No comments about Zenith DVB611 DVD Player with Multi Format Playback.

No comments about GDV850 (Black) DVD Player.

No comments about 7 TFT LCD Portable DVD Player".

5 comments about Sony DVP-FX1 Portable DVD Player.

1. I bought this three days ago in a trip to Chicago and so far am very pleased. The sleek silver metal design is very good looking and the sound with headphones is excellent. I highly recommend using them because the sony feature headphone surround sound is excellent. I have watched 3 movies on the wide-screen display and one movie fit perfectly onto the widescreen display and the other two were distorted and had to be adjusted to be a little smaller. Another person wrote that a sony rep told him that he couldnt use an adapter in a car but i bought an adapter and was pleased with it while watching a two hour movie on the trip home. The video quality is good when close up on people but when looking at say a person in the distance is not so good. I would still recommend it and also enjoyed using it in my hotel.



2. Listening to cd's is awesome with the surround sound switch (especially with sony's "studio monitor" headphones which are excellent), and I thought the picture was really good EXCEPT when watching a movie that is NOT enhanced for wide screen. This causes the picture to become blurred and unwatchable as you adjust the "screen mode" to zoom in to spread the information out to fill the screen.

   Watching 4:3 (standard TV size) pictures is a breeze because there are "black bars" are on the sides of the picture instead of the incredibly irritating "gray bars" that many 16:9 (wide screen) TV makers have opted for.

   I give this product 4 stars mainly because of the speakers. They're very easy to blow if your watching a movie scene that is quiet and then suddenly loud. If this happens, you will notice a slight puncture wound in at least one of your speakers. A fault that I've noticed in more than one of my sony products that really do have the best images possible, but are not-so-hot when it comes to the speakers attached to them. I usually listen with headphones anyway.

   Plane trips are one long movie now, they could put me in a piece of luggage with this thing and I wouldn't care.




3. I had just purchased this tiny piece of electronic wizardry from sony. after playing it for awhile, i found a few things that could have made this machine nicer, lets start with sound quality, it could have been better. 2 earphone jacks would have been nice. the brightness switch doesn't seem to change the picture too much, after all, it is sony's first attempt at a portable dvd w/monitor. so we all know they'll improve in all aspects of this machine. one last note. It was quite pricey....



4. I bought this unit about a year ago it has performed like a sony should a bit pricey then compared to others now but the fun aspect of a portable dvd player slash viewer is phenomenal!I rate this product 5 stars because of the ability to change screen
   modes for what or how you care to watch it small big etc and it's ability to play with extreme quality no kidding it will rival all if not most other units plays well on it;s output to other video sources!so cool factor it's surround sound is uncanny and when plugged into a stereo it's ability to output digital & dts is very good good separation spatial effects excellent.good buy!



5. I purchased a Sony portable DVD player this time last year. Big mistake. It stopped working shortly after the 90 day warranty and Sony would do nothing but let me pay them for a repair/exchange. So I paid for an exchange + Shipping. Then the replacement they sent (same model) would not even turn on. Then they offer to let me pay to send that one back too (months have transpired because they do not send a replacement until they have logged in and assessed the one you send back). Meanwhile, I still have nothing. Sony charge me $500 for a lemon product and will not stand behind it. I will never purchase a Sony product again.

5 comments about Sony DAV-FR1 5-Disc Progressive Scan DVD Dream System.

1. The Sony DAV FR1 looks and sounds great, but it does not exactly set the standard for cutting edge technology for home theatre systems.
   
   It comes with the 5 speakers and 1 woofer and the 5 disc DVD player.
   
   Speakers:
   
   They are 100 watts each. Powerful.. very powerful. I have a huge living room and the speakers filled the room with sound. But there are 2 aspects which bother me, viz.
   
   1) The surround speakers should have had a system by which they could be connected wirelessly. Panasonic makes a similar home theatre system, which has that wireless feature. Although, Panasonic sells the wireless system to connect the surround speakers seperately. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that when you have a few extra dollars lying around, you can avail that system and get rid of the wires lying around on the carpet. You have no way of doing that with this Sony model.
   
   2) Stands. In this day and age, we simply dont have the time or resources to go out and fit fixtures on to the wall for the surround speakers. And I dont want to spend a penny more (let alone $40 for the Sanus stands) for additional stands for the speakers. The lack of this feature is indeed very irritating. I dont understand why some thing which can be made so cheaply (the stands) cant be provided with a system which is so expensive.
   
   The DVD Player :
   The DVD player is old technology. PERIOD!
   
   1) It has a dot illumination type display system, which ruins the otherwise sleek appearance of the system. But it is better than an LCD Display because you can make out the information being displayed while seated at a distance of a few feet.
   
   2) The DVD Player boasts a 5 disc system, which is a major convinience, since you wont have to get up to change discs time and again. Some people have said it takes some time for the discs to load, etc... but I found the speed to be quite normal. Please remember, even in a $3000 worth laptop - it does take some time for the CD drawer to eject when you press the button. This system is no different, it is NOT slow.
   
   3) The DVD player has 2 speeds for fast forward and rewind. That is a far cry from the 1,1.5,2,4,8,16,32 speed levels available even in my other $17.00 Desay DVD Player (The Desay is an individually lousy player - dont even think of buying it. And the manufacturer and Circuit city didnt honor the mail in rebate forms for it.) But that is not a major factor. Given the chapter forward/rewind feature, the 1X and 2X speeds are reasonably acceptable.
   
   4) The DVD Player plays DVD videos, SACD (Super Audio CD's - I have no idea what they are) and a host of CD types, viz. CD-R, CD-RW, etc. I have no idea if this DVD player can play Divx or AVI or MPEG files. And normally DVD players dont. And this one doesnt seem to be an espcially new old technology. Besides that, it doesnt say on the manual that this can play DVD-RW or DVD-R/+R.
   
   So if I am cribbing so much, why did I rate it 4 stars?
   
   Simply because it looks and sounds great.
   
   Set up was simple, the sound was AMAZING!!!!!!! I did not dare to increase the volume more than 50% of its capability for the fear of bothering my neighbors.
   
   The DVD remote is great. I really like the feature wherein the most commonly used buttons are exposed, and the other ones hidden under a sliding cover. I also like the innovative battery placement system of this remote - it is to the front side, and to access it, you have to just slide the cover completely off the front.
   
   This system also provides a host of other features like FM and AM playing capability, ability to accomodate a game system (X-box or Play station), an additional surround speaker system, a satellite feed, etc etc. It has component video out, S video out, and monitor out (yellow jacketed cable). So no matter what, you will be able to use the speakers with a host of other devices.
   
   Bottom line, if you are concious about the amount of money you spend on a home theatre system, then this is an excellent buy. The brand name of Sony commands a lot of respect. People like seeing the name "Sony", and this was indeed a factor under consideration when I chose this system.
   
   You will like the sound. If some one says this is not enough, he either needs to get his ears checked, or he has not connected the speakers properly.
   
   A home theatre system is primarily for its woofer and speakers, the DVD player is just an additional contrivance. And I am totally satisfied with the DVD player too. I would think, spending $300 on this system is totally justified.
   
   Thanks,
   Kaushik.



2. I first want to say, I love dealing with amazon, their customer service is excellent, and I have always loved Sony products. This surround system does not work well. The sound is absolutely great if you can get the main unit dvd player to function. I've had it hooked up for three weeks and have had several problems. First, the volume wouldn't increase or decrease, then the dvd player would freeze up and shut down automatically while playing a movie, now I have two discs in there and it won't eject them. Sony help says there is a malfunction in the unit and I now have to take it for repair to get my stuff out. I don't want another malfunctioning unit, I'm returning this as fast as I can. This Sony product is not worth the money or aggravation.



3. Pros:
   -Easy set-up
   -Great sound
   -Comes with free ice cream.
   
   Cons:
   -The 5-disc changer is inconvenient. I don't even use it as a changer. You have to wait for the carrousel to spin inside, but there's no indication of when to insert the DVD.
   -I hooked it up to my HDTV with component cables, but still had poor quality picture. This DVD Player may be great for regular TV's, but I don't recommend it for HDTV. If someone has this hooked up to an HD-ready TV with component cables and the picture is great, please let me know what I can do to get those results.
   -Free ice cream melted before it arrived.
   
   
   Ok, so the ice cream didn't come with the DVD player.
   And, I ate the ice cream before I got home.



4. My dream system has needed two unrelated repairs in the tree years I have owned it. Niether has been under warentee. The last costing $300.



5. AMAZING SOUND QUALITY! FOR THIS PRICE IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER!! AND TO TOP IT OFF IT'S A SONY!!!

No comments about Cambridge Audio DVD89 Player with 720p Output, Black.

No comments about NUVICO NVJV-8.

2 comments about Onkyo DV SP301 - DVD player.

1. I'm a long time Onkyo fan, having purchased 4 receivers and a CD deck from Onkyo over the years. So, when I was looking for a DVD player and was offered a good deal on a Onkyo unit, I didn't hesitate to buy it, a model DV-SP301 DVD-CD-MP3 Player. Almost immediately I began to see problems with read failures with DVD's that other (lesser brands!) read without trouble. I later went online and found this unit seems to have this problem in spades. My advice is to avoid this model, but if you are an unfortunate soul who already acquired one, ship it back and give Onkyo an ear full. Shame on them for shipping such a poor design. Maybe its time to give Denon or Yamaha another look!



2. Player stopped reading discs after 3 months. Emotronics would
   not stand behind the product and onkyo would not honor warranty because Emotronics is not a authrorized dealer. Avoid emotronics if you like the idea of having a warranty and avoid onkyo dvd
   players (at least this model).

5 comments about Toshiba D-R4 Multi-Drive DVD Recorder.

1. I've owned the D-R4 since January 2006 and have not experienced any problems when using 4x and 8x speed discs from Maxell and Taiyo-Yuden. I took a chance on the Maxell 16x discs, which were on sale recently at Office Depot, and did have a problem finalizing them. As pointed out by someone else, the D-R4 records to the 16x media fine but gives you an "ERR 14" when finalizing. When I called Toshiba customer service (1-800-319-6684) about this, the rep sent me a firmware upgrade that fixed the problem.
   
   I wish the D-R4 would load discs faster and I wish it could record back-to-back TV shows using the timer without missing the last two minutes of the first show (a quirk that is described in the manual), but overall I like this recorder very much. It does a great job archiving VCR and camcorder tapes. The 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-hour recording modes provide very good quality. Most of the problems mentioned in the reviews can be avoided by buying the recommended 4x and 8x media. Get the firmware upgrade to use 16x media.



2. 
   How could I miss giving this dvd recorder the thumbs up that it deserves. Sorry, Toshiba! Even tho I had a problem prone laptop from you, this DR4 dvd recorder gets 5 stars. Have used it every week since I bought it to record our family outings from my camcorder. My family spread all over thanks you for the terrific quality of the dvds. Yes, I recommended it to others while it remains available.



3. If this product worked properly and did all that it is advertised to do, then I would give it a 5-star review. Unfortunately, even out of the box the product was defective--and every few months something else breaks.
   
   Specifically: This product is advertised to use RAM disks, and after a fashion it can use them--but from Day One I have had many, many problems with these disks (and I did buy the brand the Toshiba manual recommended). When you program recording with these disks, more than half the time the program won't end up getting recorded. Likewise, these disks often fail halfway through a recording. Also, many times when you insert one of these disks with material you have previously recorded and want to watch it, then the disk will give an error message and is unusable. Yet another RAM disk problem: When playing back a program you previously recorded, often the image breaks up, the audio breaks up, and usually a few seconds later the playback freezes completely. This makes your machine freeze up and there is no way out except by unplugging the power cord from the wall socket (the ONLY way to reset this machine, which does freeze up often). This, unfortunately, has the expensive and irritating effect of ruining your RAM disk. These disks are quite expensive, and I have ruined 4 or 5 of them because of this freeze-up problem. There are other problems with RAM disks that I won't go into, as it would make this review too long, but suffice to say that all of these problems have been chronic literally since the first day I used this product (I bought it a couple years ago).
   
   Another terrible problem with this unit is that the "disk finalizing" process was always buggy and error-prone; moreover, when the unit was only about 6 months old, the process stopped working completely. This is actually the main reason I bought this unit--to be able to transfer movies from my video camera onto DVDs for archiving them and watching them on other DVD players. In fact, I WAS able to do this for a few months. (If you don't know what "disk finalizing" is, it is a process you must go through after you have recorded a DVD to make it playable on all the OTHER DVD players in the world. If you don't finalize the disk, you are only able to play it back on THIS particular machine--so if this particular unit ever breaks down you are left with a bunch of useless, unplayable disks!) Well, starting about 18 months ago, every time I try to go through the finalizing process, I only get error messages. (I have tried using lens cleaners on my unit; that does not help, so it is apparently not that kind of problem but rather is a software problem with the unit.)
   
   Another huge complaint: Like so many remote controls in this day and age, after a few months the buttons that you use often begin to fail part of the time--and eventually fail completely. Right now, the ON/OFF button on the remote is useless and 3 or 4 other commonly used buttons are on their way out, requiring so much finger pressure to make them work that they are essentially useless. This is very frustrating, as I have to press the fast-forward button with all my might, 4 or 5 times, to be able to move quickly through a program. It has gotten so bad that fast forward has basically become a useless feature because of this.
   
   This may be a small complaint to others, but to me it is very important: The onscreen type on the screen where you program future recordings is SO HARD TO READ. The colors and teensy type size (and I have a 26-inch TV) is nearly impossible to read; grant you, I don't have fantastic vision, but I am easily able to read the onscreen prompts and messages for my other connected TV peripherals and for my satellite TV service. It is only this one that has been so poorly designed, with such small type sizes and such low-contrast colors, that it is very difficult to read.
   
   Another beef: The overall design is really counter-intuitive. For example, to delete a program that you recorded previously is a very clunky procedure--and confusingly, they offer 2 different ways to go about this (and one of the ways requires you to click click click through 3 screens before you can finally accomplish the deletion--then after the program has been deleted you get dropped back out to live television and have to click click click 3 times to get back to the deletion area to delete another program. It truly does seem like back-room engineers designed the human interface for this product, as in so many cases the way you have to go about doing the most common tasks requires you to go through several levels of menus--and in ways that are not obvious or logical as far as I can see. I believe this is the worst user interface I have ever seen for any electronics unit of any kind that I own.
   
   My last complaint: The manual is REALLY bad. It is quite long, but in most places is very difficult to understand and is singularly unhelpful. A case in point: The previously mentioned process of finalizing a recording is (as is everything on this machine) extremely confusing, totally un-obvious, etc. The first few times you do this you will have to consult the manual, as the onscreen prompts are completely confusing and un-helpful. But when you do go to the manual, no light is shed on the process whatsoever; it basically just re-hashes the cryptic onscreen command names (without any explanation) that you see on your screen as you work through the many confusing screens you have to go through to finalize a recording. I eventually figured out how to do it, but then I had to make extensive notes in comprehensible English in the manual so that I would understand the next time around how to actually DO the finalizing process. (This was back in the days before my machine broke and finalizing a recording was actually possible!)
   
   Anyway, if this product worked as advertised, then it would be a good one. But in summary it has many serious problems:
   
   * RAM disk recording is so error-prone as to be worthless, right out of the box.
   * The remote control buttons began failing after only a few months, and the problems with the remote are only getting worse.
   * The finalizing process (required to play DVDs on other machines) stopped working after only half a year, so any recordings I make are NOW only able to be played on this particular machine (and things are failing so regularly on this machine that it will surely be completely dead before too long).
   * The onscreen type/colors are very difficult to read.
   * The human interface is very user-hostile and not at all intuitive or even logical.
   * The manual is very, very opaque and difficult to follow. Don't expect it to help you out when you are trying to figure out the many confusing screens you need to negotiate to operate the product.
   
   If you are considering buying this product, please think again. (In fact, out of necessity I just purchased ANOTHER one of these units. I recently bought a factory-reconditioned unit of this same machine at a far cheaper price than a new unit, thinking that doing this will actually be cheaper than sending my defective but out-of-warranty unit to Toshiba for repair of its many problems.) I just received the reconditioned unit but have not set it up yet; my hope is that I will be able to finalize the 75 disks I have recorded in the last 18 months but have been unable to finalize. I am also hoping the remote control that comes with the new unit will have more working buttons than the remote I'm stuck with now. And if I am really lucky, then even RAM disks might work on this replacement machine--though that would surprise me since they never worked on my first machine right out of the box.
   
   Anyway, I have been very disappointed with this machine and wonder why Toshiba, which I thought had a good reputation in the electronics world, would place such a poorly designed and error-prone product on the market.



4. i bought mine roughly a year ago, from boscovs(please read entire thing, in order to avoid confusion). I had one before, an emerson which worked terribly. i would have stopped even trying but this was on sale so i gave it a try. Turns out i had the same problem and that was the discs wouldn't play anywhere but in the recorder. i didn't feel that returning would solve my problem. thus it would have a literal shelf-life.
   
   then a week ago i found an old show on that i could not find on dvd. so since vhs's are going i gave the recorder 1 last chance to redeem itself by recording my show. now since it has been a year, i lost the instruction manual, but everything was labeled clearly on the remote. so after i recorded the show, i made a minute of recorded junk with assorted stops. then i decided to play around with all the controls to get use to them. the strangest label was the best: Easy Navi. On there was an option. Finalize DVD and after hitting it i was able to make a custom menu and finally solved the problem. the disc played everwhere, standard dvd player, ps2, even a different dvd recorder. my old one only had basic controls. so now i can safely say: BEST RECORDER EVER. it is a cheap and reliable recorder. hope you found this helpful.
   
   and also, i read the review about Sony DVD-RW's not working. Sony DVD-R will work just fine. i'm not sure about -RW's because they never work for me and -R's are cheaper :).



5. I had two of these (I bought a second one from a 'display' sale at Best Buy). I burn lots of DVDs, so I managed to wear them both out. They were great to use. I could choose the background color, and I could set the timer for a specific length of time, (like 17 minutes) not just in 30-minute increments. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't choose my thumbnail image. (You just get to pick the moment that they grab the image in each recording - 3, 10, 35 seconds and so on)

No comments about 7" PORTABLE DVD PLAYER.