DVD & HDTV Reviews

Why would someone want to buy a video player that accepts both the latest Blu-Ray format and the perhaps obsolete VHS formats? Well, as someone who has their foot in both the past and the future, let me tell you why I love this player.
Yes, I can definitely appreciate the crispness and clarity of the high definition Blu-Ray format, and I wish to experience that format. But Blu-Ray discs are pricey, so I will likely choose to purchase only a few new select and favorite films in that format. I feel no need, and don’t have the wallet, to replace my entire film library in a Blu-Ray format.
I also have a collection of nearly 500 VHS tapes, most of them unwatched, which I mostly purchased in thrift stores. (current standard price for VHS tape in a thrift - $1) I also have a fair number of films that have not yet been released on DVD yet.
It is nice to have a player that will accept both VHS and Blu-Ray, along with standard DVD formats. No switching back and forth of cables, etc.
The DMP-BD70V upconversion of the VHS to 1080p is really quite amazing. My current television is a 42" HDTV (one year ago it was a 19 inch color set) When I connected my previous standard VHS player to the HDTV, the picture quality, as expected, was quite poor, with much of the image being rather pixelated - it was quite painful and distracting to watch.
Then I hooked up the DMP-BD70V, and lone behold, the picture quality was much, much better - and very watchable. At first I almost thought that the VHS tape had been replaced by a DVD - the improvement was that great. There was no pixelation at all, and the colors were quite bright. The overall quality of the picture was much better than the picture obtained with my old 19" color TV and VHS player. The upscaling features of the DMP-BD70V is almost as if a magician had waved his wand over your entire library of VHS tapes, and suddenly replaced them, Cinderella-like, with a much higher quality product.
There are some things you cannot do with a VHS tape. The picture size remains at the older 4:3 format - meaning there is considerable empty space at the left and right sides of the HDTV screen. You also won’t get the added commentary tracks that appear on DVD and Blu-Ray discs, but sometimes all one really wants to do is simply watch a movie, with no other frills involved.
For a few years, I will have several options for my home movie viewing. On one end, the $1 VHS tapes (upgraded to 1080p), in the middle the standard DVD format, and on the high side, the Blu-Ray format. This DMP-BD70V allows me to watch all three formats, and allows me to choose whether I want to pay $1, $15, or $30 for each movie format. That is what I call flexibility.
I did a comparison price check for the DMP-BD70V model, versus a similar model without the VHS tape compatibility - the difference was about $50 more. For me, it was well worth it.
Obviously those without VHS tapes do not need this DMP-BD70V model. But those who do have some older VHS tapes, and wish to still view them, will love this model.

I bought this Yamaha to replace a nice upscaling DVD player from Toshiba which my son broke. I chose this Yamaha for both its upscaling reputation and its SACD support. Feature and performance-wise, I have been very happy with the product.
As a DVD player, the S1800 supports DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and DVD-Audio well, in addition to DVD-Video. For DVD-Video, upscaling to 1080p appears to work really well, even though this is a model from 2007 (hence the big discount offered by Amazon.com). I have played a variety of DVDs from Pixar animations to old Disney classics to recent action titles and so on, and all look really nice on my Sharp 1080p LCD TV.
One good thing about the DVD player is it’s quite fast, at least compared to most other DVD players. From loading a DVD to recalling the menu, there’s no trying the user’s patience with blank screens. Another good feature is, as with other upscaling players, by default all 4:3 DVDs is displayed stretch on a 16:9 screen if you use the HDMI connection (and who doesn’t nowadays?), but there is a menu item (Setup -> Video -> Widescreen Format -> Pillar Box) that manually overrides the stretch, so you can make 4:3 content look right on your widescreen TV. Just remember to set it back to "off" for 16:9 content. Yes, this is a hassle (i.e., no automatic switching), but this beats the hell out of all those upscaling players on the market that don’t let you unstretch 4:3 content over HDMI at all. We watch a lot of kids’ TV shows, so this is a really welcome feature. (Maybe I should buy another unit and lock the widescreen stretch on each…)
As an SACD player this unit takes advantage of Yamaha’s experience in building hi-fi systems. Sound quality from my SACDs (classical music) is truly amazing, revealing subtle details that even my best CD deck failed to reveal before.
I have not tried the DivX playback feature, nor the VCD/SVCD support.
While the features and performance are laudable, the remote and the manual are truly miserable. The remote has a big round power button, but the idiot who designed this made it to *only* turn on the player, not turn it off. For the latter function you use the smaller Standby button, which *also* turns on the player! Most of the buttons are small, and there is no eject button on the remote. Must be a Japanese thing, since this seems common on Japanese-brand DVD players. The manual is very difficult to understand. First, it was written by some idiots. Second, it was written for the UK/Europe/Russia market. Luckily, you can figure out 95% of the features and connections on your own, unless you’re a complete newbie to DVD players.
As to the question why you should get a DVD player while you can now buy a low-end Blu-ray player for as low as $20 more, the answer is twofold. First, upscaling DVD players are still better at playing DVDs, especially one like this Yamaha which loads DVDs fast. Second, if you watch a lot of DVDs, you may not want to tax the laser mechanism in a Blu-ray player, which works better reading Blu-ray discs. Finally, for this model specifically, some of the extra features like DVD-Audio and SACD support are not found on Blu-ray players.

I recently bought this TV from Amazon along with this TV I purchased the following item Bell’O SFP-9901HG Color Accented Flat Panel Audio Video System. I have yet to receive the stand but it says it can hold up to 58" inch plasma, I’ll edit the review later to let you know how that works.
I wanted to write this review since I saw another review stating that they had issues watching 480i content with this TV. I haven’t found anywhere where this is well documented and on top of that, I had absolutely no problem watching regular DVD’s on this TV with my HD DVD player Toshiba HD-A35 1080p HD DVD Playerthrough an HDMI cable. They played stunningly (especially for a regular DVD). The picture was crisp and clear on DVD not to mention how it looks when I play an HD DVD. Perhaps the reviewer may need to update their firmware on their hardware; otherwise I’m not sure why they couldn’t watch a standard DVD on an HD DVD player. I have yet to try any games on this TV so I can’t rate it in that area.
I have had no issues with the volume controls or loudness of the regular speakers. I currently do not have a home theater and these controls are set lower than what I’ve had to set my other 2 TV’s at (a 42" inch and 52" Toshiba Regza LCD TV). The speakers get a + from me.
I was very worried about burn in after purchasing this TV. I have only had LCD’s therefore the issue of burn in never arose. I have researched this problem a lot and it seems although it can still be an issue it isn’t as prevalent as it once was. Most of my DVD’s including HD DVD will leave the block boxes at top and the bottom while watching and this worried me. However, they say as long as you integrate watching regular TV or swap it up so that it isn’t there all the time, the burn in issue really isn’t an issue. The biggest thing is to be careful for the first 200 hours as this is when burn in can occur the easiest. Just don’t leave anything paused or sitting there for an extended period of time and your average semi-cautious user won’t experience any problems.
I did a lot of research before I purchased this TV, including checking prices, visiting local retailers and just viewing articles on the Internet. Overall, for me, I think this was a very good buy. I think anyone who purchases this TV definitely won’t be disappointed.

I am really thrilled with my purchase of this Haier HLT71 7-inch, ATSC 2009-ready portable LCD TV! I have never heard of this name brand Haier, and I had heard many nightmare stories about some of the other name brands having poor pictures on these little screens, so I thought I’d give this Haier a try.
I ordered this tv directly from Amazon and it came to me from a seller on Amazon who goes by the name ANTOnline. The seller sent this perfect and fast to start with, which is always a big plus with me. When I opened the box, the set looked very sleek and light weight, just perfect! The tv I received is exactly like the picture shows in this description, black (it is the picture that has the remote control next to the tv), with really simple control buttons on the front. I then looked at the directions, but realized, I didn’t need to read them at all! Everything is really obvious! The set has a little slide switch on the side to turn on the power. The antenna screws in really easy. It comes with a plug for the inside electrical outlet, and a plug for the car lighter, and a lightweight rechargeable battery! It has a little remote control which they made very easy to read! After screwing on the antenna (or you can attach your cable cord if you are using it in the house), I basically plugged it in, slid the power switch on, pressed the button to scan for setting the channels, and it does it quickly! In about 1 minute, it was set! I then tried the small battery, and it played perfectly without the electric power!
The picture is absolutely gorgeous, as it has the new atsc digital signal receiver built in! To see the local programs in digital on this little screen was fantastic! Colors are crisp, sharp and vivid, just like a big hdtv!
I have noticed that some reviews are giving this tv a low rating because it did not pick up any channels with the single rabbit ear that comes with the set. This tv picks up EVERY signal that is being broadcast in your area. Before you buy this tv, you should first go to a website called Antenna Web. On this site, you type in your address and it will show you exactly how many channels you can receive in your area and what type of antenna you will need to pick up the signals. Antenna Web said that in my area I could receive 8 signals, and the single rabbit ear that comes with this tv picked up all 8 channels. When I used a stronger antenna, I picked up 3 more channels. When I used my cable cord, I received over 60 channels, and when I used my cable cord with my box, I picked up 250 channels. Whatever I hooked up to the coaxial input on this tv, this tv picked up! If you live in an area that receives no broadcast signals or you need a high powered antenna to pick up anything, it is not the tv’s fault, but your broadcasters. So, if you want to be certain your tv is picking up the signals correctly, go to Antenna Web and check to see what channels you can get in your area and what type of antenna you need to pick up the signals. My single rabbit ear, picked up everything including the hi-def channels, and the reception was crystal clear. (Also, don’t forget to go to the tv’s menu, and hit the little satellite dish picture, then hit the appropriate air or cable before you scan for your channels. This way you’ll be certain your tv will receive the correct signals.)
The real plus for me on this tv, is the battery, because of so many electrical outages and bad storms, this is a must have item! The battery has a life of about 2-2 1/2 hours, perfect for a few shows while waiting out bad weather, or even for entertainment when traveling. The fantastic picture really blew me away. I just love the light weight of the tv, even with the battery, it’s like a feather! There is even a built in stand to put it on a table! The sound is incredible as well- two speakers and really loud! This is unheard of on these small sets! They even thought of including a plug in for headphones, if you have them (headphones are not included), for quiet listening or for travel! Whoever designed this perfect set, knew what they were doing!
I am giving this perfect little tv 5 stars for being able to see a sharp, vivid, gorgeously colored hi-def picture, and set up without reading a direction, but especially because I can play it in my house, in my car, or carry it anywhere with the rechargeable battery, all at a great price too!
UPDATE: Haier vs. Axion 7 inch portable tv’s
I am posting an update for anyone who is wondering what the differences are between these two portable tv’s. A friend of mine purchased the Axion, and she immediately brought it over to compare it to my Haier. Here is what I found:
RECEPTION: Antenna Web said I could receive 8 channels in my area. With the single rabbit ear antenna, Haier picked up all 8 channels. Axion picked up 7 channels, but one channel was very fuzzy. When attaching a cable cord, both sets picked up everything.
SOUND: For these small sets, the sounds were very similar, but when turning the volume louder, the Haier was louder and not as tinny sounding as the Axion.
PICTURE: Both have very nice pictures, with great color, but the Haier definitely has a more hi-def, sharper looking picture.
REMOTE CONTROL: Haier’s is easier to read, larger and has volume control, where Axion’s is smaller and has no volume control.
BATTERY: Haier’s battery is a plug in and lasts about 2 hours before needing charging. Axion’s battery is built in, cannot be removed and lasted a little less than 1 hour before needing to be charged.
Overall, the sets are very similar, my personal choice being the Haier, as I think the picture is sharper, the price is better and the battery lasts longer for my needs in bad weather. Haier also has way more picture settings and adjustments in the tv’s menu, but the pictures on both these sets are so great, I’ve never found a need to use them. The bottom line for me is the better picture and price give the edge to Haier, since the reception on these two sets is almost identical.
JUNE 12th,2009 NEWS UPDATE ON THE DIGITAL CHANGE:
I just read an article on the new digital change taking place titled CHANGE TO DIGITAL TV BROADCASTS ALREADY GETTING POOR RECEPTION. And they mean POOR RECEPTION literally. The article says the following: Many broadcasters across the country are transmitting the new digital signals with temporary transmission towers, just to meet the June 12th deadline. Permanent new towers are needed in order to move to a new higher frequency broadcast that should be easier for people’s antennas to pick up. Once the new towers are built, probably later in 2009, the stations will change to another channel, and everyone will have to re-scan their t.v.’s to receive all the new digital channels. Unlike the old analog signals, you will never have any snow or static on your set, you will either have a perfect picture or one that is totally unwatchable. At this time, with so many broadcasters transmitting with temporary towers, you need a powerful antenna to receive anything on your set. I thought this article very important to let everyone know that right now, a powerful antenna is needed for reception, but by the end of the year, the permanent towers should be built and running full power, and that means any antenna should pick up everything. More importantly, remember to scan again to re-program your tv channels after June 12th, and again later in the year, when all the permanent towers are up. This will get you all the stations that will be changing to a new channel with the new frequencies. I hope this helps everyone, so they’ll get the most channels out of their tv’s!

Bought this TV based on my great experience with my Pany 58" plasma. Not many reviews on the S1 as of yet, however, older model Pany LCD’s had good reviews. This was the 4th tv that I purchased for the family room, which included a Toshiba 40" lcd (not Regza), a Vizio 32 lcd and a Vizio 32 plasma. The first 3 were returned and this one is a keeper.
As expected, set up was a breeze and it mounted to my articulating wall mount without a hitch. Picture settings had to be tweaked to get the proper flesh tones, but in a few minutes it looked great. Of course, I like to tinker with all of the setting in order to get familiar with the tv. Overall, picture looks great. Sound on this tv is very good. Need to adjust the settings to increase treble and base, and also to turn on the surround. Definitely fills the room with full clear sound.
The tv is in a bright room and there can be minor glare depending on the time of day and viewing angle. Putting the picture in vivid mode takes care of any glare issues. Actually, it really is not a problem (as compared with the Vizio plasma that I returned) Not that I bash Vizio because I have 3 of them and am basically very pleased with their performance.
The only disappointment was the remote. I was hoping that it would be the same as with my plasma, however, it does not have the same solid feel. For some reason, they took a nicely fitted convex backed remote and gave it two concave sections that just don’t feel right. Also, they switched the volume and channel buttons which ia pain after you get used to it being the "correct way" on the plasma remote. I must add, however, that the remote is far superior to the junk that you get with many brands of TV. Vizio used to put out a great remote, however, the later models sure dumbed it down. Can’t say much good about the Toshiba remotes either.
All in all, the Pany S1 is a keeper. My search for the right tv is finally over. Turned out that I got a great price and fantastic delivery with Amazon affiliate 6th Ave Electronics. Delivery in two days and price of $707 w/free shipping. I would highly recommend this for anyone looking for a 37" lcd.

I previously had Netflix but I canceled it because I was tired of waiting for DVDs in the mail, I didn’t think that I was really getting my full money’s worth and could probably get a better deal renting from RedBox locations. But, when the folks at Netflix mentioned that there are "Netflix-ready" devices out there that could allow you to play their "instant" movies, I was intrigued. I have an older Mac laptop at home and I wasn’t able to play their instant movies on it (only Intel-based Macs can do that). And, I was never really happy with watching TV shows or movies from other networks like ABC or NBC on that computer anyway. The lag-time is too long and the images were choppy and usually inconsistent. It just feels weird to watch stuff on computers. Besides, my legs would get too hot from the laptop sitting on them. So, deciding to give these Netflix-ready devices a try, I re-upped my Netflix subscription for $8.99/month (the cheapest plan for UNLIMITED instant viewing) and ordered this Roku box thing (By the way, Roku is the word for "six" in Japanese–whatever that means. Perhaps because the box has six sides? Who knows?) Anyway, I remember waiting anxiously everyday until it arrived at my doorstep. (You should know that my wife thought I was crazy for spending money on something that I had no idea how worked). But man, oh man! She got quiet and got to smiling really quick! Was it ever worth the wait!!! Please understand, I do not work for Netflix or Roku, so get that out of your head. I teach middle school. I am just a regular Joe that loves to watch movies. This thing is like having a several thousand item DVD collection right inside your living room. The quality of movies is amazing (like DVDs - except there’s no subtitle option, which I like reading sometimes) and there is no delay in the image at all (at least on my directly-connected AT&T DSL service). What an amazing new invention! If you wait to get this thing, you will be missing out on a major addition to modern technology that I know will be as common as the remote control in a few short years. I love it!!! And, when you add movies or TV shows to your Netflix instant queue, you don’t have to watch them one at a time. You can cycle through your choices, just like spinning a wheel–a poster image of the movie or program appears on-screen. All you have to do is stop on the choice that interests you at any given time. When you pause or stop watching, you can resume viewing at the exact same spot whenever you want. Dude, I am rushing through this review just so that I can get back to watching my movies again. Many other companies and services are being added as time goes by thanks to Roku’s new "Channels" feature. Through your TV, you can view Facebook photos, listen to Pandora internet radio, view or listen to your favorite Podcasts, and sooooo many other things. So, don’t be left out!!! Roku seriously rocks!

ok I would have given this 5 stars but this comes with current problem with it, this has optical in for 5.1DD recording at this time hauppuage can not get this to work so you are stuck with PCM 2.0 or audio from the analog imputs, now to the rest, it records video at 1920×1080 at same or near Blu ray discs, you have a choice of bitrate constant from 1 to 13.5 Kb or on variable all the way up to 20.2, this records in the same codeec (AVCHD) as blu ray and HD DVD discs, it will take any component imput, I have mine through my receiver where my Dishnet PVR HD, PS3, HD DVD and Oppo DVD player runs through, just for test purposes I tried all my devices and what I test recorded from dishnet, blu ray, DVD and HD DVD the test disc looked no different than the original source, once you capture your source you can then edit or add chapters then you get to add a real cheapo menu and then put in what disc you need to burn either a DVD-R or a dual layer DVD Disc, it takes about 10 minutes to author your recording to Blu ray standard and burn on your normal DVD as a true Blu ray playable Disc, beware once you burn your DVD as a blu ray playback DVD you will not be able to read it in your computer again unless you have a Blu ray Rom or Blu Ray Burner, once and if Hauppuage ever gets the 5.1 DD fixed this could be the killer to blu ray Discs, hauppuage claims by next driver release they will include the 5.1 fix. Beware this is Xp service pack 2 or Vista operating system only, also you must have a fast computer to use this device and its programs, I have a dual core 3.4 gig Intel, 2gigs of ram, 2 - 500 sata HDD and had to buy a nvidia 7600 512 meg video card to get this up to speed and at the fastest bitrate 13,500 I cant do anything else on the computer, but this is the problem with Hi def, its power hungry, now I can finally put my hi def movies of all 6 star wars and 3 lord of the rings on DVD for 1080i blu ray playback, you can also convert the finished files over to movie factory 6 to burn on a normal DVD for HD DVD playback also.

Pros:
- best surround sound reproduction i have heard to date
- no subwoofer needed, bass sounds true!
- easy to set up, easy to configure, easy to use
- excellent price compared to other high end virtual surround sound systems
Cons:
- could use a few more notches of volume
- lack of equalizer and presets (no fine tuning of sound)
- no HDMI inputs for audio or video passthrough
I had previously owned a Philips Soundbar and always seemed to want more from it - better 5.1 surround sound reproduction, more inputs, and better sound quality. I looked at the Yamaha’s but the price and its lack of compatibility with my apartment layout (works best with square room, solid walls on all sides) kept me away. Along came the Polk SurroundBAR 360. It did everything my Philips Soundbar did, but better.
The sound from the system is fantastic. You obviously are not going to be tricked into thinking you have a set of rear speakers, but the processor in this system got the reproduction right. There is a near perfect balance of the various simulated speakers (center, front right and left, rear right and left and subwoofer). Other "soundbar" systems I have tested had problems with voice and center channel sounds, almost always being hollow and full of reverb and echo. Standard PCM or Stereo sources also provide a full, rich sound spectrum - something the Philips lacked. Another amazing thing about this system is the lack of a subwoofer. For an average sized apartment like mine, plenty of full bass is output through the single speaker unit. For those wanting to add a subwoofer, there is an input.
As well as the system reproduced sounds from all types of encodings (Dolby Digital, DTS, PCM) I still wish I had the ability to tweak a little more. Maybe this system is playing all of the audio tracks as the producers have intended it, but it’s always in my nature to tweak.
The system is extremely easy to setup. The video quality from the DVD player is very good (not the best I have watched). The remote is simple (although I have a Harmony Universal Remote).
Hopefully CNET can throw up a full review sometime soon. In the meantime, check the manufacturer’s website for the full specs of this unit and explanations of the technology behind it. As somewhat of an video and audiophile who is limited by his living arrangements on what he can setup in a hometheater, I highly recommend this system.

I spent a good 2 weeks looking for a surround sound speaker system for my home theater. I was only looking to spend around $300 and I really wasn’t expecting to find anything great at that price. But then I continued to hear wonderful things about Onkyo speakers and I had to try them out.
I purchased them here on Amazon for $280 ($230 + $50 for shipping). The speakers were nicely packed and arrived farily quick. The speakers not only look great but they feel as though they’re high quality. No one would ever guess that these speakers cost under $300. Especially when you hear them. They sound amazing.
Movies sound great along with video games, (xbox 360). The speakers let you hear all the action, and the sub-woofer lets you feel every explosion. Onkyo’s SKS-HT540’s Surround Sound Speaker System is a treat to listen to and you will not be dissapointed with this purchase. A 7.1 speaker package with a 230 watt powered sub-woofer for under $300? That’s a great deal!
Only downside, (and I’ve read this in other reviews about these speakers) is that they don’t sound great when listening to music. They don’t capture the full sound that tower speakers would. Which makes sense, so if you’re going to listen to music with these speakers, you may feel a little dissapointed. If it’s just movies and video games… You’ll be happy.
I will say this about hooking up surround sound speakers (and this goes for all of them), when you first plug in everything, you have to configure your receiver to get the best possible sound out of your speakers. For instance, treble, bass and speaker size are going to dramatically change the sound of your theater. So, if when you first hear these speakers and you’re not satisfied with the sound… You didn’t set them up right, because my system sounds incredible once I dialed everything in.

Best part about this system is the simplicity in term of look and set up. Black finish matches with my black Phillips LCD TV. It comes with a main unit and a loud speaker. So not many things to hook up. It is pretty simple to set up if you plan to just have it sitting on the top of the cabinet. I decided to hang it on the wall, right below my flat LCD TV. It looks just gorgeous.
You can play CD, DVD, and AM/FM radio. It has MP3 line-in, iPOD connector and a beautiful black docking unit, USB connector to play MP3 and photos. Sound quality is pretty good. I mainly use it when I watch TV/DVD or listen to my iPOD. Nothing serious.
I didn’t give the five star because it didn’t have the high def or blueray. I wish it comes with the HD radio and multi-disk. iPod dock works well. However, dock is a separate unit so it has to be hooked up to the main unit. As a result, it ruins the clean look. IPod docking unit’s plug is located on the side so it is difficult to hide wires and connectors. They should have integrated the iPOD docking unit to the main unit or the loud speaker box to maintain the clean look.
All in all, I think price is good and unit works well. If you want the clean look, this is the system.