcorder for two reasons:

1) Exceptional imageand sound quality 2) Ability to digitally edit videos on my PC

Thevideo quality is superb, with excellent auto-exposure capabilities. The 20x optical zoom is great -- I leave the digital zoom switched off. Good fades are complimented by some neat SFX modes -- image trails, sepia effect, slow "shutter speed" and (limited) image keying. The standard battery doesn't last much longer than an hour, so you should factor in the cost of an extended battery into your budget.

If size is the most important thing, then you should look at DV format cameras. I found them to be too small -- the Sony camera size and weight make it easy to handle while not being a burden. Hi8 tapes are also much cheaper than DV tapes.

For editing, there are several fully digital capture cards available for PCs and all support this camera You can edit and review video on your PC (in real time on some cards) and render back to the camera for final recording on tape. All without any analog<->digital conversion and therefore without any loss in quality.

If quality is important, or you have any aspirations to editing your videos rather than just taping the kids, vacations and weddings, then this is the camera for you.

After about two months of reading reviews and asking questions, I had it narrowed down to the DV525 and Toshiba's SD1200. Both were on sale last weekend. The latest issue of Home Theater magazine has a good article on the Pioneer, but was still worried about the dark picture I was reading about, also the artifacts on the Toshiba display. I wrote to the author of the review; he was kind enough to respond and reiterate his thoughts on the Pioneer being a worthy DVD player. He then pointed me to the technical editor of the magazine who had more hands on time with both players. The T.E. also responded (same day!)with what finally swayed me; Both are excellent players, but if it were him purchasing, would take the Pioneer for a 4:3 display, and the Toshiba on a 16:9 display. Sold to the man with the 4:3 set. Took about 10 minutes to connect and setup. 30 minutes to calibrate picture (I'm picky and want a clear, sharp display). Started the first movie (Godzilla 98) and could not stop grinning. Excellent picture, great sound even from Pro-Logic receiver. Heard no transport noise at "low theater" volume. No problems with The Matrix. Why only four stars? Nothing is perfect, but I haven't found anything wrong. Excellent player!

I've had mine for a few weeks now and must say that it is a great performer, especially for the price. It plays CD's and DVD's extremely well without making you pay for unnecessary "bells and whistles."

The build quality is pretty typical of what you'd expect for an inexpensive player. The buttons feel light but ok, while the tray is a little bit noisier opening and closing than I'd prefer, but tolerable. The remote buttons ARE small and close together, but the player works fine with my universal remote (since I used the DVD remote to set the player up, that is.)

I use the digital output (copper, not fiber) for CD and DVD audio and the component video outputs. The picture is very crisp, and the sound is very clean and dynamic. My CD's have never sounded better.

My only nit is that the Scan feature for DVD's (i.e. scanning forward or back while watching in order to get to a particular scene) is a bit "clunky." It either crawls along, hardly faster than normal play, or else races so fast that you pass the scene you were looking for. This is the only thing that my VCR does better (it's seek speed is adjustable from the remote). Scanning audio CD's works well.

I know not many people may be after this little beauty because its at least 3 years old now. But I have to say mine still has the best interlaced picture I have ever seen. I recently upgraded to a Sony for the SACD capabitlities but, in a head to head picture face off in interlaced mode the little Pioneer roared ahead. It plays any DVD I throw in it. and the sound piped thru my Outlaw 1050 is great. It has a little noise at first then it fades away, layer changes are as fast as any DVD player Ive owned and the picture thru the componet connections to my 32" Phillips tv is stunning. Many people have asked me about the DV-525 when I first got it and Im so glad I did. If one is around somewhere you may still want to get it. It is alot more basic than todys units but it does what it does so well. Im also very pleased with CD playback. It seems to pick up very subtle sounds on yhe disc and relays them quite smoothly. I have used it as my CD player as well now for the 3 years I have owned it. All I can say is Highly Recommened.

I purchased Avia, my third Audio/Video setup DVD. This DVD is basically good for adjusting your COLOR and TINT. It includes all three color filters: red, blue, and green, which should have been given with ALL calibration DVDs. But this one has it all.

I didn't test my audio because I don't have a 5.1 system, but for video you should get this disc OR try to get those 3 filters somewhere else, instead of paying $30 on this DVD for them.

Overall, I recommend Video Essentials first, Avia second. I DON'T recommend Ultimate DVD Platinum.

This disc does a great job taking you through both the audio and video setup steps for your home theater.

The dvd menus are layed out nicely, allowing you to quickly navigate to the setup procedure that you want to perform.

The disc includes red, green, and blue plastic filters for use in calibrating the color level, which turns a job that used to be guesswork into a quite accurate yet easy procedure, all without lots of scientific test instruments.

The instructions are a extremely easy to follow. Each video setup section starts out with a description of what you are going to see and how you are going to adjust your video controls to make the correct settings, then shows the real test patterns. When done, you simply move on to the next chapter and continue the process.

Overall, an outstanding dvd -- Highly recommended.

Hey Marc Evans. How can we take your review seriously when you don't even know the right form of a word to use. It's waste of time not waist of time. At first I thought it was a typo but you made the mistake twice. First learn the english language, then tell us which DVD not to buy.

I got this camera for christmas and was very excited but in just a few days it broke. Its true that the picture quality is great but its not worth it. I tried this camera three times and it never lasted more than a week. eventually i decided to just give up. Theres only room for about 3 mp3s with a 128mb card. All in all its decent for a person who uses a camera a few times a year, but for the true enthusiast interested in mp3s and durability, I would say spring for the more expensive cameras.

I bought the Aiptek with mixed expectations. The video quality is not as nice as a $400 digital camera/camcorder, but I didn't expect it to be. Its a fun gadget for family movies and vacations. The low cost of ownership, and nice compact size is good for trips. The camera comes with a tripod, case, cables, strap, etc. Hard to believe its so cheap.



The digital camera is nice.



I am right now working on ripping some of my kids dvds to mpeg4, so that they can watch their videos on the plane/car via the 1.5" lcd.



I picked up a $40 512MB SD card for it also from another retailer.



User interface VERY easy. So much easier then our Digital (DV) camcorder.



All in All, for the price you can't beat it.

Great camera, easy to use, for those that have a mac G4 like myself go to www.videolan.org to get a free player for this format (asf), info came from apple.com/uk windows media player will not play it on da mac. For those that are trying to shoot music videos of their kids, get out the flood lights, and you will get a better picture indoors, or spend the big bucks and get a low lux cam, otherwise it works great outdoors, and indoor photos with a flash are fine, this is the next generation of "kodak disc camera" that was out in the 80s using negative film. Cheap small I will be more than happy to take this cam on my next trip. Buy it if you like small cool gadgets that document a moment in time, via video or pics. Don't buy it, if you haven't read up on digital cams. Visit your library and get an understanding of light, or go to school and study the "eyeball" same principle. Great little gadget with many options.

I noticed using 3 different softwares for video capturing that it dropped too many frames. The picture came out choppy not synchronizing with the audio.

I bought a Voodoo3 3000 PCI some time ago and then upgraded to a Voodoo5 5000 - This was great but my new machine does not support it - so I put back in my old PCI Voodoo3 expecting a real let down and I can tell you it's a pleasant suprise, Quake 3, Unreal, Alien v Predator, Star Trek Armada II and Kingpin are just some of the games I use and they run superbly - No juddering, freezing or glitching just smooth good quality action.

Now 3dfx has been bought out by nVidia look at the ... site for excellent new drivers which keep this amazing card bang up to date.

For those who want the fastest video card with all the newest features, they had best move on and look at the Nvidia Geforce2 and the ATI Radeon. However, those cards work best with the newest hardware and programs. For a lot of us who may not be hardcore gamers, a Voodoo3 3000 is still a very respectable choice. No it does not have any new fancy technology. No T&L support of the Geforce or Radeon, nor can it support AGP texturing (still getting started but it'll be more common), it's limited to 16 bit color in 3D (note: a Voodoo3 CAN do 32 bit color in 2D, like your desktop and web browsing). Still, for those who aren't looking for the latest in technology, the Voodoo3 does give great images and very nice compatibility with nearly any game or program out there, even older ones that do not run well with the newest video cards. There does seem to be problems with installation if you had previously had a Voodoo card and have a hard time uninstalling previous drivers, but as this was my first Voodoo card, I had no problems whatsoever. Don't bother with the T.V. out, it's nothing really that special. Finally, I liked this card because it worked with my older Aptiva computer. The new cards really work best with the newest hardware which also should include a power source of at least 200 watts. Despite running quite hot, this card worked just fine with a computer that was powered as low as 145 watts-something that was woefully inadequate with the newer cards. Don't expect miracles or pretend that the voodoo3 3000 can do more. It is after all, a generation behind in technology, but what it can do, it does quite well.

After hours of customer service chats (customer service is very nice) and long conversations with my broadband and microsoft router customer service, I could not get this product working. I have the mn-700 router so it should be a no brainer. My computer it less than 50 feet from my xbox, with a clear line of sight. My signal was low, at best, and sometimes it didn't pick up the signal at all. However, even with a signal I got error after error.
I bought a 50 foot cable, and within minutes I was gaming, so I know it was the adapter. The adapter was shipped back today.
While it's a great idea, wireless for the xbox isn't really up to par yet. I envy those who got this to work, however I can deal with hooking up and taking down a cable rather than dealing with dropped games and unreliable signals. Hope this helps with your purchase.

....Ridiculously easy to set up. Actually ,the XBOX system did most of the work for me. It detected and configured most of the network info itself from my existing 802.11g wireless network. The hardest thing was typing the 26 digit WEP code for my wireless network.I just followed the step-by-step instructions and was online within minutes. Piece of cake.
I was a little concerned about the signal strength with my Base Station being two rooms over , about 35 feet away with multiple electronic devices along the way, and no real line of sight, but my fears quickly disappeared when I checked my network speed on the XBOX and found it steady at 54 Mbps with a Very Good to Excellent signal.Fantastic.
Online gaming on the XBOX is phenomenal with the Microsoft Wireless-G Xbox Adapter.The game play is flawless. It's as if your playing with that person in your living room right next to you. There was no laggy or choppy gameplay, just really really smooth. I love this thing!!
Just take the time to read the instructions one step at a time and you'll be playing before you know it. I look forward to playing you on XBOX Live.

Ridiculously quick and easy setup with the mn-740!!After having used the Linksys wgallb game adapter, this things connects and configures like a dream! It took hrs to get the linksys to work right with 128bit encrytion even though I was using a Linksys router. Linksys support is a joke! Absolutely terrible. They told me my game adapter was defective and that I need to return it. It wasn't, they just have poor troubleshooting ability. I would like to know how many thousands of non-defective linksys products have been returned because of poor tech support? I had the mn-740 Xbox adapter up and running in 2 minutes! With 128bit encrytion, I am seeing 48MBPS through 3 rooms and 80ft. My Xbox adapter is running beautifully with a D-link DI-624 with the 108G firmware upgrade. With rebates, the router and mn-740 Xbox adapter together is around 100.00. That's incredibly cheap for the quality and performance with this setup. Buy the MN-740! Stay away from Linksys, you'll thank me. Also, I have read from other reviewers that you can use the mn-740 as a wireless network adapter for any device with a ethernet jack after the initial setup. Hope this helps.

I've had the Voodoo3 2000 on my pc for the past 2 years and still can't seem to have the need to change it to something else.
I'm a heavy on-line gamer and am very happy with this video card. Just have to work the jagged edges on some games though. Other than that, I have no regrets owning one.

Like many others writing reviews for this card, I too had an integrated AGP on the motherboard. Installing this card was not much of a problem. Make sure after your first round of installation, you download the latest drivers from the 3dfx site. The card provides excellent enhancements for most games which I play- currently Alice in Wonderland and Real Myst. Both are fairly graphic intensive games. And the card provides wonderful support. However I am not in a position to speak for people who plan to play games with extraordinary frame rate requirements. Anyways the only reason you would be buying this card is if you dont have an AGP slot on your motherboard and your game requirements are not excessive and you are on a budget. Given these three requirements I think this used to be an excellent solution. Is it still an excellent solution? Remember the company has closed down which means customer support will be minimal with no future software upgrades. If you are worried about that you should probably think about the new Hercules Prophet Geforce PCI card released very recently with 32 MB RAM. Amazon is not selling it as yet for some reason. ....

Low price, features, ease of installation, and super-charged video performance are only a few of the things the Voodoo3 2000 PCI card offers. Upgrading from a previous 4MB accelerator card, I've seen a tremendous amount of improvement in my computer system overall.

Obviously 3D applications look amazing on the card, running at very high resolutions and silky smooth. However, another point to mention is that there is such a thing as 2D acceleration as well.

The Windows GUI interface is much more speedy, both in overall performance and animation. 2D applications are faster, as all the 2D video processing is done on the superfast Voodoo3 chip. 2D games are vastly improved in speed and picture quality. In fact, my monitor has never looked so good. The Voodoo3 vastly improves image clarity and quality (at least over my other card I had).

I've heard a lot of people mention they've had problems with this card, but if you simply download the latest drivers from 3Dfx, you'll have no trouble installing this card. The best $ I've ever spent.

After an extensive market review, I decided to buy this one. Recording quality is excellent when you have appropriate light conditions, and it works ok with poor light. Excellent zoom, and very good stabilization features. The digital still camera feature takes average pictures (640*480), good enough if you are just sending them to friends/family and the software included is quite easy to use. In order to download your movies, you must have a firewire connection in your PC. Consider to buy an extra battery.

The major problem I found is the fact that the microphone records the camera noises, making your movies have an annoying background sound. This is really unacceptable if you want to have good quality audio. If you are concerned about the sound, I would suggest you either to try another camcorder or wait until Canon fix this model or release a new one. Or, if you have the expertise (I don't have it) edit the film with your PC.

I love this camcorder. First of all, I am going to start this review by telling you about the biggest concern I had when I bought this camera. Many people say that there was a lot of motor hum, this may be the case when the room is TOTALLY silent, however an external mic fixes this. ALL MINIDV CAMERAS HAVE THIS PROBLEM!! People complain that the mic adds extra size, but if you want to spend the same amount of money on a digital 8, with less resolution, much bigger, and heavier, than get a Mic for your MiniDV, then you have some problems. However since I usually overlap music onto my videos, its not such a big probelm for me. The size is great (any bigger and it wouldn't be comfortable, and any smaller it would be difficult to hold). I had the Sony TRV-340 Digital 8 Camera and then returned for only one reason, it was heavy and big (it cut off circulation in my hand when I was filming, and would have to take it out every 5 minutes or it would become numb). The picture quality is pretty much the same as all other minidv's which are better than digital 8's but not enough to make a big difference. Pretty much, this is a good camera at a great price. If you want a MiniDV, go with this no doubt, however if you have hi 8 or 8mm tapes you should probably go with a digital 8. They are pretty good for the price, but big and bulky.

This is one great camcorder! I know because I have one, but have lost the software when traveling. Would anyone know how I can get the software? Called Canon, it's discontinued. Searched the Web, nothing! Help!

After minimal use, it won't play a thing!

I purchased the JVC XV-N50BK DVD Player which plays all formats, including my below mentioned VCD, without any problems. I am very happy with the JVC XV-N50BK, and this is the best in the market. Incidently all my other AV components and TV are JVC, and which can all be linked and interconnected with the JVC Compu-Link control system.
Previously ten days before, I purchased the Panasonic S35S DVD Player because I needed a player to play ALL formats including VCD, WMA, MP3, CD-R, etc. Unfortunately, when playing one of my commercially produced VCD's, the Panasonic S35S Player would play for awhile, and then lock and freeze the screen forever, until I turned off the power. And the Panasonic kept on doing it, repeatedly. Sadly I returned the Panasonic for a full refund. (The VCD was not defective, because it plays fine on my older JVC player, and on my computer.). I then purchased the above JVC XV-N50BK DVD Player which plays everything, works great, and looks fabulous.

I just bought this player a couple of weeks ago and i am extremely pleased. I initially bought a Sony in the same price range (maybe 20 or so dollars more) and took it back because it wouldn't play some of my DVD-R's (although the picture and sound were decent). I'm glad I switched to the JVC. The picture is much better than the Sonys. The colors are WAY more vibrant and the blacks much sharper. Far superior picture quality. I also like the zoom and play at 1.5x features that the sony didn't offer. I have noticed absolutely no stutter. Those concerns seemed to have been adressed. As far as the light goes...I don't like it either so I turn it off by using the dimmer button on the remote. I believe there are 3 different settings for the light. The only problem being (for some) that it also dims the LCD. Personally I like the simple, sleek look (lights out). Also, if you buy this or any other high end player be sure to invest in some good component cables. You get a much better picture. I believe you can get the monster cables for 30 dollars or so. Well worth it.

On paper this sounds like a great DVD. I was looking to upgrade my current DVD and also a unit for my Dad to go with his HD TV.

I kept the one for my dad but returned mine. The picture's fine and it operates OK as a DVD player.

My complaints:
Lacking 5.2 audio outputs (guess i should have read the specs better). But where this baby really misses is MP3 playback They advertise it. But not all the files were listed. The others were all listed twice. Only 8 characters were listed on the screen display it could not use the ID info on the disc. But absolutely worst of all the files it did manage to find to play were full of clicks and sprts and whoops and other weird artifacts. Definately lo-fi minus. I have a Rio Volt and its simply fantastic at finding and playing files - of course it took until early last year B4 firmware upgrades made it work right - but the SD3750 can't even take firmware upgrades off the CD-ROM. No hope at all. Certainly a mega-corp like Toshiba (and other brands as well!) should be able to hire decent programmer/engineers to make the MP3 work right.(my daugther's P********c brand can't read the directory right either but at least the songs it finds it plays w/o artifacts) Maybe the market staff for DVDs isn't into MP3 at all... Best take a sample MP3 disk to the store if this is omportant to you.

When I bought a new DVD player, I was looking for a wide range of formats, because there's no stereo in that room. This player is advertised as being able to play MP3 files. That's not quite true, as I discovered. It can play <128Kbps, old-style 8.3 filenames, and not always perfectly.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that the remote could have been better designed; I find that it's difficult to do by touch because the buttons are very close together. Also, the arrow navigation is a little awkward; you have to use Up/Down/Left/Right the way Toshiba wants you to (keep hitting right, and it won't go to the next line, for example).

In the grand scheme of things, though, these are relatively minor flaws. I bought this unit to play DVDs, and it does that well--good picture and sound quality. I don't use the progressive-scan feature (I bought this model because it seemed to offer the most features in my price range; the PS was a bonus) so I can't comment on that.

If you want to play DVDs, and maybe some CDs and CD-Rs, this is a good unit to buy.

You can not go wrong with this very nice DVD player. It has everything you could want except for DVD-Audio, which is okay since the selection of them is so limited. By the time the selection is better, this DVD player will be old and in need of replacement anyway. This player has an excellent picture, good sound, and a nice menu and button layout. The remote is good. For the money, this player is a winner!