Video Reviews

I have a DirecTV system. I read a previous review that said you can't get or record local channels through DirecTV using ReplayTV. Of course, I read this review after I had already purchased the unit. So, I was a little nervous about my purchase at first. The good news is that ReplayTV has upgraded their software, so now in the setup process you can program it to get and record local channels. During the setup procedure, when you get to the screen where you select your cable/satellite system, you choose the option "DirecTV with local channels." The system works very smoothly. The unit is easy and convenient to use. It is much easier to program than a VCR and it takes less time. I like the fact that I don't have to keep a bunch of videotapes lying around. The only reason why I rated this unit a 4, instead of a 5 is because I have found it difficult to contact customer service. Yes, you can send them an e-mail from the website, but if you call the customer service line you get routed through a maze of messages. This can be frustrating when you need assistance. Other than that, I am very pleased with the product. I would recommend it highly.

I've had my ReplayTV for 9 months now. As a longtime time-shifter with a VCR, it's great to be able to watch a program while it is still recording.

The quick-skip button is wonderful. Instantly zapping forward in 30-second intervals makes it a snap to avoid commercials. In fact, my family and I have taken to intentionally starting to watch programs with the Replay 5-10 minutes after their scheduled start time expressly to AVOID the ubiquitous commercials for programs I would never let my preschool and elementary school-age kids watch. Instead of watching commercials, we spend those 10 minutes talking to each other. Imagine that... technology that lets you spend more time with your family, instead of taking away from it!

In all these months, I've only come across 2 downsides to ReplayTV ownership. If they cured these issues, I'd give the product 5 stars.

- The interface doesn't do enough to warn about conflicting recordings. When the networks put two of my favorite shows on at the same time, unless I notice it myself beforehand and set the VCR, I miss the show that is lowest in alphabetical order.

- When I bought my unit last summer, the good folks at ReplayTV thoughtfully put up several custom "channels" each month which would automatically record selected seasonal programs. When the new fall season started, this enabled us to easily sample the new shows! Around November, the company had a round of layoffs. Apparently, the folks who programmed the seasonal channels were among the casualties because the seasonal channels disappeared. Since those channels went away, the burden has shifted to us users to search more interactively. Had I not been a user before the layoffs, this might not matter as much.

To get around the issue another reviewer mentioned of not being able to watch one program while the box is recording another, I would highly recommend installing it only on TVs that have A/V inputs. That permits watching shows with the TV's tuner while the Replay box is recording. A TV with S-Video inputs would be an even better choice for the best picture quality.

In a nutshell, ReplayTV works great! I'd love to put one on every TV I own.

Basically both units due the same thing...they record TV programs on to a 20 gigabyte hard disk. The beauty of the systems is that they are a breeze to program, you don't worry about changing or losing videotapes, and you can pause live programming if someone or thing interrupts you, and not miss anything. The Replay was my choice because of the additional input and outputs compared to the Tivo, and the greater cache time (30 minutes versus about 10 hours). What that means is that should you miss part of a program, the Tivo will overwrite that show after 30 minutes of recording versus the Replays 10 hours. The prices are about the same after you pay for the Tivo's lifetime programming charge.

I've been wanting to get a new camcorder for about two years now. I've put it off until recently when I saw the TRV27. It had pretty much what I wanted in a camcorder. Digital, large LCD, usb and firewire connections and i'm partial to Sony anyway.
After about two weeks of messing around with it I can certainly recommend this camera to anyone willing to spend the money for it. There are comparable cameras out there so it comes down to personal taste and affordability.

I can only give this 4 stars though because of a few things.
1. The included PixelView DV editing software sucks. I downloaded a trial version of Ulead Videowave and it had more features and was easier to use. Sony should've included better software to compliment their equipment.

2. Filming in low light is almost useless. The film comes out near total black. I would recommend a video light.

and lastly,
3. The still shots at standard settings aren't the greatest. The still shots are at 1.0 megapixels so to get the best output you need to have those settings at the highest resolution and hightest quality. That takes up space on the included 8 meg memory stick. If you are planning to use it as a digital camera for still shots, I would recommend the 128meg mem. stick.

Other than those concerns I'm completely happy with my purchase and having a good time learning video editing.

I've used the DCR-TRV27 for almost a year and a half now. Excellent image quality, light weight, great battery life, data flows through FireWire to computer very well.

Down sides: Sony's web site doesn't even acknowledge they ever made this camera; searching on its model number will not produce any results. So if you lost the manual, the best source to get it in .pdf form is Amazon! Also, the zoom is a little over-sensitive.

These are minor quibbles though. For the money, this camera is a bargain.

Excellent camcorder!

Was looking for TRV30 which went out of production and came across this one.

Pros: 1) clear and vibrant video picture (video 690K pixels and still 1 mega pixels CCD)
2) Fast focusing when using zoom in auto mode
3) simple to use knobs and buttons
4) Value for price
5) still photo fairly good with 1 megapixel rating
6) video looks great on TV (at least in Sony Wega TV) than the LCD screen (May be I have reduce the brightness of screen)

Cons:
1) 10x optical and 120x digital zoom slightly less than the competion JVC, Panasonic, Canon
2) Battery life is short with LCD usage
3) No memory stick holder/case supplied
4) No flashlight/ video light (have to buy separately)

Will recommend for anyone who wants good decent video with high resolution and money to spend.

I wanted something for my wife and me to better manage our TV viewing, yet I'm completely against paying a monthly-fee for recording TV programs. The Toshiba SD-H400 with TiVo Basic turned out to be a perfect product for us, until Media Center PCs go mainstream.

I didn't really need another DVD player at home (we already have 5 other stand-alone DVD players), but if that's the only way to get TiVo Basic service, so be it. Plus, the price I paid for this Toshiba (no rebate) is only (a bit) more than a stand-alone Series 2 TiVo (after rebate). For (the money), I got a progressive-scan DVD player, progressive output for TiVo, AND free life-time subscription to TiVo Basic service. What a bargain.

TiVo Basic Service:
Okay, so I don't get the Season Pass feature. However, once you're set to record a show (say, Friends at 8PM this Thursday), you can navigate to the To-Do list and select that program, and change the recording option to "Repeat this recording". Change it to weekly, then you're all set. The only risk if that if NBC changes the time of Friends to 9 due to say the State of the Union Address, then you'll record 30 minutes worth of a bunch of people clapping at nothing. But that's a risk I'm willing to take.

One feature I don't get with the Basic service is the show search feature. However, we got the TiVo to help with managing the shows that we KNOW we want to watch. With young children, we really don't have time to watch the programs that we didn't want to watch in the first place but are suggested to us. So I won't miss that feature. For new movies we have had Netflix 4-disc service since 2000. You can always navigate using the program guide to set up recording if you want to watch something.

If you visit TiVo forums such as tivocommunity.com, you'll see that other TiVo owners complaining about the fact that you can no longer use TiVo Series 2 for anything, including manual recording, without paying the (monthly) fee. With the Toshiba SD-H400, not only you can use it for manual recording, you have a 3-day program guide available to you over the phone or wireless network.

If the Plus features are important to you, then you can always upgrade to the full TiVo feature for the same fee as a stand-alone Series 2. It goes without saying that we have no intention of upgrading.

To get program guide via wireless network:
My Toshiba came with version 5.1.1 of the TiVo software, but version 5.1.1b is required for the newer version of the Linksys USB Wireless Adapter (v 2.8). It took a few tries to download the new version of the TiVo software. It would have done it over night, but I was impatient and wanted to pull the sw manually. Note that landline is required to get the software upgrade.

To record one channel while watching another:
I can watch a different channel than the one I'm recording because I split my cable signal so that one cable goes to the Toshiba and one goes to the TV. While recording on the Toshiba, I can use the regular TV remote to switch to other channels.

Any cons?
Remote: The Toshiba remote is not as nicely designed as that of the TiVo, which had just been recognized by the NY Times as one piece of industrial design mastery. The Toshiba remote is long and hard to use if you change channel via numeral buttons often.

Wireless adapter: Since the TiVo software it comes with is version 5.1.1, it does not support the newer versions of the Linksys USB wireless adapter (I got a v. 2.8). You will need a landline to download a new TiVo software to upgrade to version 5.1.1b for the Toshiba to recognize your network adapter.

Video extraction or copying: Like the stand-alone TiVo Series 2, there is no easy way of extracting the recorded video from the Toshiba device without opening it up (voiding the warranty) and load some files onto the base Linux operating system. The only other way is to video capture (analog cable to digital to analog to digital again) it back into a PC. Not the most elegant solution.

Upgrade: according to TiVo specialists at Weaknees, it's not simple to upgrade the HD on the Toshiba. You can replace the 80G HD with a larger one, but it will not see beyond the first 80G. Weaknees is working on a solution.

The Toshiba SD-H400 has changed the way I watch TV, as I look back, I can't imagine watching broadcast TV with out it. As I evaluated my purchase, I read all of the review here, and found some to be very helpful, and others to be way off, here are my experiences;

1) Wireless / Wired Network support: It works, just not right out of the box. You have to connect via a phone line twice, once to subscribe to TIVO, the next to download the "b" version of the software with allows for connection via network. Once that's done, it's as simple as plugging in the adapter into the USB port and pressing a few buttons on the remote. Worked the first time.

2) Noise from fan: Yes, there is a fan, and it makes a slight noise, I have a Sony digital cable box that is alot louder so the low hum from the Toshiba is hardly a concern for me, if it was, I'd put all the components in a rack behind glass as others suggest.

3) Lack of tuner or cable box: This is a little kludgey, as the H400 expects you to set up IR connectors in front of your cable or satellite box. The other problem is the H400 only addesses two and three channel cable tuners, my Sony happens to use four digits for the channel number and the result is a delay in channel changing as the cable box waits for the timeout for the 4th digit before switching channels, minor annoyance when surfing.

4) Inability to record and watch different shows. I overcame this by splitting my cable signal and running one line into the H400 and the other into my TV. But it would have been nice if there way some way within the box to handle this.

5) TIVO: This is awesome, the ability to set up recordings and not worry about tapes, rewinding, and such is a dream come true. Just press a few buttons on the remote, and TIVO does the rest, can't ask for more. I may even upgrade to the plus service for the Season pass and other benefits.

6) No more commercials: Like to watch alot of shows but don't have the time, this device will cut your tv viewing in half, or allow you to watch twice as many shows. My wife and I start watching TV between 8:30 - 9:00, which is just enough time to get you to 11:00 and fast forward through all the commercials. That 2 hour American Idol really only lasts 55 minutes when you get rid of the intro's and commercials, its great.

7) Remote: Ergonomically, it's not perfect. The zero (0) is to the right of the numbers as opposed to the bottom, and the numbers are in two rows as opposed to the normal 3 or 4 on most remotes which can be annoying. The buttons are almost all the same size and feel except for the TIVO button, so until you get used to the button placement, keep a light on. This is probably my biggest gripe with the unit.

8) Progressive Scan DVD Player: Nice add-in would have been ok if it didn't have one or would have preferred a recordable DVD, but given the price, it's a nice freebie. Works great, though others have said they had problems with certain media.

Overall, I highly recommend the product, if they improved the remote, or added a recordable dvd or extra tuner, I would have given it 5 stars.

I've had it for about a week and did not have any problems setting the system up. I was able to sign into the Tivo service quickly and am in the processing of connecting it into the wireless network and removing the phone lines.

For those who would like to simplfy their electronic gadgets for their TV, this is an excellent product. I was able to free up a DVD player for another TV in the house.

I work with camcorders since 1988 - S-VHSC, Hi8, etc. No question, no matter what kind of digital camcorder you compare with an analog one, it is superior. However, I found this camcorder particularly interesting and bought it since I left the 'semi-professional' field (and being now an electrical engineer in software development). Here are my findings:
Pro:

1) Awesome workmanship: The high-grade plastic case pieces precisely fit and give the camcorder a valuable finish, the buttons have a well defined 'ignition' point and the connectors for FireWire, USB, Analog Video etc. are 'cemented' into the case.
2) Excellent cost / feature ratio: Although following the hype of marrying video with stills, this camcorder emphasizes on video (please, do buy a digital camera if you need digital stills). The outstanding optical unit with a real 22x zoom and one of the most effective image stabilizer in the market, combined with a friendly user-interface including illuminated buttons and a clean menu, this camcorder is a bargain.
The picture quality is excellent. One note here: please remember that the miniDV standard builds on 5.7 Mhz video bandwidth. In other words, no matter what the (multi) colored CCD ship is capable of a resolution, it comes down to a maximum of 370,000 effective pixels needed for NTSC video. The 460,000 pixels of this camcorder seem more than enough.
3) Accessories: Just in case you really care about the somewhat whining recorder server motors, please do buy the optional microphone - it's an awesome addition if you do semi-professional sound-recordings. Also, Canon offers wide and tele-converters specialized for the ZR series. Not a novelty in camcording in general, but a serious affordable consumer expansion if needed.
4) Internationality: Yes, there are other electrical power systems out there: the Canon switching power supply is not only very light, it also connects to almost every wall-outlet in the world with the right (optional) plug-adapter.
5) Ergonomics: Oh yes, I thought about a palm-ready camcorder, too. But think about it: the optical unit including the lenses and the CCD has to fit into half the length of a regular camcorder like the ZR 50 (Palm recorders do not have more than 10x zoom, the ZR 50 has 22x). The camcorder fits right into my hand, the zoom button can be accessed naturally without shifting the camcorder in your hand (try Sony!) and the zoom button is depth sensitive - the deeper you zoom, the less sensitive is the camcorder zoom-button. Additionally, beside so many other brands out there, the digital zoom is even useable to a certain degree. It becomes affective once the optical zoom is exhausted to a 22x. However, if you want quality video, turn it off.
6) Video Modes: Select one of the predefined video modes. One of the most impressive mode is the night-mode - if the moon strikes you, your ZR 50 will catch it. However, don't expect wonders, every serious video-grapher recommends at least 100 lux (a unit of measuring light-intensity).

Con:
I couldn't find a con so far - maybe the sound-quality the integrated microphone produces? Hm, given the size of the case, it seems reasonable...

Yeah, I am enjoying this camcorder. Canon showed once again that a camcorder design can meet almost all of a consumer-customer's needs:
Rich functionality, lightweight design, extensible through optional accessories including lenses, robust workmanship.

Recommended!

I like Sony. But 10x zoom, size and weight steered me away from them. After reading MANY reviews on this site and elsewhere, I wanted to get the ZR40. Then the ZR50 appeared in my Gold Box and I decided to order it. I'm sure glad I did!!

I ordered it together with the external mic DM-50. (You have to order some tape with it, too. Why doesn't Canon include a tape?) I also have a Mac PowerBook G4. Here are my findings:

1. The video quality outdoors is just great. When you play back on a TV, it looks like any professional TV program. Crisp, colors are great.

2. Optics are excellent. 22x zoom lets you fill the screen with an orange 15 ft away. Shake is no problem. Digital zoom only marginally beneficial.

3. The stills are nothing special. But even a megapixel (like other brands) is nothing special. (My first digi camera was a Kodak 1.3 Megapixel. Nice but only good enough for very small printouts. I have a 4 Megapixel Olympus for hi-res printouts today.) Quality is OK if you want to send 640x480 web images.

4. Sound: The built-in mics are better than expected. They are sensitive and omnidirectional. There is some hum from the motor. Not a lot. But the real kicker is the DM-50. It's not totally cheap but it's worth it (in my eyes). The mic is very sensitive and audio is CRYSTAL clear. I taped my wife singing about 25 ft away. She is an opera singer, soprano. Her voice in the high range is a challenge to any mic. It's sensitive enough that I could hear her muttering with the organist, her pageturns. And yet her singing did not distort. The quality exceeds my 2 semi-pro mics. People only 10ft off to the side definitely sounded off mic. And even people right behind me were softer on tape than people in front 20ft away.

The DM-50 has also 2 stereo settings that are more omnidirectional. I haven't explored them yet.

5. Connection to the Mac is absolutely a breeze. Just plug in the firewire and load iMovie and you have the camera image on the computer monitor. You can record/import the camera image directly to hard drive w/o hitting record on the camera. iMovie also controls the camera to load the edited movie back onto the camera tape.

6. After the first 15min of taping I got a message that the heads would be dirty?? I ignored it and kept going. No problem. Maybe there was some residue on the heads from the factory? (The handbook says to clean the heads every 20 h.) 3 h of taping later, the message still hasn't come back.

I'm so glad I got the ZR50. 22x zoom and DM-50 are worth it!

i've had my zr50 for two months now, and i love it!! when i was shopping around i considered the zr50mc and elura 40mc. i'm a mac user so, i had to make sure i bought a camcorder that supported mac os x, imovie and iphoto. after reading the consumer reviews on both camcorders from a few different sites, including the reviews on amazon.com, i opted for the zr50 and have not been disappointed.


i read a lot about the motor humming noises, but truthfully i don't know what humming noise was being referred to. the recorded movies are sharp and crisp; the colors bright.


i do agree with the "night mode" feature being a bit lacking, although the camcorder will record in low-light environment just fine.


no complaints on the battery life and required charging time.


the analog pass through feature is awesome...allows me to edit older movies recorded from an analog camcorder on my ibook!


i was also surprised by the quality of still shots taken on the zr50's photo (digital camera) feature...crisp, vivid colors, not too grainy. after reading some of the reviews, i didn't expect much from the still image feature.


bottom line -- the zr50 is a great buy, and it's affordability can't be beat. works fabulously with mac os x (and jaguar) and compatible with imovie and iphoto...

Trying to get two audio pieces into one box, offering decent quality, plenty of useful features & low cost may be impossible. I looked at many brands. I needed a unit that has "optical" output for DTS & 5.1 digital to go into my Marantz SR 8000 audio receiver. The cheapest units do not have this, so stay with the better name brands. At this price point I seriously doult that any brand will be very reliable. These units are not being made in Japan, which stood for excellent quality. Instead, China, Tawain, etc. are making them. Making two units into one may save on some costs, but the cost cutting may be the use of cheaper parts inside. So don't expect much from these units.

I wanted to replace my older DVD player with one that plays CD-R, CD-RW, and MP3. I purchased the JVC HRXVC1, based on good reviews. JVC is the inventor of VHS vcr, and I have known people to have good luck with their electronics. I also like Panasonic,which makes very reliable electronics. I have had 3 good vcrs with Panasonic, but the clerk said that they were having higher than normal returns on their combo players. Had it not been for that, I would stay with Panasonic.
This JVC HRXVC1 vcr/dvd combo has more than enough features needed to play tapes & discs. At this pricepoint it appears to be one of the best featured units I've seen. Hooking it up to my surround receiver was difficult, probably just my fault, although the book isn't clear on the hookup of the "optical" setup with the receiver connections with VCR, etc. Once hooked up, it was worth the effort. The setup was quick and easy. The cds sounded great. The dvd's are crystal clear. The vcr recorded tapes are playing good, and no problems....

The GOOD: 1).It works & sounds great. 2.) It looks great on the shelf as well. 3.) There are plenty of features for the money such as Skip Search, index serch, zero return, and three step zoom. 4.) There are front inputs for camcorder or mp3 player to record easy. 5.) This unit has "SQPB" S-VHS Quasi playback which will play S-VHS tapes, and makes for excellent looking viewing of standard tapes. 6.) It has 19um head, for better picture quality in EP mode. 7.) It includes "Spatializer N-2-2" surround for people whose sytems are not setup for surround sound yet. 8.) In use, the rewind & forward is very fast.

The BAD: 1.) the remote [is not good]. 2.)the buttons on the box seem unorthodox in their layout. 3.) it's confusing getting around from vcr to dvd, as some buttons have dual use, and buttons are on both sides of the unit. Petty problems, but at least the unit works fine- so far. If it proves to be unreliable, I'll write back.

This is a nice combo DVD/VCR. I've had it for a couple of years now and have had no problems. That's really why I'm writing; I want to let people know the ones with problems are probably the exception rather than the rule.

The only disadvantages to this product for me:
1) On the VCR, you can't FF by time (a panasonic feature; FF a given number of minutes)

2) Once you set the VCR program, you must hit TIMER (not just power off) to get it to use the program. Okay, hitting TIMER will turn the power off, but let's say you want to record something later in the week. You will turn your deck on and off several times in that period. Do you want to hit TIMER every time? And by the way, hitting TIMER doesn't just turn the deck off, it switches to DVD mode. In theory, this is nice so you can still use your DVD player while recording a show. In practice you just end up turning off two things (VCR via TIMER, DVD via power) most of the time.

3) No S-video input. I had to buy a S-video to composite video adapter to record something from my PC video card. By the way, don't do this; the quality is pretty low.

Little advantages to this product for me:

1) Front panel inputs; I use this to dub from my video camera very often

2) Comprehensive remote; for me, the more buttons the better. I hate on-screen menus. How can I see what the picture looks like when I adjust the tracking if 88% of the screen is the tracking menu?

3) Many flavors of A/V OUTPUT: digital audio (coax and optical), composite video (of course), component video (nice for home theater), S video.

Bottom line: A good combo deck for the money.

I purchased this JVC VHS/DVD combo player after my old VCR pooped out and when I decided I needed a DVD player in my room in addition to the one in our family room. I bought this player when it first came out; VHS/DVD combo players were brand new and seemed much more sensible than separate players. However, I had reservations about this unit, wondering if the quality of the DVD and VHS portions would suffer since both were crammed into one box. My fears were unfounded-- this indeed is a fantastic player!

First, I really enjoy the chrome finish; it perfectly matches my silver 24" flat-screen TV. Second, I love the unit's included remote. All of the buttons are solidly formed, and the rew/play/ff/rec/stop/pause buttons glow in the dark for watching movies late at night. Third, the quality of VHS recording is wonderful. I don't know what other reviewers are talking about when they complain of poor quality tape recording; everything I've taped, even on the "EP" (extra-long play) setting, has come out wonderfully. Sometimes, programs taped on certain VCRs look fuzzy on other sets in the house (i.e. if I try to record downstairs with a different VCR and play it back in my room), but anything I tape with this JVC unit is crystal clear on each set in our house. Fourth, I love the different A/V options the JVC unit is capable of utilizing. The JVC unit allows RCA, composite, S-Video, and component cable connections, so use whatever connection works with your TV. I strongly recommend using the component cable hookup as it offers the highest-quality picture. Fifth, I love the functions of the DVD player. Not only does this JVC player offer standard DVD functions like subtitles and markers, it also offers cool functions like zooming. DVDs, CDs, CD-Rs, and VCDs are supported, but SVCDs are not. Sixth, this quality piece of equipment comes at a great price. JVC makes a great unit, and the price is affordable, so don't buy another brand in hopes of getting a better deal.

The JVC VHS/DVD player has several A/V options, provides high-quality recording, looks great, comes with a super remote, supports many popular disc formats, and does all of these things for an affordable price. If you're looking for a high-quality, yet modestly-priced piece of equipment to handle your VHS and DVD needs, look no further than this great JVC unit.

Don't be fooled by the 4-head hype of this unit. If you are concerned about decent RECORDING quality, you *won't* like this VCR. Take my word for it. I had to send it back because the recording quality was so cheap looking. Programs recorded in the "high quality" SP mode looked like they were recorded on a 2-head machine in SLP (EP) mode then copied from another tape. I was very disappointed. True, the unit has all the bells and whistles you could possibly want, (including a clock on the front panel -- the other reviewer here probably didn't know how to set it); and commercial advance/movie advance at this price are unheard of. It *is* a very quiet unit, and moves from play to rewind to forward very smoothly. Playback quality of pre-recorded tapes is acceptable. If that's all you use it for, then this is a good extra unit to keep the kids or the live-in mother-in-law occupied. However, if you record movies or soaps, or whatever, you will be disappointed in the results. The Sharp unit that's also sold here has almost none of the features of the GE (except the universal remote), and is not hi-fi/stereo, but the recording quality of the Sharp is superior (though still not as good as the Panasonics or Toshibas).

Pluses: excellent picture with prerecorded movies; excellent 'gee whiz' features; good sound.

Minuses: 'jumpy' picture on oversaturated recordings; No LP (middle) recording speed; poor picture quality at slow recording speed.

Overall, I'm happy with this VCR. I can't complain too much about the minuses because the price was so low.

I'd like to explain the 'jumpy' remark: one of our prerecorded tapes had an irritating jumpy picture (rapid vertical shaking) during the brightest scenes. It was not a tracking issue, and it didn't happen on our old VCR. It ends up the tape batch didn't meet NTSE specs; when we exchanged the tape, the problem went away. That said, we recently had a friend record something for us on their VCR, and we ran into the same problem. I can only conclude that this VCR has a poor tolerance for oversaturated images.

This is my first vcr but it is great for the price. Since I am only 11 years old my mom set it up and she had no problems with the clock working or any other possible problems. This vcr fast forwards very quickly compared to my family's 3 year old Phillips one but that might just be from being old. My vcr taped shows on cable but you'll need to read the instructions to understand how to tape stuff. I thought that this vcr could skip commercials but I can't find the button on the remote that it gave me! I played a few movies and the picture came in like a show would. Even the shows that I taped came in great! I think that it is a good vcr for people who just want to tape and watch movies.

I am extremely happy with the image and sound quality of this product once I got things working, but beware, some of these cables are faulty.

I purchased a new Monster Cable XGL400 and XGL-LW100 mid-December 2003 with a new Xbox and was surprised to find that the optical cable was not transmitting an audio signal when connected. I exchanged the cables for a new set and now everything works. I didn't change anything else, just plugged the new cable in and presto.

It's discouraging that a company like Monster Cable would ship a product that had not been tested. Unfortunately, they are the only show in town so be careful and return the cables if you run into any problems. Don't spend the hours trying to trouble-shoot bad cables as I did.

I bought this cable before reading all the reviews. Once I read them I became nervous that I was going to have many problems with it. What I found out when I got it is that most of the people who gave it bad reviews either didn't have an understanding of how it is supposed to be used, or didn't install it correctly. Maybe I'm wrong and there really was a bad batch of cables going around but here is some information that will help you avoid any problems with it.

*Take off the clear plastic caps on both ends (If you don't you won't be able to get 5.1 surround).
*Make sure everything is securly fastened.
*Turn Dolby Digital and DTS on in the audio options menu of the Xbox.
*When your Xbox is on with no game in it, it dosen't put out 5.1 even with the cable. So if you turn on your xbox once you've hooked the cable up and your reciver says its only going through 2 channels, don't panic, its supposed to do that.
*Most importantly many xbox games don't support dolby digital (5.1). Infact most don't, and it is impossible to get 5.1 surround out of a game that dosen't support it. So check the back of the game where its says the number of players and xbox live info. If a green box says "In Game Dolby Digital" you will get 5.1 surround with this cable. If not, you will only get 2 channels and a sub. So check the game first.
*May not be vital, but unplug your RCA audio from your tv or your reciver before you hook this up.

I hope this information helps. Don't let the few bad reviews scare you from buying this. If used correctly it will give you amazing sound. It is truly worth the money.

Don't buy these for the Gamelink 200 X, chances are that it won't work like it should.

I've had my Gamelink 200 X cables for around 2 years. I happen to buy a 5.1 system, so I decided to buy the Lightwave 100 X toslink cable from Monster Cable.

When I set everthing up and turned on my XBOX, I went to the audio settings only to find out that my Gamlink 200 X and Lightwave 100 X didn't unlock the Dolby Digital/DTS menu. I still only saw the "Mono, Stereo, Dolby Surrond" menu. Therefore, it only transmites the signal as PCM Stereo, and not Dolby Digital or DTS.

I contacted Timothy Pryde from Monster Cable to see if he could send me a replacement 200 X cable. He did, and that cable didn't work either. So I contacted him again, and he sent me another 200 X cable, that one didn't work either to my surprise.

After trying the second he sent, I just gave up, and asked him if he could just send me a Monster Video cable, so I could just buy Microsoft's Advanced AV pack. He said that was just fine.

Right now I'm waiting for a UPS slip to be e-mailed to me so I can send back the two cables he sent me. And when he recieves the cables, he said he will send me the Monster video cable.

He was really helpful, and all in all, I'm very happy with the outcome; he let me keep my Gamelink 200 X incase I need to use my XBOX with a TV set/system that doesn't have an optical input. And he said he was going to thurougly test the Gamelink 200 X cables to see what's the problem. He said he wasn't aware of this problem, and mentioned it as being "weird".

I gave the Lightwave 100 X 5 stars because it is a solid cable that works when used without the Gamelink 200 X.

Hopefully Monster Cable will find the problem and ship out newly modeled Gamelink 200 X cables.

This is a great TV with great features. The only drawback is poor user-interface design.

I've seen more intuitive, easy-to-read and just plain BETTER on-screen menus on TV's from 10 years ago!

On the set itself all the control buttons are small, and look-alike. Each time I approach set I need to "figure-it-out" again. This isn't a problem for people who are tech-minded and can and undestand standard TV/VCR symbols. Toshiba is really showing their lack of polish and refinement by rushing this set to market in such a utilitarian configuration.

The remote control suffers from the same deficits. Most of the buttons look and are shaped the same way making it non-intuitive. Even more troubling is the way buttons are shared between the VCR and DVD functionality. To distinguish, there are two sets of colored labels. It's very hard to determine if the label is meant for the button above or the button below.

Lastly, I could find no-way to program the remote control to change channels on my Cable-box. I bought this TV/CD/DVD combo to SIMPLIFY things somewhat. With all the people these days with Cable, it's really annoying that you *STILL* need two remotes to work with this TV if you use a cable box.

Combo units sometimes get a bad rap because people assume that having everything together in one box compromises the quality one could have by buying a TV, VCR and DVD as separate components. With this Toshiba unit, there is absolutely no compromise, because everything is first rate. The flat screen TV renders an outstanding picture and the quality of the VCR and DVD are as good as if one would have purchased them separately. The remote, however, could be improved. The DVD controls are non-intuitive, and difficult to read. It took me watching about six movies before I could navigate my way easily around the menus. Thus, because of the remote, I can't give it a five-star rating. Otherwise, this is a great purchase, and kudos to Amazon[.com] for shipping it about a month before I expected it!

I bought this set to replace a JVC unit that I did not like the color or sound on. We have been pleased with the flat screen picture tube which has less distortion on the sides than other tubes and the sound and color are great. You can make fine adjustments via the menu driven controls on the remote. The VCR and DVD units are also easy to use and high quality to view. Everything is easy to control via just one remote. I would buy another one.

This is a great TV with great features. The only drawback is poor user-interface design.

I've seen more intuitive, easy-to-read and just plain BETTER on-screen menus on TV's from 10 years ago!

On the set itself all the control buttons are small, and look-alike. Each time I approach set I need to "figure-it-out" again. This isn't a problem for people who are tech-minded and can and undestand standard TV/VCR symbols. Toshiba is really showing their lack of polish and refinement by rushing this set to market in such a utilitarian configuration.

The remote control suffers from the same deficits. Most of the buttons look and are shaped the same way making it non-intuitive. Even more troubling is the way buttons are shared between the VCR and DVD functionality. To distinguish, there are two sets of colored labels. It's very hard to determine if the label is meant for the button above or the button below.

Lastly, I could find no-way to program the remote control to change channels on my Cable-box. I bought this TV/CD/DVD combo to SIMPLIFY things somewhat. With all the people these days with Cable, it's really annoying that you *STILL* need two remotes to work with this TV if you use a cable box.

Combo units sometimes get a bad rap because people assume that having everything together in one box compromises the quality one could have by buying a TV, VCR and DVD as separate components. With this Toshiba unit, there is absolutely no compromise, because everything is first rate. The flat screen TV renders an outstanding picture and the quality of the VCR and DVD are as good as if one would have purchased them separately. The remote, however, could be improved. The DVD controls are non-intuitive, and difficult to read. It took me watching about six movies before I could navigate my way easily around the menus. Thus, because of the remote, I can't give it a five-star rating. Otherwise, this is a great purchase, and kudos to Amazon[.com] for shipping it about a month before I expected it!

I bought this set to replace a JVC unit that I did not like the color or sound on. We have been pleased with the flat screen picture tube which has less distortion on the sides than other tubes and the sound and color are great. You can make fine adjustments via the menu driven controls on the remote. The VCR and DVD units are also easy to use and high quality to view. Everything is easy to control via just one remote. I would buy another one.

Earlier this year, I purchased this camera for a Win98 machine, and was very pleased. I had it up and running in five minutes, and for the price, the clarity and performance under less-than-optimal lighting conditions were remarkable. The bundled software was a good value, too. So then (the plot thickens) I bought it for a Win2K machine, not realizing the camera, in August of 2001, wasn't Win2K-ready. The website provided Win2K drivers which allowed the camera to work (I tested it with Netmeeting and a demo version of Webcam32), but the performance was greatly disappointing. The camera flickered like a dying monitor, and the focus was muddy. I reluctantly returned the camera (feeling at loose ends due to the negative reviews on Amazon of nearly every other webcam except the discontinued 3Com!).

The Intel website notes that the software package for Win2k will be available on Sept 17. I liked this camera so much on the Win98 machine that if the software really does become available, I might buy it again from a company with a respectable return policy (like Amazon), and hope that the flickering was truly a mechanical problem and not a permanent Win2K conflict. I may also look for an updated video-card driver, just in case an old driver compounded the performance issue.

Conclusion? If you have Windows 98, go for it. Excellent quality for the price, and a no-brainer to set up. If you have Windows 2000 and you're interested in this camera, wait til Intel delivers on producing its software bundle for the Win2k platform, then buy it from a place that has a consumer-friendly return policy.

I just purchased the Intel Delux PC Cam from this site and I was very excited about it. I have a boyfriend and a best friend who live out of state, so I thought this camera would be a good thing while talking to them on the computer. At first I was a little distraught to find out that the CD did not come Windows2000 compatiable. Since the CD didn't work on my computer, all I had to do was go to the Intel site and download the program for free... no big deal. The only complaint I had was that it took FOREVER for me to be able to connect to the site to download it, and it took about an hour to download. But once it did, it was relatively easy with the step-by-step installation process. It was easy to understand how to work the programs when I got it started. Talking on netmeeting is only as good as the price you pay for it, but I must say the pictures in the snapshot section come out crystal clear! They are very amazing snapshots along with clear videos. I definitely reccomend this product to someone who doens't want to pay too much for a camera, but doens't want to get anything too cheaply made.

I bought this camera in 2001 when it was $70 and it has not failed me yet. It's very small (fits in your palm) and has a detachable stand which you can stick to a table or on top of your computer. You can record short movies with sound. The software is awesome and I have yet to try out the post card feature among other things (no image editing).

The only down side is it is not portable and once in a while, the color is "off" depending on the lighting.

Definitely worth the price!!