Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder
March 30, 2008 by admin
Filed under Electronics
Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder
It’s a simple idea: provide brilliant stereo recording in an easy-to-use, ultra-portable device. The H2 is the only portable recorder with 3 mic capsules onboard for mid-side recording. A directional mic is in the center (mid) and two directional mics (side) are positioned left and right. The audio is decoded instantly, bringing these three signals together for unparalleled stereo imaging. One button recording, gain controls on the side and an intuitive user interface mean you can always capture the moment. Set your levels, push record and go. The H2 records on Secure Digital (SD) media and a 512MB SD card is included. With a 4GB SD memory card, the H2 provides up to 2 hours recording at 96kHz, 6 hours at 44.1kHz, or up to a staggering 138 hours in MP3. Play your recordings on your home audio system with its 1/8″ stereo output or listen to your masterpiece with headphones. Or, use the H2’s USB interface to move your recordings to your Mac or PC to listen, edit and share. 512MB SD memory card included; Accommodates up to 4GB SD optional memory cards Auto Gain Control (AGC) for pristine recordings Auto Start function means you’re always ready to record Low-cut filter eliminates wind noise On-board chromatic Guitar/Bass tuner Two standard alkaline AA batteries will give you 4 hours of continuous operation and a backlit display means it’s always easy to use in any situation Pocketable – Weighs only 4 ounces
Samsung PN42A450 42 Inch 720p Plasma HDTV
March 27, 2008 by admin
Filed under Best Damn Gadgets
Samsung PN42A450 42 Inch 720p Plasma HDTV
Take your home entertainment experience to the next level with the Samsung PN42A450 plasma HDTV. The Samsung PN42A450 42″ Widescreen Plasma HDTV with 720p resolution is big enough to transform any space into the ultimate home theater. Advanced features like a FilterBright to protect against glare and 100,000:1 dynamic-contrast ratio will simply amaze you and your guests. 1365 horizontal x 768 vertical pixel resolution presents video and text with outstanding clarity and resolution. Select Game mode with the touch of a button for advanced video-game action. The ACE silhouette editor eliminates visual noise from the deepest dark tones. SRS TruSurround XT offers natural, lifelike HD sound. TruSurround delivers a compelling, virtual surround sound experience through the two speaker internal playback system. Samsung Digital Natural Image engine dramatically improves the picture by enhancing the contrast, detail, and white balance. Entertainment Mode allows customized picture settings, optimized for different content. Universal Anynet Plus HDMI-CEC allows peripheral devices such as a DVD player to be controlled by TV remote control. Side A/V ports provide easy connections so you can connect a camcorder, digital camera, or any other digital device with no hassles. V-Chip system allows blocking of rated TV and movie programs determined by the parent to contain objectionable content. 13650 x 7680 pixel resolution 175-degrees viewing angle Natural True Color with 18 bit color processing NTSC/ATSC tuners with Clear QAM Sports/Game/Movie modes via hot key 10-watt per channel built-in audio amplifier Direct down-firing speaker system Auto pixel shift (user programmable) Signal pattern processing function Ports – 3 HDMI High Definition Multimedia Interface (2 rear/1 side), 1 Side S-Video, 1 Side Headphone, 2 Rear component video inputs, Side and rear A/V inputs, and 1 Rear PC input (D-sub) Dimensions – Widt
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars concern
I have attached an HD amplified antenna, but cannot receive good HD broadcasts. I am told it might be the broadcaster’s problem, but I am concerned that the problem may be in the TV itself, and I don’t want to wait too long before getting it fixed. What should I do?
The set was delivered all right, but the driver was in a big hurry to leave and did not help set the set up.
I appreciate the offer to let me pay over time without interest charges.
5 Stars Picture Perfect
This TV has a picture perfect view! The picture is crisp and the sleek look of the TV makes it perfect for any room. I bought this TV because of the great reviews it received on Amazon. I was not disappointed at all by it’s quality. We have had no problems with this TV and enjoy using it daily. I would reccommend this TV to anyone. It is a great TV at an unbeatable price!
1 Star Crazy Prices !
Good Grief…can Amazon not settle on a Price???
One day it’s $749 … then $779…then back down to $736, now up to $819 ?
Heck …you buy the Samsung 50″ 720p Plasma for $779 at Best Buy!
5 Stars Excellent TV – PC users take note
For those that, like me, want to hook up a PC to this TV, note that while it has a DB15 input, you can only use that for 1024×768 output – which is a 5:4 screen ratio, so on the widescreen, everything gets flattened a little bit, and while the TV allows you some options for zooming in on, say, component input-video sources, it doesn’t allow this for the DB15 input. I thought this was a bit of an oversight by Samsung since it is a 720P widescreen, so a native resolution of 1280×720 would make more sense.
However, If your video card has a DVI output you can buy a DVI-to-HDMI adapter (as cheap as $6 some places), and connect that to the TV using a plain HDMI cable. Using this method my PC (using an nVidia 7900 GS card) allowed me to output plain 720P output to the TV, that the video drivers allow output to be manipulated many ways. The best configuration was setting it to just plain “720P” output and setting the Samsung TV to “Just Scan” (as opposed to “16:9″) – sounds goofy, yes, but this makes the whole screen show up correctly, whereas with “16:9″ – the edges get clipped.
Using that setting, you can output anything you want from the PC to the TV – games (Halo, for instance, ran great), DVDs from the PC, or even HDTV from the PC (using the PC as a “DVR”). Highly recommended!
5 Stars Best Value=We Are Very Happy
We just purchased this Samsung 42″ 720p HDTV today; it is our first HDTV. While I will leave the technical talk to those best suited for such commentary, I can say that we are extraordinarily pleased. After waiting a couple years to buy an HDTV, following various models and prices, we finally pounced on this product when the price dipped down to $750. For our apartment, the 42″ is almost too big- it’s certainly far more tv than we are accustomed to and for those jumping from CRT’s to this, there will certainly be a “Wow!” moment. The picture is just great, though we are leaving the settings on low brightness/contrast for the first 100 hours as several sites recommend (though the risk of imagine burn-in seems to be quite low for these newer models). Set up was very easy. I do recommend having this shipped to you “white glove” service as the tv is 67 lbs and somewhat unwielding. It was also very difficult to put this into our little Infiniti G20; we actually had to take it out of the shipping box and transport it with just the styrofoam (risky, but we were only driving a few miles).
Some have complained about the sound- I find the speakers more than adequate and the sound fills the room. Of course they won’t compare to surround sound theatre systems- what would? Some people just like to whine about these supposed shortcomings.
I believe the contrast ratio is better than the similarly outfitted Panasonic model. I have heard worries about Samsung’s longevity- but don’t know that anyone has anything more than anecodatal evidence of that (knock on wood).
But at $750, there is no buyer’s remorse here. A great HDTV at a tremendous price. We did buy it from Circuit City so that it could be picked up the next day and take advantage of no interest/no payments specials.
We have a Comcast HD box and there seems to be no problems whatsoever in the signal; the HD channels look fantastic. We’re awaiting an upconverting DVD player and HDMI cables to complete the purchase.
I am sure there are finer points to the $2-3k hdtv’s and for some bigger is always better. But I can’t imagine expending that kind of money in this economy and I can’t imagine that the marginal improvement is at all worth the cost.
Update: After the first 100 hours, we turned up the brightness and contrast (leaving the mode as “movie”, which seems to be the best unless there is a glare), and the picture is great.
Samsung HL67A750 67 Inch 1080p LED Powered DLP HDTV
March 26, 2008 by admin
Filed under Best Damn Gadgets
Samsung HL67A750 67 Inch 1080p LED Powered DLP HDTV
67″ widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio) * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) * built-in QAM cable TV tuner receives unscrambled programs without a set-top box (cable service required) * Cinema Smooth 1080p Light Engine (1920 x 1080 pixels) * LED light engine eliminates color wheel and improves color reproduction * 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio *
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Cost Effective Blend of Old and New Technologies
At the new 11/24/3008 prices this projector is a bargain just as hdguru states.
TI and Samsung have really gone all-out in this DLP design to provide the maximum fidelity possible mating the green state-of-the-art LED light source with the long-in-the-tooth xD5 DLP chip.
The 750 series is one of the few displays which scales nicely to either a completely dark or daylight room. The key is the variable power LED light source which also offers the best power efficiency. Many plasmas will heat up the room.
With no spinning color wheel (which typically wears out), the display should be stable and reliable for many years. The cost of ownership should be zero.
My evaluation and recommendations: Use -3 gamma and CNET.com settings. (ok sports -2) . Use little or no A/C power conditioning. Use movie setting for night, standard for evening and dynamic for daytime viewing. Use only the sRGB colorspace setting, otherwise there is too much of an orange cast to skin tones.
The DLP chips native contrast could be better. There is bit of a washout in the dark areas in mixed content bright and dark scenes. This is a limitation of the dynamic iris used in projector light engines. The effect is minimized by setting the picture mode to match the rooms ambient light.
I’ve analyzed several of these 61″ and 67″ 750 displays, and all had an increasing amount of red mis-convergence in the top third as you move away from the center of the screen. Must be part of the design at this price-point?
Hope this factual information is useful in making an informed purchasing decision. Enjoy!
5 Stars Size does matter!!!
67 inches of awesomeness!!!! Best HDTV for the price out there … period. Fantastic picture! I have a 46″ Samsung LCD HDTV that’s a fantastic TV, but I think the 67″ DLP’s picture is as good, and maybe even better than the LCD. Oh, and I paid more for the smaller LCD!
I have a PC with HDMI graphic card hooked to it, and this makes an incredible computer monitor. Visitors are blown away by it. It’s great to have the whole family on the couch surfing the net together, playing games, watching YOUTUBE, watching streamed HD episodes from the networks’ websites, etc. So much better than having the kids alone in their rooms on their computers.
The Amazon experience was great, and the price blew away anything in the stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.).
4 Stars Samsung HL67A750 LED DLP HDTV
The set arrived several days early, and, being cold in PA on Nov 11th, I was told not to plug in the set until several hours had passed–this from the delivery men, who normally would help set up the set. I waited from the AM delivery until about 9PM, when I was sure the set was warmed up. In the meantime, I had hooked up the Blu-Ray player and HDMI receiver to the set, and all was plugged into an AC line cleaner and conditioner. FINALLY: the moment of TRUTH! The picture was wonderful! Good on regular DVDs and satellite TV–although the thin LED sets have the 120 refresh rate and 24Hz capabilities that this DLP set lacks. But on Blu-Ray discs, it is easily the match of my Sony XBR6 in our living room–and that set is only a 32″ (smaller is usually “cleaner.”) HOWEVER, I had an apprehension about ordering something BIG like this from Amazon, as there was one review where the buyer’s set “went black” in ten days, and finally Amazon replaced his set. (I had told the delivery men to let me keep the packaging, “just in case.”) Well, two hours after the set is on, and I am happily engrossed in a Blu-Ray DVD, a message appears on the screen: “CHECK FAN No 2″ I had previously digested the thick manual, and NOTHING in the manual prepared me for this. While I was pondering where this message was coming from, the set shut off–along with the Blu-Ray. I didn’t know whether the Blu-Ray player, the receiver, or the Samsung set off the warning. The next AM, same thing happened. THEN I called Amazon, and they told me to call Samsung, but, if I got no satisfaction, I was to re-call Amazon and they would pick the set up and exchange it or credit it. So far so good. When I had registered the set on-line, I immediately got a 3-month EVERYTHING FREE MAINTENANCE certificate. (The set’s warranty is a year) I called the Samsung number, and eventually was connected to a dealer some 20 miles from my home. The dealer was none too happy that I had bought this set from a huge mail order company, and got me an appointment about a week later. When the repairman arrived, he did NOT have anything with him to repair the set–I had told them the problem over the phone–but I guess he needed to see what really was causing the problem. (By using satellite feed only, it was easy to determine that the problem was a fan in the set.) Anyhow, at the present, I have had the set in my home since Nov 11th, and it has run for all of about 8 hrs. The repairman DID determine that “Fan No 2″ was NOT running, and he would have to order the part directly from Samsung, and not a local wholesaler. That will, I am told, take a week, and then, he will need to get back to me. So, today is 21 Nov., and the set is facing the wall in my “Man Cave” with the back off and all the parts scattered over my cabinet. In the end, I DO think all will be fine, and I will be forgetting this “bad dream” while watching my first football game! But, a word to the wise when one purchases something this complex via mail order only! Luckily, both Amazon and Samsung will stand by it all–and, the price was the main reason I got this set! Amazon had a 24 months no interest on their Amazon Store Card, and, compared to a Sony XBR6 52″ ($3699) and the BEST set out there, bar none: 55″ Sony XBR8 ($6999) it was a no-brainer to get a 67″ set less than half of the XBR6!! And, had I gotten the “6″ and knew that the “8″ was MUCH BETTER, I’d have hated the “6.” So–get a non-120 refresh rear projector, and get a great deal! Just so it EVENTUALLY WORKS!!! Note: this will probably NOT happen to you, dear reader. I truly am snakebit, and my problem–along with the other reviewer who had his set go black in ten days–is most likely NOT indicative of service anybody else will receive. And I state that both Amazon and Samsung are standing behind the set–they truly can do no more, right? Lastly, this is one BEAUTIFUL LARGE TV! The front is glossy black, and it sits on my black 82″ console, with my stereo speakers flanking it, and a small black Bose center speaker in front, barely noticed. Even though it is a rear projector, it is VERY thin–maybe a foot deep in the center back, and one does NOT notice anything but the screen. (The hookup terminals are on the right rear side, so one does not have to crawl behind the set to hook everything up, and the power cord is detachable. The TV left and right speakers are floor standing, next to the cabinet, and my Earthquake Sound sub is off behind a sofa, with the surround speakers (5 of them) around my “Command seat.” When this setup is working on a Blu-Ray disc, you will simply not believe it all!! And, guys” My WIFE LOVED the APPEARANCE, even though she said it was WAY TOO BIG!! In this case, bigger is WONDERFUL!
5 Stars Great Picture – No problems thus far
I’ve only had the Samsung HL67A for a few weeks…but no problems thus far. A few comments:
- HD Picture is amazing.
- Very bright screen, almost too bright (Luckily I can adjust if needed)
- Sound is Adequate, but not as good as my old 46″ DLP in the bedroom. Definitely you will want surround for Movies.
- SD picture is fairly rotten, to be honest. Standard 480p DVDs are great, but the Cox SD signal looks bad. What can you do ?? At 67″ everything gets magnified.
- Startup times are great, and menus are straight forward.
Overall, I am VERY HAPPY. And no Lamp!!! I will never buy a lamp tv again.
Good Luck!
5 Stars Pleased with product and delivery
Ordered on a Thursday; received call from shipping company on Sunday to schedule delivery, well before the promised following Friday delivery date. Delivery came off without a hitch–polite, complete service. The delivery person unboxed, checked for damage, and powered up the unit to make sure it functioned before he left. I did not purchase installation service. I connected the unit into my cable and was operating within minutes. Beautiful picture. I chose Samsung because they still have pip (really side-by-side picture). Internal tuner receives HD. Very pleased with its looks and performance.
