Philips DVDR5500 - DVD Recorder With Freeview

January 29, 2008 | By Doug In DVD Recorders | Comments(0)


Philips DVDR5500 - DVD Recorder With Freeview
in Black

Customer Review: Not what it promises to be…
Wanted a DVD recorder with built-in Freeview, saw this and thought, “Wow! Has upscaling, USB port for flash drive reading, looks stylish, and cheap too!”. This all may be true, but what I didn’t know until I got it home and set it up was how irritating it is to use!

The menu system is very unresponsive, taking literally several seconds to respond to a simple ‘down’ on the remote. As a result, it can take minutes to scroll down a few pages of the Program Guide. The firmware needs some serious de-bugging. I had this unit no more than 2 days, and it ‘froze’ on me more than six times. Each time I was doing nothing more complicated than accessing a DVD, viewing pitcures from my USB pen, or simply browsing the Program Guide for something to watch! The only solution when it hangs is to pull the plug (even says so in the manual) as there’s no power switch.

But the worst thing for me was the image aspect ratio distortion. Digital broadcasts displayed beautifully when watched live, but if recorded to DVD then played back they would be stretched vertically, making them totally unwatchable. Oddly, setting the TV Shape option to Widescreen (I have an older PAL 4:3 screen), would correct the playback distortion problem, but render live broadcasts as vertically stretched instead.

On the plus side, the interface looks very swish, the DVD recording quality is excellent, and upscaling to 1080 is well performed. The facia is very stylish, and the front USB and DV ports are neatly hidden behing a flip-down panel.

You can’t pause live TV with this unit though, which I presumed you could - my fault for not reading the specifications! I performed a firmware upgrade, downloaded from Philips web-site, which was very easy to do. Although I only had the unit setup for another hour or so, I didn’t experience any more ‘freezing’ of the interface. Customer service, if you need it, is rubbish - I posted a query regarding the aspect ratio distortion, and am yet to get a response, over two weeks later.

I’ve also heard that these machines keep the drive spinning, even in standby mode, if you leave a disc in. Philips customer service have themselves admitted you ought to remove any discs from the machine when not in use, otherwise it burns out the motor in about 6 months. Seems so ridiculous I can believe it!

Summary: I returned mine. This machine looks great, promises the world, but leaves you pulling your hair out. Philips DVD recorders have been dogged with problems for quite a number of years, and this one is no better. Pay a little more and buy a Panasonic or Sony.

Customer Review: Good picture quality and easy to use but has recording problems
I was pleased with everything about this DVD until I discovered that mine had a couple of faults (not sure if these are common faults). When recording, it often doesnt switch off after the selected program has finished recording and so it records the next program until it uses up all the disk space, then the disk keeps spinning and gets hot, and you can only stop it by switching it off at the mains. Also there is no way of knowing how much room you have available on the disk and it will accept a recording request when there is not enough room on the disk. I’m afraid to say I will be taking it back.

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Sony RDRGX350B DVD Recorder
Key features: Recording formats: DVD+R/+RW DVD-R/-RW DVD+/-R double layer (8.5GB disc) Playback formats:DVD+R/+RW DVD-R/-RW DVD+ R double layer DVD-RAM MP3 JPEG & DIVX 19/2.6watts :in use/powered-down power consumption 192kHz/24bit bit/96KHz audio sampling Progressive Scan Video D/A converter - 12bit/108 MHz MP3 compatible playback Specification Audio Features Dolby Digital Audio Line In Ports Digital Coaxial input Case Colour Black Digital In 1 x HDMI Output File Formats Supported MP3 Form Factor DVD Recorder Media Supported DVD+R/+RW DVD-R/-RW DVD+R DL S-Video Port 1 x S-Video Out SCART Ports 2 Supported Image File Formats JPEG Supported TV Standards NTSC • PAL Supported Video File Formats DivX • VCD Video Playback Modes Progressive Scan
Amazon Price: ?79.99
Customer Review: Multi region required
Any one know of a multi region hack for this. It ia fantastic - if only it played multi region
Customer Review: Superb Sony
This is a stonking good DVD recorder. The menu and simple timer/setup controls are a joy to use. The Sony RDRGX350B looks sleek and stylish and delivers high quality recordings at many speeds - it can record up to 10 hours on a standard disk!! The machine plays and records most if not all DVD formats and has special modes to record 3 hours on a disk (to record that special 3hr film at best quality). The menu was easy to operate and had an Undo in case you made a mistake. Having used previous DVD recorders this one stands out and the remote is very light and has great range. At under ?100 this is a bargain. Sony quality without the price.

Lite-On LVW-5055GDL Dual Format Multi-region Capable DVD Recorder with 250GB Hard Drive and DivX
Used Price: ?130.00
Customer Review: Lite-On
I had been looking for another DVD Recorder to upgrade from my existing Lite-On. I had looked at a number of models but i was looking at the time for a combi version but decided later that this was not the best route to take. I have owned Lite-On products before and have had no problems with them, I had been surfing the net looking for a decent recorder which had a reasonable price tag attached and one mainly with a HD as standard. I found the LVW - 5055GDL+ and thought wow 250GB of Hard Drive. it also came with wma, video+, mpeg 4, divx, i was certainly interested especially the hard drive side of it. However the negative views given about this recorder certainly had me thinking long and hard, but i thought considering the amount of Lite-On products i have owned i decided to divert away from these nagative stories and so purchased the recorder. On receiving it i went over everything played around with it and put it through its paces i do this with everything i buy and normally cannot understand why some people have given the views they have. Anyway everything on this recorder is perfect and the quality of the HD is excellent but it all depends on what compression you take the higher compression the lower the quality. What i also like is the S Video connection which my other model did not have which was a real pain in the neck.The weight of this recorder is quite hefty it looks nice and operates perfectly. The DVD Drawer may over time become slower as i have usually found this with lite on’s and sometimes do stick but other than that i am happy with this purchase. There are other brands of DVD Recorder which i have found to be naff but live and learn.
Customer Review: Horrible
While it does play multi-region DVD and it does record, it doesn’t do either very well. Most of the time our DVD’s skip or the picture fades in and out; or it goes from color to black and white. Today the sound went out. I had to turn the DVD player power off and restart it to fix the problem. We’ve only owned the DVD player for about 9 months and we don’t use it all that often. I wouldn’t waste my money on this product.

Philips DVDR3590 - 250Gb Hard Drive DVD Recorder
Amazon Price: ?175.94
Used Price: ?159.99

Toshiba D-VR17KTB DVD/VCR Recorder Combi - Black Bezel
DVD+RW recording format

Filed under: DVD Recorders

Philips DVDR3570 - 160Gb Hard Drive DVD Recorder - Black

January 29, 2008 | By Doug In DVD Recorders | Comments(0)


Philips DVDR3570 - 160Gb Hard Drive DVD Recorder - Black
Take control over your TV.

Customer Review: The best HDD DVD recorder features for the price.
I have owned 5 different DVD recorders and must admit this is the best one I have ever seen, mainly due to its live TV preview function and the USB host connector.

Does exactly what it says on the box.

The 6 hour time shift buffer is amazing if you have forgotten to hit the record button and want to record the program you are watching, all you have to do is use the live preview function to go back to the start of the program and put a record from mark at that point and a stop recording mark at the end of the program, your’re done it’s recorded.

The USB host function is an excellent addition along with the firewire connection for DV camera editing and recording.

I would recommend the DVDR3570H highly.

Also:

Would like to mention a feature that addresses the problem another reviewer wrote about!

I use my recorder with a standard Sky box, there is a feature in the settings menu under Recording called SAT recording, when this is enabled all you have to do is connect the scart connector from VCR out of the Sky box to the scart input of the DVD recorder and when you use the Sky boxes personal planner to auto view a TV program, it causes the DVD recorder to wake from standby and record the program to the HDD, when the program ends, recording stops and the recorder goes back to standby again. I use this feature all the time so I don’t have to set the timer at all. The feature is really useful because when programs are running late the recorder won’t start recording til it gets the signal from the Sky box. I understand that this also works with cable boxes too. I can’t get Freeview in my area, so I don’t know if it works with those, but I’m prety sure if the freeview box is in standby when its EPG tells it to wake up the signal would also be detected.

Hope this helps.

Customer Review: Philips DVDR3570H/05
I purchased the Philips DVD HDD recorder to perform the following functions:

1. Archive my VHS tapes to DVD

2. Make it easier to get footage from my mini DV camcorder to DVD

3. Record programmes to HDD to watch later

4. Use my USB key to watch divx movies

5. Use the EPG to record programmes that I would otherwise miss - enabling me to watch TV when I want to!

It is point number 5 that was the most crucial for me. A device similar to SKYplus but with the added benefit of DVD recording and DIVX support seemed too good to be true.

Sad to say then that their is no mention of the EPG function in the user manual or indeed the cover of the box. Every retailer including Currys and Amazon have listed the EPG function as one of the key features of this recorder. Having upgraded the firmware and tried all the buttons with no success I have now sent an email to Philips asking them to clarify the matter.

The other functions perform as they should although I’ve not tried all of them yet - The interface is friendly albeit a little slow. The device looks stunning. It’s remarkable being able to pause and rewind Live TV. Their is no fan noise (or none that I can hear) and the unit hasn’t yet crashed!.

Unfortunately though I think I will be returning this because it is lacking the EPG (something which was a major consideration for me when I made the purchase).

I will provide details of the answer from Philips when I receive their email!

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LG DR275 DVD recorder
with True Scan Pro

Panasonic DMR-EH60DEBS DVD RAM Disc Recorder

Pioneer DVR LX60D DVD Recorder with 250 GB Hard Drive available direct from Harrow Audio
also with One Touch Recording

Filed under: DVD Recorders

TomTom Additional Mounting Kit For 300, 500, 700 Models

January 29, 2008 | By Doug In TomTomGo | Comments(0)


TomTom Additional Mounting Kit For 300, 500, 700 Models
If you have more than one car then you’ll know how much of a pain it can be to transfer the whole system from one car to another.

Customer Review: Compatability
It is not made clear that this item is not compatible with the 500 series ie not the 510 only the 500 and presumably the same for the 710

Customer Review: Wrong item ordered
This description doesn't make it very clear that the unit is only suitable for the new TomTom Go models (300/500/700). It is not suitable for the original (Classic) version.

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TomTom RDS/TMC Reciever for Go 510, 710 and 910 models RDS/TMC RECEIVER F/ TT 710/910 IN
Customer Review: Newly bought aerial picks up signal well.
This aerial is actually compatible with the Tom Tom Go (v3), the non-XL version. This is currently not mentioned anywhere on the TomTom website, although customer services say the website will be updated to reflect this.

I have the aerial mounted vertically and it quickly picks up signal at my home and work, both in London. I have yet to try it on a journey.

It quickly picks up around 40-100 different traffic issues, all in the South-East (presumably because I’m using it in London). Although I’ve yet to verify it, it seems to underestimate the delay due to each issue, e.g. it regularly says a traffic delay will take “1 minute” although e.g. AA roadwatch reports 20 minutes delay.

Unfortunately you don’t get much control over the routing algorithm - you can either avoid all traffic, however long that takes, or stick to the fastest route. You can’t tell it (for example) that you quite dislike traffic, but not to choose a different route if it adds more than 20 minutes to your total journey. Like most of the TomTom software, it seems to be optimized for easy use at the expense of detailed control.

One other general complaint about the TomTom algorithms is they don’t take time-of-day into account (this with software v7.1). They say south London to Banbury, through the centre of London, takes 1 minute 39, regardless of whether I ask at 1am or 7am. At 7am, it would be much higher. The algorithm should really consider time of day and realise that urban roads are slower at these times.

Customer Review: TomTOm RDS/TMC Receiver
DON’T BOTHER!!!!!!

This is the most useless thing I have ever used. I can only say thank god i did’nt pay good money for it as it came with my Go510.
I drive 30000 miles a year and have had it for nearly a year and its only ever tuned in twice and thats to Classic FM! Not exactly the first choice for traffic info!
I’ve spent more time in traffic holdups than ever and now rely on radio reports which use RDS to interupt what i’m listening to, to give me traffic info from local radio stations. Far more helpful.

5 x DuraSec ClearTec screen protector TomTom Go 720 T

Protect your screen against ugly scratches!

Pieces/Package: 5 films

Made in Germany

Car Charger For TomTom Go Rider

Tomtom Go 910 Matt Black Silicone Case

Tomtom GO 510 / 710 / 910 Canonball Green Leather ‘Zipper’ Case


TomTom RDS/TMC Reciever for Go 510, 710 and 910 models RDS/TMC RECEIVER F/ TT 710/910 IN
Customer Review: Newly bought aerial picks up signal well.
This aerial is actually compatible with the Tom Tom Go (v3), the non-XL version. This is currently not mentioned anywhere on the TomTom website, although customer services say the website will be updated to reflect this.

I have the aerial mounted vertically and it quickly picks up signal at my home and work, both in London. I have yet to try it on a journey.

It quickly picks up around 40-100 different traffic issues, all in the South-East (presumably because I’m using it in London). Although I’ve yet to verify it, it seems to underestimate the delay due to each issue, e.g. it regularly says a traffic delay will take “1 minute” although e.g. AA roadwatch reports 20 minutes delay.

Unfortunately you don’t get much control over the routing algorithm - you can either avoid all traffic, however long that takes, or stick to the fastest route. You can’t tell it (for example) that you quite dislike traffic, but not to choose a different route if it adds more than 20 minutes to your total journey. Like most of the TomTom software, it seems to be optimized for easy use at the expense of detailed control.

One other general complaint about the TomTom algorithms is they don’t take time-of-day into account (this with software v7.1). They say south London to Banbury, through the centre of London, takes 1 minute 39, regardless of whether I ask at 1am or 7am. At 7am, it would be much higher. The algorithm should really consider time of day and realise that urban roads are slower at these times.

Customer Review: TomTOm RDS/TMC Receiver
DON’T BOTHER!!!!!!

This is the most useless thing I have ever used. I can only say thank god i did’nt pay good money for it as it came with my Go510.
I drive 30000 miles a year and have had it for nearly a year and its only ever tuned in twice and thats to Classic FM! Not exactly the first choice for traffic info!
I’ve spent more time in traffic holdups than ever and now rely on radio reports which use RDS to interupt what i’m listening to, to give me traffic info from local radio stations. Far more helpful.

First look: TomTom Go 920 GPS
Silicon Valley - I want to love the TomTom Go 920. I really do. It’s one of those be-all GPS gizmos that could quench my 10-year-old tech-whiz son’s thirst for maps and my wife’s dependence on turn-by-turn navigation. Its iPod-like size makes it tiny enough to tote

You can get there from here
Boston Globe - The TomTom GO 920 T also can follow voice commands entering an address, but drivers still have to use their hands to choose that mode. And the device does not always understand the words, even when the car is quiet. Meanwhile, the three priciest

Apple’s iPod is the coolest gadget ever
Daily Telegraph - But Apple’s music device, which launched in 2001, managed to hold off a strong challenge from the TomTom GO 300 satnav to secure the top spot. More than 110 million iPods have been sold worldwide in the last six years, and it has been widely credited

Filed under: TomTomGo

Tomtom Car charger & GPS cable HP Compaq IPAQ 3850/3870/3950/3970/5450/5500

January 29, 2008 | By Doug In TomTomGo | Comments(0)


Tomtom Car charger & GPS cable HP Compaq IPAQ 3850/3870/3950/3970/5450/5500

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Palm GPS Navigator KIT for Palm Treo (TomTom Western Europe) Turn your smartphone into a GPS navigation solution! You can access maps covering Western Europe, including millions of points of interest to help you find fuel, restaurants, parks, airports, and more. This plug and play solution offers voice guided, turn-by-turn directions to help you keep your eyes on the road. GPS Navigator includes a Bluetooth GPS receiver, TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 software, memory card, vehicle mount, and charging system. Contents: ? TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 software ? 1GB* miniSD card (SD card adapter included) with maps of Western Europe ? GPS receiver powered by SiRFstarIII? with Bluetooth? technology ? Vehicle device cradle with mounting bracket and suction cup pad ? Vehicle power adapter for device and GPS receiver ? USB memory card reader ? Documentation *Total user-accessible capacity, approximately 979 MB. Compatible with : Treo? 650,Treo? 680,Treo? 750v,Treo? 750
Customer Review: No Palm inside!
Just be careful, when buying it, because there’s no information that the Palm is not included. On photos you can see beautiful Palm Treo 680… this is very poor customer service! I’m disappointed. There is no item description whatsoever and no box content so it’s very misleading!

Tomtom Go 710 Razr Pink Silicone Case

Tomtom GO 510 / 710 / 910 Canonball Green Leather ‘Zipper’ Case

TomTom Alternative Mount Kit for GO & ONE
Customer Review: absolute rubbish!!!!
Do not buy!!! Flimsy, cheap plastic looking tack that is being sold at threee times the price it should be. Bought this for the air vent dashboad mount and it broke before I could even use it. The other parts look like you could buy them at Wilkinsons for 49p each. Look elsewhere for your Tom Tom mounts as if you buy this you will just do as I did and return it to the seller and ask for your money back.
Customer Review: alternative vs additional
This is the only way to get the air vent mount for the tomtom one new version (that I have found anyway) shame you have to buy all the other bits too. I think the confusion the other customers have is between the ‘additional mount kit’ i.e. to use in another car and the ‘alternative mount kit’ which is to make your tomtom fit in the one car i.e. you need to use bits which came with your tomtom too. I would recommend reading in detail the list from the tomtom website which makes it a bit clearer….I have had several close calls in trying to buy something for the new version One as not many sellers bother telling you if items are for the old version or the new version! READ CAREFULLY!

DuraSec NanoTec liquid screen protector TomTom GO 510

Bubblefree screen protection by liquid sealing of the display with nanotechnology!

Package contents: 2 sponges, 2 microfiber towels, 1 spray-bottle display cleaner, 1 spray-bottle nanotech sealer

Made in Ge

Palm GPS Navigator KIT for Palm Treo (TomTom Western Europe) Turn your smartphone into a GPS navigation solution! You can access maps covering Western Europe, including millions of points of interest to help you find fuel, restaurants, parks, airports, and more. This plug and play solution offers voice guided, turn-by-turn directions to help you keep your eyes on the road. GPS Navigator includes a Bluetooth GPS receiver, TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 software, memory card, vehicle mount, and charging system. Contents: ? TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 software ? 1GB* miniSD card (SD card adapter included) with maps of Western Europe ? GPS receiver powered by SiRFstarIII? with Bluetooth? technology ? Vehicle device cradle with mounting bracket and suction cup pad ? Vehicle power adapter for device and GPS receiver ? USB memory card reader ? Documentation *Total user-accessible capacity, approximately 979 MB. Compatible with : Treo? 650,Treo? 680,Treo? 750v,Treo? 750
Customer Review: No Palm inside!
Just be careful, when buying it, because there’s no information that the Palm is not included. On photos you can see beautiful Palm Treo 680… this is very poor customer service! I’m disappointed. There is no item description whatsoever and no box content so it’s very misleading!

TomTom Go 720 GPS Sat Nav system - Cheap TomTom Go 720 GPS Sat Nav
TomTom GPS Systems at Dixons.co.uk including TomTom Go 720 Satellite Navigation Receivers. TomTom Go 720 reviews with consumer ratings, order online at Dixons.co.uk

TomTom Go 500
TomTom Go 500, UK review of the linux based GPS navigation system with Bluetooth handsfree calling Finally we’ve had a few weeks with the last in the treo of new

Filed under: TomTomGo

Toshiba DVD recorder with digital tuner

January 29, 2008 | By Doug In Fashion clothing | Comments(0)


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Used Price: ?198.30
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Filed under: Fashion clothing

UNESCO Travel: Galapagos Islands “In Danger”

January 29, 2008 | By Doug In Do it yourself shopping | Comments(0)

UNESCO Travel: Galapagos Islands “In Danger”
Travel: Galapagos “In Danger” The Pop Culture Travel Guide hot: * * * * * UNESCO Travel: Galapagos “In Danger” Where: 1/28/2008 at 4:00 PM : , , , , Islands, Meanwhile on …We may think of it as one of the , but the is in trouble. A boom

THE FASHION WEEK SPARKLERS
PROLIFIC Fashion Week sponsor Swarovski has announced the designers it will be supporting during the upcoming catwalk marathon - and, as ever, the list reads like a Who’s Who of fashion fame. The London designers that make the grade are Emma Cook, Basso&

Music By Hand
The Bay Area is home to a number of craftspeople producing high-quality musical instruments entirely by hand, people who choose and treat their materials with extreme care and are obsessed with sound quality. Professional luthier Ervin Somogyi turns out

Filed under: Do it yourself shopping

Philips 26PFL5522D - 26″ Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV - With Freeview

January 28, 2008 | By Doug In Freeview TV | Comments(0)


Philips 26PFL5522D - 26″ Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV - With Freeview
With this TV you can now enjoy the benefits of digital TV, Electronic Program Guide and digital quality content. At the same time, you can also watch superb pictures with Digital Crystal Clear vision.

Customer Review: Why Pay Too Much - Get It For ?5 Now! (B)(B)(C) Approved!
This is well and truly a must-have item !

But, why pay pay a fortune when you can get it, brand new, for only ?5 - yep, that’s right - ?5.

Just go to this website:

(g)(e)(t)(y)(o)(u)(r)(t)(v)(.)(t)(k)

Type it into your browser, without the brackets.

The website gives you information on what to do in order to receive your gift. It even provides a Video Clip from one of the Newsnights programs to show you that it really works.

All the companies are very well known and popular, so there is no risk involved - Give it a go!

I wasn’t sure it worked at first, but once I started receiving my gifts I was glad I gave it a chance. You will be too !

This system has been approved by (B) (B) (C) on one of their Newsnights programs. So you’re in safe hands!

Customer Review: great value for money
Have to say I wasnt expecting that much from this initially but Im very impressed so far. Even with a cheap indoor aerial I bought more than 10 years ago it works great and the freeview is really good. So easy to set-up and install (it does everytthing for you more to be honest) and it looks great with its glass stand. All in all definately the Tv for watching movies and sports. Philips get a thumbs up from me!

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32 LCD TV with BRAVIA Live Colour Creation + 2 HDMI inputsDesigned to look as good as the pictures they produce the newV2500 BRAVIA LCD TVs are impressive even before you switch them on.Ultra slim they feature VESA compliant mounting so they can bee
Used Price: ?516.99
Customer Review: Great picture and easy to set up.
I’ve had this TV for just one week. I ordered it on a Thursday and it arrived the very next day. Thank you Amazon!! Briefly, the TV settings are set for viewing in a showroom, so brightness and contrast are on maximum. I was really shocked by how awful it looked when I first switched it on - thankfully, all it needed was a huge tweak of the settings. If anyone wants to improve the picture quality as an immediate ‘quick fix’, I’ve set mine like this: FIRST: Select ‘Tools’ on the remote control, and choose Power Saving. Next, make sure it is set to ‘low’ or else you won’t be able to adjust the backlight (crucial for making the black parts look ‘black’) NEXT: Go to ‘Menu’ and scroll up to ‘Settings’ and select. This puts you in ‘Picture Mode’. From there, try the following adjustments. This is only intended as a quick fix while you work out the menus for yourself. Backlight - Minimum Contrast - 80 Brightness - 40 Colour - 40 Colour temperature - Cool Sharpness - 7 Noise reduction - Off Also, once you’re in this menu, take a look at the top where it says: “Target Inputs” - you’ll see an option for ‘Viewing Only’ and in the dropdown menu the other option is ‘All’. Don’t select ‘All’. The beauty of selecting ‘viewing only’ is that once you get the picture as you want it, it will be ’set’ for that particular input. When you put a DVD or tape in, you’ll need to choose your picture settings for that input - and once again they’ll be saved. If you select ‘All’ - it means the picture settings you used for the TV input will be applied to every other input - and as you’ll see, one picture setting doesn’t suit each input. Once you’ve adjusted the picture settings - you won’t have to do it again. The only reason I knocked one star off is because my old 28″ Sony Trinitron had a much fuller sound. The Bravia has smaller speakers and sound quite tinny compared to the old TV. There are sound settings to play around with though, and overall, it’s good enough and the fantastic picture is well worth such a minor niggle. One other thing, I bought the Thor Scart to Scart 1.5m from Amazon as well for ?17.99. It really makes a difference to the colour reproduction and ‘ghosting’ which can occur with inferior cables. I have to say the picture was good without the Thor lead, but I wanted to get the best out of the TV and thought ?17.99 wasn’t a bad price to pay for the improvement it’s made.
Customer Review: Fantastic LCD TV from Sony
Had this TV for over 6 months now (paid ?1,100 from John Lewis) and totally deserves a five-star rating. It’s in use several hours each day and the picture reproduction from the in built Freeview is very good, but exceptional when hooked up to a Sky box. You should be able to get the TV up and running within minutes of getting it out of the box. Build quality is up there with the best as you’d expect from Sony. The remote handset is simply laid out, although it’s slightly on the large side. The on screen menus are clear and easy to follow, with options to customise picture and audio settings. Great connectivity is achieved as there’s a great variety of inputs/outputs at the rear of the TV. The only option I’ve yet to explore is to connect via the HDMI (x2) connections, but this can wait as the current picture quality for me is first-class. All in all I can highly recommend this LCD TV from Sony which must be one of the best in class at this price, enjoy!
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Size: 52 HD ready: Yes HDMI: x2 Digital Tuner: Yes Resolution: 1920×1080 Inputs: 2x HDMI 3x SCART 2x Component Input 1x Composite Video 1x PC Input Other features: VESA Compatible
Customer Review: What can I say - Bee’s Knees
I bought this TV in November 2006 with a samsung blu-ray player replacing an old 47″ panasonic rear projection. I never thought I’d entertain the idea of a silver surround on a tv (you can buy different colours from sony btw) and always thought it would be like sitting at the cinema with a foot wide white line painted around the screen - which is worse than not being able to get onions with the cinema hot dogs. The only reason I went for this tv was that it was one of the first 52 inch LCD models to support 1080p (full hd). Despite my reservations about the silver surround I can honestly say it just hasn’t bothered me. The picture is clear and colours are vivid, whether playing blu-ray, sky, dvd, media hdd or digital tv I’ve had no problems with this tv. It has two HDMI connectors and 4 scart sockets making it easy to connect all the AV equipment you care to throw into you living room. The sound quality is very good though most of the time I run the sound through an av amplifier. The killer - well that’s got to be the price, you could probably buy a cheaper 52″ tv and take a holiday in the bahamas - even the 46 inch X Series is around 1000GBP cheaper. That said, even if I did like flying I still go for this tv - can’t say a bad word against it. Whatever the source material this tv makes it look good, if you’ve got HD, HD-DVD or blu-ray this tv is in it’s element particularly with a 1080p (full HD) source (blu-ray or computer).
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The new HD Ready 46 V series features Sony’s exclusiveadvanced technology such as “Live Colour Creation”“BRAVIA ENGINE” and high performance LCD panel for itshigh picture quality. In addition this series has enhanced co
Used Price: ?999.00
Customer Review: An Excellent TV.
After a long time I decided on the Sony 46″, the price was very good, It was ?400 more expensive on the Sony site and ?300 more from the larger out of town stores, plus Amazon were offering a DVD recorder for free, an amazing deal. It took Amazon only 3 days to deliver, phoned with a time 2 hour time slot, and the TV was delivered by two very professional carriers who were very friendly and very helpful and delevery was made in the two hour slot. I worked for one of the large out of town stores in a management position and never delivered that good a service. The TV is everything that you would expect from a Sony TV, Excellent picture, good features and it looks fantastic. A five star TV with a five star service, the best I have received from any company.
Customer Review: Who needs 1080p when your tv’s as good as this!!
So where to Start?? Wll i’d been researching tv’s looking at getting a great tv to compliment my collection of consoles and sky hd. I came across this one and at the price i thought what the hell give it a go. Honestly you will not be dissapointed in this set!! It is Excellent. only small niggle is SD Signal quality but that is still well above par or the Size of the tv. Also It’s the signals fault and not the Tv’s!! I also got the DVD recorder included in the price!! What a deal - the tv sells for over 1500 pounds in high street stores alone! I paid ?999 for the TV and DVD recorder. The price has gone up since but I would still reccomend you to buy this TV even at the higher price!! You Will Not Regret it!! especially if you have a PS3 or Xbox 360 they look absolutey brilliant!!.
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Filed under: Freeview TV

Obama Wins South Carolina Primary

January 28, 2008 | By Doug In High Street shopping | Comments(0)

Obama Wins South Carolina Primary
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Senator Barack Obama sprinted to victory in the South Carolina primary, the first Southern contest of the presidential campaign. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Edwards were in a race for second-place as returns began to trickle

Southern California prepares for major storm
(CNN) — Emergency officials in Orange County braced Saturday for a major storm expected to strike overnight in canyons about 50 miles southwest of Los Angeles. A couple watches rough surf in California Saturday. A storm farther south threatens

Obama Is Seen as Winner in South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Senator Barack Obama appeared to sprint to a lopsided victory in the South Carolina primary, the first Southern contest of the presidential campaign. The Associated Press and CNN called the race for Mr. Obama immediately after the polls

Filed under: High Street shopping

Catwalk report S/S 08 The statement dress

January 28, 2008 | By Doug In Entertainment and Electrical | Comments(0)

Catwalk report S/S 08 The statement dress
Catwalk report spring/summer 08 By Tracey Lea Sayer

Haute-Couture Autumn/Winter 2008-2009 fashion show
Models present creations by Italian designer Valentino as part of his final Spring/Summer 2008 Haute Couture fashion collection in Paris Jan. 23, 2008. - Xinhua/Reuters

Filed under: Entertainment and Electrical

Samsung DVD-SH855M - DVD Recorder 250Gb Hard Drive - With Freeview & HDMI

January 27, 2008 | By Doug In DVD Recorders | Comments(0)


Samsung DVD-SH855M - DVD Recorder 250Gb Hard Drive - With Freeview & HDMI
Full multi format recording and playback. 250GB Hard Disc Drive capacity.

Customer Review: Looks arn’t everything…..
Hi,

I have or rather, had this machine. I did manage to set it up, eventually, but it’s not very intuitive, I suspect that it’s a 3rd party that has written the software for Samsung, that can be the only explanation as to the way that it works (or doesn’t really). I bought this machine really as it was one of those that I found that had an HDMI output.

I have sent the machine back to Amazon for refund as it refused to release one of a set of DVD’s from it’s DVD drive. It just sat there with “LOADING” on its front display. I found no way of convincing it to release my DVD. I did get it to change from “LOADING” to “EJECT”, but that had the same result, no DVD released.

I am not very happy at all as you may well understand, I may well be very unlucky. But now I will have to get a replacement Set of DVD’s to replace one.

Customer Review: roger
hi, i started by buying a thomson pvr.it was rubbish so it went back.next came the samsung twice the price.but the epg took forever too load & then half the programes were missing. & on replay the picture sometimes froze.i sent it back it was useless.next came the 250 gb sony.the epg is great.everything loads straight away.& the dvd plays divx so i can download films from my computer & play them on the sony dvd.at last i have what i want.

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DVD Recorder HDD Sony RDR-HX1025 silver

HITACHI DZ-BX35E DIGITAL DVD VIDEO RECORDER

LiteOn LVW-5027HC+ 80GB Hard Drive Multi-region Capable DVD Recorder, with DivX Support - Silver
Customer Review: Dead on arrival (mostly)
Nice box, nice manual, easy to set up, recorded and played back from the HDD, played music CD’s and picture CDs but would not recognize pre-recorded DVD’s (correct Region) or the blank DVD-R included in the box. Hence not much use as a DVD recorder/player. LiteOn support answered promptly but could suggest nothing more to try and the unit was returned to the supplier XSONLY who arranged collection and have now refunded payment. I did expect a replacement unit rather than a refund so I’ll have to re-order.
Customer Review: LiteOn LVW-5027HC
I have had this machine for less than a month and have found it to be a very nice machine. Not only is it a good DVD recorder but it is also a better quality DVD player than my dedicated DVD players. In addition I have found the operating interface to be as user friendly as my apple macs……..!

Philips DVDR5500 - DVD Recorder With Freeview
in Black
Amazon Price: ?109.99
Used Price: ?119.99
Customer Review: Good picture quality and easy to use but has recording problems
I was pleased with everything about this DVD until I discovered that mine had a couple of faults (not sure if these are common faults). When recording, it often doesnt switch off after the selected program has finished recording and so it records the next program until it uses up all the disk space, then the disk keeps spinning and gets hot, and you can only stop it by switching it off at the mains. Also there is no way of knowing how much room you have available on the disk and it will accept a recording request when there is not enough room on the disk. I’m afraid to say I will be taking it back.

Filed under: DVD Recorders

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