Belkin PureAV AV20601-06 6-Foot Mini-Stereo Audio Cable Review

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(More customer reviews)Got this cable based on a recommendation from a friend. This cable has better shielding and is flexible for routing to sub/psu/amp. I am and will continue to be impressed with Belkin PureAV products. Gold pin is also a plus. If you are looking to do some wire management, want a reliable cable, and have some good speakers on the other end, this is your cable.

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The 6-foot PureAV Mini Stereo Audio Cable from Belkin connects portable CD and digital audio players with the mini-stereo jacks on sound cards, portable multimedia speakers, and home stereos. Its superior design ensures maximum signal transfer and reduces interference for a more natural and accurate sound.

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Dynex DX-AV002 - Video / audio cable - HDMI - 19 pin HDMI (M) - 19 pin HDMI (M) - 6 ft Review

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(More customer reviews)These cables worked perfectly. I experienced the picture and sound I expected from these cables. I suppose, based on some other reviews, that the cables could go bad in the future, my feeling is that the price is still justified, compared to paying 10x more than I should have. 1080p and 5.1 surround are flawless.
HDMI is a digital standard, therefore, the old rules of analog cable quality do not apply. Simply put, if a cable works, it is good. Digital signals have a minimum quality, that once met, offer no additional benefits. It is not true that you can get more resolution out of one HDMI cable over another, anymore than you can get more bandwidth out of one Cat-5 Ethernet cable over another.
Monster Cables have always been overrated, and unnecessary, and now that we use digital signals between our devices, Monster Cables are ludicrously over-priced. Ever wonder why Monster Cable doesn't make computer cables? That is because IT people know there would be no point to an over-priced USB or network cable-it either works or it doesn't.
HDMI cables are just computer cables. Stop paying $70 for a 6 foot cable by Monster. Stop it! Buy something worthwhile-like dinner for your significant other, or some nice bottles of wine.
About Longevity:
I don't think these cables should be smashed into tight places-if your equipment is too close to the wall and you cables are bent right at the connector, you need to use cables with right-angle connectors. But, really you need to re-think you equipment placement, because if you Blu-Ray player is so crowded in that the HDMI cables are bent at the connector, it will also overheat and begin to function erratically.
If you place your equipment with enough "breathing room" around it, and these cables aren't smashed up against a wall or cabinet back right at the connector, they should last a long time.

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Denon AVR5308CI Home Theater Receiver NEWEST VERSION Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a Home Theater enthusiast and have owned this wonderful receiver from Denon for almost three years now. It is feature packed and is the centerpiece of our stunning home theater. You can view an online video on Youtube, entitled The Silver Screen. You may be asking why I am writing a review for a receiver that has been on the market for over three years. Well, In my title of this review i stated that this receiver is future proof, it truly is. Denon will be offering an update/upgrade for this receiver in October 2011. The upgrade will include a combination firmware and hardware upgrade that will be performed at authorized Denon service centers. The upgrade will include a hardware upgrade to the unit and will enable 3D capability. They are also upgrading the Audyssey Multi XT to Audyssey Multi XT32 including Audyssey Pro, which is the latest and greatest room correction software from Audyssey Laboratories. Also included in this upgrade will be Dolby PLZll and Audyssey DSX. So, with the forthcoming upgrade/update in October, the Denon AVR 5308CIA Receiver will be state of the art once again. Denon is supporting customers that purchased their flagship receiver and Pre/Pro by providing this upgrade. That to me, is future proof. You can read about the upcoming upgrade on Denon's website.
I have owned a slew of AV receivers over the last two and a half decades and didn't really get enthused until the newest generation of high definition receivers hit the market. By newest, I mean 1080P video and Lossless audio tracks encoded on Blu Ray Disc. A virtual quantum leap in cinema home entertainment that I had been waiting for for about 25 years. Home theater has always been fun. It started for us in 1985 when we bought our first high end television and hifi VCR. The TV was a Sony 25 inch XBR. This was the Holy Grail of televisions and we picked up a Hifi Stereo VCR from JVC. The first feature we watched on that set up was Pink Floyd's amazing feature film, The Wall. What a feast for the eyes and ears. I wish they would hurry up and release it on Blu Ray already. Around 1989 the first generation of surround sound receivers hit the market and I had to have one. Early surround sound was not that great. I mean there was no center channel and you only got two discreet surround channels but, it was progress. A couple of years later Dolby introduced Pro Logic surround with a dedicated voice center channel. Laserdisc was introduced by Pioneer. These rather large 12 inch silver discs never quite caught on.
It started getting expensive to keep up with the pace of advancements in Home Theater technology. Mid nineties, Dolby Surround and DTS surround along with the introduction of DVD, put home theater on the map for mainstream American consumers. The biggest advancement here was full frequency surround channels. DVD meant no more rewinding tapes and the picture was digital and much smoother. At this time period circa 1997, I didn't have a home theater set up and had become a high end addict. Two channels, separate pre amp and amp, tubes and a snobby vinyl enthusiast was I. Decided to delve into home theater again and placed a call to my dealer and ordered separates from Parasound, Marantz and Snell. Had fun with this for a few months and then lost interest again. It wasn't until flat screen displays and Blu Ray Disc hit the market in 2007 that I got the home theater itch again.
My 5308 arrived from Fedex in April of 2008 and Wow! What a beautiful looking receiver and built like a tank. I really appreciated the way they laid out the speaker lugs on either side in a vertical arrangement. No struggle at all to hook up 7 channels of speaker wire. These are very high quality lugs as well. Denon really had a thoughtful and well designed piece of solid audio gear here and I am not easily impressed. 6 HDMI inputs and 2 outputs. Ehernet hook up for firmware upgrade and networking features. You can connect to your home network and listen to saved music stored in your network, view videos and even listen to internet radio. There are two USB inputs for flash drives. A slew of legacy inputs that could probably accommodate every ancillary AV component I have ever owned. The remote was another story, kind of hard to setup with the GUI but, eventually after a few months navigating the remote and GUI it has become an effortless task and I can operate the remote with my eyes closed. A lot of owners really hate this remote and Denon could have done better. Many owners have opted for Universal remotes, the most popular being from Logitechs amazing line of programmable remotes.
Much has been written about the wonderful HQV Realta video processor built into the 5308. Denon has a stand alone version of this processor that the sells for 2k. The Realta will scale all video sources to 1080P. It's a wonderful processor that has received raves in the AV press. Another thoughtful inclusion is a great sounding MM phono stage for vinyl junkies and I happen to be one. Add to that, HD radio, Sirius/XM input, Ipod input, and on and on and on. Honestly, the 5308 has more features packed into it than any other receiver currently on the market.
My original set up with the 5308 consisted of Gallo Nucleus Reference Front, Left and Center speakers. The surrounds were a pair of dipole surrounds from our friends up in Canada, Totem Lynks. Totem is a high end speaker company with a line of very highly regarded speakers. For LFE I added a Sunfire True Signature sub woofer with a whopping 2700 watt built in amplifier. The Sunfire literally shook the foundation of our house. Cabling is a combination of HDMI and speaker cable from Monoprice. Monoprice offers a slew of AV wire and devices and really nifty networking components and rock bottom prices. The best value and selection of HDMI cable and as far as I'm concerned they have the competition beat. My sub woofer cable is from another specialty cable maker called Blue Jeans cable. The best sounding sub woofer cable I have heard and is value priced. Blu Ray playback is from the Denon DVD2500 BTCI Blu Ray Transport. They don't make this player any more but, you can find them slightly used and at a great discount from Audiogon and a few other online sellers. I've seen this piece as low as $250 on Audiogon. I paid a whopping $1000. for mine. It had just been released and was very hard to find one. I bought one from a local retailer at full price. No regrets and I still use it today. The 2500 is a disc transport only and the video and audio processing the raw bitstream signal is sent to the receiver and all processing tasks are performed by the 5308. I've got a Directv HR21 DVR and a Roku internet streaming box for streaming Netflix videos and a few other internet providers such as Vimeo and Amazon to name just a couple. There are many different streaming devices available in the market place. The Roku is very popular and their flagship HD XR can be had for $100, which is a great value. My Turntable is a Linn Basik with a Linn Akito tonearm and a pretty nice sounding Linn MM cartridge and stylus. Display is a Sony KDL52XBR4 52 inch flat panel 1080P.
After connecting the speaker system I peformed the Audessey Multi XT automated room correction with the supplied microphone. I suggest using a camera tripod for this operation. You can get an inexpensive one at camera retailers or a big box store like Best Buy. The Audessey Multi XT Allows for calibration of up to 8 seating positions, you must do a minimum of 3. I recommend doing all 8 as you will have a better sounding result. The room must be silent for this set up or the calibration will fail to have an optimum result. Make sure that there is nothing blocking the path from your speakers to the microphone as this will skew the result. Make sure the microphone as at the exact height to where the seated persons ear would be. Once you complete the calibration you can store and save the information.
Finally on to the review. Turn everything on and lets check out the video. Directv HR21 TBS broadcast of Law and Order. Scaling a 1080i signal and converting it to 1080P, In a word, WOW!. The XBR4 is an amazing display on it's own. With the Realta processor set to full function and this displays already amazing picture quality is even more refined, with deeper blacks and a much smoother picture with an incredible amount of depth. It was as if the performers on the set were in the room with me. Motion is smooth but, not artificial looking, the picture had a stunning film like quality. Blu Ray disc playback is where the 5308 really shines. Picture quality is absolutely beautiful. Lossless audio tracks from Dolby True Hd and DTS HD Master Audio are breathtaking. Twenty five years and finally digital audio is on a par with the finest of analog sound that in my opinion has never before been attainable. I could finally listen to digital playback and get the naturalness that until now, I could only attain from vinyl playback through very expensive tube audio gear. The sound was enveloping, transparent and open. Orchestral music soundtracks were full bodied with front to back depth. I could pick out instruments that had their own space within the sound scape. Events occurring on the screen correlated perfectly and the speakers worked magically in a coherent manner creating an auditory illusion that events on the screen were actually occurring within the boundaries of the theater. My favorite film to perform demos is Master And Commander Far Side of the World. Those cannon shots literally knock people of my couch, they sound so darn real. The result of this is that you the viewer feel as though you are right there and the events that are occurring are really happening in the theater. Finally, I can enjoy at home, what until now, was only possible at the best movie houses.
I have about 15...Read more›

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Reference, Next generationA/V Multi Source/Zone, Network Streaming Receiver. THX Ultra Certified this all new receiver from Denon is the top of the line in terms of best of class technology.Setting the reference standard for sound and video quality, the AVR-5308CI is packed with all of the latest technologies for the ultimate home theater experience. Featuring THX Ultra2 certification, the AVR-5308CI features Denon's legendary D.D.S.C.-HD surround sound decoding, employing no less than 3 high speed DSP processors, along with precision Burr-Brown DACs in differential mode on all output channels (12). Able to decode the latest high definition audio formats, such as Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio via the latest HDMI v1.3a specification. Video sources, regardless of resolution or format, are upconverted to high definition via the top-performing Realta HQV video processor, all the way up to 1080p. The versatile multi-zone functions include independent high definition and standard definition outputs. A host of digital media connectivity features includes network audio and photo streaming, via Ethernet and built-in Wi-Fi, along with internet radio stations, built-in HD radio, and XM satellite-ready capability.

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Sony Digital Media Port Cradle for iPod (Black, TDM-iP50) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love this little gadget! I was buying the Sony Sound Bar for my Sonia Bravia TV and happened to see this accessory so I ordered it. I have an I-pod Touch (1st Gen) and got this particular one because it said you could watch your videos on the tv. Well this arrived yesterday (my sound bar is supposed to arrive today) and I hooked it directly to my tv and it worked perfectly! It took about 2 seconds and all I had to do was change the input on my tv to the Digital Media Port and it was good to go. I have a few videos that I purchased from I-Tunes that I had never seen any bigger than the screen of my I-pod but they were perfect on the 46" screen. I can't wait to hook up the sound bar tonight and see how my videos look and sound then!

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Boss BV9560B 7-Inch DVD/MP3/CD Widescreen Bluetooth Receiver with USB and SD Card Review

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(More customer reviews)Great deal from Amazon. (270 USD) with Amazon prime shipping. A lot cheaper compared with the other expensive ones in this tough economy.
Pros:
-----
This one is a new version, March 2009 release.
1. In-Built Bluetooth works fine and plays music directly from Iphone without having to connect any wires to it. No hissing nor static noise in the back ground. Audio from Bluetooth is crystal clear.
2. Rear view camera(bought a 40 USD camera from Amazon and hooked it up by myself), DVD player, FM(16 presets), all works as advertised.
3. Cheaper (270 USD) when compared to Pioneer AVH-P3100DVD with Blue tooth which comes to atleast 420 USD.(with the steering wheel interface)
4. I got Pioneer AVH-P3100DVD (just for comparison) and this unit and tried both of them in my Honda Pilot to check how it works and did not see any difference in quality.
5. Bought a soldering Iron(15 USD) and soldered all the wires by myself. (saved 60 USD in installation charges).Instruction manual provided is more than sufficient to do it.
6. Prompt customer support via email when you register in their website.
I hope the quality of this product lasts for a long time.
Minor tweaks
------------
1. Connected the Dimmer to the parking brake to make the DVD play in the front panel as well.
2. Had to connect the rear view camera trigger wire to the back up light system.
3. Need to connect the rear view camera video output to the CAM input.
Cons:
-----
1. 4 star rating because it does not have a steering wheel control Interface but to compensate for it they provide a wireless remote control.
2. Does not support SDHC or USB memory stick more than 2 GB.

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The double-DIN BV9560B from Boss Audio Systems is an affordable way to add DVD entertainment to your vehicle. Enjoy playback of DVDs, CDs, SVCDs, and VCDs. Includes both a USB port and SD/MMC card slot for quick enjoyment of digital media (MP3/WMA/MP4) as well, along with an AM/FM radio with 30 presets. A side panel auxiliary input and rear A/V input let you connect external multimedia devices, and you can expand your system with front and rear preamp outputs and a rear-view camera input. Last, but certainly not least, the BV9560B is Bluetooth-equipped, so you can make hands-free calls with your compatible cell phone.

Built-in Bluetooth Make and receive hands-free calls thanks to the BV9560B's Bluetooth technology. If your phone features voice dialing, you can use a connected microphone to access that feature as well.

7-Inch Touchscreen The BV9560B features a 7-inch, color TFT touchscreen. Your widescreen video will look great thanks to the 1440 x 324 pixel resolution and high brightness.

DVDs and More Enjoy playback of your favorite DVDs, CDs, SVCDs, and VCDs in the slot-loading DVD player.

You can also play MP3/WMA audio or MP4 video from a disc, or directly from a USB or SD card.

Dial in your sound with the treble, bass, balance, and fade controls.

AM/FM Radio Listen to your favorite radio programming with the AM/FM Radio with PLL synthesized tuner.

Instantly access your favorite stations with 30 presets.

Plenty of Connectivity Use the auxiliary input to connect external audio devices, such as iPods and MP3 players, or use the rear A/V input for external video components (game systems, etc.).
The SD/MMC card slot and USB port let you play back your MP3/WMA or MPEG4 files if you don't feel like burning a disc, so you can quickly switch out your favorite tunes on the fly.

Room to Grow The BV9560B delivers 85 x 4 watts, enough to get things shaking--but if you want more, you can always expand your system thanks to dual (front and rear) RCA preamp outputs.

You can also add a rear-view camera for added safety and convenience.

Wireless Remote Included Control the action with a handy remote.

What's in the Box Boss BV9560B Receiver, remote control, USB cable, installation hardware, user's manual, and warranty card.

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Pioneer SC-37 7.1-Channel 3D Ready A/V Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)The Elite series from Pioneer has developed a reputation for providing high quality at an affordable price. This is the third Elite receiver I have owned, and it definitely lives up to what it should be. Don't worry, I got the second one to move from 5.1 to 7.1, and I just got this one because the second one got zapped in an electrical storm. (I now have an APC J15 UPS protecting my equipment.)
The SC-37 has all the power you could want in any normal sized environment, and it provides crystal clear sound all the way up to its limit. Of course, I don't listen to anything that loud, which only means that it has plenty of power and headroom for any of my movies and audio.
Right out of the box, it sounded very nice - a bit on the bright side, though. Running the fully automatic MCACC made a very noticeable difference - not quite huge, but almost. Suddenly, the sound was full and rich, without any bright spots, and the spaciality was excellent. It was fun to listen to classical music and close my eyes and be able to pick out where each instrument in the orchestra was positioned. Someday I may go in and make manual adjustments to the setup, but for now I don't feel that I need to; the MCACC did a great job on its own.
Hooking up the receiver could not have been easier. With today's equipment, one HDMI cable provides both digital video and audio to the component. Digital (both coax and optical) and analog audio connections are provided, as are composite and component video connections, but no S-Video. I don't have any HDMI 1.4 components, so I can't report on the return feature it provides.
In addition to the normal (for these days) 7.1 connections (your subwoofer must be powered, as the SC-37 does not provide a subwoofer amplifier), the receiver also provides another pair of speaker outputs that can be used either as front high or front wide auxiliary speakers. (Alternatively, they can be configured as a B stereo pair.) I bought another set of satellite speakers and set them up in the front high configuration (about 4 ft above the front left and right speakers) and it really does make a noticeable difference in the sound. It adds another dimension, helps the spaciality and tends to fill in otherwise empty spots in the spacial field. One caution, though: nine sets of speaker wires is a lot of wires!
The SC-37 has a lot of features, many of which I don't believe I'll ever use, but I will eventually connect it to the Internet and my PC and will someday plug in a USB stick to listen to recordings. For now, though, I've been having fun playing with the various advanced surround effects and was surprised at how nice the Classical effect is. When you switch it on, suddently you are in a concert hall, with just the right amount of ambience and reverb to make it come alive.
This top-of-the-line receiver is not cheap, but compared to other receivers in its class, it is a real bargain. Once again, Pioneer has done right by me, and I'm very happy with this purchase.

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Yamaha RX-V365BL 500 Watt 5-Channel Home Theater Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)I generally like Yamaha products but this receiver has one huge flaw. The HDMI outs do not support audio sound. I ran separate optical audio outputs from cable box and CD player. The one HDMI out on the reciever only worked with DVD not Cable box or DTV inputs. So don't plan on running a separate TV from the HDMI out on the reciever. The sound quality is good and the functions are easy to learn with the exception of the scene feature. Really not that well explained. I like the reciever and was able to work around the HDMI issue but think that this is a huge oversight on Yamaha's part. I hope this review is helpful.

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Yamaha RX-V365BL 500 Watt 5-Channel Home Theater Receiver

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Thermaltake Mobile Fan II External USB Cooling Fan - Us Review

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(More customer reviews)I house my PC inside a 15" wide base cabinet below the workspace in my basement-level office. I have to keep the cabinet door closed (locked actually) to keep the children from turning the unit off and on. Unfortunately, the inside of the cabinet gets pretty hot from the PC due to the lack of circulation. I needed an inexpensive, convenient, and safe way to keep the cabinet cool. I purchased the Thermaltake Desktop USB Cooling Fan, cut a 3.5" square opening on the side of the cabinet, and installed the fan facing out of the openning to draw the warm air out. This solution worked perfectly! I can adjust the Thermaltake fan speed up if I'm running CPU intensive applications - like games or watching a DVD - to draw more air. The fan is very quite - unnoticable really, and the fan grill keeps little fingers from touching the fan blade. I would highly recommend this product.

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Application for Notebook & Desktop. hermaltake?convenient solution with extremely obile?concept inside. Perfect accessory for NB & PC. Directly plug into USB port. Unnecessary additional power supply. VR knob : Adjust fan speed manually. One-touch retractable USB power cable box. Slim USB power cable, only 0.6 mm in depth. With t?badge fan grille to avoid touching accidentally.

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Denon AVR1610 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver with 1080p HDMI Connectivity Review

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(More customer reviews)Based on a sub-$400 budget, I focused on this and the Yamaha 465. In researching it, a toss-up really emerged and the decision was made in talking to a very knowledgeable guy at Crutchfield. Having set it up last night and having played with it the better part of today, I am very content with my purchase. I fired up some Blu Ray's with both PCM and DTS-MA/ True HD and was very pleased with the upgrade over standard DD/DTS. The soundstage was just bigger. The opening scene from my kids favorite movie, Cars, was no longer weak. The opening race scene was clear and appropriately loud. The bump on my stars comes from the fact that the manual is awful. I gave up on it early on and went with the trial and error approach with the on-screen menu, which is more than adequate, but you need to have a basic tech sense in order to take that route. On another set-up note, the microphone setup is well done and made a big difference in the sound generated from my SS speakers, before versus after.

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The Denon AVR-1610 5.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver - Performance, technology and affordability are the hallmarks of the AVR-1610. A powerful 5 channel x 75W amplifier section delivers detail and dynamics to music and movie soundtracks. It's equipped with 1080p compatible HDMI 1.3a Repeating technology, delivering both audio and video to your HDTV with single HDMI cable. This HDMI connectivity supports the latest generation surround sound formats available on Blu-ray disc, including Dolby TrueHD and DD+, dts-HD and dts-HR. Also included is Dolby Laboratories new Pro Logic IIz Matrix decoding featuring front height effects channels that expands front soundstage. The AVR1610 boast a number of Audyssey technologies. Advanced Audyssey MultEQ analyzes a speaker systems interaction with room acoustics, and then delivers custom tailored correction processing to optimize clarity and tonal balance throughout the listening space. Audyssey Dynamic Volume is an automatic volume-leveling system that tracks audio dynamics to eliminate the irritating volume swings between TV shows and commercials. Audyssey Dynamic EQ is also on board to ensure rich bass and smooth tonal balance at low volume listening levels. In addition to enhanced HDMI 1.3 repeating (3 in, 1 out), the AVR1610 features component video switching (2 in, 1 out), analog to HDMI conversion (480i to 480p) and seven analog inputs. A front-panel audio/video input allows quick and easy connection of camcorders and game systems. System setup is simplified by a new, enhanced icon-based on-screen display that is delivered over HDMI. System expansion is available with optional accessories. For media networking, use the optional ASD-3N and ASD-3W. For iPod connectivity, use the ASD-3N/3W, as well as the ASD-11. When connecting iPod and other MP3 players, the AVR-1610 features Denon's exclusive Compressed Audio Restorer to improve sound quality and dynamics.

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Videosecu PC to TV Converter VGA to RCA S-Video Mac Computer Laptop to Composite Video Switcher VGA2TV 1L7 Review

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(More customer reviews)~ INTRODUCTION ~
I got this product to be able to watch video from my computer on my tv. After a bunch of research, this product seemed to get the best reviews, esp for the price, and overall I agree. Once I finally put it together and tried to use it, I found a few nuisances that you should be aware of, especially if you are a NTSC (e.g., U.S.A. users).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ PRODUCT DETAILS ~
First off, just to be clear, the item that shipped is a Manhattan PC TV Converter Model #150095 (UPC 766623150095)
The product is shipped decently packaged but there's nothing in there that can't handle a little rough and tumble anyway. It includes:
- the converter, which is just slightly larger than a cigarette pack
- 1 yellow video rca cable
- 1 usb power cord
- 1 vga cord
- 1 instruction manual, which is alright. It's not 100% clear on everything but the essentials are there.
- Note: there is NO S-video cable provided.
On one of the short end of the converter, there is a VGA-in port.
On the other short end, there is the plug for the USB power cable plus a pair of jumper switches labeled 1 & 2.
On one long end, there are all the output ports. You have one each of video out, s-video out, and VGA-out.
On the opposite long end, there are buttons to adjust settings for the converter. There are buttons for "LEFT", "RIGHT", "DOWN", "UP", "MENU", and "ZOOM".
------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ SETUP NOTES ~
I recommend that the first thing to do is to check that the jumpers are set for your needs (noted very simply in the instruction manual). If you are an NTSC (e.g., U.S.A.) user, be sure that both jumpers 1 & 2 are both down.
Next, plugging in the wires is pretty straightforward. The long side contains all the output ports and the single vga end is the input. I don't think it matters but I plugged in the black vga head to the converter and the blue end to the computer.
Once it's all in, turn on your components and check that it works. It didn't take me long to get up and running but be sure that the jumpers are set properly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ IMAGE QUALITY ~
The image quality isn't too bad but it seems that it might depend partly on your computer and the TV.
Please note that it is UN-LIKELY that you will be able to do things like edit documents or surf the web unless you drop the resolution from your computer quite a bit. At 1024x768 (the setting I have on my computer), the image projected onto the TV is too unclear with the text way too small for you to be able to do any kind of reading. If you really want to use your TV for reading such find details, then it's more likely you'll need to buy a TV that can take regular VGA signals without conversion.
You can play around with image quality with the on-screen preferences but it doesn't seem to improve the quality too much. The menu that comes up provides options to adjust horizontal/vertical size, brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, sharpness, and onscreen display background. In reality playing with these won't affect image quality clarity too much and it's difficult to know where along a 0% - 100% scale that you are adjusting a setting since there is no bar to indicate that for each of the settings. For example, I can't tell whether I've hit 30% or 80% saturation. I just have to guess where along that scale I am at.
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Reminder of the most important point...
!!!! For NTSC (U.S.A. users), be sure that the jumpers 1 & 2 are both down. My converter came set by the factory with both jumpers up, which won't work on US TV's. !!!!
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Recommendation: This product works for my goal of watching videos/movies on my TV. Just be sure to check your setup before thinking it won't work. I got a few scrambled screens before I finally got the thing to show up properly but since then, the product works like a charm. Don't expect perfect image quality. I'd estimate the quality compared to my computer monitor is probably around 75%. The conversion from regular VGA to a TV is not an easy or perfect conversion. Nonetheless, if you just want something that simply works, this will do and as such I can recommend this product.
Price paid: ~$45 + shipping

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OmniMount TRIAP Adjustable 3 Shelf Wall System w/ Cable Management Review

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(More customer reviews)I was initially excited about this product. It seemed to be the best 3 shelf wall mount system; it's not. Though I've not found an alternative yet, I'm looking. The reason behind my disappointment is that the shelves are unrealistically shallow. One needs to consider that the depth of each shelf is shortened when one considered the cables that have to come out of the back of the receiver. For example, an HDMI cable is a high end thick cableand it needs about 1.5" of rear room to be plugged in and bent down or toward it's souce. If you use good speaker cables like Monster, the same holds true, so one looses shelf depth because the distance that the cables use coming out of the back of a receiver wasn't properly accounted for. Perhaps for a home theater in a box it would work fine, but for anyone who has a regular receiver, forget it! Even my DVD player barely fit on it! With home theaters evolving quickly, the consumer needs a true multi shelf wall mount system that accomodates a regular receiver, DVD player & cable/SAT box, as well as a center channel shelf. Well, that and a couple of bucks will get you on the New York subway...

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LG AN-WL100W Wireless Media Kit Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased the LG 60pk750 a few weeks ago and love it. I have it wall mounted in a location which is VERY difficult to run wires to. Until now, I have had it temporarily hardwired to my DVR with exposed cable until I found a better way. Enter the "LG AN-WL100W Wireless Media Kit". I was skeptical about wireless HD, but decided to give it a try after reading the small amount of online reviews. Really not much info available about this product, but did find useful info at Crutchfield and home theater magazine. I hope that this review informs people about this product better.
Functionality:
Before I mounted my TV back on the wall, I decided to test the results through the AN-WL100W (smart, huh). I was actually very surprised... the picture was really good. I watched Discovery HD for a while, flipping between hardwired and wireless and saw NO difference. At times I thought I saw picture degradation, but I would flip back to the hardwired and realized that the source was the problem (broadcast HD is hit or miss). Don't have my Bluray yet, so this is the best reference I had. Sound was never a problem, though I was just using the TVs tiny speakers- I can say that it sounded just like the hardwired. For this test, the head unit was about 4 feet away, directly behind the TV, behind a wall in my garage(drywall-studs-plywood-drywall).
Later, I mounted my TV with the wireless dongle connected and in place, and put the headunit where I planned to keep it, in a AV closet approximately 10 feet from the center of the TV, to the right front of the TV. This time I could not get sufficient signal strength to get picture. I could not believe it! The total distance from the headunit to the dongle was about 12 feet- line-of-sight obstacles were a regular interior wall (drywall,studs,drywall), and the TV itself (since the dongle is mounted on the back). The screen would show that it saw the headunit and was tryng to establish picture, but signal strength was too low.
Form:
The product itself is really nice looking- no question. However, I have a huge issue with the dongle size and installation. The dongle is TOO BIG. The AN-WL100W was custom designed for these LG TVs, yet they still managed to allow the dongle to be the tallest protrusion on the back of the set! WTH?!? This is a problem if you are wall-mounting (why else would you buy this product if you were using a stand on a cabinet?). Similarly, the HDMI and control cables which plug into the back of the TV are not designed with 90 angles, so they get all bent and crimped up against the wall too. With so much design going into the electronics of the AN-WL100W, it simply blows my mind that they didn't make wall-mounting a slam-dunk by making the dongle just a bit thinner and supplying cables with 90 bends!
Summary:
I was hoping that going wireless (and paying $300) would simplify my location situation. I also liked the fact that it had nice IR repeaters and integrated switching controlled by the TV. The signal quality was good at very short ranges, but was useless at about 12 feet with a reasonable obstruction. I don't know how practical this is, because I think most people shelling out $300 for this are buying it because they might have an obstruction or distance situation. I would have kept fiddling with it if it hadn't been for the wall-mounting issues mentioned earlier. This sealed the deal for me to return it.


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Let LG's Wireless Media Kit set your TV free from connection clutter! The kit sends a full HD 1080p signal to a compatible LG TV from across the room.

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Cambridge - 340R - 5.1 HDMI AV Receiver - Silver Review

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(More customer reviews)I was expecting this to compare to my 10 year old NAD T-751 av receiver as they are both respectable british hifi brands built in China, but I played this receiver for weeks with the same source and speakers I used with the NAD, and the Cambridge 340R just puts out sterile, severely limited sound. This sounded no better than any random surround receiver from a big box store.
It was so weak that I wonder if I got a bad one, but really, who cares? I returned it for a refund.
It also features a nice aluminum face, good simple controls, and the tiniest, cheapest, most pathetic remote control I have ever seen.

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Samsung HW-C560S Home Theater System Review

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(More customer reviews)This receiver comes with a 6 Speakers-set (as shown); and, the sound is remarkably good. Only thing, I don't like, is that I seem to have erroneously believed the rear speakers were wireless, but so far, I have been unable to figure out how; and, folks at Samsung USA, were of no help, because they are not even aware that this Samsung theater set, is even out yet (their site, says: "It's Coming")--- seems, that Amazon.com, is among the first to have received this new Samsung product line, so far. My satellite TV engineer that installs and configures my samsung and other such products ---- is very pleased with the simplicity of this speaker system and how well it integrates with my other Samsung products via HDMI and even component hook-up. Very low cost, but excellent receiver and speakers system to use with the more modern Samsung Plasma / LCD Wide Screen HDTVs and Samsung (Samsung, for benefits of the HDMI CEC feature) or other modern components with HDMI connections. For Samsung users, there's likely no other modern 5.1 channel Stand-a-lone Receiver/speaker system of this superb quality and price, so thanks Samsung, and also thanks to Amazon.com, for being among the first to have received this new Samsung system.

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5.1 Channel,(100Watt x 5),Crystal Amp Pro,4 HDMI inputs,2 Component inputs

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VIZIO VSB200 Universal HD Sound Bar Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this for $99. refurbished; no tax, free shipping. read all the reviews (here & elsewhere), and seemed like a great deal.
easy setup. i bought an optical audio cable in advance, so could hook that up to my samsung tv. hooked an airport express up to the analog inputs (wireless itunes from my macbook). at first, thought the unit was dead; no audio. turns out the remote did not work. replaced the battery and...still nothing. emailed the retailer. but...bent the battery contacts carefully with a small screwdriver, and now it's working. should not have had to do this.
the unit sounds great. i usually do NOT use the surround gimmick (but it sounds great on "big" movies, ie "the fifth element", etc). remote works ok, it HAS to be pointed in the right place.
what i don't like: when i first took it out of the box, it could sit right up against my tv; but, with the cables (in the back center), it has to stick out a bit. shame the cables weren't on the back to one side. and the silver plate with "vizio" is a mistake; my eye is drawn to it periodically; the unit would be better all black (like a lot of soundbars); i want to watch the tv, not the soundbar. the remote not working, and now, working (but finicky).
still, overall, a great deal (even new at $150). the remote could be better, would be nice to have some eq settings options (even presets like "movie" "stadium" etc), but a great deal overall and worlds better than the internal speakers in most tvs.
3 1/2 stars really (docked a 1/2 for the remote).
EDIT: bumped up 1/2 star. vizio (quickly) sent me a new remote; i also removed the faceplate (and replaced the default 'legs' with small black rubber ones...
and am happy(er)...
EDIT 2: 2 days later, and the new remote stopped working. had to bend the battery clips inside this one as well... so 3 1/2 stars after all...!

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Sanus Systems VMAVB Component Shelf Wall Mount (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)The shelf is sturdy and works just as expected. But without having a glass on top, it is difficult to get certain items to fit. Ex. I tried to set my Directv receiver on it (non DVR). It is too small and wont fit well. Then I put my old DVD player on it and the legs on the buttom of the DVD player interfer with the legs of the shelf. I can push it back, but it doesn't sit even. My new DVD player which is compact and small doesn't really fit either and just doesn't look right. Perfect for LARGE AV components.
The shelf would work well for LARGE items, but for compact items it isn't centered, or is just plain hard to fit.
No exactly what you plan to put on it.
But it was easy to install and it is very sturdy. Can easily hold heavy or stacking items.
It would be perfect if:
1. It had a glass/ plastic shelf to set on the mount.
2. It didn't stick out as much.


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Cables Unlimited Wireless USB to HDMI and VGA Adapter with Audio Review

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(More customer reviews)Finally got it :)
After a long 2 day wait(kidding as I consider it fast from the states to Switzerland)..... I received the device.
At unpacking it turned out that there was no European plug attachment included but as my BBerry has one I will just skip charging it thing for now.
Connected the little receiver box. (Had to rip out my SatReceiver HDMI to save time looking for a spare cable but thats OK)
*HDMI cable not included but I have some somewhere in the house so that is OK.
At installation, there are two options of interest.
Install the software or download the latest drivers and install.
Of course I could not wait so installed the CD drivers and attached the USB adapter to my laptop.
Screen popped up in few seconds and looked perfectly fine.
No thinking required, worked like a charm.
I did notice though that there was an issue with the screen because whenever I typed or moved the mouse, the screen flashed. (Probably an interupt conflict somewhere)
A little dissapointed with this I downloaded the 50-ish updated drivers.
After download I found that there was a firmware upgrade in the driver pack for both USB adapter and receiver.
Upgrade and reinstall took approximately 2 minutes and fixed the flickering screen.
Even though the resolution 1280X720 is a little lower than I am used to as I run on 1900X1200, it is up to supplier specifications so this is fair enough.
*Note to self, connect HDMI to HDMI when playing SC-II or EVE.
UPDATE: Next day the screen duplicated so I had to set it back. Perhaps there has been an update because the resolution is now higher than spec. 1360X768!!!
Tips when installing:
-Download the latest drivers first to prevent you uninstalling and re-installing.
-Update the firmware.
-Get the HDMI cable before you receive the device.
Note to those who can't make it work:
Possibly your laptop settings are not correct, TV is not up to spec or the OS is a mess *Clean it.
Note regarding people that complain regarding line of sight:
My laptop is approx 25 feet away from the receiver and it works like a charm.
The receiver needs NEAR line of sight, NLOS, NO problem. *I would not like anyone close to where I live to be able to pick up my screen now would I?
If I walk in front of the transmitter, no issue.
If I block the transmitter with the box in which it came, no issue.
If I put my hand in front, no issue.
If I wrap my hand around it... guess what.. it does not work and the connection drops.
*Unplug and re-plug the transmitter and it is OK again.
For those who want to know:
Receiver connected through HDMI to Samsung Series 7 52" Plasma.
Laptop: Alienware M17xR2,8GbDDR3,I7M620, Dual ATI Radeon 4870 in crossflex mode.@ Guys at Cables Unlimmited,
Do you really need to save 0.50USD for the adapter?

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