Sony BDP-S580 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)[This is a long review warranted by the number of features of the BDP-S580. I want to try to provide as much relevant information as I can in an attempt to make this as useful to you as possible. If you only want a one line "this is great" review, I apologize, but some folks like details :) I know I do.]
IMPORTANT NOTE: I have added a number of updates and edits over time to keep this review up to date. Be sure to check those as they can show resolutions to earlier problems I experienced. Typically I left the original issues in place in the review, followed by an Edit with a resolution, so that other people running into the same problem may be able to find answers.
Some background...
This was bought to replace an older Sharp HP20U Blu-Ray player and some of the features of a DLink DSM-520 network media player. After also having owned the Sony BDP-S570 (the prior model to the S580) for a short while as a first replacement effort, I decided to return that and get this newer BDP-S580 model instead in the hope they might eventually fix or improve on a lot of the DLNA flaws in the 570.
Let me say up front that I do like this unit, but have some concerns.
I am running wired connection over gigabit LAN with CAT6, although this device only has a 100M ethernet connection, and use the fastest available Charter service where I typically get 15 to 28 Mbps download speed at any given time. I am using HDMI connections through a receiver to a Sharp 1080p TV.
First the good...
1) Blu-ray load times are far faster than many other devices out there. This was one of the main points I wanted to get with the unit. In fact the prior BDP-S570 release is still one of CNET's fastest ever loaders, even with the 'quick start' feature turned off, and this is comparable. I do recommend leaving the fast-start option off in general in order to save energy; the money cost of keeping the device in a kind of startup mode is not worth it if the player can get up to speed quite quickly anyway. As a load speed test, I used the "Avatar" BD, the worst loader by a long shot among disks I own. Avator took over 5 minutes to get to the main menu screen on my old Sharp, and on the Sony it gets to the main menu in around 2 mins 50 secs. This is still not quick, but remember that this is the worst loader I have ever seen. Other BDs such as "Master and Commander", "Cars", or "300" all got to their menus within around 30 secs, and by getting to the main menu, I mean it had to go through all the FBI copyright warnings etc.
2) The unit is quiet when playing a disk. Not silent, but seems better than the S570 and far better than the old Sharp. Note that when you leave a disk in while using other features of the s580, it still makes some noise as if it is always keeping the BD ready to go. I suppose this is no bad idea for a quick launch when you choose the BD from the menu system.
3) The BDP-S580 uses Sony's standard XDB interface that can be found on the PS3, PSP etc. I like it but some don't. In my opinion it is quick, clean, simple to navigate, and this particular device seems to respond very quickly when scrolling the icons/options (some have seemed more sluggish).
4) I had no issues with buffering, stuttering or pausing during playback of online video. I used Amazon Instant Video, Crackle, YouTube, and the Hulu Plus free HD video to test. No issues during playback of online audio either using Pandora, NPR, Slacker. However, please see notes below in the 'bad' section that relate to actually getting the streaming to start...
5) DLNA playback of Audio files is good and the interface is fast and responsive. Much faster than the Dlink DSM-520. All files have played great so far, and include .wma and .mp3 formats. Note that this comment is in regard to AUDIO FILES ONLY, see the 'bad' section for my thoughts on VIDEO files across DLNA...
6) Picture quality from BD is better than my Sharp player. I believe this is largely due to the deep color system that Sony uses. In fact there are several levels of color depth you can choose if you feel inclined to do so (I just left mine on the Auto setting)
7) Upconversion of standard DVDs is excellent. Most BD players that upconvert DVDs do it well, and this is no exception.
8) The "direct attach" USB drive option is improved in the S580 over the S570. This is where you use some kind of external USB drive - portable drive, desktop storage or even USB stick - and plug it directly into the USB port on the S580 to access files on it. There are 2 USB ports on the S580 which is helpful, one front, one rear. With the 570 you could only use FAT formatted drives which are generally not a great idea, but the S580 is now improved to allow use of NTFS formatted drives.
9) It has a general Internet Browser. This is useful but limited. I have run into issues where pages are not very navigable (msn.com) or where they fail with a reported 'page is too big' error (hulu.com). Where possible, using 'mobile' versions of the web page tends to be best.
10) You can pair this player to a compatible TV etc to allow one to control the other via HDMI. I turned this off to reduce 'overhead' since it will do nothing for me with my Sharp TV and receiver, but I wanted to note this.
11) Media types that can be played from a directly attached USB drive are numerous, and include the following (taken from the Sony BDP-S580 manual as of 3/25/11 - take note of the "*" numbers and check the info underneath!):
VIDEO File format Extensions:
MPEG-1 Video/PS*1*2, MPEG-2 Video/PS, TS*1*3 (".mpg," ".mpeg,",".m2ts," ".mts")
MPEG-4 AVC*1*2 (".mkv," ".mp4,",".m4v," ".m2ts,",".mts")
WMV9*1*2 (".wmv," ".asf")
AVCHD*2 *4
Xvid (".avi")
AUDIO File format Extensions:
MP3 (MPEG-1 AudioLayer III) (".mp3")
AAC*1*2*5 (".m4a")
WMA9 Standard*1*2*5 (".wma")
LPCM (".wav")
PHOTO File format Extensions:
JPEG (".jpg," ".jpeg")
What the *Notes mean:
*1 The player does not play coded files such as DRM.
*2 The player does not play this file format on a DLNA server.
*3 The player can only play standard definition video on a DLNA server.
*4 The player plays AVCHD format files that are recorded on a digital video camera, etc. The
AVCHD format disc will not play if it has not been correctly finalized.
*5 The player does not play coded files such as Lossless.Now the not so good...
1) I wanted this to be a replacement for my old DSM-520 network media player. I knew from bad experience with the s570 that this would not be possible, and you can see from the list of formats above with the *2 note against them that Sony does not expect those to play. Essentially MPEG2 and a subset of AVI are the only video formats that 'might' work. These notes here are to warn others, and don't directly affect my rating since I expected it, although I am hoping future firmware releases might improve the offering. While the s580 is DLNA certified, this means that it essentially only needs to be able to play a VERY minimum range of video formats, and even then, depending on things such as the specific codecs used, it still might not work. I have a number of video files in several different formats - none of which will even be seen to allow me to try to play. This includes .mp4, .vob, .iso, .avi, .m4v, .wmv all shared from a Iomega network storage device pushing out via a built in media server. [see edit below]
***
[EDIT 4/2/11] After getting a replacement unit, I am now able to see and play .mpg, .mp4(when renamed to .mpg), some .wmv, some .avi, all .vob. My original lemon would not let me even see these, now I can see and play. I am leaving the original note in place to help others who might run into the same problem.
***
Assuming you have a number of different format video files, if you want to be able to play ALL of your video files across your network to the BDP-S580, you will either need to use a media server that will transcode your files on the fly to something like MPEG2, manually convert all your media to a format that is supported (prohibitively annoying for most people) or get a different network media player instead of this.
(A reminder: the above note is really only regarding Video files on DLNA. My music files all behave beautifully so far, and include .wma and .mp3)
2) Playing of online video files. As I mentioned previously, playing online video files is great, but getting to them or getting them to start can be quite a slog. For some reason it takes ages (well, maybe 1-3 minutes) to get them to start. I'm not sure what the issue is. I'm running wired, not wireless. When I get the media playing I can see that I am getting over 18Mbps consistent download speed. When it runs, it can play high def files with no apparent issues. Its just connecting to the individual services, and in some cases opening the files when you get there, that takes so long. What's odd - again - is that I don't recall this being a problem with the BDP-S570 (the OLD model). I did set a static IP address and network info just in case it helped, as mentioned by another reviewer, but it made no difference for me. [see edit below]
***
[EDIT 4/4/11] This issue has been resolved by assigning a free public DNS server (8.8.4.4) as my primary DNS server in the network configuration. Originally I had this set to my local DNS server (my 192.168.x.x router). I don't know why this would really make a difference and I have never had any other issues with my DLink DIR-655 router serving as my DNS server before, however this does indeed resolve my problem. I no longer have any connectivity issues when connecting to the online video services like...Read more›

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sony BDP-S580 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)


3D Technology Checklist
This product is 3D-related. To help you get a great 3D experience, use the checklist below to ensure you have everything you need. 3D viewing requires:

Click here for more information about Sony BDP-S580 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)

Read More...

Samsung BD-C6900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Samsung's BD-C6900 is one of the first Blu-ray 3D players on the market (the other being Panasonic's DMP-BDT300 and upcoming DMP-BDT350). As a first generation Blu-ray 3D player, you have to expect a few glitches (and you'll get them), but if you're itching to watch 3D TV at home in full HD 1080p, this player will get the job done, with a few nice perks and one potentially major caveat.
There is a lot to like about the BD-C6900 including super-fast boot-up and load times : 8 seconds to boot, 11 seconds to load a DVD and an almost unbelievable 18 seconds to load a BD-Java Blu-ray title ("Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl"). This is about twice as fast to load a BD-Java disc compared to the otherwise super-speedy OPPO BDP-83 player, and is less than 1/3 the load time of the Pioneer BDP-320 on the same title. It also offers a wealth of IPTV options and web widgets, including Netflix and VUDU streaming, YouTube and Pandora (among others). And with DLNA networking, you can connect it to your networked computers to access (and stream), audio, video and photo content like nobody's business.
As a 3D player, it seems to perform exactly as designed - we say "seems" because the only real 3D content we have on Blu-ray 3D Disc to test with is the Monsters vs. Aliens promo disc that Samsung includes in the 3D Starter Kit. When connected to a Samsung UN55C8000 3D LED/LCD TV, the MvA disc looked fantastic using the Samsung active shutter 3D glasses. Yes we did see some "crosstalk" (interference between left and right channels), but this was caused by the TV, not the player.
But as a 3D player, there is one little known caveat - yes the player is compatible with 2D TVs (in 2D mode) and with current HDMI 1.3 receivers, however, if you want to take full advantage of the audio and video capabilities of this player used with a 3D TV, then you will need to have one of the brand new HDMI 1.4-equipped audio video receivers. Current HDMI 1.3 receivers *cannot* pass through the HDMI 1.4 3D video signal to a compatible 3D TV. This means that if you want to take advantage of lossless audio codecs (Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio), your only option is to upgrade to an HDMI 1.4-equipped receiver or use the player's multi-channel analog outputs and let the player do the decoding. And this is neither the easiest to set-up nor the highest quality option as it relies on the bass management and speaker configuration capabilities of the player, which are weaker than the bass management capabilities of most receivers.
Panasonic's Blu-ray 3D players get around this limitation by providing two HDMI outputs: an HDMI 1.4 3D-enabled output (to connect directly to the display or to an HDMI 1.4 receiver) and a legacy HDMI 1.3 output for connecting to an HDMI 1.3 receiver. Is this a show-stopper? It might be if you don't want to upgrade your receiver (again). But if you only use the speakers built into your TV (blech!), or you're happy with the legacy lossy surround formats (Dolby Digital and regular DTS) which you can get from the optical output, OR if you have an HDMI 1.4-compliant A/V receiver then this will not be a problem for you.
As a standard 2D Blu-ray player, we found that the BD-C6900 was a mixed bag - some upconversion tasks like odd cadence detection and correction as well as standard 2:3 film cadence detection, were performed well, as was the player's treatment of diagonal lines: no jaggies visible here, even on the spinning white line torture tests on the HQV benchmark discs. But we were surprised to see some noticeable digital artifacts on standard Blu-ray Discs such as "Blade Runner" - the intro title sequence looked less than ideal with ghosting in the title sequence and beyond that, some noise and blockiness in the black backgrounds that we have not seen on other players.
Overall, the BD-C6900 is a pretty solid Blu-ray and DVD player, but for the 2D Blu-ray playback artifacts and HDMI 1.3-receiver incompatibility. If these factors are not important to you, then you are likely to be happy with it. If not, then wait for Samsung's higher end Blu-ray 3D player, coming later this year (not yet announced) or take a look at the Panasonic or Sony Blu-ray 3D players when they become more widely available.
Our comprehensive BD-C6900 review is available on Big Picture Big Sound (dot com).


Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung BD-C6900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player

There's only one Blu-Ray Disc Player that delivers the total viewing experience. It's the Samsung BD-C6900. With its explosive 3D capabilities, you've never watched movies like this before. Internet@TV (Featuring Samsung Apps) brings your favorite web content to your TV screen. And with the Ultra Fast Play feature, movies start playing the moment you insert them. So whether you're watching your favorite film or web content, the BD-C6900 was engineered to broaden your perspective.

Click here for more information about Samsung BD-C6900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player

Read More...

Samsung SSG-2200AR Re-chargeable Adult 3-D Glasses - Black (Compatible with 2010 3D TVs) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The SSG-2200AR 3D glasses work. They have a solid field of view, have a sturdy feel, don't weigh enough to cause discomfort, and don't rely on potentially pricy batteries that have to be replaced each month.
That said, there are a couple of major flaws with these glasses that should be mentioned. The first, and most concerning, is the IR sensor. Active shutter glasses use IR, just like a TV remote, to sync the glasses so that the lenses block frames intended for the other eye. The sensors on these glasses are far too sensitive. During bright flashes, including some chapter transitions in movies, the sensor gets confused and shuts the glasses down for a second or so. It's not long and doesn't happen constantly, but it does get annoying especially during intense action sequences. This is easily fixed with a tiny strip of opaque tape, but remains a questionable design decision that will hopefully be rectified in future generations.
The other issue is more a misconception. The ~$50 premium to get the rechargeable batteries can appear to be a pretty good deal, but it's not. The CR2025's required by the SSG-2100AB (the same ones included with the 3D Starter Kit) are expensive in stores like Best Buy, but are widely available online for under $1 each; Amazon sells 24 (12x2) Enegizer cells in that range. The replaceable battery lasts for about 50 hours (versus 30 for the Li-ion in these) which is about a month depending on viewing habits. For a single pair of glasses, it would take 4 years to make up the extra cost, assuming that the energy cost of recharging is negligible. Another factor to consider is down time. If a battery dies in the 2100AB, you can pause the movie and have a new one going in a minute. Should the rechargeable battery drain, there is a two hour charge time before they can be used again. Add that to the more frequent stoppages from the lower capacity, more movie nights can be halted more severely. At the very least, having a battery-powered pair on standby is recommended. With prices where they are, that's a lot of money for a backup.
I'm knocking a star for each of the two issues I've had with them. From a value proposition, these really aren't that great a deal. From a technical aspect, even with a quick and cheap fix available, it is troubling that such a fault wasn't caught before retail. If you can deal with an ugly piece of tape on the front, don't mind the possibility of having to take a 2-hour break once or twice a month, and don't mind paying extra, give these a look.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung SSG-2200AR Re-chargeable Adult 3-D Glasses - Black (Compatible with 2010 3D TVs)

Rechargeable adult 3-D glasses, no cable connection needed. Comfortable eyewear design with optimized size, design and light weight.

Click here for more information about Samsung SSG-2200AR Re-chargeable Adult 3-D Glasses - Black (Compatible with 2010 3D TVs)

Read More...

Samsung BD-C5900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)A BD player these days is not just for playing BDs and DVDs but also for playing music CDs and serving content from the internet.
Let me go through the nice aspects of this player first:
* Fast BD/CD load times - disks load almost instantly
* Nice picture quality. Upscaling to 1080p works very well too (at least when viewed on a 46" Samsung LED TV).
* Overall nice for watching BD/DVDs
Here are the areas of improvement:
* Remote control buttons could be made better. Either the buttons are not good or the BD player does not respond fast enough - forwarding, rewinding and using the direction buttons is not exactly fun.
* If your primary purpose is to view content online, skip Samsung entirely. Very few of the apps mentioned on their website are actually available. Go for Sony instead (I am returning this player and getting a Sony). The user interface is also poor. The new Apple TV is the best in terms of interface (and until third party apps are available on that, the Sony BD player should fill in the void).
* The player supports DLNA - but the Samsung implementation is full of bugs. Besides it lacks features such as shuffling songs, forwarding or rewinding video and that makes it practically useless.
* Not at all recommended for playing music on a hi fi system - you will notice the sound made when the disk rotates.
Overall, Samsung has done a poor job with its BD players. Its TVs are awesome but it has a long way to go in catching up on the BD player quality.
UPDATE Oct 26, 2010
I exchanged this played for Sony BD-P570 a couple of weeks ago. The Sony player also has issues with DLNA. Also, Netflix on Sony freezes all the time and several other features do not work despite a firmware upgrade. I cannot recommend Sony either and am still searching for a BD player with network features that work as advertised. If you are aware of one, please let me know.
UPDATE Dec 23, 2010
After trying several other players, I finally came back to the Sony BDP-S570 3D Blu-ray Disc Player when the price on Amazon dropped to $138 a few days ago. With the latest firmware (several versions newer than the one I had tried earlier, the wireless setup and Netflix freezing issues are resolved. Further, this is the only player that plays 1080/60p, 28fps files from my Panasonic camcorder without any problems. I am bumping up my rating from 1 star to 4 stars.
If you don't want the hassle of trying different players and returning them like I did, go for Sony BDP-S570 3D Blu-ray Disc Player. It is not perfect but better than other players in the market.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung BD-C5900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player

3D BluRay

Click here for more information about Samsung BD-C5900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player

Read More...

HDMI 3-In 1-Out HDMI Auto Switch with 1.5 ft. Cable Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this HDMI Auto Switch last month, and it works just perfectly. I connected my TiVo HD DVR and DVD recorder up to this switch and into my HD TV, so that both of my components could share a single HDMI connection, and it works like a charm. Anytime that I want to watch a DVD, I only power on the DVD recorder, and the switcher automatically switches from the TiVo DVR to the DVD recorder. When I power off the DVD recorder, the switcher automatically switches back to the DVR, just like the product description on this Amazon.com site states.
I HIGHLY recommend this product to anyone and everyone out there who have multiple devices with an HDMI connection. The great advantage to having this HDMI switcher is that the user does NOT have to physically get up and push any buttons on the switcher just to use one of their HDMI connected components like their DVD recorder, DVR, etc. This HDMI Auto Switch sure beats the heck out of other HDMI switchers that require the user to physically get up and PUSH the buttons on the switcher just to use a different HDMI connected device.
To all out there with multiple HDMI connected devices, this product is an AWESOME buy for YOU.

Click Here to see more reviews about: HDMI 3-In 1-Out HDMI Auto Switch with 1.5 ft. Cable

Click here for more information about HDMI 3-In 1-Out HDMI Auto Switch with 1.5 ft. Cable

Read More...

ViewSonic PGD-150 Active Stereographic 3D Shutter Glasses for ViewSonic DLP Link 120 Hz/3D Ready Projectors, Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I intended to simply review the Viewsonic 3D DLP Link glasses, but I thought I would also share some things I needed to do to get my system setup to display 3D material.
I have a 2008 model Mitsubishi WD 65735 DLP television. In order to watch 3D programming there are a number of options that one can choose, each one of which requires a different type of setup. The "3D ready" TVs that Mitsubishi sold in 2008 (and a couple of other years) require the 3D signal to be formatted in what is called "checkerboard" format. This is one of three or four different methods in which 3D video might be formatted. I wanted to be able to view 3D video that is provided both by my cable provider (Brighthouse) as well as 3D video that is gradually becoming available on Blu Ray disks. Unfortunately, this required two different approaches to make the 3D source material compatible with the checkerboard format required by my Mitsubishi television.
1. The easy part - 3D video via Blu Ray disks: In order to view Blu Ray disks on my model Mitsubishi DLP television, I needed a 3D capable Blu Ray player that would output a 3D signal in the checkerboard format required my Mitsubishi. Panasonic makes three models of players that specifically support this format (the BDT 350, BDT 300 and the BDT 100 and its private model variations such as the BDT 105 and BDT 107. I chose the BDT 100 because it was the least expensive and still met all my connectivity needs. To set up the components to watch a 3D video, all I needed to do was to connect the player via HDMI, set the Mitsubishi to 3D mode in the setup menu, and set the Panasonic player to output 3D in checkerboard format via its setup menu. If you are using the Viewsonic 3D glasses, you can set the polarity in either the normal or the reverse mode in the television 3D setup menu because these glasses have the ability to switch polarity by simply pressing the power button once they are turned on and viewing a 3D image. You can tell which mode is correct simply by looking at the picture. If the polarity is not set correctly, the 3D image will look flat and somewhat blurry. Simply press the power button on the glasses a couple of times and to see what looks best. It will be pretty obvious
(NOTE: I discovered that it is critical to set the Mitsubishi in 3D mode BEFORE you choose the HDMI input through which the BluRay player is connected to the television or before you turn the player on. This is because the Blu Ray player communicates with the TV to determine whether or not it (the TV) is capable of playing 3D videos. If this communication occurs before you set the TV to 3D mode, the player will think that the TV is not capable of displaying a 3D image and will only play the video in 2D format. If this happens, turn the player off, set the TV to 3D mode, and then turn the player back on so the "handshaking" between the two occurs again. (You will not want to set the TV to 3D mode and keep it there, because when you watch 2D source material with the TV in 3D mode, the picture will look washed out and less bright.)
Once this is all done, start the video, power on the glasses, check the polarity and you will be enjoying great 3D video. There is no external emitter required with the Viewsonic glasses as the glasses automatically synch up with the TV using a burst of light that the TV produces This is what the "DLP Link" technology does and why these glasses will only work with at DLP television.
2. The harder part -- watching 3D video via cable: Although my cable provider does have a limited selection of 3D video available, the format it provides the signal in is not the checkerboard format required by the Mitsubishi television. To view this content, I had to buy the $99 Mitsubishi 3DA-1 adaptor. This adaptor converts a variety of other types of 3D signals to the checkerboard format required by the television. I did not buy the Mitsubishi starter pack (which also contains 2 pairs of glasses) because the starter pack with two pairs of glasses cost more than buying adaptor alone and three pairs of the Viewsonic glasses. Also, the starter pack does not use the DLP Link technology for the glasses. It uses "active 3d" glasses which require a separate emitter (which is included in the starter pack). While there are pros and cons to the different approaches, I chose the DLP Link approach because it is not possible to disable the DLP Link burst of light on the Mitsubishi television. This burst of light is not visible when using DLP Link glasses, but it has been reported that when using active 3D glasses (which do not require this burst to operate), the resulting picture looks more washed out because of it.
The adaptor is not hard to hook up, but it is certainly more complicated to get working correctly than is the Blu Ray player. This is because you have to set the adaptor for the particular format that your source material is being provided in (which can vary depending on the service provider) in order for it to be properly decoded into the checkerboard format that the TV requires. Once you have it set up and working however, the 3D picture quality is excellent as well.
This was supposed to be a review of the glasses so here it is: The glasses work great. They are reasonably comfortable and will work on top of regular glasses. While a 3D picture will always be less bright than the comparable 2D picture, I did not find the reduction in brightness at all objectionable. The 3D image is as good as the movie theater experience.
There are a couple of cons to these glasses. The first is that you may want to dim or eliminate any lighting behind you as it can result in an annoying reflection in the glasses. The second is that these glasses are not rechargeable. There is a second set of batteries provided with the glasses, but because they are button cells, you won't simply be able to replace the batteries with ones you may have around the house. The batteries are supposed to last about 70 hours, but I haven't had the glasses long enough to verify this. The glasses do turn off automatically, which should maximize battery life, however. Also, DLP link glasses are prone to displaying what has been called a "rainbow" effect when viewing bright backgrounds. I did notice this effect in certain scenes, but I did not find it very distracting, and if I hadn't been looking for it, I might not have noticed it. Finally, the glasses are "industrial strength" (the instructions make reference to them being used in classroom settings). While this may make them durable, they also don't fold up like regular eyewear, which makes them a little difficult to store.
Overall, I am very pleased with them. They are among the most inexpensive of the 3D glasses and work as advertised. I will be buying a couple of more sets so that I can enjoy 3D movies with company.


Click Here to see more reviews about: ViewSonic PGD-150 Active Stereographic 3D Shutter Glasses for ViewSonic DLP Link 120 Hz/3D Ready Projectors, Black

Click here for more information about ViewSonic PGD-150 Active Stereographic 3D Shutter Glasses for ViewSonic DLP Link 120 Hz/3D Ready Projectors, Black

Read More...

Samsung BD-D5500 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Good:
Quick Boot
Plays the content it advertises
Looks sleek and has the newest collection of Samsung Apps
Bad:
Not sure if it's because this is new but the Hulu Plus & Netflix apps stutter uncontrollably. I brought this player to replace an excellent earlier Samsung model which never had this problem. It is so bad that a video could go 10-15 minutes without audio or out of sync. Sometimes the video will play in slow motion with no audio. I thought it was the apps' fault so I pulled up Netflix on my earlier Samsung blu-ray player and had no issues. Also pulled up Hulu Plus on a Sony blu-ray player and did not have the same issue. I have a 17 Mbps connection (actual speed not advertised) and the part that drives me up the wall is that Hulu Plus ads work perfectly on this player. Again, this must be the player because my other blu-ray players do not have this issue and the website does not either.
I have AV receivers and a nice home theater setup so since most blu-ray players play content very well and just bitstream audio to my receiver, the main difference will always be apps and this player was a dissapointment.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Samsung BD-D5500 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)


3D Technology Checklist
This product is 3D-related. To help you get a great 3D experience, use the checklist below to ensure you have everything you need. 3D viewing requires:

Click here for more information about Samsung BD-D5500 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)

Read More...

Panasonic VIERA TC-P42S30 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I am the ecstatic owner of a Panasonic TC-L32X2 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV with iPod Dock, so when it came time to move up to a 42" set for the living room (and move the 32" to the bedroom to replace the 27" tube TV), I mostly confined my search to Panasonic. I had considered the previous version of this unit (TC-P42S2) because it was highly rated on Amazon, as well as slightly less expensive, but I decided to take a chance on the newer model--even though it's so new that it has no ratings or reviews. (As of 3/27/11, however, this unit is less expensive.)
I ordered this TV on a Saturday and received it via delivery truck on Wednesday. Setup was painless (it is pretty heavy, though). I was pleasantly surprised to see that it supports Internet connectivity (although it wasn't something I was looking for, the concept has really grown on me), but less pleasantly surprised to learn that the wireless dongle (Panasonic DY-WL10 Wireless LAN Adapter for select Panasonic Viera HDTVs and Blu-Ray Disc Players) is another $99. For that much, I think I'll run a LAN cable. [I did; see below. Also see the comments for another wireless alternative.] I'm using the three HDMI ports for my Verizon FIOS set top box, Apple TV 2, and JVC XVBP11 Blu-ray Player. A set of RCA audio/video inputs takes care of my Pioneer laserdisc player. (Yeah, I'm old school.) I don't foresee using the SD card slot for anything but firmware updates, but I like having USB ports so we can watch our Flip movies in full HD glory--once I learn how to do it, that is.
I was very happy with my LCD TV even in the middle of the day; maybe that's why I never realized just how bright our living room is. The first time I tried to watch this TV from the couch, the reflection from the skylight was terrible. Around noon, the glare was nearly unbearable.
In late afternoon/full dark, this TV looks fantastic. It's so good, in fact, that I couldn't tear myself away from 2 Fast 2 Furious, which says a lot. The problem is that I do most of my viewing during the day, so I'm not sure that it's going to work for me in the long run. I'll have to give it a few more days. The preset color modes aren't perfect, but they're fairly accurate right out of the box. Both Netflix and iTunes movies streamed over the Apple TV look great. When I have some time I'll run Video Essentials to get the levels dialed in.
The speakers are adequate at low volumes, and there are separate bass and treble adjustments, but at normal volumes, certain low frequencies rattle the cabinet. It was particularly bad while I was watching Inception, but my wife even noticed it during "Top Chef." I know I'll eventually have to upgrade my 15-year-old Sony receiver (it has only RCA input, and the TV has only digital audio output), but it's a little irritating that I have to do it just to watch TV without annoying rattles. If the sound quality were better, I would be happy to give this TV a full 5-star rating. (If it were just about the picture, I would.) Additionally, I need to jack up the volume when I use my Blu-ray player--a problem I also have with my 32" TV. I suspect that the player's audio output level is lower than the DVR and Apple TV. NOTE: After the first few days of viewing, the rattles disappeared. Also, I wired up the DVR box and the BD player to the receiver, so I have big sound when I want it (unless I'm using the ATV).
One feature I will never use is called C.A.T.S., which adjusts the TV's brightness according to the room's light level. Evidently it's set to On in Standard picture mode, which I discovered by accident. After exploring the settings, I found it and turned it off. I want my TV to stay at a consistent brightness level no matter what the room light is doing. (I'll bet this is why the picture looked so bad at high noon. We'll see.)
So all things considered, am I happy with my purchase? Yes. The detail and clarity blow my mind. I'll test it with some more Blu-ray movies over the next few weeks and see how it performs during the day, but I think we have a winner. Welcome to the family.
Update 3/19/11: I ran a 50-foot ethernet cable (BluCables 50 ft CAT 5e LAN Network Ethernet Cable 350MHz) from my Verizon FIOS router to the TV. I wasn't able to connect automatically; after a few failed and frustrating attempts that made me consider buying the dongle, I manually input the network settings for the TV (the trick was finding and assigning an unused IP address) and bingo. Bonus: firmware updates over the 'net. I might move the Apple TV to the 32" in the bedroom, but the Viera Cast selections are limited. Netflix is essential and Amazon VOD is nice to have, but I really want Hulu. I'm still very pleased with the TV; my only minor gripe is the amount of heat it puts out. (I understand that this gets better. I hope so.)
Update 3/25/11: For those of you who, like me, are interested in getting Hulu via Viera Cast, I received this from Panasonic: "Thank you for your inquiry. This Model TCP42S30 includes a feature called EASY IPTV. Easy IPTV includes and is limited to: Netflix, Pandora Internet Radio, Cinema Now, Facebook, Napster, & Amazon Video On Demand. Hulu is an application featured in Viera Connect which this TV does not have. The TVs that have Viera Connect & Hulu capabilities are:
PLASMA: TCP65VT30, TCP55VT30, TCP65GT30, TCP60GT30, TCP55GT30, TCP50GT30, TCP65ST30, TCP60ST30, TCP55ST30, TCP50ST30, TCP46ST30, and TCP42ST30.
LED: TCL37DT30, TCL32DT30, and TCL42D30
[Some models are not available yet and are still awaiting release in Late Spring / Early Summer 2011]"
Why there would be a difference between models, I have no idea. But there you go.
Update 4/14/11: I moved the Apple TV into the bedroom with the 32" TV and have been using Viera Cast to watch Netflix movies. I haven't noticed a single stutter so far. Picture quality appears to be the same as with the ATV. My only gripe is that there's no search feature, and the recommendations in each category are limited in number. The best way around this, I've found, is to use my computer to put movies into my Watch Instantly queue and move them to the top. I also replaced my BD player with an all-region JVC XV-BP10 so I can watch my Region 2 Godzilla movies. ("Godzilla vs. Megalon" didn't look this good in the theater!)
Update 7/10/11: I hate to say this, but I wish I'd gone with an LCD TV instead. This thing puts out so much heat it's like a radiator, which is no fun when you have no AC and it's already 80 degrees in the house. And I would really prefer a brighter screen. But at this point, I'll just have to live with it. Could be worse, you know?

Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic VIERA TC-P42S30 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV


Internet-Ready Television

Click here for more information about Panasonic VIERA TC-P42S30 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Read More...