Showing posts with label highly recommend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label highly recommend. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Epson PowerLite Presenter Portable Projector / DVD Player Combo (V11H335120) Review

Epson PowerLite Presenter Portable Projector / DVD Player Combo  (V11H335120)
Average Reviews:

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.Epson PowerLite Presenter Portable Projector / DVD Player Combo (V11H335120)
I work in an office where 11 of us live and die by our presentations. We train, distribute information, do planning sessions and communally edit documents. We do this with 14-plus offices in four states.
In one of our 100+ people field review sessions early in 2010, lack of projectors at field sites was identified as a weakness. We also find ourselves short a projector or two in the office because we go all directions with various equipment when we travel.
I'm loving Epson products more and more. I'm sold on their printer usefulness, image and other and quality and buy more of them all the time. In my projector search, I began looking for the smallest, lightest projector around. I found the Powerlite Presenter instead. It plays DVD's, has a built in 10 watt sound system, projects almost as bright as the best projectors on the market, and has a microphone. It also has USB A & B connectors, HDMI for HD cable and satellite TV, HD-DVR, Blu-ray or HD camcorder, RCA jacks and composite video and sound. Comprehensive and impressive. Much bigger than the smallest units on the market but not heavy considering its size.
This is where Silly Me comes in. I imagined that since the machine had a USB A connection, we'd be able to bring along a thumb drive with our PowerPoints and run the presentations directly from the USB. Don't even think about this my presenting brothers and sisters, I've already done it for you. The machine will read only jpeg, MP3, WMA, DivX, MPEG 1/2/3/4 from a USB or external drive. Digital cameras connect easiy. I should have tried my camera on the machine before I wrote this review. I'm taking Tech Support and the documentation's word for it.
On our test run, we popped a training DVD into the machine and it ran great. I'm not sure how much of an audience/room the 10 watt sound system will reach, but it was hurting our ears in 12 x 12 foot conference room at a setting of 6. When I connected the laptop, the projector found it immediately and we had the image on the wall and on the laptop, no Alt-Function key tapping. More sophisticated projector settings like keystone, color, etc. are made using the remote control.
The microphone is six inches long on a six foot cable, an on-off switch and a multi-directional ball at the speaking end. A small clip-on with a longer cable would be excellent. We connected it, used it with the video off. It worked great. It was also able to talk over the video presentation as it played, no feedback as feared. We'll be able to do karaoke on those long nights in very small towns and be the life of the gathering.
The unit has a carrying handle, making it easy to move. The carrying case cradling the unit is a padded nylon case, much like a laptop sleeve. It has a flap on top that velcros shut under the handle and three pockets for supporting cables, etc. One large one across the back and two side pockets. I like carrying documentation with my equipment, so when I have the documentation, microphone, remote control, 10 foot power and 6 foot VGA cables and the USB B cable if I choose to buy and carry one, I've got a pretty large, though light, lumpy, bulging Powerlight Presenter package. It's not what I consider ideal carry on luggage. There are parts to lose externally exposed. If you like the idea of this unit, and fly lots, I'd suggest getting a Pelican or similar case, with plenty of foam space to create cable, mike and remote pockets.
I'm not the brightest light on the string. The quick set-up guide is excellent. Finding the documentation CD in the package, I tried using it. It didn't work. There is an executable and cab file for the documents that did not install. The majority of our computers are secure, and no oaf like me is allowed to run an executable file whenever we please. The laptop I used could have done it. Each projector comes with a Service Card with a phone number and PIN. I'd not registered the unit. When I called the mumber on the card and used the PIN, it did not recognize it and sent me to a tech support number manned by a human being. The serial numbers made of alpha and numeric characters for these units have a circular character that may be an O or a 0. No slashed zero, no "O" squished into a 0. Tech support said they are zeros. Tech support also told me to find the documentation on the web. My little human of unease down in my stomach was beginning to get out of its chair and wave its arms around. The people tech support is fine. Don't count on the materials provided in the packaging.
My little human of unease jumped around as I purchased these units because they are a new to market product with lots of moving parts and connections. And honestly, cheap for the features. I've had a lot of cheap, and not-so-cheap stuff give me lots of problems or fail. Globally, we seem to have forgotten the the word quality exists, substituting "profit" instead. So I ordered these items with 2 year "Fast Turn Depot" extended warranties. I don't need somebody in Remoteville Nevada or Utah with a dead projector two months from now.
I had a room full of people very excited when we played a video with good quality in a bright room and loud sound with microphone voice-over. When we got to playing a PowerPoint from the USB drive and failed, considerable air left our balloon, and we had a good projector with a DVD and sound. We can export PowerPoint 2007 slide shows as JPEGs, so there is still lots of hope that these machines and a thumb drive can be all we need to do our work on the road. To run a PowerPoint or Adobe Acrobat, the projector would need an Operating System and software burned into its tiny brains. Lots more than we can hope for with this kind of machine and price point.
We're going to distribute these machines and used them a lot. Features, slightly light; long-term quality, unknown; carrying case, OK; size and weight in relation to features, very good; ease of use, excellent. As we adapt to our new projectors, I know they will find a useful home with us.
If the link below works, you'll be taken to a page with step-by-step detail and another review.
[...]


Click Here to see more reviews about: Epson PowerLite Presenter Portable Projector / DVD Player Combo (V11H335120)

The ultimate all-in-one, business presentation tool. Make your business shine bright with the Epson PowerLite Presenter. With a built-in DVD player, two 10 W speakers, USB Plug 'n Play instant setup on your PC, HDMI connectivity, and microphone/headphone support, it's got all the tools you need to perform to your potential. WXGA (16:10) resolution means larger-than-life presentations that dazzle on widescreen notebooks, providing 30 percent more image area than standard projectors provide. Experience ultra bright, true-to-life images with 2500 lumens color light output and 2500 lumens white light output, plus an Auto Color Mode feature that automatically selects the optimum presentation setting based on the lighting within the room. With the all-digital HDMI connection, you can display amazing HD video content. Add exciting aspects to any presentation with multiple inputs for things like your camcorder, digital camera, iPod or gaming console. And with USB Plug 'n Play connectivity, just plug in a standard USB cable and instantly view your images on both the screen and your Windows PC, simultaneously. Or, use a USB memory device for convenient, PC-free presentations. With a carrying handle on the projector and an included carrying case and remote control, you can take the show on the road. This affordable, light weight projector/DVD combo, is your all-in-one solution for instant presentations virtually anywhere.

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Thursday, March 15, 2012

LG LSB316 Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer Review

LG LSB316 Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer
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We just purchased a new 55" LED TV for our great room and needed a sound system (as is well known, the flat panel tv speakers are horrible). We did research for several days and had finally settled on either the Sony CT150 or the Boston Acoustics TVEEM20. Both had recieved great reviews. The problem with Sony is that the subwoofer is wired and contains all the inputs as well as the sensor for the remote. Thus, the subwoofer must be near the TV and easily visible (given the wall mounted location in our room, its a pain to run 10 foot cables through the wall). The problem with the BA is that it only has the circa 1980 RCA input (which few modern TVs seem to have as an output option). After much research we decided we had to settle for one or the other and went to Best Buy to test them. Once there, we stumbled upon the LG which hadn't even been stocked yet (just saw the box in the corner). After checking out the specs, we were delighted to see that LG had settled the problems! Wireless subwoofer can sit out of sight yet provides great effect. The sound bar has two optical inputs, plus a USB port and is Bluetooth enabled. All ports are on the bar, so you only need a short single optical cable from the TV to the bar.
Set up took about 2 minutes; plug in the bar, the subwoofer and plug in the optical cable. That's it. Be sure to turn off your TV's speakers to avoid any issues with sound bleeding.
Sound is great, assuming you have realistic expectations. This is not a $2000 home theater system so don't expect that. However, for a $300-$350 range soundbar, the sound is outstanding! Other than a tiny bit of static when set on a couple of the pre-installed sound effects (which goes away when we tried a different setting), its great. Plenty of power for our great room which is open on two sides and has 20 foot ceilings open to a loft (basically the worst acoustical set up you can imagine). Yet the LG puts out plenty of power; haven't even turned it up more than half way as even that was blasting. Great range of sound as far as we can tell; seems to hand music, movies, games, etc very well (again, use the different sound settings to get the best effects depending on source and type of content).
The Bluetooth sync is extremely easy. My wife had the Ipod running through the system by the time I was done putting away the box. The LG has a specific sound setting for MP3 files that upscales the frequencies, etc. The sound is really amazing.
If we had to come up with any negatives, we only have 2 very minor ones. My wife doesn't like the look as much as the Sony (the LG speakers are exposed, so it looks a bit more industrial); but even this is relative and very minor. We both agree its stylish and low profile. The only other negative is that it won't sync with our DVR universal remote, so we have to use the sound bar remote for volume control, and the other for everything else. Not really a big deal.
In sum, we stumbled upon this by accident (didn't even know LG made a soundbar, which is ironic given that we had bought a new LG LED tv just a few days earlier) and couldn't be more pleased. If you're looking for a good, low profile sound system for your tv but don't want to go to a full theater system, this is a good option. If you're an audio snob, you probably won't like it, but then again you probably sholdn't be looking at soundbars anyway.

Click Here to see more reviews about: LG LSB316 Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer

LHB316 Sound Bar This powerful sound bar & wireless subwoofer are designed for optimal use with your flat-panel TV and have flexible placement options on either a wall or a tabletop.


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Monday, December 12, 2011

Mediabridge - 3 Port Smart HDMI Switch Review

Mediabridge - 3 Port Smart HDMI Switch
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I have an Apple TV and Blu-ray player but only one HDMI port on my TV and I was getting tired of manually swapping the HDMI cable between the them. I was also worried that over time the HDMI cable/port would degrade from the constant handling so I began hunting for a HDMI switch.
After comparing HDMI switches, I finally decided to go with the 3 port HDMI smart switch from Mediabridge. My main reason was based on price and the reviews. I'm very happy with this device (I don't usually go through the trouble of writing reviews so that says something)! It's not as expensive as a lot of the others I found and does exactly what I need it to do. It's compact and silent so I can discretely tuck it behind my TV with the rest of the cables and doesn't require an external power source (yay one less cable).
It includes an IR receiver and remote to manually switch between the 3 ports but it's a 'smart' switch so I was happy to discover that I didn't have to bother with using those accessories since it switches between my devices automagically. Apple TV owners will discover that it constantly outputs a signal (even if you put it to sleep), so the switch will constantly make the port the Apple TV is plugged into the active port. I put my Apple TV on port 3 and my Blu-ray player on port 1. When I power up my Blu-ray player, port one automatically becomes active without any intervention from me. After I power down my Blu-ray player, the Apple TV resumes making port 3 active. I love how it seamlessly switches between the two without me needing to do anything. The only caveat is I have to power on/off my Blu-ray player, which I do anyway so not a big deal. The switch also has a button on it you can press to cycle between the different ports if you need to, but as I already mentioned it switches automatically for me so I don't use that feature.
I'm also very happy with the video and audio quality I get with using this switch. It claims to have full HD 1080P Support and supports HDMI 1.3 which I can't verify since my TV only supports up to 720p but I can say that I have not noticed any degradation in video or audio quality while using it.
Keep in mind that you may need to purchase additional HDMI cables as none are included with this switch. You need one cable from the switch to your TV and an additional HDMI cable for each port you use on the switch. I picked up 2 Mediabridge HDMI cables for about $10 each with my order and they work great with my setup.


Click Here to see more reviews about: Mediabridge - 3 Port Smart HDMI Switch



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Thursday, October 13, 2011

Sony Media Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo and SDHC/SDXC USB Reader/Writer (MRWF3) Review

Sony Media Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo and SDHC/SDXC USB Reader/Writer (MRWF3)
Average Reviews:

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The product worked exactly as expected, and its compact size really makes it easy to add to your computer bag.

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