Reviews

Toshiba DR570 DVD Recorder with Built in Tuner

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:57:29 -0400

I purchased the Toshiba DR570 DVD Recorder to replace by VHS. What a difference. I record on it daily because I hate watching tv with all the commercials, and I can watch the shows when I want. It is like watching a live broadcast with the bonus of fast forwarding through the commercials. At times, I have taken the disks out of the Toshiba and play them in a DVD player that is several years old. No Problems. I did set up the Toshiba to do automatic finalization of the disk when I finish recording after reading the review that some people have problems with playing back in older DVD players.

I do record on Memorex 4x DVD+RW. It says I can record on them 1,000 times. So far, no problems with re-recording on the same disk. I do have to remember to Format each time I want to tape over something - which you need to get use to after having only VHS. The Toshiba does tell you how much record time you have left. So if you have a problem when you record, I have found it is usually the “operator” or “me” setting the times.

Built In ATSC, QAM, NTSC Tuner
Playback: MP3, VCD, JPEG, Kodak Pic
DV Input ; 1080P Upconversion
Records -R/-RW, +R/+RW Formats

Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Disc Player

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:56:31 -0400

The Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray Disc Player combines high quality images with enhanced networking functions. Continuing its commitment to producing products that stress ease of use, the 2009 line of Blu-ray Disc players continue to incorporate VIERA Link, allowing the consumer to operate their audio/video components, via HDMI, with one remote. And, in keeping with Panasonic’s pledge to reduce the planet’s carbon footprint, the new Blu-ray players have been designed to reduce power consumption.

Panasonic’s Blu-ray players further utilize 16-level motion detection to categorize the image motion of each pixel into one of 16 levels; diagonal processing to detect diagonals and correct the pixels accordingly; 1080p up-conversion to up-convert content recorded in the 480i/p or 720p format to 1080p. The Blu-ray players also provide 1080/24p output, thereby reproducing cinema images from a Blu-ray Disc and DVD in their original 24p form with no need for conversion. This allows the user to enjoy cinema images in the same format used in cinema with a 1080/24p compatible TV.

The DMP-BD60 employs the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus. Developed in collaboration with Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory, this high image processing technology reproduces clear, vivid colors that are faithful to the original film. Recognizing that audio is important to the overall entertainment experience, this Blu-ray Disc player features a high definition audio decoder (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio Essential) to take advantage of the exceptionally high quality 7.1 channel surround sound now integrated in Blu-ray Discs.
The DMP-BD60 includes an SD Memory card slot and USB slot, making it easy for the consumer to view and share both digital still images and HD video recorded with an HD camcorder in the AVCHD format.

In order to produce the ultimate picture quality, the Panasonic’s DMP-BD60 Blu-ray players employs high precision 4:4:4 signal technology, which working in tandem with PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus processes each pixel of the Blu-ray Disc video signal in the horizontal direction, to compliment vertical direction processing. P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing for HD) is another technology that contributes to the superior picture quality of the Blu-ray players. P4HD processes more than 15 billion pixels per second and applies the optimal processing to every pixel.

Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:57:23 -0400

Reports on the picture quality of the Zinwell ZAT-970A have shown that it is in the “2nd tier”. This means that its picture quality is a step below that of the absolute top converter boxes but is still very good. Its picture quality is a significant upgrade from that of analog television.The sound quality of this converter box is just as good as the top boxes. When using this digital TV converter box you get crystal clear sound. This converter box sells for $50-$55 which is a very good buy. We highly recommend this converter box to everyone.

This converter box comes with an on screen program guide that provides show times and descriptions. Zinwell ZAT-970A Digital to Analog TV Converter Box also comes with scan for all channel tuning and adjustable closed captioning. The key feature on this digital TV converter box is that it does come with analog pass-through. This means that you will still be able to pick up lower power analog television stations. If you are experiencing any receptions problems with this or other converter boxes your best bet would be to get an antenna.

This DTV converter box is one of the best all around converter boxes on the market. It has a bunch of excellent features and sells at a great price. This box is one we highly recommend to all.

Zinwell ZAT-970A Features & Specs:

English, French, and Spanish Language Support

8 Event Timer

Analog Pass-ThroughConfigurable Closed Captioning

Electronic Program Guide