VIZIO VBR210 Blu-Ray Player with Wireless Internet Application, Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this Blue-Ray player from Target 2 weeks ago and love it. I read the reviews on the 220 model after my in store purchase and was really concerned at first but have not experienced any of the issues mentioned in those reviews. I am glad though I purchased the Target 2-year $19.99 replacement warranty just in case.
The Blue-Ray player comes with a set of composite cables included in the box which I used while I was waiting for my HDMI cables. The picture even with just composite cables was great. The Vizio 210 has one HDMI port, one composite video/audio port or one component video/audio port (cannot use composite if using component), one digital coaxial, one usb and one ethernet port.
Wireless setup was a snap and I was connected in 30 seconds. The only annoying thing is that the wireless adapter on the back of the Vizio unit has a red light which flashes continuously. No dropped wireless connections like reported with the 220 model. Vizio recommends using their router but this is no doubt a marketing ploy as any wireless router will work.
The upconverting works really well. We got the new Bruce Springsteen dvd/cd set which includes some really old video concert footage. It looked really dark and hard to see on the regular dvd player but looks much, much better on the Blue-Ray player.
Had no issues playing Blue-Ray movies and while it does take about 10-15 seconds to load the Blue-Ray disc I did not find this unexpected as the Blue-Ray disc contains a lot more data than a regular dvd. Also had no issues stopping and restarting a movie as it remembered where I stopped the disc. This was reported as an issue on the 220 model. It also gave the option to continue from the stopping point in the movie or restart from the beginning of the movie which I like.
There is a usb port on the Blue-Ray. It will play video and audio files contained on an inserted usb thumb drive and will also upconvert those videos files. I have not tried hooking up my laptop via usb yet but will provide an update. I use a 16GB usb thumb drive and the Blue-Ray player displays the usb drive folder structures and file names on the tv so it is easy to find stored media.
I have only used Pandora so far and that has worked really well. I will update this review after I have tried Netflix and BD-Live.
The only odd thing I noticed when I tested this player with hdmi, component and composite cables was that when I use component video/audio cables the zoom settings on my tv did not work correctly even though they worked fine with hdmi and composite cable. In all fairness this could be a tv issue and be unrelated to the Vizio.
UPDATE 1/19/11: Netflix works great and streams very quickly. However there have been a few incidents where the VBR210 froze either during streaming or at movie commencement and had to be powered down and restarted. There were also two incidents where there was severe pixelation and both incidents were resolved by powering down the VBR210 and restarting it after a few minutes. Overall in relation to the number of movies streamed these have not been significant issues and were quickly resolved. Still no issues playing either Blu-Ray or regular DVDs. It does appear though that because this unit does not have internal memory that the USB drive is critical for streaming to work properly. I use a 16GB thumb drive which is approximately 50% full. Also my Cisco-Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster has worked flawlessly with this VBR210.


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Sony VAIO VGN-NW270F/S 15.5-Inch Silver Laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium) Review

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(More customer reviews)[...]
Since my previous laptop is now technically in two pieces due to the plastic bezel of the monitor breaking, I wanted a laptop that could withstand wear and tear of daily use without compromising on flexibility. After looking at the other brands around the same price point, I felt the VAIO NW was superior in terms of the design and durability. Having used it for a few days now, I am very happy with this product and I would recommend it to others.

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PowerDVD 10 Ultra 3D Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was not a fan of PDVD 9, it was IMO never out of Beta and not what you would call compatible with Vista. However, Cyberlink is moving in the right direction with Ultra 10 (this review is for Windows 7 only).
OK, first off there are only 3 Blu Ray media players on the market. 1) Cyberlink PowerDVD, 2) Corel WinDVD 2010, 3) Arcsoft TotalMedia Theater 3. All are available for download and all have trial periods. I can tell you right now not to bother wasting time with Corel's new implementation, its garbage and there's a reason its been on sale lately for as cheap as around $40, it just plain doesn't work. Arcsoft's player looks like its spec'd similarly to PDVD 10, but I haven't tried it. However, it is priced at around $90, about the same as Cyberlink's product so maybe you can tell a difference between the trial versions.
The first thing that impressed me about PowerDVD 10 Ultra, was that once I downloaded the fully licensed version, there was no 100Mb+ "patch" required to make the thing work. I mean it DID work right out of the box with Windows 7 but some features like 3D and the ability to add video files to a playlist were disabled. But the upconversion of regular DVD's to HD is the most impressive feature of this software. You can even split the screen to see the difference for yourself, its amazing, and works 5 times better than WinDVD. Also, its automatic. Or, if you want more control over playback you can switch to "hardware acceleration" using your video card settings but you'll soon forget about this feature, TruTheater is just that good.
PDVD 10 is allegedly compatible with most video formats, but I haven't found that to be the case. The only thing I can play since the upgrade are DVDs and Blu Rays, it wont play avi, divx, etc. although they claim to be compatible, I see a lot of complaints about this so I'm not the only one. It will play .VOB and MPEG2 files but crashes when you touch the controls. It also plays .MOV reliably but only from my iPhone, it wont play .MOV files you convert using Cyberlink's PowerDirector. Typical! DVD Audio is covered with a number of options for 2/4/6/8 speakers including Dolby Surround Downmix and TruTheater Surround. Other classic features like Slow Motion, Snapshot, Zoom 4x/9x make this the most versatile player on the market.
3D I cant speak too cause I don't have a 3D ready/HDCP compatible monitor so that feature is disabled in the player but I'm anxious to try that out. MaximumPC did an article recently on converting 2D video to 3D with a simple script change so I know its possible to convert normal DVD's to 3D, I just haven't seen it demonstrated. You will need a 3D monitor, compatible video card, and shutter glasses. After the latest update I can simulate this even though I don't have a compatible system but the player will produce a pseudo "3D" image, I just don't have any glasses so I don't know what it looks like.
Don't know if you're system is compatible with 3D, no problem. Just go to Cyberlink's website, click the Support link and download the BD Advisor, it will analyze your system and tell you exactly what you need to play 3D Blu Rays. There's also a forum worth checking out before you plunk down your hard earned cash for this feature.
Update 12/15/10 On the subject of "patches"..... there are a number of updates on the Cyberlink website that should improve performance and fix a few minor bugs, and as usual with Cyberlink it is a confusing process, and ALL these fixes are over 100Mb files. Autohiding the control panel during playback was my biggest issue, there's a fix for that. Most of the other patches are updates to incorporate optimization for video cards and 3D playback. After downloading all the updates, I can play AVI, MPG, MOV, VOB etc. files and create playlists without any problems.
Final thoughts: Lots of disinformation regarding this product in these reviews, take these comments on here with a grain of salt, most are hugely exaggerated if not outright laughable. One thing that is not blown out of context is the horrible customer service from Cyberlink, its nonexistent. One big plus though is the trial download and I strongly suggest you try it before you buy it, especially if you are upgrading a previous version. PDVD 10 is optimized for Windows 7, but check their website for System Requirements, I've posted the link in the comments section. Also check the Forums for discussion about typical problems. And if you're concerned about Ads, they go away with the paid version.

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CyberLink's most advanced movie and media player to date, PowerDVD 10 Ultra 3D delivers 3D and HD movies on the PC. PowerDVD 10 is a unique universal player that offers the best playback quality available. Whether it is 3D movie content, captured home videos, or your digital music files, PowerDVD 10 lets you access them all from the same convenient player software, enhancing your experience in all kinds of new ways.


The Universal Player for Upgrading Your Media Experience to 3D and HD
Brilliant Blu-ray
Experience Blu-ray movies the way that only PowerDVD 10 can offer: simply unbeatable quality. Optimized for the latest hardware acceleration technologies from Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD, PowerDVD ensures smoother movie performance. PowerDVD 10 launches your Blu-ray movies up to four times faster, too.

Blu-ray 3D*
Seeing is believing the kind of life-like imagery that Blu-ray 3D* can deliver, and PowerDVD 10 brings it to life on your PC. Offering the best-quality 3D movie experience possible, PowerDVD is compatible with the full range of 3D hardware on the market, including glasses, graphics cards, and monitors.
* Notice of Free Mark II Upgrade: Consumers who purchase PowerDVD 10 Ultra 3D will receive a FREE UPGRADE that enables support of the Blu-ray 3D format and 2D to 3D conversion of video files. Available summer 2010.

Play DVDs in 3D
Give your existing movie collection a new look and feel. PowerDVD 10 makes it easy to convert regular DVD movies into a spectacular 3D experience thanks to its advanced TrueTheater 3D technology. It's easy, too. With the simple click of a button, PowerDVD 10 transforms your favorite 2D movies into 3D. You can also customize the 3D effect by adjusting the depth slider. PowerDVD 10 takes you to new heights of visual excellence for standard DVD content.

Upscale DVDs and Videos to HD
Enjoy better movie playback quality for both your DVDs and video files with TrueTheater HD upscaling technology. PowerDVD 10 lets you output to an HDTV in a quality that looks noticeably sharper and clearer. Optimization for hardware acceleration ensures even smoother results.
Browse Titles and Chapters by Touch
Make your DVD searches more exciting with FancyView, an animated browsing mode for your DVD titles. Enjoy a unique perspective when browsing for movie titles, chapters, and special features.
Get a preview of chapters for those DVDs you've watched with PowerDVD's "flashback" thumbnails. FancyView supports touch technology so you can flick through movie chapters with your fingertips too.

Better Video Playback
Enhance your home videos during real-time playback with PowerDVD 10's TrueTheater Noise Reduction and TrueTheater Stabilizer. Simply select TrueTheater Noise Reduction to remove any "visual noise" from grainy videos, to give a much clearer, artifact-free picture. Apply TrueTheater Stabilizer to fix the shakiness in videos that often occurs when you take handheld camcorder shots. As a universal player, PowerDVD now plays even more formats, gives you access to online movie trailers via MoovieLive, and lets you upload files to YouTube.
Home Theater Music
Supporting the latest music library features of Windows 7, PowerDVD 10 makes it even easier to listen to music from the player you use to enjoy your movies. Create playlists of favorite tunes. Use TrueTheater Surround technology to optimize your audio for home theater and PC hardware. Sounds great!
High-Definition Audio
PowerDVD 10 lets your ears enjoy the ultimate movie experience too, with support for high-definition audio formats from Dolby Digital and DTS. Support for HDMI 1.3a delivers the purity of lossless HD audio via a single convenient cable to your home theater system.

Movie Reviews & Live Comments
Create movie reviews that other users can read and play using PowerDVD 10. MovieMarks combine bookmarks and review comments and can be shared online via MoovieLive.com. Meanwhile, Live Comments let you post your opinions to Facebook, Twitter, and MoovieLive while your movie is playing.

Key Features:
Universal movie and media player delivers 3D and HD movies on the PC
Offers the best playback quality available for 3D movie content, captured home videos, digital music files, and more
Delivers the smoothest Blu-ray playback; optimized for leading CPU/GPU technologies from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA
Experience Blu-ray movies; optimized for the latest hardware-acceleration technologies
TrueTheater technology transforms 2D movies into a spectacular 3D experience
Compatible with full range of 3D hardware, including glasses, graphics cards, and monitors
Upscale DVDs and video files to HD quality with TrueTheater HD technology
Browse DVD titles by touch with animated browsing mode
Enhance home videos during real-time playback with TrueTheater Noise Reduction and TrueTheater Stabilizer
TrueTheater Surround optimizes audio for home theater and PC hardware
Create movie reviews and live comments that can be shared with others

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