Video Reviews

I have had a mini-DV camcorder for a couple of years, but when a friend bought this DVD camcorder, I became jealous. I had left the mini-DV out in the sprinkler about a year ago, and it finally succomed to reclaimed water rot (actually quite a ringing endorsement for my old Canon ZR-10 that it could withstand that). This was my excuse to buy this camcorder.

The quality of the video is fine - but not quite as good as mini-DV. Also, I would like a wide-screen mode, like was available on the ZR-10. It is, however, immensely convenient to record to DVD-RAM. To me, it's worth the 20 fewer lines of resolution and the lossy compression of MPEG-2.

The battery only lasts about 1/2 hour, but I'm OK with that. If you shoot more than 1/2 hour at a clip, you're making boring movies, but it would be nice to have a bit more leeway.

I download the video to my hard drive and edit with Vegas Video - so haven't tried the in-camera editing and probably never will.

The software that ships with it has a definite Japanese accent, and it not all that fabulous. However, it is stable once you figure out the wierd menus and procedures.

I find that I must pay a bit more attention to the exposure modes than I did with my ZR-10. But if you set it for low light, it does a pretty good job in low light. Don't set it to "Sports" and shoot in incandenscent light. Trust me on this.

I have used both DVD-RAM and DVD-R. I prefer DVD-RAM, since it acts like a disk drive. In fact, you can connected it to your computer via USB 2.0 as a DVD-RAM drive. You can't drag and drop the movies, however. You need to transcode it with the included software.

It seems to be a bit finicky about media. It didn't like Sony DVD-R media, but works fine with Maxell.

I just bought a 256MB SD card which will hold over 1000 pictures at the 1 Mpx resolution. The photos are good enough for web and video, but not for printing. You can't record photos to DVD-R, but you can record them to DVD-RAM.

Overall a good camcorder, but don't throw away your Mini-DV if you want the highest picture quality availaible in consumer gear today.

This camcorder is what many have waited for: consumer grade digital video without tape. The decision to use mainly DVD-R or DVD-RAM is best made early. For me, DVD-R is still too expensive to use. DVD-RAM allows reuse, as well as in-camera editing. But don't be fooled by this editing capability, this camera would be extremely frustrating without a computer for offline processing...

Which brings us to the bundled software. As a Mac user, and knowing that video is still very Mac-friendly, the Windows-only software was a grave disappointment. Even within the Windows environment, this software is still quite clumsy. The DVD-RAM disks require drivers to read (Included Windows drivers seem to work well). The video files are *.VRO, which is an MPEG-2 variant many decoders cannot parse, including QuickTime.

Still the bundled software allows rudimentary DVD editing and some degree of MPEG transcoding. For serious offline editing, you'll need an expensive suite of software and a good computer.

Despite its software limitations, this camera is an excellent device for capturing source material. Its three DVD-RAM resolution modes, STD/FINE/EXTRA provide a useful set of tradeoffs. Don't use the STD mode unless 60 minute continuity is essential. My 4 megapixel still camera means its unlikely I'll ever know how well the DZMV-380A operates in still mode.

In short, if you're serious about DVD content creation and have the computer tools and expertise, this camera is second to none. But the casual user will be disappointed at the expense of DVD-R disks and the complexity of using DVD-RAM.

A Five-Star camera bundled with Two-Star software. Four stars.

I have had this model for a month now and am pleased with the performance. Recording with DVD-RAM is a snap and editing is just as easy. I have a ... Panasonic dvd player s-31 and I can plop the DVD-RAM directly from the camcorder into the dvd player and watch my movies and view my photos. My first generation JVC DVD player spits the disc out and swears at me in Japanese.

It comes with sonic MyDvd which makes pretty decent DVDs. It also comes with a program that can convert the camcorder files into Mpeg files. Once they are mpeg files you can use them in any decent video editing software. I usually edit the video files and then use Sonic to burn a DVD. I have not tried VCD and considering the poor quality of a VCD, I don't know why someone would want to.

As far as video quality, I used it to tape my daughter surfing and the quality was excellent. The optical zoom is great but the digital zoom pixilates heavily at anything higher than 40x. I have tested the different recording formats (std, fine and xtra) and I now only use the highest format as the other ones show up with scanning lines on my 40 inch TV. In auto mode it sucks at low light...until I manually set it to low light mode and everything showed up but had a brownish hue.

The media is still more expensive than DV tapes... At highest quality a single DVD-RAM holds a half an hour (15 min each side). I have not tried the DVD-R as I am having a hard time justifying spending [the money] to record to a disk and not be able to do any post editing. The discs are nice as each time I turn the record on and off it creates a small movie that is accessed much like a scene menu on a regular DVD. On a DVD-RAM, I can then edit it, add transition effects or I can delete it. No more rewinding tape. Let me write that again - no more rewinding tape. That has to be the nicest thing about this toy - no more tape.

It only has a USB connection - no fire wire. I am running XP and connection to the computer was a snap.

It takes 1 mega pixel photos which are the quality of, well, 1 mega pixel photos. I have an old 2.5 mega pixel Olympus that obviously blows it away but in a pinch it makes decent small pics.

Would I buy this again? Yes. So far the overall quality is on par with its peers and not having to muck with tape is a big benefit for me. It loses 1 star for the media recording length and price of the DVD discs.

I must start by stating that if you are not a demanding client, you will probably be happy with this JVC system. However, for those of us that are a bit more demanding, this systems lacks adequate mid bass. It is not a well balanced system in the sense that you have to turn it up too much for it to sound just OK and even then it sound quite "boxy". I think you would be well off in spending another $ bucks and acquiring much better, and well balanced, equipment.

I bought this reciever because I am a fan of JVC products and it seemed like a better than average Reciever. It comes with DTS and Dolby Digital surround. It has room for 6 RCA inputs or 4 RCA and 2 digital (one coaxial and one optical). It can determin if the input is either analog or digital and can switch automatically. If you need a higher end Reciever then this is a rather cheap pick.

I had my last receiver (Kenwood KR-V7050) for 9 years and it still bangs with the best of them. My only complaint was the lack of audio and video connections in the back for my DVD player, CD-R, Dreamcast, digital cable box, VCR, tape player and sub woofer. After hundreds of plug and unplug to meet my sound needs, I decided to buy a new amp to save on the headaches. JVC has saved me on the stress level with their new RX-7010VBK receiver. This puppy has 5 S-type connections, 3 optical connections, a coaxal digital conn., and your basic Phono/CD/Tape conn. 8 speakers complete my sound room and this receiver puts all 8 to the test with perfect sound vibes from each one.

The remote took some time to adjust to, (after using the same remote for 9 years) but it has now turned into an extra extension of my arm. I love the features this remote offers. The ability to control all speakers individually and also adjust my subwoofer is an extra plus. This receiver has turned me into the complete "couch potatoe". My CDs are clearer, MP3s sound better than CDs, and my DVD/digital cable gives me the complete movie theater vibe. There may be receivers that sound as well as this one, but I doubt if they can sound better. If you want the name brand plus, great sound and a decent price ...... here you go!

oNe

It is a cable for transferring digital signal... in the digital world, the smallest bit of information is either 0 or 1. In terms of electricity, it is like, either 0 volt or 5 volt. So unless the cable is so lousy that the device cannot tell 0 volt from 5 volt, in which case a gold or platinum plated digital cable is not going to do any good. It either works or doesn't work. There is no "in between".

This is similar to DTV or HDTV -- either you get the picture or you don't. If you do, it is going to be prestine. If you don't, then there is no picture at all. Note that in this case, the analog (non-digital) portion of equipment still makes a difference, such as the antenna or the speaker cable that is non-digital.

So an extremely expensive DVI cable shouldn't make any difference than an inexpensive one.

I know that most people say that it makes no difference for the picture quality, but I purchased this cable for two separate reasons:

1. With the digital cable box my cable company offers, you would have to switch inputs to go from a high definition channel to an analog channel. This is mildly annoying. The other connection possibility is the DVI interface. This eliminates the need to switch feeds since the cable can send both signals to the TV.

2. By using the DVI connection on the back of the TV, you allow more space for component cable connections. For those of you who have video game systems where you can use the component connection, but didn't have room because of the need for the high definition decoder, now you have free space!

This cable has made everything so much easier! Once again, way to go Monster!!

I just unlocked the beast that is in my living room!
I have a HD Hitachi TV and was happy with a progresive scan DVD player using component-video jacks.
I had read a review of the Samsung DVD-HD931 bought one and have hooked into my TV with the DVI400 cable and WOW.

I now have movie quialty big screen entertainment at home.
This cable is 5 stars.

All availible double-blind testing indicates that differences between copper wire of the same gauge over the same distance is completely inaudible.

Monster Cable is no better than any other cable of the same gauge in terms of audibility, except in terms of Monster's marketing budget.
16 gauge stranded copper is more than enough for nearly any power draw over nearly any reasonable length of cable to any speaker.
Anyone who claims otherwise has never attempted to A/B speaker wire under double blind conditions.

Spend your budget on speakers and amplification and use the change in your couch to buy 16 gauge lamp cord at a hardware store. Anything more is a monumental waste of money.

Thus spake Julian Hirsch, and it is the truth.

I added the Monster THX Speaker wire, along with THX connectors, out of curiosity to see of there would be any difference, at all, in sound quality. Much to my surprise there was a very noticable improvement in clarity and crispness on the highs when compared to the standard speaker wire I was using. I'm using an Onkyo TX-DS595 Receiver and Infinity HTS-20 speakers. This was an easy inexpensive and worthwhile improvement to my home theater.

I own an Onkyo TXSR500 home theater system and Bose speakers. I never had received a satisfactory sound effect from my Surround speakers. After chaging the speaker wires to Monster Cable THX wires, the result was really noticeable. I realized that the speaker wires sold as part of home theater packges were very low quality. Now I get a very good sound effect for movies as well as music. Highly recommended.

These cables preformed as well as a set of [$] cables on my new 30" Wide Screen HDTV, even at 1080i. I am not sure what the increase in price was for, maybe the gold plated connectors or thicker insulation.

I can't really recommend these over a cheaper set unless you have a problem with corrosion in your home (the only reason to have gold plating is to reduce corrosion, it does not provide enough difference in conductivity to matter) or you are going to be running your cables next to a source of a lot of interference, like a computer with a glass window on the side.

Save your money for something else that matters, or do like I did, take it back get a refund, and a new DVD player for the same price!

These cables WILL significantly outperform cheaper cables, as long as you have equipment good enough to take advantage of their quality. A system is only as good as the weakest link, and I have a feeling someone who returns a $100 cable and buys a 'DVD player for the same price' has several links in his system that are considerably weaker than these cables. If you have a $100 DVD player, you shouldn't buy $100 cables. If you have good equipment and you're looking for cables that will allow your system to show it's potential, these will definitely impress you.

I recently purchased a Widescreen projection TV and wanted the best cables for viewing movies from my progressive DVD player. In one word these cables are "Outstanding". I will never go back to S-video. I have always been a fan of Monster Cable products and the THX Ultra series does not dissapoint. Picture playback was crisp and sharp compared to my S-video set-up. Two thumbs up.

I loved the 4-way integration of TV, DVD, VCR, and FM radio with audio outs to run speakers in another room. I wanted to remove the bedroom clutter of all these devices into one but the FM radio was AWFUL! Reception was horrible and the upper bands were a few MHz off, e.g., 107.3 on a normal radio tuned in at 106.9 and often faded (a teeny clock radio pulled in a stronger signal). TV-wise, it was good.

Bought this tv/dvd/vcr thinking that I would have it all my tv/dvd/vcr all in one package, but when I tried to program one program while looking at another program on another channel, found out this was not possible.Found out this only has one tuner and to record one program and watch another at same time you needed two tuners, question is why didnt they tell me that when I purchased it. Now have to buy a VCR to hook up to the TV not too saving space idea................You can only tape the program you are looking at or turn it off and look at the tape later....Not to good, VCR only good to record when you are away or recording same station you are watching......not so hot...

Really like this TV/DVD/VCR--fills a real market niche. After years of cable, speaker wire, component clutter, I decided to try the all-in-one unit. (I was a little concerned after reading reviews of other Panasonic models--particularly about sound quality.) First, set up is simple--plug in the cable box, set to PBS, plug in TV and turn it on! The unit picks up the clock signal embedded in PBS and programs itself! Simple. Program remote to work with cable box--voila! One remote does everything--so long to "the pile." Picture quality and sound are top notch. Surround sound feature is cool. Sure, the picture is not HDTV nor the sound "home theater" component quality (although surprising good--easily the best I've ever heard using built in speakers). However, this is one nice television. Down side: no VCR+, FM radio internal antenna only (which provides spotty reception at my location). Good news: whisper quiet VCR operation, great recorded picture, the whole unit is SO EASY to use (and dust)! (Be warned--it's also a heavy unit.) Overall, sweet. Well worth the price and it works great in our small living room.

The one I got has a poor-quality DVD player; it keeps skipping and hanging on brand new out-of-the-box DVDs. Plus after a year the remote control sensor in the TV itself broke and had to be replaced - out of warranty, of course.

Other than that the picture is sharp and clear, the sound is excellent, the on-screen controls are excellent, and the remote control is well-laid out and easy to use. I'm just knocking it down 3 stars because of the remote control sensor problem and the mediocre integral DVD player.

bought item in the store after weeks of research on comboTV's. i feel this was the best bargain ever in comparison to what is currently on the market. i am waiting for the catch to reveal itself. there MUST be a catch because this tv is too good to be true. the speakers fully surround the tv & project great quality sound with DVD's, CD's & CD-R's. i have not used the VCR for movie watching yet, but the test revealed it works nicely, too. TV fite perfectly in entertainment center & the flat screen projects a picture that is too good to be true! this purchase was a dream come true. this is a BIG television so i recommend it for people that have entertainment centers & tons of CD's! no need to spend thousands of dollars when there is a product like this one on the market! pure sound, pure picture, pure perfection!

I bought the PV-DFWhatever 27" two years ago and sold it when we moved--bought the PV-DF2703 last year (that was a major improvement--they shaved off 9-10" from the depth of the previous model (probably because of complaints that it wouldn't fit in entertainment centers unless they were away from the wall). Just bought the PV-DF2704 as a gift for my parents--and they love it! These are easy televisions to fall in love with--the quality is excellent, they're easy to set-up, you can run TV/DVD/VCR and most cable/DSS with the Panasonic remote. One plug in and one cable/DSS/antenna lead and you're all set--no need to run wires and speakers and stuff if you don't want to. The sound quality is far superior to ALL the other televisions I looked at (I think manufacturers assume everyone's just going to hook up a home theater system anyway.) Great product for technophobes and anyone that hates tangles of wires. Be forewarned--it's heavy and the dimensions are somewhat outsized because of the speakers to either side of the screen. If you have a 27" inch entertainment center it may not fit. I like it and my family likes it! A real value!

I waited a while to get another home theater. The only problem I have with this system is that the sound is not as powerful as I wanted. The sound is very clear and,after some adjusting with the TV set up,the picture is very clear.Cruthfield is an amazing place to deal with. They are fast and if you have a problem they will guide you over the phone having dealt with them before. Nice looking system and if you want some more power add an EQ and amp.

I have owned this system for 2 days now, after a month-long decisison making process. (...)

Compared with some of the other models I looked at, these are its strengths:

* Compact, includes DVD, VCR and FM/AM Radio in one small unit.

* Plays a multitude of disc formats (incl. DVD-A, VCD, and Panasonic/Microsoft proprietary HighMAT discs). (Compare to the Zenith XBS344 and XBS245, which only play DVD Video and CD Audio).

* Its output power is described in the title. Also, the sound quality and surround effects are, ahem, awesome.

A few things that did not quite appeal to me:

* No digital audio (5.1) input. (Unlike the Zenith, or the Philips LX3750W wireless theatre). This means that I cannot get surround sound input from my Comcast HDTV converter. (But who watches TV these days anyway?)

* With the DVD progressive scan enabled, thin lines, text, etc flicker a bit. It turns out that my Panasonic (CRT) HDTV in some ways does a better job of de-interlacing the standard (480i) signal (whether through component or composite cables) than the unit does, despite the D->A->D->A conversion.

* Operating the unit (+ the remote) is a bit cumbersome. For instance, to switch to the external sound input, you need to press the DVD/VCR toggle button to VCR mode, change to channel 2, then press CH- (channel down). This is only the sound - you also need to switch your TV to the appropriate input source. Basically, you need a good universal remote control - be sure to get one with plenty of macro capability, such as the One For All/RadioShack Kameleon. And because the DVD/VCR button is a toggle, you first need to press the FM/AM button, then DVD/VCR, after which it always comes back in VCR mode. (OTOH, if you don't have an external input source such as a digital cable box, you can get by quite easily using this unit's built-in TV tuner).

That said, with a good universal remote, this unit is a real, real good buy, even at the Amazon price.

One thing to be aware of is that unlike most others, the subwoofer is the only speaker that is directly connected to the unit (via a 4m = ~13ft cable); the other speakers is wired to the subwoofer. The subwoofer requires external power.

Bought this system back in November from Etronics.com and have been very pleased so far. This system has a little more power than the Panasonic SC-HT800V and the speakers have their own stands which make it look very nice. I plan on getting a Panasonic TV of the same color to have matching system components.

The one drawback to this system is when you are playing a DVD and want to switch to TV/VCR and then back to DVD, it doesn't continue the movie from where you left off. A little strange because I have another Panasonic TV with a built-in DVD player and it does pick up from where you left off when you switch to TV and back. This is the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars.

Overall I am very pleased with this system and would recommend.

The world is divided in regions and the tape manufacturers only produce tapes for that region. A tape available from amazon.uk.co can only play on recorders of type PAL. Other world locations use SECAM. Only the US and Canada uses NTSC format. If you buy "Dead Man's Folly" from the United Kingdom, you can not play it on this VCR. Place VCR and pal in the search box and press "go!"

So far the Samsung SV-5000w VCR is the only one on the list you can also place the ASIN number in the search box B00004TEUK

Samsung SV-5000w also plays the NTSC

The screen definition is excellent, providing large screen quality with VCR built in capabilities

This is a great TV set 25 inches and all. The picture is very good and the VCR section just makes it all the much better. The VCR performs very well for a TV-combination unit. It's just as good as if you patched in a separate VCR. Outstanding!

I replaced my previous MSI 5600 FX with this card cuz
I thought "PNY 5900 128 MB" gonna give my games some "Magic"
but I just seen a little improvement and of course this not enough for a Crazy Gamer like me !!

I suggest to choose one of "ATi Radeon 9800 Pro" Series
cuz current nVidia FX Series not as good as ATi.

Finally, I gonna switch to ATi Products and my choice this time is "ATi 9800 Pro 128 MB" cuz this card like M*O*N*S*T*O*R moreover, its price so fair !!

Trust me dude !!
I'll not let you down :)

Attention! I don't have the exact same card as the one that I'm supposed to be reviewing right now but I have a pretty similar one. I have GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256mb 8x AGP card and it's pretty much the same only that Ultra versions run a bit faster and it is 256mb card. This is one of the newer cards that I own and it's great. Even though it is slower than the rival card, Radeon 9800 Pro, but this card is now a bit cheaper on eBAY and it runs almost the same as Radeon 9800 Pro. So you can buy a cheaper video card that performs almost equally as well as the new Radeon 9800 Pro. Also run games like Painkiller, Unreal Tournament 2003, or Quake 3 and this card will beat the Radeon 9800 Pro in frames per second. Not only that, look forward to the upcoming Doom 3 which is supproted by Nvidia Geforce chipsets unless you want to play Half Life 2, then get Radeon 9800 Pro. Those aren't the only reason why I chose this card over Radeon 9800 Pro though. I am also a big fan of the Nvidia and GeForce chipsets so I decided to get this over the Radeon 9800 Pro. Sadly, there are new video cards like GeForce FX 5950 Ultra, GeForce 6800 Ultra, Radeon 9800XT, and Radeon X800XT so both cards won't match up to the 4 extreme new cards if you want the most out of Half Life 2 or Doom 3 but both cards are still recommended depending on what games you play. And you don't even need those next generation cards yet because many games can be still even played on GeForce 2s or Radeon 8000s. But look forward to more upcoming cards from both Nvidia and ATI. This card is a must have but you should wait until it drops its' price even more.

This product is awesome!

I upgraded from an nVidia GeForce 5200 to this card and the gains were amazing! In Star Wars Galaxies the fps gain was very substantial. I went from averaging a shakey, stop-start 10-20fps to almost always getting what most people have said is the max: a smooth 29fps. Even on the offline games I own I have seen a drastic increase in the quality of the 3d images that are splashed in front of me especially in higher resolutions. I can't wait until I get that shiny new LCD screen to watch them pop even more!

That being said, perhaps this may not be the case if you are already running a 5600, but if you have a 5600 then you can afford to make the leap up to a 5950 or wait until the next generation of cards come out. My personal opinion is to wait to jump at least two generations ahead when it comes to video card technology. That way you notice a sizeable difference in the quality of your picture and don't have to degrade a product because you don't have as good a perspective as you might. It helps keep the prices low too.