Tagged Products - hdmi+hd

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Gateway XHD3000 30" Widescreen HD LCD Monitor

Pros: worked great untill the unit dies

Cons: Died after just after a year of use wich is bs.

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I been to about 11 repair shops around my house and no one will touch it. What bs is that.

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Sony KDL-52XBR6 52" BRAVIA XBR® LCD Flat Panel HDTV

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up the tv. They made sure the remote and the set worked, and they were off after no more than 15-20 minutes from start to finish.

Picture Quality: More than for any other reason, this is why I bought this tv. For me, the decision process started and ended with picture quality, everything else a set had to offer was just extras, nice to have or something to ignore. On the XBR6, HD is stunning. SD is excellent. This is equally true for sports, movies, news, evening soaps. The XBR6 delivers a vibrant picture whether you are sitting straight in front of it or off to one side or the other. The factory settings are very close to the mark, if not on it. If you decide to tweek the picture for personal preferences or to accommodate room lighting, the manual and online menus are easy to follow and offer concise explanations.

No reflective glare: Concern about glare and reflection was a critical decision point for me because the set was going into a room with multiple windows and skylights Daytime with the Sony Wega's reflective crt screen had been horrible. Now, after watching the XBR6 on a few sunny days in a row, glare and reflections are subdued/tamed except on very dark scenes. On colorful scenes, the glare and reflections just aren't noticeable. I am very pleased. My expectations have been more than exceeded. The Samsungs I strongly considered as well as a couple of plasma sets got nixed because of my concerns about reflection and glare. A small negative for me is the reflective quality of the plastic frame around the set.

Sound System: Sound quality from the tv was never a decision factor for me just as it wasn't 10 years ago. A 10 year old Bose Lifestyle 1-2 system was easily connected, and its Dolby 5.1 output sounds better than ever.

Quality and reliability: Sony is number one in service and reliability. The rest are still learning. You can look it up. I did.

Misc. : 1. We have a small net monthly savings by going with direct tv for the local channels, dvr and hd. This amount does not include the foregone costs for tivo since we had paid a one time fee for the life of the unit to avoid month to month subscription fees to it. This amount does include the rip-off monthly fee increase for high speed internet access from the cable company because we discontinued cable service. After eight years with tivo, I thought I'd miss it more than I have, but the features on the direct tv dvr are very similar.
2. There is a couple of seconds delay when switching from one channel to the next. I assume it is due to the line from the satellite that is being multiplexed as a dual line. It is more than acceptable to me, but the pause that refreshes is noticeable.
3. The Tv Guide feature that Sony is promoting is useless for satellite subscribers because it is incompatible (unsupportable?) with them and also redundant, just as it is with cable.
4. You don't need to pay a premium for hdmi cables. See the discussion on avsforums about them as well as their discussions about lcd televisions. The discussions can be over the top and sometimes make a fringe issue sound like it is the center of the universe. These folks care about their viewing experiences. They also seem to know something. They are more reasonable than a person who faults a set sold in the US for not supporting a frame rate used overseas.
5. When doing diligence, I used cnet's reviews, myproductadvisor (to better understand my own requirements and what features are out there, although it seems to have a Samsung bias), other expert reviews, end user reviews (like this one and the others here), the manufacturer websites, and visits to several stores to see with my own eyes.
6. I am 100% satisfied, a very happy camper. I had high expectations from order placement to the day to day set usage, and those high expectations have been met. Sony, Amazon, direct tv and Bose are a great combination, and they've clicked at every level for me. I think they are the best at what they do.

Thanks for listening. I had fun. I hope this helped.

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Onkyo TX-SR606B 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver - Black

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The labels on the back of the Onkyo are easy to understand and seem logically placed. There are very few options that need to be done with the remote, but those that needed adjusting were easily set.

Upon powering the unit for the first time, it's necessary to balance the speakers. I followed the recommended automated process, using the microphone that's included with the receiver. Set-up was a breeze. Within 15 minutes, the system was perfectly balanced (for my taste). The unit automatically adjusted the treble/bass/mid tones based on the speakers that are connected, and adjusted the gain of each set of speakers based on their placement in the room and the room's acoustics. Although there are options for refining all balance and tone settings, I didn't feel the need to do anything beyond the automatic set-up.

For my first experience, I decided to watch and listen to the Blu-Ray version of The Dark Knight. While this disk is visually stunning, the sound produced though this receiver is out-of-this-world! My home video watching/listening experience was forever changed. The highs, the lows, the mid-range sounds blew me away! Ironman was next, followed by the new Blu-Ray version of Sweeny Todd. The sound from this receiver is better than most theaters, the HD picture (passed through the receiver) is perfect, and the popcorn is a lot cheaper. One of these disks is Digital Dolby, and the other two are Dolby TrueHD. All are equally stunning to hear!

Next, I turned on the DirecTV player. The Digital Dolby sound played perfectly, and the video pass-through worked as it should. I experienced no sync problems between sound and video. The resolution of DirecTV, at this point, is only 1080i, so the picture is not as sharp and crisp as the Blu-ray player's 1080p resolution, but the sound is excellent. DirecTV promises 1080p resolution shortly.

Finally, I switched the Onkyo to the Apple Airport input (I used the CD inputs), logged on to AOL Radio with my iMac and broadcast music wirelessly to the Airport using Airfoil. WOW! Even the sound from the Airport is better than I imagined possible. All 5.1 speakers respond, providing some incredible music. Rock on Garth!

Through the Onkyo remote control, I set the receiver's version of Panasonic's VIERA HDMI component control to ON, which allows me to use the Panasonic remote to turn on/off the TV or Blu-Ray player and the Onkyo automatically turns on/off and sets itself to the correct input. Volume on the receiver is also controlled through the Panasonic remote. I almost never use the Onkyo remote since all components can be controlled through the Panasonic remote. I keep the Onkyo remote around because the receiver does not automatically switch to the CD input (RCA jacks) when I use the Airport so I have to set that input and adjust the volume using the Onkyo remote.

The Onkyo TX-SR606 produces the finest sound I've ever heard in a home unit. It is capable of playing all of the current sound formats, is easy to set up and easy to control, and with 4 HDMI inputs, there's space for future expansion.

Now, I think I'll go make a martini and watch AND LISTEN TO another movie!

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Onkyo TX-SR806S THX Ultra2 Plus 7.1-Channel Home-Theater Receiver - Silver

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The labels on the back of the Onkyo are easy to understand and seem logically placed. There are very few options that need to be done with the remote, but those that needed adjusting were easily set.



Upon powering the unit for the first time, it's necessary to balance the speakers. I followed the recommended automated process, using the microphone that's included with the receiver. Set-up was a breeze. Within 15 minutes, the system was perfectly balanced (for my taste). The unit automatically adjusted the treble/bass/mid tones based on the speakers that are connected, and adjusted the gain of each set of speakers based on their placement in the room and the room's acoustics. Although there are options for refining all balance and tone settings, I didn't feel the need to do anything beyond the automatic set-up.



For my first experience, I decided to watch and listen to the Blu-Ray version of The Dark Knight. While this disk is visually stunning, the sound produced though this receiver is out-of-this-world! My home video watching/listening experience was forever changed. The highs, the lows, the mid-range sounds blew me away! Ironman was next, followed by the new Blu-Ray version of Sweeny Todd. The sound from this receiver is better than most theaters, the HD picture (passed through the receiver) is perfect, and the popcorn is a lot cheaper. One of these disks is Digital Dolby, and the other two are Dolby TrueHD. All are equally stunning to hear!



Next, I turned on the DirecTV player. The Digital Dolby sound played perfectly, and the video pass-through worked as it should. I experienced no sync problems between sound and video. The resolution of DirecTV, at this point, is only 1080i, so the picture is not as sharp and crisp as the Blu-ray player's 1080p resolution, but the sound is excellent. DirecTV promises 1080p resolution shortly.



Finally, I switched the Onkyo to the Apple Airport input (I used the CD inputs), logged on to AOL Radio with my iMac and broadcast music wirelessly to the Airport using Airfoil. WOW! Even the sound from the Airport is better than I imagined possible. All 5.1 speakers respond, providing some incredible music. Rock on Garth!



Through the Onkyo remote control, I set the receiver's version of Panasonic's VIERA HDMI component control to ON, which allows me to use the Panasonic remote to turn on/off the TV or Blu-Ray player and the Onkyo automatically turns on/off and sets itself to the correct input. Volume on the receiver is also controlled through the Panasonic remote. I almost never use the Onkyo remote since all components can be controlled through the Panasonic remote. I keep the Onkyo remote around because the receiver does not automatically switch to the CD input (RCA jacks) when I use the Airport so I have to set that input and adjust the volume using the Onkyo remote.



The Onkyo TX-SR606 produces the finest sound I've ever heard in a home unit. It is capable of playing all of the current sound formats, is easy to set up and easy to control, and with 4 HDMI inputs, there's space for future expansion.



Now, I think I'll go make a martini and watch AND LISTEN TO another movie!

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Sony DVP-NS700H/B 1080p Upscaling DVD Player - Black

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visible for the first time! This is pretty amazing compared to how dull the image was prior to this player.
Where I think this player really stands out is in the vibrancy of the colors it outputs onto an HDTV. I would compare the range of color to that which you will find on HD TV channels or Blu-Ray discs, which goes a long way to making your old DVDs look new again on fancy flat screen TV's. I would definitely recommend this player to those who want to continue to use their old DVDs on their new HDTV but who don't have the money or desire to buy a Blu-Ray player and discs for the next year or two. In my case, I found a deal on a 26 inch Samsung HDTV and was hoping for a cheap alternative to Blu-Ray. This totally fit the bill.

Installation was very easy with the HDMI cable (buy one online because retail outlets charge WAY too much...) and my only complaint is that the audio effects built in to the DVD player caused an odd echo effect and buzzing on my TV's built in speakers (were the TV not also trying to create audio effects out of the two side speakers built into it I think this would not have happened, but I can't be sure). Once I played with the settings on the DVD player to stop it from altering the sound everything worked just fine and sounds great. I can't say there's any improvement in the sound, though, when compared to my old DVD player. But be aware that you may have to fiddle with the settings, and if you're someone who likes to plug and play with no hassle then you might be a little bit annoyed with this, depending on your hardware. Generally there aren't that many settings you'll need to change, though, so it shouldn't be a reason for most people to stay away from this player.

I also am not a huge fan of the remote that comes with this player. It has extra buttons meant to allow you to control your TV with it as well, but they don't function with my TV and so they are more along the lines of useless clutter for me.

The actual look of the player is great. It goes so well with my Samsung HDTV that they almost look as if they were meant to be sold as a set. It also is smaller than many DVD players I've had before and I love that that frees up space on my entertainment system for other things. I didn't like that there was a sticker on the top of it, though, because that left a small mark in the DVD player after I took it off.

I really think this player is a great intermediate step for those who just bought an HDTV but who don't want to have to get into Blu-Ray yet. I own so many DVDs and love the fact that they're coming down even more in price thanks to Blu-Ray (I just bought eight more of my favorite movies on DVD from Amazon for under $70!!) that this is definitely the smartest choice for me and those who are in the same situation.

DVDs become extremely watchable thanks to this player and I'm really glad I bought it!


Edit: Another great feature of this DVD player that I've found as I use it is the fact that the buttons on the player itself are positioned on the top front of the player rather than on the face. With my old player it would move backwards slightly every time I ejected a disc and eventually I'd have to rearrange that entire shelf of my entertainment system, but having the buttons on the top makes it so that pressing buttons will not move the player around. It's a very smart design and once you get used to it you'll come to appreciate it as you use the player.

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Blu-ray Disc Player

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visible for the first time! This is pretty amazing compared to how dull the image was prior to this player.

Where I think this player really stands out is in the vibrancy of the colors it outputs onto an HDTV. I would compare the range of color to that which you will find on HD TV channels or Blu-Ray discs, which goes a long way to making your old DVDs look new again on fancy flat screen TV's. I would definitely recommend this player to those who want to continue to use their old DVDs on their new HDTV but who don't have the money or desire to buy a Blu-Ray player and discs for the next year or two. In my case, I found a deal on a 26 inch Samsung HDTV and was hoping for a cheap alternative to Blu-Ray. This totally fit the bill.



Installation was very easy with the HDMI cable (buy one online because retail outlets charge WAY too much...) and my only complaint is that the audio effects built in to the DVD player caused an odd echo effect and buzzing on my TV's built in speakers (were the TV not also trying to create audio effects out of the two side speakers built into it I think this would not have happened, but I can't be sure). Once I played with the settings on the DVD player to stop it from altering the sound everything worked just fine and sounds great. I can't say there's any improvement in the sound, though, when compared to my old DVD player. But be aware that you may have to fiddle with the settings, and if you're someone who likes to plug and play with no hassle then you might be a little bit annoyed with this, depending on your hardware. Generally there aren't that many settings you'll need to change, though, so it shouldn't be a reason for most people to stay away from this player.



I also am not a huge fan of the remote that comes with this player. It has extra buttons meant to allow you to control your TV with it as well, but they don't function with my TV and so they are more along the lines of useless clutter for me.



The actual look of the player is great. It goes so well with my Samsung HDTV that they almost look as if they were meant to be sold as a set. It also is smaller than many DVD players I've had before and I love that that frees up space on my entertainment system for other things. I didn't like that there was a sticker on the top of it, though, because that left a small mark in the DVD player after I took it off.



I really think this player is a great intermediate step for those who just bought an HDTV but who don't want to have to get into Blu-Ray yet. I own so many DVDs and love the fact that they're coming down even more in price thanks to Blu-Ray (I just bought eight more of my favorite movies on DVD from Amazon for under $70!!) that this is definitely the smartest choice for me and those who are in the same situation.



DVDs become extremely watchable thanks to this player and I'm really glad I bought it!





Edit: Another great feature of this DVD player that I've found as I use it is the fact that the buttons on the player itself are positioned on the top front of the player rather than on the face. With my old player it would move backwards slightly every time I ejected a disc and eventually I'd have to rearrange that entire shelf of my entertainment system, but having the buttons on the top makes it so that pressing buttons will not move the player around. It's a very smart design and once you get used to it you'll come to appreciate it as you use the player.

+ 0 likes

Blu-ray Disc Player

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visible for the first time! This is pretty amazing compared to how dull the image was prior to this player.


Where I think this player really stands out is in the vibrancy of the colors it outputs onto an HDTV. I would compare the range of color to that which you will find on HD TV channels or Blu-Ray discs, which goes a long way to making your old DVDs look new again on fancy flat screen TV's. I would definitely recommend this player to those who want to continue to use their old DVDs on their new HDTV but who don't have the money or desire to buy a Blu-Ray player and discs for the next year or two. In my case, I found a deal on a 26 inch Samsung HDTV and was hoping for a cheap alternative to Blu-Ray. This totally fit the bill.





Installation was very easy with the HDMI cable (buy one online because retail outlets charge WAY too much...) and my only complaint is that the audio effects built in to the DVD player caused an odd echo effect and buzzing on my TV's built in speakers (were the TV not also trying to create audio effects out of the two side speakers built into it I think this would not have happened, but I can't be sure). Once I played with the settings on the DVD player to stop it from altering the sound everything worked just fine and sounds great. I can't say there's any improvement in the sound, though, when compared to my old DVD player. But be aware that you may have to fiddle with the settings, and if you're someone who likes to plug and play with no hassle then you might be a little bit annoyed with this, depending on your hardware. Generally there aren't that many settings you'll need to change, though, so it shouldn't be a reason for most people to stay away from this player.





I also am not a huge fan of the remote that comes with this player. It has extra buttons meant to allow you to control your TV with it as well, but they don't function with my TV and so they are more along the lines of useless clutter for me.





The actual look of the player is great. It goes so well with my Samsung HDTV that they almost look as if they were meant to be sold as a set. It also is smaller than many DVD players I've had before and I love that that frees up space on my entertainment system for other things. I didn't like that there was a sticker on the top of it, though, because that left a small mark in the DVD player after I took it off.





I really think this player is a great intermediate step for those who just bought an HDTV but who don't want to have to get into Blu-Ray yet. I own so many DVDs and love the fact that they're coming down even more in price thanks to Blu-Ray (I just bought eight more of my favorite movies on DVD from Amazon for under $70!!) that this is definitely the smartest choice for me and those who are in the same situation.





DVDs become extremely watchable thanks to this player and I'm really glad I bought it!








Edit: Another great feature of this DVD player that I've found as I use it is the fact that the buttons on the player itself are positioned on the top front of the player rather than on the face. With my old player it would move backwards slightly every time I ejected a disc and eventually I'd have to rearrange that entire shelf of my entertainment system, but having the buttons on the top makes it so that pressing buttons will not move the player around. It's a very smart design and once you get used to it you'll come to appreciate it as you use the player.

+ 0 likes

Samsung LN46A650 46" Class LCD 1080p HDTV

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visible for the first time! This is pretty amazing compared to how dull the image was prior to this player.



Where I think this player really stands out is in the vibrancy of the colors it outputs onto an HDTV. I would compare the range of color to that which you will find on HD TV channels or Blu-Ray discs, which goes a long way to making your old DVDs look new again on fancy flat screen TV's. I would definitely recommend this player to those who want to continue to use their old DVDs on their new HDTV but who don't have the money or desire to buy a Blu-Ray player and discs for the next year or two. In my case, I found a deal on a 26 inch Samsung HDTV and was hoping for a cheap alternative to Blu-Ray. This totally fit the bill.







Installation was very easy with the HDMI cable (buy one online because retail outlets charge WAY too much...) and my only complaint is that the audio effects built in to the DVD player caused an odd echo effect and buzzing on my TV's built in speakers (were the TV not also trying to create audio effects out of the two side speakers built into it I think this would not have happened, but I can't be sure). Once I played with the settings on the DVD player to stop it from altering the sound everything worked just fine and sounds great. I can't say there's any improvement in the sound, though, when compared to my old DVD player. But be aware that you may have to fiddle with the settings, and if you're someone who likes to plug and play with no hassle then you might be a little bit annoyed with this, depending on your hardware. Generally there aren't that many settings you'll need to change, though, so it shouldn't be a reason for most people to stay away from this player.







I also am not a huge fan of the remote that comes with this player. It has extra buttons meant to allow you to control your TV with it as well, but they don't function with my TV and so they are more along the lines of useless clutter for me.







The actual look of the player is great. It goes so well with my Samsung HDTV that they almost look as if they were meant to be sold as a set. It also is smaller than many DVD players I've had before and I love that that frees up space on my entertainment system for other things. I didn't like that there was a sticker on the top of it, though, because that left a small mark in the DVD player after I took it off.







I really think this player is a great intermediate step for those who just bought an HDTV but who don't want to have to get into Blu-Ray yet. I own so many DVDs and love the fact that they're coming down even more in price thanks to Blu-Ray (I just bought eight more of my favorite movies on DVD from Amazon for under $70!!) that this is definitely the smartest choice for me and those who are in the same situation.







DVDs become extremely watchable thanks to this player and I'm really glad I bought it!











Edit: Another great feature of this DVD player that I've found as I use it is the fact that the buttons on the player itself are positioned on the top front of the player rather than on the face. With my old player it would move backwards slightly every time I ejected a disc and eventually I'd have to rearrange that entire shelf of my entertainment system, but having the buttons on the top makes it so that pressing buttons will not move the player around. It's a very smart design and once you get used to it you'll come to appreciate it as you use the player.

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Panasonic TH-42PX80U VIERA Plasma 720P HDTV 42" Class Widescreen Televisions

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1080p has been documented on the web to not matter in TVs below 50", just google it.

It was going to buy either this TV, the samsung 46" A750 Samsung LN46A750 46-Inch 1080p DLNA LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color, or sony 46" XBR6 Sony Bravia XBR KDL-46XBR6 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV. Save like 800 dollars and actually have money to afford cable HDTV or a blu-ray player with movies.

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Sony STR-DG820 7.1-Channel Home Theater A/V Receiver

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won't sound as powerful as its stated power would claim. Then again, there's a lot more to sound than numbers.

And that sound is where this thing delivers. No other receiver I've heard is as warm, detailed, and spacious as this Sony model. It's very easy on the ears - while the Onkyo might provide more titanic blasts, its high-end was always a tad forward leading to terrible ear ringing in bed after watching a loud movie or two. No such problem with this unit. I've been impressed with its ability to drive large speakers with a nice, fast bass sound - using Polk RTi A5 and Infinity Primus 362s from the other room in my apartment, I got sound that was a little different, though likely no worse, than what the NAD integrated amp in my music system produces. I'm floored and still can't fathom why, if all Sony receivers sound like, they get a bad rap on audio boards all over the internet.

Potential cons for the 820:
No OSD
No video upscaling of analog inputs
No phono stage

For anyone for whom any of those are a dealbreaker, the STR-DG920 model includes all three along with the same amp-section. For those of us living in a fully digital world (or, like myself, armed with an offboard phono pre-amp), this Sony STR-DG820 is a fantastic bargain and the best I've heard in the ultra-budget HT price range with modern capabilities. Totally love it.

+ 0 likes

Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player for USB Storage Devices

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won't sound as powerful as its stated power would claim. Then again, there's a lot more to sound than numbers.



And that sound is where this thing delivers. No other receiver I've heard is as warm, detailed, and spacious as this Sony model. It's very easy on the ears - while the Onkyo might provide more titanic blasts, its high-end was always a tad forward leading to terrible ear ringing in bed after watching a loud movie or two. No such problem with this unit. I've been impressed with its ability to drive large speakers with a nice, fast bass sound - using Polk RTi A5 and Infinity Primus 362s from the other room in my apartment, I got sound that was a little different, though likely no worse, than what the NAD integrated amp in my music system produces. I'm floored and still can't fathom why, if all Sony receivers sound like, they get a bad rap on audio boards all over the internet.



Potential cons for the 820:

No OSD

No video upscaling of analog inputs

No phono stage



For anyone for whom any of those are a dealbreaker, the STR-DG920 model includes all three along with the same amp-section. For those of us living in a fully digital world (or, like myself, armed with an offboard phono pre-amp), this Sony STR-DG820 is a fantastic bargain and the best I've heard in the ultra-budget HT price range with modern capabilities. Totally love it.

+ 0 likes

Linksys Media Center Extender with DVD-DUAL BAND WIRELESS N HD DVD WRLSMEDIA CENTER EXTENDER

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won't sound as powerful as its stated power would claim. Then again, there's a lot more to sound than numbers.





And that sound is where this thing delivers. No other receiver I've heard is as warm, detailed, and spacious as this Sony model. It's very easy on the ears - while the Onkyo might provide more titanic blasts, its high-end was always a tad forward leading to terrible ear ringing in bed after watching a loud movie or two. No such problem with this unit. I've been impressed with its ability to drive large speakers with a nice, fast bass sound - using Polk RTi A5 and Infinity Primus 362s from the other room in my apartment, I got sound that was a little different, though likely no worse, than what the NAD integrated amp in my music system produces. I'm floored and still can't fathom why, if all Sony receivers sound like, they get a bad rap on audio boards all over the internet.





Potential cons for the 820:


No OSD


No video upscaling of analog inputs


No phono stage





For anyone for whom any of those are a dealbreaker, the STR-DG920 model includes all three along with the same amp-section. For those of us living in a fully digital world (or, like myself, armed with an offboard phono pre-amp), this Sony STR-DG820 is a fantastic bargain and the best I've heard in the ultra-budget HT price range with modern capabilities. Totally love it.

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TiVo HD Digital Video Recorder

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want to add extra time to the recording so that you won't miss the very end and you can record an unexpected overtime. Tivo has an 8 second jump back feature that works instantly without hesitation even when pressed multiple times. It has a jump forward 30 seconds feature to help skip annoying commercials. You can record non-copyrighted TV and movies and have them transferred to your home computer and converted then put on your iPod with Tivo To Go. You can also increase the hard drive size by connecting an eSATA external hard drive so you can store more gigabytes of HD movies and HD TV. You can't go wrong with a Tivo Series III.

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Microsoft Xbox 360 Pro Console System

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with both of these saving you about fifty to sixty dollars more depending on where you shop. Not to mention if you're smart you'll toss an extended warranty on that other HDD you just bought to cover a failure, raising its price even further. While everything is capable of being covered under one blanket warranty with the pro. It also comes with two free full games, although I'll probably never play Kung-fu Panda.
If you didn't really understand what I'm trying to say here it's that the Pro is the middle child, and usually best bet, in a series of three versions of the Xbox. There seems to be a lot of confusion about them as well so I'll clear that up now...

The Arcade is the basic, plug and play system. It has no HDD to store large amounts of data on, so you can't rip music to it or put pictures on it. Nor is it backwards compatible with the old Xbox games. You also (and most importantly) can't download most content from the marketplace or play the original Xbox games due to the absence of it.
However, you CAN STILL SAVE YOUR GAME among other things thanks to the complimentary 256MB memory card. Although this will only last so long. For example, a single save in Fallout 3 averages me about 4MBs each.
Also, while your standard AV cables are acceptable, you get much sharper and more accurate color from a component or HDMI cable. Neither of which come with this bundle.
And as far as games go, the Arcade leaves much to be desired. Granted, the games amuse for a while, but you can get the same enjoyment out of the demos (most of which are for the same games) that come preloaded on the Pro or Elite, plus if you don't like them you aren't out any money.
Not to mention no headset is included, which isn't a must but is nice when you're online with friends and like to actually articulate just what kind of support you need to capture the other flag.

The Pro comes with that component cable I mentioned, which when run in HD bumps the resolution up to 720p and can also be used with any non-HD TV with that same crisp color and sharp image so long as it has component ports. I'm currently running it on an HD compatible cathode ray tube (old big TV) with no problems. It also includes a wired headset (plugs into the controller), an ethernet cable so it's online ready, the two games, and a 60GB HDD.
The extra forty gigs on this really comes in handy as on the old 20 GB pro bundles you really only had around thirteen after formatting it while the rest was used for system data. The drive is also preloaded with things like gamer pictures for your profile, and some pretty fun demos. I still play Heavy Weapon and Geometry wars a lot myself and will until I buy the full versions whenever I get around to that.
Since it has a hard drive, this also means you have space to download things like movies, demos, game updates, etc. Just like you would for your PC. You can even install a game to your drive and play it from there to cut down on noise and heat since the disc isn't spinning nearly as much. Granted, you're only going to be able to fit five or six games on here at a time depending on how much other stuff you have on there, but I don't usually find myself playing more games than that at once anyway and just delete whatever I haven't used in a while. You can always reinstall it later. :)
You'll probably notice your games running a bit smother too since that drive space allows for disk caching, which takes a bit of strain off the processing units.
All in all a great rounder that seems to be the console of choice for almost everyone, and for good reason.

Last but not least is the Elite. Also called the "New retard edition" by some launch articles, it's basically the just the Pro painted black with a 120GB drive, some free live time (more on that later), and an HDMI cable. I really can't think of any reason to recommend this unless you really like the color black, or hate third party cables, since you can save money by buying a third party cable or used cable separately. And if you REALLY need the space you can always upgrade either of the others with a 120GB HDD later anyway.

That's about it. Other than that they're essentially all the same... None of them have Li batteries in the controllers out of the box, and run on double a's until you pic up a play and charge kit yourself.
The failure rates, although much lower than the launch systems, are still present and even across the board since they all have the same chipset. So make sure you say yes when asked if you want that extended warranty, because while Microsoft offers a standard extended warranty on a "Red Ring of Death" situation, sending YOUR system in doesn't always mean you get YOUR system back. It isn't uncommon for someone to get someone else's refurbished system in return, and I'm unsure of how they handle saved data (if at all).
However, when purchased virtually anywhere else with a new warranty, any replicated failures mean you get a new system on the spot (usually).

So why should you buy this over the more powerful PS3, or weaker but more innovative Wii? To be blunt, power isn't everything and innovation means nothing if all your games are geared for the newly breed or nearly dead.
Despite the fact that the system doubles as a blu-ray player, currently the PS3 is an tool developers aren't using to it's full potential. While games have better lighting effects and can usually run at a high frame per second rate more consistently, I was willing to sacrifice minor graphical prowess for a larger library and wider variety of games that were more appealing to me. And that's what it's all about; the games.
After all it doesn't really matter how many computations per second your hardware is capable of if all it can play is something you don't enjoy.
Which is the same reason I didn't really get into anything on the Wii other than Trauma Center when I it too. Despite its revolutionary control scheme, everything seemed was either a port that was awkwardly shoe-horned into a broken control scheme, or something that while cute, was far to kiddy for me to really enjoy.
The overall flaw is the same problem Nintendo has had for a while now, being that fun interesting games like Resident Evil, Guitar Hero, and even flagships like Twilight Princess are available on other (or previous) systems where they play better, and in return for their renewed success your loyalty is rewarded with regurgitated Poke'mon tripe. Granted you can purchase and play older games for systems like the NES, SNES, or even N64 but that's what free emulators and ROMs are for.
Again, these are just my personal opinions. There isn't anything really wrong with the design of the other systems, their games just weren't for me.
The 360 is not without it's own flaws though. In addition to the ever present (no matter how unlikely) risk of the RROD, multiplayer is not free on the 360, nor is it wireless capable out of the box.
While both are huge detractions since on each other system wireless and online play is supported from the start, not being wireless capable alone wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the Microsoft adapter costs a c-note new in box, and the other cheaper Linksys ones that were compatible are no longer in production. While there is a sixty to seventy dollar third party unit, it still isn't a huge improvement since you can get the same tech, which does the same thing, for your laptop for about thirty bucks at Walmart. What this is is just a case of Microsoft trying to make more money by locking you to their product.
As far as not being able to access multiplayer without paying fifty bucks a year for a "Gold" (i.e. premium) Xbox live account, it's just asinine. I can understand paying for new content for games, like new maps or guns. I don't have a problem with that. But what Microsoft is asking you to do here is to pay to access a feature you already have, on a game you already own, with the system you already bought, over a connection you already pay for.
Which is really quite tragic since it's the only thing keeping my from giving this a perfect score.

My advice is to look carefully at the library of games for each system and decide what's important to you. Although, if you do plan on playing a lot of games that support multiplayer and are also available on the PS3, you may want to go with that instead to save money in the long run.
However, if you just don't plan on playing online too much in general, the 360 is definitely the way to go.

+ 0 likes

Panasonic TH-42PX80U VIERA Plasma 720P HDTV 42" Class Widescreen Televisions

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with both of these saving you about fifty to sixty dollars more depending on where you shop. Not to mention if you're smart you'll toss an extended warranty on that other HDD you just bought to cover a failure, raising its price even further. While everything is capable of being covered under one blanket warranty with the pro. It also comes with two free full games, although I'll probably never play Kung-fu Panda.

If you didn't really understand what I'm trying to say here it's that the Pro is the middle child, and usually best bet, in a series of three versions of the Xbox. There seems to be a lot of confusion about them as well so I'll clear that up now...



The Arcade is the basic, plug and play system. It has no HDD to store large amounts of data on, so you can't rip music to it or put pictures on it. Nor is it backwards compatible with the old Xbox games. You also (and most importantly) can't download most content from the marketplace or play the original Xbox games due to the absence of it.

However, you CAN STILL SAVE YOUR GAME among other things thanks to the complimentary 256MB memory card. Although this will only last so long. For example, a single save in Fallout 3 averages me about 4MBs each.

Also, while your standard AV cables are acceptable, you get much sharper and more accurate color from a component or HDMI cable. Neither of which come with this bundle.

And as far as games go, the Arcade leaves much to be desired. Granted, the games amuse for a while, but you can get the same enjoyment out of the demos (most of which are for the same games) that come preloaded on the Pro or Elite, plus if you don't like them you aren't out any money.

Not to mention no headset is included, which isn't a must but is nice when you're online with friends and like to actually articulate just what kind of support you need to capture the other flag.



The Pro comes with that component cable I mentioned, which when run in HD bumps the resolution up to 720p and can also be used with any non-HD TV with that same crisp color and sharp image so long as it has component ports. I'm currently running it on an HD compatible cathode ray tube (old big TV) with no problems. It also includes a wired headset (plugs into the controller), an ethernet cable so it's online ready, the two games, and a 60GB HDD.

The extra forty gigs on this really comes in handy as on the old 20 GB pro bundles you really only had around thirteen after formatting it while the rest was used for system data. The drive is also preloaded with things like gamer pictures for your profile, and some pretty fun demos. I still play Heavy Weapon and Geometry wars a lot myself and will until I buy the full versions whenever I get around to that.

Since it has a hard drive, this also means you have space to download things like movies, demos, game updates, etc. Just like you would for your PC. You can even install a game to your drive and play it from there to cut down on noise and heat since the disc isn't spinning nearly as much. Granted, you're only going to be able to fit five or six games on here at a time depending on how much other stuff you have on there, but I don't usually find myself playing more games than that at once anyway and just delete whatever I haven't used in a while. You can always reinstall it later. :)

You'll probably notice your games running a bit smother too since that drive space allows for disk caching, which takes a bit of strain off the processing units.

All in all a great rounder that seems to be the console of choice for almost everyone, and for good reason.



Last but not least is the Elite. Also called the "New retard edition" by some launch articles, it's basically the just the Pro painted black with a 120GB drive, some free live time (more on that later), and an HDMI cable. I really can't think of any reason to recommend this unless you really like the color black, or hate third party cables, since you can save money by buying a third party cable or used cable separately. And if you REALLY need the space you can always upgrade either of the others with a 120GB HDD later anyway.



That's about it. Other than that they're essentially all the same... None of them have Li batteries in the controllers out of the box, and run on double a's until you pic up a play and charge kit yourself.

The failure rates, although much lower than the launch systems, are still present and even across the board since they all have the same chipset. So make sure you say yes when asked if you want that extended warranty, because while Microsoft offers a standard extended warranty on a "Red Ring of Death" situation, sending YOUR system in doesn't always mean you get YOUR system back. It isn't uncommon for someone to get someone else's refurbished system in return, and I'm unsure of how they handle saved data (if at all).

However, when purchased virtually anywhere else with a new warranty, any replicated failures mean you get a new system on the spot (usually).



So why should you buy this over the more powerful PS3, or weaker but more innovative Wii? To be blunt, power isn't everything and innovation means nothing if all your games are geared for the newly breed or nearly dead.

Despite the fact that the system doubles as a blu-ray player, currently the PS3 is an tool developers aren't using to it's full potential. While games have better lighting effects and can usually run at a high frame per second rate more consistently, I was willing to sacrifice minor graphical prowess for a larger library and wider variety of games that were more appealing to me. And that's what it's all about; the games.

After all it doesn't really matter how many computations per second your hardware is capable of if all it can play is something you don't enjoy.

Which is the same reason I didn't really get into anything on the Wii other than Trauma Center when I it too. Despite its revolutionary control scheme, everything seemed was either a port that was awkwardly shoe-horned into a broken control scheme, or something that while cute, was far to kiddy for me to really enjoy.

The overall flaw is the same problem Nintendo has had for a while now, being that fun interesting games like Resident Evil, Guitar Hero, and even flagships like Twilight Princess are available on other (or previous) systems where they play better, and in return for their renewed success your loyalty is rewarded with regurgitated Poke'mon tripe. Granted you can purchase and play older games for systems like the NES, SNES, or even N64 but that's what free emulators and ROMs are for.

Again, these are just my personal opinions. There isn't anything really wrong with the design of the other systems, their games just weren't for me.

The 360 is not without it's own flaws though. In addition to the ever present (no matter how unlikely) risk of the RROD, multiplayer is not free on the 360, nor is it wireless capable out of the box.

While both are huge detractions since on each other system wireless and online play is supported from the start, not being wireless capable alone wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the Microsoft adapter costs a c-note new in box, and the other cheaper Linksys ones that were compatible are no longer in production. While there is a sixty to seventy dollar third party unit, it still isn't a huge improvement since you can get the same tech, which does the same thing, for your laptop for about thirty bucks at Walmart. What this is is just a case of Microsoft trying to make more money by locking you to their product.

As far as not being able to access multiplayer without paying fifty bucks a year for a "Gold" (i.e. premium) Xbox live account, it's just asinine. I can understand paying for new content for games, like new maps or guns. I don't have a problem with that. But what Microsoft is asking you to do here is to pay to access a feature you already have, on a game you already own, with the system you already bought, over a connection you already pay for.

Which is really quite tragic since it's the only thing keeping my from giving this a perfect score.



My advice is to look carefully at the library of games for each system and decide what's important to you. Although, if you do plan on playing a lot of games that support multiplayer and are also available on the PS3, you may want to go with that instead to save money in the long run.

However, if you just don't plan on playing online too much in general, the 360 is definitely the way to go.

+ 0 likes

Sony STR-DG820 7.1-Channel Home Theater A/V Receiver

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as well but that was at an acceptable level and did not get amplified by turning the volume knob up.

The other star I deducted because of Sony's exaggerated power ratings. Before buying the product I had read somewhere that Sony made poor amplifiers with power specs that were quite far from the actual sound output. Unfortunately I ignored the reviewer because I thought he was just another audiophile trying to justify his Onkyo purchase by bashing consumer electronics brand names like Sony and Pioneer. Although he was wrong in regards to Sony's sound quality, he was spot on when it came down to power.

As a first time home cinema receiver buyer, I had no idea most manufacturers rate their amplifiers by outputting a test signal from ONLY one or two channels simultaneously. Now driving all 7 channels, thats a whole different story. Many people probably already know this but I'm pretty sure the majority doesn't. I usually read the user manual of every product I'm interested in very thoroughly, despite that I missed it. Why ? Because Onkyo is the only company that is honest about their rating procedure ( their manuals indicate they drive only 2 channels ). The STR-DG820 continous electrical power consumption is 230W. No amplifier can output more power than what is input. So if you ignore heat loss & efficiency, the 820 can drive 7 channels with no more than 230/7 = 33W continously. That is quite a dissapointment when Sony leads you to believe it can drive 7x85W undistorted.

I know many people will say that power is not that important. Unfortunately they are wrong because of the relationship between power and volume. In order to double the perceived volume, the amplifier has to consume 10 times the power. Peaks in the signal may cause the amplifier to distort from a sine wave to a square wave which can damage your speakers so any extra wattage you can squeeze out of your amplifier is a bonus in order to obtain a clean signal.

I tested this receiver with 2 pairs of Sony SS-F6000 floorstanding speakers ( 2 front, 2 surround ) with no subwoofer. The front and surround speakers were placed 3 and 1.5 meters from my listening position respectively. At these distances the amp appeared to deliver the required power but it was operating close to its limits. Most amplifiers reach their maximum clean output at 50-60% of the volume knob's total range. The range for the 820 is 0-74 and with some films ( Dolby Digital tracks ) I had the volume knob at 35. If you have a larger living room than mine I suggest you buy another receiver or connect very sensitive speakers ( > 90db ). If you have satellite speakers with a powered subwoofer this amplifier will probably cover you as you will get more headroom by redirecting bass frequencies to the subwoofer's amp - make sure you set your speakers to SMALL in that case. I had all my speakers set to LARGE and although they can definetely deliver good bass weight the receiver has to consume significantly more power.

Now lets get to the pros. This receiver is very clear sounding and I'm not saying "for the price". Some hifi magazines have pointed out that it sounds better than the Onkyo SR-606 or Denon AVR-1909 in stereo mode and I could only agree. A reviewer described the 820 as "dull". I personally think the receiver's flatter response curve is a plus, it won't exaggerate any frequencies and will cover a wider range of music while presenting it as the artist intended. Of course the frequency response is not entirely flat, I felt the bass and treble were stronger than the midrange but it was nothing to worry about. AC/DC still sounds warm and not like Metallica. Even without a subwoofer I never felt a lack of weight in the sound ( my speakers are 4-way though ). At volume set to 30 I could shake the apartment.

Here are some amplifiers I had a chance to make a head-to-head comparison at the store ( stereo only - analog direct mode or similar on all amplifiers for equal terms ) :

Yamaha RX-V361: The 820 destroys it. Period.
Yamaha AX-497: This is a stereo amplifier and the 820 sounded very similar. In fact a friend of mine's first comment upon hearing was that they must be using the same curcuitry ! The Yamaha was more powerful despite both being rated at 85 watts per channel.
Onkyo TX-SR605: The 820 sounded slightly more detailed. The Onkyo was brighter overall.
Denon AVR-1709: This was a bit bassy for my tastes. Will suit the hip hop crowd better.
Sony STR-DA1200ES: This model is not sold in the US, think of it as a 2400ES without the HD audio decoders. The STR-DG820 sounded identical in stereo. The "Elevated Standard" models are more powerful beasts though.

I could describe the STR-DG820 as balanced and detailed for music. The fact that it could hold its own ground against a Yamaha stereo amplifier was a big selling point for me. Some of these attributes do translate to surround as well. I tested the receiver with the "Bridge of Khazad-dum" scene from the "Fellowship of the Ring". This is a very taxing scene with both orchestral music and loud bass heavy earth shattering FX. I turned the volume up to 30 which is sofa-shaking level for that movie in DTS. At the point where the staircase was demolished the music managed to remain detailed and there was no clipping from the amplifier. A definite plus !

I didn't test many of the sound fields as I generally like unprocessed sound. The only one I used was "portable" for mp3 playback. I suggest you use it with 128 kbps mp3 files. For 320 or 256 kbps mp3 files, "portable" mode will sound harsh. The Dolby Pro Logic music decoders sounded OK, they created a good sound stage at the loss of some clarity. "Multi-stereo" mode ( same output from front and surround speakers ) would be good for parties but there will be a slight delay between the output of each speaker which can feel weird. You can't have your system calibrated perfectly. The A + B parallel front speaker connection did not give me more decibels ( I have not tried placing the speakers side by side though ) it just appeared to distribute power to more speakers. That can be a good thing at loud levels. It is interesting to note that the amplifier allows you to hook up two 8 ohm speakers in parallel ( 4 ohms total impedance ) but does not allow you to hook up a single 4 ohm speaker, there is no impedance selector.

I hope I have not been too harsh with my rating but I do feel it was deserved despite the favorable price. This is a good receiver but buyers should be aware of its shortcomings, I tried to present a balanced view. I would probably have kept the unit if it didn't have the buzzing issue.

+ 0 likes

Onkyo TX-SR606B 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver - Black

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different types of connections, it has to use that same type of connection as an output from the receiver (e.g. component video input can only be displayed using the component video output, composite in to composite out, hdmi in to hdmi out, etc...). No coversion of video inputs to another type of output will be performed. So expect to have multiple cables output to your LCD/plasma/TV/projector's video inputs. Finally, only 4 total video devices can be plugged into the SR506 at any given time... yes, I know the photo of the SR506 shows an abundance of inputs but you can only program one input type (HDMI, component, S-Video, or composite) for each of the four video inputs (DVD, CBL/SAT, AUX, VCR/DVR).

Now enter the TX-SR606, full of the features that the TX-SR506 lacks! Both the SR506 and SR606 do an impressive job in ease of setup and sound output quality but that's pretty much where the similarities end. The FOUR HDMI inputs (yes, an impressive FOUR inputs over the SR506's TWO) of the TX-SR606 also carries digit