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Comment on LG 32LD350 32-Inch 720p 60 Hz LCD HDTV by N. Mehta

N. Mehta — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:13:39 +0000

97 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

Worth a buy for the price., April 27, 2010

N. Mehta -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: LG 32LD350 32-Inch 720p 60 Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)

*** See posts from U. Viveros (Aug 8th) for info on the panel display on this tv***

Picture quality on this tv is excellent (it has an IPS panel), black levels are impressive, color is vibrant. And you can tweak the picture to your likeing with a ton of various options. Took me a while to get the picture quality just right for gaming, HD content and SD content. SD tv actually looks pretty good on this tv, suprisingly sharp picture quality on it. Though this being a LCD tv the picture isn't crystal clear, in darker areas you can see some obvious blurring or trailing (but only if you really want to notice, and its not as bad as the latest Samsung), in brighter areas blurring is not noticeable at all (in Modern Warfare 2 for example darker wood textures you can see the blur when moving, on brighter wall textures there is no blur).

Speakers are decent, not going to blow you away with the sound but they aren't complete crap either. Like the picture - sound also has various tweaking options.

Remote is pretty standard, doesn't look cheap and doesn't go overboard with the options. But is has everything you'd accept to be on it.

Also has a headphone jack (and unlike Samsungs you can control the volume of the headphone jack with your remote).

You can also display pictures or play music with a usb stick, I don't think I'll be using this feature. Would've been nice if it allowed you to play videos from the usb stick...but they only have that feature on their higher end models.

One problem is that if you switch the input to hdmi and then go back to AV or TV input...there is no sound. You have the turn off the tv and turn is back again to get the sound back.

4/5.

I paid $[...], amazon now dropped the price.

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Comment on Digital Spectrum MemoryFRAME ULTRA MF-801 8.4-Inch Digital Picture Frame by CJS

CJS — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:10:11 +0000

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

Consumer Reports was not right on this one, December 1, 2009

CJS (Hagerstown, MD USA) -

This review is from: Digital Spectrum MemoryFRAME ULTRA MF-801 8.4-Inch Digital Picture Frame (Electronics)

I purchased the Digital Spectrum MemoryFRAME ULTRA MF-801 digital frame based on Consumer Reports recommendation. This is one time they were way off. I had never used a digital frame before and the instructions that come with the unit are sketchy at best. The 90 photos I wanted to put on the frame were scanned photos from 50 years ago. I had placed a sequence number number, starting with 01, at the beginning of each filename for the order in which I wanted the photos to appear. When I loaded the photos, they were showing up randomly. There were a dozen or so that the heads were cut off and I had to go back and resize them. I submitted a question to the company via their web site on the sequencing and after 2 weeks, am still waiting for a response. I finally decided to call them by phone and was told I needed a 3-digit sequential number as in 001 at the beginning of each filename. I went back through renamed the files, reloaded on the frame and they were still appearing in random order. Another call to the company indicated that it "probably" does the show in sequence by the date on the file. I was asked if I used Photoshop and said no I used Picassa and was told they provide no support on that product and had to seek assistance elsewhere. I found a utility that allowed me to change the dates on my files, and manually, one by one, had to change each date. I reloaded the photos on the frame and they still were not in the sequence I wanted. Finally, after doing some internet research, I found that some frame slide shows go in the order in which the photo was added to the frame. So once again, I added the photos to the frame, one by one, and they do now appear in the order I want. Why didn't the support line know this and why isn't it in the instruction book? The photos look fine on the device but every once in awhile the pictures look like there is static interference or something. Consumer Reports was way off in recommending this device. It is not easy to use and if you need support, forget it. When I shopped for a second frame for another project, I did not even consider this brand.

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Comment on Mygica EZgrabber2 USB 2.0 Video Capture Adapter Device, Direct Video Uploading to YouTube, ipod and PSP Conversion, Windows 7 Ready, Convert Home Videos, TV Show or Gameplay to Quality DVDs with a Push on the Button by Tim James

Tim James — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:00:46 +0000

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Quick & Easy, July 25, 2010

Tim James (Uniontown, Ohio USA) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Mygica EZgrabber2 USB 2.0 Video Capture Adapter Device, Direct Video Uploading to YouTube, ipod and PSP Conversion, Windows 7 Ready, Convert Home Videos, TV Show or Gameplay to Quality DVDs with a Push on the Button

Works exactly as promised. Downloads easily and ready to go in just a few minutes no problems. I'm a knowledgable novice (i.e. I usually know just enough to get myself in trouble) and I found it to be very easy to install and use. I have Windows 7 and the package only showed it supported upto Windows Vista but still didn't have any problems. It may not be the top of the line but for the price and what it's able to do it's hard to beat. I used it to transfer old camcorder tapes to my computer so I could burn them onto DVD's ... worked great.

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Comment on Mygica EZgrabber2 USB 2.0 Video Capture Adapter Device, Direct Video Uploading to YouTube, ipod and PSP Conversion, Windows 7 Ready, Convert Home Videos, TV Show or Gameplay to Quality DVDs with a Push on the Button by PqP

PqP — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:50:23 +0000

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

To convert your VHS tapes, this is the best product, July 30, 2010

PqP (Cambridge, MA USA) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

I tried and had to return another product, which was shoddy material and marginal software.

Connecting my hi-quality 4Head Toshiba VCR to my PC with this converter produced outstanding image quality. The first-class software that comes with it does the job simply and competently.

The manufacturer provides all the needed cabling. This product is complete, both hardware and software. And the quality is outstanding.

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Comment on LG 32LD350 32-Inch 720p 60 Hz LCD HDTV by papamac67

papamac67 — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:47:01 +0000

91 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

Simply Awesome!, August 8, 2010

papamac67 -

This review is from: LG 32LD350 32-Inch 720p 60 Hz LCD HDTV (Electronics)

I have been waiting patiently for a few years now to make the switch from my 480i Toshiba 32" CRT to an HDTV. Thanks to a decent tax return I was finally able to join the Hi Def club. I live in a small apartment and already had a nice entertainment center which housed my aging Toshiba so I chose to stay with the 32" screen format as anything larger would not fit. After doing weeks of research it came down to this LG or the Samsung LN32C350. I found the picture quality to be almost identical and the price was the same for both, $399.00. I chose the LG because I got 10% off with a online coupon and no tax and free shipping from another online retailer. I couldn't be happier! This is one of the best purchases I have ever made. The TV is fantastic!, picture is bright, sharp, clear and gorgeous. The contrast ratio listed here is wrong though...it's not 50,000:1...it's actually 70,000:1...which is even better. I love the remote, easy to use menu and all the functions and options you can tweak. it's such an unbelievable difference seeing TV shows and movies in Hi Def. I can't comment on the sound as I have the TV speakers turned off because I have a pretty kick-ass surround sound system. I am A Dish Network subscriber and have it hooked to my VIP612 receiver and am loving it...also finally able to play my Xbox 360 in Hi Def and that is Da Bomb too!...BF:BC2 looks amazing! I was debating whether to get a 1080p or a 720p TV for a long time...then I found out (which I didn't realise) all HD TV signals...OTA (over the air), DirecTv, Cable, Dish Network are all broadcast in 720p/1080i...and since I don't watch blu-ray movies...spending extra money on a 1080p set just wouldn't make sense...also...on a TV 32" or less..the benefits of watching in 1080p are negligible. 720p looks phenomenal! It has a 1 year parts and labor warranty, and after you register it with LG you can extend your warranty by 2 years for $48...provided you do it in the 1st 180 days after purchase, so altogether you get a 3 year warranty for $48...from the manufacturer...not some 3rd party outfit, that's pretty good...I'll be doing that b4 my 180 days are up. I can't recommend this TV more...I am now an LG fanboy.

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Comment on Sony BRAVIA KDL46NX810 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D-Ready LED HDTV, Black by Richard S. Lee

Richard S. Lee — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:45:34 +0000

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Astonishing picture, December 29, 2010

Richard S. Lee (Charleston, WV USA) -

This review is from: Sony BRAVIA KDL46NX810 46-Inch 1080p 240 Hz 3D-Ready LED HDTV, Black (Electronics)

I got this along with a Sony Blu-ray player with 5.1 sound system. The built-in sound system is not very good but with the add-on sound it's fabulous. Blu-ray HD and HD from the cable are so amazingly good on this tv it's unbelievable. Seriously, it's the best looking tv I think I've ever seen. I didn't get the 3D add-on system because I'm just not at all interested in that.

I was watching E.T. on cable in 1080i HD last night and it was like watching a completely new movie. The picture was so lifelike I felt like I was right there. Newly produced TV shows in HD are freakishly real-looking. It's almost unnerving. I'm a professional photographer so I did a little bit of custom setup on the video to get it just right, but it was good right out of the box.

Great TV... don't bother with 3D (in my opinion), get a good add-on sound system.

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Comment on Digital Spectrum MemoryFRAME ULTRA MF-801 8.4-Inch Digital Picture Frame by Karen L. Colaiaco

Karen L. Colaiaco — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:39:53 +0000

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

Don't Buy This One!, July 31, 2009

Karen L. Colaiaco (Matamoras, PA, USA) -

This review is from: Digital Spectrum MemoryFRAME ULTRA MF-801 8.4-Inch Digital Picture Frame (Electronics)

Pros: Great look and great screen resolution.
Cons: Just about everything else. Unhelpful manual, non-working remote control, and non-working setting for the speed of the slideshow.
This frame was very frustrating to get working. Maybe mine was defective--I'm not sure. But the remote didn't work, even with the included new battery in it. There are 3 speed settings for the on-screen duration of the photos: fast, normal, and slow. These are relative terms. There should be definitive time settings, such as 1 minute, 5 minutes, etc. I could not get the speed to work at all. The photos were on the screen a mere 7 seconds each! I'm going to try another brand altogether next time.

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Comment on Samsung BD-C5500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player by Aldo Toomepuu

Aldo Toomepuu — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:38:30 +0000

144 of 165 people found the following review helpful:

Has a Bug, February 27, 2010

Aldo Toomepuu -

This review is from: Samsung BD-C5500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player (Electronics)

I am just a common consumer so I can't really compare this to other Blu-Ray players. However, the C5500 starts up and loads fairly quickly. Setup was simple and the GUI is fairly easy. The blu-ray discs I played produced an excellent quality image on my TV. DVDs upscaling to 1080P was okay, about as good as you can hope for. Online features were sort of hit or miss. It was easy enough to setup Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, and Blockbuster. However, I could not get audio to work. Audio from Blu-ray, DVDs, and even from HD Netflix videos was fine, everything else was mute. I tried calling Samsung, but this is such a new product that the customer support can't support it yet. They could only suggest waiting for a new firmware to come out.
I would strongly suggest for people considering this product to wait a month or two for Samsung to begin supporting this device properly. It looks like it will be an excellent product for the price... once the bugs are fixed in subsequent firmware updates.

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Comment on HP 2010i 20-Inch Diagonal HD Ready LCD Monitor – Black by MikeG

MikeG — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:37:25 +0000

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Monitor and residue removal hint, October 13, 2010

MikeG -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: HP 2010i 20-Inch Diagonal HD Ready LCD Monitor - Black (Personal Computers)

As others have noted, this is a bright, well sized, and crystal clear monitor. I appreciate the matte finish screen that eliminates glare. The wide screen is handy when displaying two documents, photos, or tax forms side by side. For those of us who are challenged by progressive bifocals, I recommend this monitor.

HINTS:
1. When ordering this monitor,and if your computer has a DVI-D output, order a DVI-D connector at the same time to save some cash. Amazon's price is much cheaper than Radio Shack (I found out after the monitor arrived).

2. I discovered several years ago a residue removal technique that works on all those pesky super sticky labels manufacturers put on everything from pots & pans to computer monitors. Use the label itself to remove the residue. Peel the label off carefully. Then blot (with a little pressure) the sticky residue with the sticky side of the label. For some reason the residue has an affinity for the original label. Perhaps because glue formulas vary. I did this with the HP label and got all the residue off in about three minutes with no damage. Hope this helps.

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Comment on Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player by Goldengate "Goldengate"

Goldengate "Goldengate" — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:35:48 +0000

95 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent, easy to set up, really nice unit, October 20, 2009

Goldengate "Goldengate" (San Francisco, where else?) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player (Electronics)

There are already some very well-written informative reviews on this player, so I'll try to focus on the "out of the box experience" since mine is literally just out of the box today. Because my order on Amazon for this product was backordered for a month or more, I called all the local Best Buys until I found a WD TV Live that was not showing up on their "store availability" page and purchased it for $119 plus tax (oh how I missed Amazon when the tax was added on at my local store!). The price on Amazon has gone all over the place the last few days, from $119 to $149. I'm assuming we'll see it at $99 after the initial release period is over since several media players are now priced at that point.

I went home, unpacked the box and in my haste I didn't even see the installation CD that came with the unit. (I just ran it now so I could tell you about it - it includes a utility which allows your computer to "see" the WD TV, as well as the manual and some other fluff).

I plugged the WDTV into an ethernet jack on my router, used the supplied cables to attach to my TV, plugged in the power cable and literally minutes later I was watching videos stored on my computer! The WD TV immediately logged onto our computer network and saw both of our computers (Windows XP), and I was able to watch media stored on both. Wow. Very easy. Then I navigated to Pandora, punched in my account information, and 30 seconds later was listening to my Pandora music stations. Next stop was YouTube (another menu option), I plugged in my YouTube name and password, and was able to see my YouTube subscriptions.

I then went into the settings menu and clicked on "update firmware" just to make sure I had the latest firmware installed. After about 5 seconds of the unit checking with Western Digital, it confirmed my firmware is up to date. Again, very easy. I was also able to register the unit from the onscreen display, and received a confirmation email. I found the onscreen menus very logically laid out and easy to use.

Watching movies stored on my computer and accessing YouTube/Pandora was great - but I wanted to see if I could access Hulu. So, I navigated to the "media server" menu and it saw my Tversity software program running on one computer. I clicked on that and minutes later I was watching "Glee" (a program on ABC). The only issue I ran into was that fast forward would sometimes cause the program to freeze and I would need to re-start. Given that this media player is brand new and basically in what feels like a beta release, sold out just about everywhere, I'm assuming that a firmware upgrade in the coming weeks will fix that bug as well as any others I come across. I tried a few other programs and was only able to replicate the issue intermittently. However, pause caused no problems. And, I don't expect Western Digital to support Tversity, which may be the root of the problem (vs the WD player) so I'm not taking off marks for that one issue. I'm just happy I can watch a variety of shows streamed from Tversity on the WD TV. (A google search on Tversity will take you to the download site for that wonderful free to try program).

My previous media server, the D-Link DSM-320 D-Link DSM-320 Wireless Media Player, Audio/Photo/Video, 802.11g, is not nearly as nice... I spent hours and hours and hours (days) configuring it and getting it to "see" my home network. I also found the user menus to be very cumbersome with navigation almost an afterthought. In contrast, the WD TV is a dream come true and definitely feels like the "next generation" of media servers.

I've tried a number of video and music formats, and they've all played with no problem (except for the fast forward issue above). I watched a slide show of pictures stored on one of my computers. All of this without reading a single manual or going to a single internet help forum. Literally, plug and play.

So, overall, I'd say this is a strong unit, and I'm very happy with it. Since I am reviewing the unit much sooner than I normally would, I do commit to the Amazon community that if I experience issues with the WD TV I'll return to update this review. But based on my experience with other media servers and other hardware setups, I think this is a winner. Highly recommended.

Hope this helps!

UPDATE 11/12/2009: Almost a month later and I'm 1000% happy with this player... no issues. Works great... fast..great interface... I'm going to give one or two of these as holiday presents this year. I've replaced my DVR on my second TV and no longer pay the cable company $14 per month for a DVR... this little gizmo is going to pay for itself!

LAST UPDATE 12/5/2009: I was experiencing... Read more

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