Mike's Digital Reviews

Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR2 LCD HDTV Review

2007-07-23T04:42:00.001-07:00

Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR2 / KDL-40XBR3
Price 2.800$

This 40 inch LCD fit`s in nice anywhere, the price is about 400-500 dollars more than some of the other LCD`s in it`s class but the picture is almost unbeatable, if you have the extra cash and are looking for a stylish great performing LCD TV check this one out, the KDL-40XBR2 is the silver face and the KDL-40XBR3 is the black face as the one above.

Sony has there BRAVIA Engine Digital Video Processor built in to help the picture and reduce artifacts, at 1080p and a Panel Resolution of 1920 x 1080 it delivers an impressive picture, there is also a 15 pin connector input for your PC, three HDMI inputs, 22 watts combined audio output is plenty if you don`t have a stereo to go through, also comes with a standard universal remote, a built in tuner and a headphone jack output witch is nice for those nights you want to watch a movie and not wake anyone up.

In ending I must say that the picture is better than a lot of plasma`s I have seen, easy menu`s and good navigation, I give the Sony KDL-40XBR a 9 out of 10 for over all picture and ease of use.

SPECS

Closed Caption (CC)

Video Label

Native Resolution

1080p

Contrast Ratio

Up to 7000:1

Display Resolution

1920 x 1080

Viewing Angle

Right/Left: 178°, Up/Down: 178°

Tuner

ATSC, Clear QAM

Noise Reduction

Comb Filter

3D Digital Comb Filter

Wide Mode

Wide Zoom/ Normal/ Full/ Zoom

Backlight Type

WCG-CCFL (Wide Color Gamut - CCFL)

MTS Stereo Decoder

SRS® TruSurround® XT Audio Effect

Dolby® Digital

Yes (AC3/ATSC only)

Audio Out (Variable/Fixed)

1 (Rear)

Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr ) Input(s)

2 (Rear)

Composite Video Input(s)

3 (2 Rear/1 Side)

Digital Audio Output(s)

1 (Rear)

RF Connection Input(s)

1 (Rear)

S-Video Input(s)

1 (Rear)

Headphone Output(s)

1 (Side)

PC Audio Input(s)

1 (Rear)

PC Video Input(s)

1 (Rear)

HDMI™ Connection(s)

3 (1 Side/ 2 Rear) - 1 rear input has L/R audio
inputs

Power Consumption (in Operation)

227W

Power Consumption (in Standby)

Less than 0.5W

Energy Star® Compliant

Dimensions (Approx) Width

43.7" (1111mm) with pedestal; 43.7" (1111mm)
without pedestal

Dimensions (Approx) Height

28.23" (717mm) with pedestal; 25.87" (657mm)
without pedestal

Dimensions (Approx) Depth

12.68" (322mm) with pedestal; 4.84" (123mm)
without pedestal

Weight (Approx.)

77.16lbs (35.0kg) with pedestal; 66.14lbs.(30.0kg) without pedestal

Sony DVP-NS75H DVD PLAYER REVIEW

2007-07-10T04:57:00.000-07:00

Time now to check out the Sony DVP-NS75H DVD player, well yes it is low profile alright, at under 2 in. high it`s one of the lowest out there, witch is fine with me, the height dose not seem to effect the cooling, seems to have plenty of ventilation, the styling is nice fits good with the other equipment you might have and solid enough to be able to put something on top of it, maybe like the cable or satellite box, besides the looks and size the display is nice and bright, could be a little bigger but good enough to see from a good ten feet, as for the price, about 120$ I think this is a fair deal, the player produces a pretty good picture, with sony`s Cinema Progressive processing, the picture is processed at pixel level, this makes for a nice clean picture, there are also the noise reduction features in the menu with video options, yes it has progressive scan, standard video outputs on the back, 1 S-VIDEO, 1 COMPOSITE VIDEO, 1 COMPONENT SET, 1 HDMI, now if you are one of the lucky ones and can use the HDMI output the video can up convert to 720p/1080I witch makes a nice improvement on a big tv, the DVP-NS75H will play music cd`s MP3, VCD, SVCD, JPEG, all DVD formats except HD, the remote is pretty standard, I have not found a DVD yet that this player did not like in my collection, the home made and DL DVD`s that my other player did not like this one plays fine.

I give the SONY DVP-NS75H a 9 out of 10, for a player under 120$ the performance and features are worth it.

Thanks for reading my SONY DVP-NS75H DVD player review

Features

12 Bit Video DAC with 108MHz Processing

Yes

Fast and Slow Playback with Sound

Yes

Dolby® Digital and dts® 5.1 Channel Output

Yes

192 KHz/24bit Audio DAC/96 kHz/24 bit Digital

Output

Yes

Multi-Disc Resume -6 discs

Yes

Video Equalizer

Yes

Picture Navigation

Yes

HDMI™ Output with 720P/1080i upscaling of

DVD Media

Reads the data on a standard DVD at 480P and maximizes the

video resolution to best fit your HDMI compatible TV. This allows

for you to enjoy the best in video performance while delivering

digital Video and Audio over one simple cable.

Precision Cinema Progressive™ Technology-2

Other DVD players detect image changes at the Scan line level-

Sony's Precision Cinema Progressive (PCP) system detects them

at the Pixel level. The picture is more faithful to the source-whether

film or video-because separate, optimized algorithms are used to

handle the differing Pixel behavior. Separate algorithms are also

used to process the moving and still parts of an image, resulting in

sharp backgrounds with moving objects that are virtually free from

motion artifacts.

Precision Drive™ 3 System

Past generations of Precision Drive systems were only able to

compensate for warped discs by moving the entire optical block,

which took more time and limited the amount of correction possible.

Sony's new Precision Drive™ 3 system simplifies the process by

moving the lens-instead of the entire optical block-for faster and

more accurate error correction.

MP3Playback

Playing MP3 Music on a Sony DVD Player is easy. Just insert an

MP3 encoded disc and press MENU. A blue screen pops up to

Display your folders. Scroll down the list using the remote or front

panel cursor control to select the folder you want. The green files

screen pops up to show the files in the selected folder. Select the file

you want to hear and you're done. Finding music couldn't be easier.

SPECS

Background Graphics

On Screen Display

HDMI™ Technology

Yes (Upscaling of the Video Resolution Output to approach
720P/1080i)

Instant Replay

Instant Search

Multiple Disc Resume

Smooth Slow

Noise Reduction

Digital-to-Analog Converter

12 Bit, 108MHz

Screen Saver

SVCD Playback

VCD Playback

DVD+R DL Read Compatibility

DVD+R Read Compatibility

DVD+RW Read Compatibility

DVD-R Read Compatibility

DVD-RW (VR Mode) Read Compatibility

Yes (with CPRM)

DVD-RW Read Compatibility

JPEG Playback

Precision Drive 3

Digital-to-Analog Converter-2

24 Bit, 192 kHz

CD Playback

Yes (CD, CD-R, CD-RW)

dts® Output

MP3 Playback

Dolby® Digital Decoding

Coaxial Audio Digital Output(s)

1 (Rear)

RCA Audio Output(s)

1 (Rear)

S-Video Output(s)

1 (Rear)

Composite Video Output(s)

1 (Rear)

Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output(s)

1 (Rear)

Optical Audio Output(s)

1 (Rear)

HDMI™ Connection Output(s)

1 (Rear)

Remote Control

Power Requirements

AC 120V, 60Hz

Power Consumption (in Operation)

Dimensions (Approx) Width

17" (430mm)

Dimensions (Approx) Height

1 9/13" (43mm)

Dimensions (Approx) Depth

8 1/8" (237mm)

Limited Warranty

1 Year Parts / 90 Days Labor

Nikon Coolpix 8800 Review

2007-07-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

At about 700$ the Nikon Coolpix 8800 might not be for the person who just want`s to go out once and a while on a weekend and take some pictures, come home load them in the computer and call it a day, this camera has a lot of features and if you use the camera only once and a while you might forget somethings, but that's OK, the full auto works well, don't let the built in lens fool you, it is a Nikkor Auto focus Macro lens witch you can focus down to 1.2 in. with Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass elements and 10x optical zoom (35-350mm), VR (Vibration Reduction) cuts the image blur down quite nicely, and the 8 megapixel effective CCD produces a great sharp picture, a built in pop up Speedlight with Red-Eye Reduction flash takes care of low light scenes, the EVF (electronic viewfinder) has a resolution of 235,000 pixels, if you dont want to look through the lens there is a 1.8" vari-angle color TFT LCD monitor in back witch is a bit small for me, i would like to see at least a halve inch more for the screen, the body is made of lightweight magnesium alloy, nice and strong.

The Coolpix 8800 has 15 pre-programmed Scene modes, so if you want to take fireworks set to fireworks preset, night scenes,beach, snow, most of the presets will take care of what you want to do.

The EN-EL7 Lithium ion rechargeable battery will give you about 230-250 pics in JPEG,TIFF,NEF/RAW,Basic,Normal,Fine file formats on a charge, but we all get an extra battery, don`t we.

The software that comes with the camera has picture and video editing programs in it, yes the Nikon Coolpix 8800 is also a camcorder somewhat, it records video in QuickTime format at resolutions up to 640 x 480, but this is for short video clips under 1min., the video dose look pretty good for a digital camera trying to be a camcorder, everything is saved to a Compact Flash card.

But at last the Nikon Coolpix 8800 is a great mid scale digital camera with lot`s of megapixels for anyone who want`s a full auto camera that they can take full manual control of and get great pictures, remember you don't have to buy a 400$ or 500$ lens, a fine one is already there, telephoto and wide angle attachments are available if you want more flexibility, I give this an 8 out of 10, if the noise was a little less at ASA 400 it would have a 9.

Thank you for reading my Nikon Coolpix 8800 Review.

Features

8.0 Effective Megapixels: With its impressive 8 megapixels of clarity
the COOLPIX 8800 can capture incredible detail to produce sharp,
beautiful prints as large as 20 x 30 inches.

Telephoto Zoom: 10x Telephoto Optical Zoom-Nikkor ED lens
(35mm equivalent of 35-350mm) lets you capture a full range of
sharp, wide-angle to telephoto shots plus macro. Vibration Reduction
(VR) System: The COOLPIX 8800's class-leading lens combines ED
optics and VR technology, which helps you take sharper handheld
shots in low light and other conditions.

Scene Modes, Auto and Manual Setting: For the ultimate
in creative control, choose between Automatic, Aperture
Priority, Shutter Priority and Full Manual Settings. Or choose
one of 15 Scene Modes that automatically adjust controls for
great pictures instantly. With a choice of 15 Scene Modes, you
can quickly select the most appropriate mode for the "scene"
you are capturing. Macro: allows shooting as close as
approximately 1.2 inches from your subject. Movie Mode:
Capture live action with sound. Clips are saved as a
QuickTime(TM) movie, which can easily be emailed to
family and friends.

Metering: Choose your preferred light metering system.
Select Nikon's exclusive 256-Segment Matrix metering,
Center-Weighted, Spot or Autofocus Spot metering options.
(Use Matrix metering for general shooting, center-weighted
for a central subject, spot for emphasis on a particular area
and AF spot to lock metering and focus on a particular area.
Nikon In-Camera Red-Eye Fix(TM): corrects most typical
instances of red-eye during the picture-taking process. By the time
you're ready for your next shot, the camera has already fixed and
saved the image, without the red eyes.

Autofocus: Contrast-Detect TTL-AF; Center, Auto 5-area multi
AF, manual 9-area multi AF selectable. AF Assist Illuminator
makes sharp focus possible when the subject is not well lit.

Flash: A hot shoe lets you connect an additional Nikon Speedlight
(flash) to the top of the camera. 6-mode built-in flash: Auto, Red-Eye
Reduction (by pre-flash), Anytime Flash, Flash Cancel, Slow Sync
and Rear-Curtain Sync. Features One-Touch(R) Upload(TM) for
easy image transfer from camera to computer. D-Lighting: Improve
images shot with strong back lighting or in shadow. While in playback,
select the D-Lighting function, apply it and save the corrected image.
D-Lighting fixes underexposed and backlit images without harming
the properly exposed areas of your image.

In the Box: Camera, Lens Cap, Strap, USB Cable, Audio Video
Cable, Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL7, Battery Charger
MH-56, Wireless Remote Controller ML-L3, PictureProject
CD-ROM.

SPECS

Type of Camera: Digital camera E8800

Image Sensor: Imaging Sensor: 2/3-inch-type CCD
(total pixels: 8.31 million); Effective pixels: 8.0 million

Image Size: 8M (3,264 x 2,448), 5M (2,592 x 1,944), 3M
(2,048 x 1,536), 2M (1,600 x 1,200), 1M (1,280 x 960), PC
(1,024 x 768), TV (640 x 480), 3:2 (3,264 x 2,176) user selectable

Lens: 10x Zoom-Nikkor; 8.9-89mm [35mm (135) format
equivalent to 35-350mm] f/2.8-5.2 with macro; 16 elements in
10 groups; two glass molded ED elements included elements in 7
groups; two glass molded ED elements included,
Vibration Reduction; Lens shift

Autofocus: Contrast-detect TTL AF with AF-assist illuminator;
Center, Auto 5-area multi AF, manual 9-area multi AF selectable

Focus Modes: 1) Continuous AF, 2) Single AF, 3) Manual Focus
(from 1.2 in. [3cm] to infinity with focus confirmation indication)

Optical Viewfinder: none

Electronic Viewfinder: 0.44-inch type, 235,000-dot,
polysilicon TFT color LCD viewfinder; Diopter adjustment: -3
to +1m-1

LCD Monitor: 1.8-inch type, 134,000-dot High Transmissive
advanced TFT LCD monitor with brightness and hue adjustment;
approx. 97percent horizontal and vertical (shooting)

Display: LCD Monitor: 1.8-inch type, 134,000-dot highly
transmissible advanced TFT-LCD (white LED backlight);
brightness/hue adjustment; frame coverage: approx. 97 percent
horizontal and vertical (shooting)

Media: CF Card Type I/II (CF), Microdrive(TM) cards

File Format: RAW (NEF) and TIFF-RGB (uncompressed),
JPEG-baseline-compliant (1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:16) (compressed),
QuickTime (movies), WAV (sound files)

Internal Memory: N/A

Shooting Modes -- Still: AUTO, SCENE, P, S, A, M, MOVIE;
Scene Modes: Portrait, Party/Indoor, Night portrait, Beach/Snow,
Landscape, Sunset, Night landscape, Museum, Fireworks show,
Close up, Copy, Back light, Panorama assist, Sports, Dusk/Dawn

Shooting Modes -- Movie: TV movie 640(640x480/30fps up
to 60 secs), Small movie 320(320x240/15fps up to 895 secs),
Time-lapse movie (640x480/30fps up to 35 secs 1050 frames),
Sepia movie 320 (320x240/5fps up to 895 secs), B/W movie
(320x240/15fps up to 895 secs)

Mode Dial: Auto, Programmed-Auto (P), Shutter-Priority
Auto (P), Aperture-Priority Auto (A), Manual (M), Scene, Movie,
Setup, Image Size, ISO, White Balance (WB), and Playback

Operation Button/Switch: Power button, Release button,
Mode dial, Delete button, Menu button, Play button, Multi selector,
Zoom button, Select/Transfer button

Exposure Mode: P, S, A, M

Exposure Metering: 4-mode TTL metering: 1) 256-segment
Matrix, 2) Spot, 3) Center-Weighted, 4) Spot AF Area

Exposure Control: 1) Programmed Auto with Flexible Program
[P], 2) Shutter-Priority Auto [S], 3) Aperture-Priority Auto [A], 4
Manual [M]; Exposure Compensation (+/-2EV in 1/3 EV steps);
Auto Exposure Bracketing; AE-BSS

Exposure Range: EV 0.0 to +18.5 (W), EV +1.8 to +18.5 (T)

Shutter: Mechanical and charge-coupled electronic shutter;
2-1/3,000 sec (auto and exposure mode P), 8-1/3,000 sec
(exposure modes S and A), BULB/TIME (max. 10 min.) and
8-1/3,000 sec (exposure mode M), 1/30-1/8,000 sec (Ultra HS),
Maximum at some apertures is 1/1,500 sec

Aperture: 7-blade iris diaphragm; 10 steps in 1/3EV increments
(to minimum of f/8)

Sensitivity: Approximately equivalent to ISO 50, 100, 200,
400, and Auto (auto gain to ISO 200 equivalent)

White Balance: 1) Matrix Auto White Balance with TTL control;
2) 6-mode Manual with fine tuning (Daylight, Incandescent,
Fluorescent, Cloudy, Speedlight, Shade); 3) Preset; 4) White
Balance Bracketing

Built-in Speedlight: Shooting range: approx. 1.8 - 19.8 ft.
(0.5 - 6.0m) (W), approx. 3.3 - 9.1 ft. (1.0 - 3.0m) (T)

External Speedlight: Hot shoe connects to external Nikon
Speedlight SB-800/600

Playback Menu: 1) Full-frame, 2) Thumbnail (4/9 segments), 3)
Slide show, 4) Movie with audio, 5) Playback zooom (up to 10x); File
information; Shooting information; Histogram information and
highlight point display; Hide and protect attributes can be set to
each iamge; Focus confirmation indication; RAW image playback;
Small picture (Small-pic); D-Lighting

Delete Function: Delete all frames, delete selected frames,
protect function available, card format

Auto OFF mode: 30sec., 1min., 5min., 30min., can be set
manually, sleep mode

Interface: USB 2.0 (HI-SPEED)

I/O Terminal: DC in; Audio/Video (NTSC or PAL selectable)
out; Digital I/O (USB)

Power Requirements: One Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
EN-EL7 (included), MB-CP11 Battery Pack (optional) with six
1.5V LR6 (AA-size alkaline) batteries* AC Adapter EH-54
(optional) *1.5V FR Lithium, 1.2V NiMH, or 1.2V NiCd batteries
can also be used

Battery Life: 240 images (EN-EL7; based on CIPA standard*)
* Industry standard for measuring life of camera batteries.
Measured at 25?C (77?F); zoom adjusted with each shot, built-in
Speedlight fired with every other shot, image mode set to NORMAL

Battery: One rechargeable Li-ion battery EN-EL7 (included);
DC input: AC adaptor (optional)

Dimension (W x H x D): Approx. 4.6 x 3.3 x 4.8 in.
(116 x 85 x 121mm)

Weight: Approx. 21 oz without battery, memory card, body
cap, or monitor cover

Storage: Media: CompactFlash(TM) (CF) Type I/II and
MicroDrive(TM) Cards, File Format: Compliant with Design Rule
for Camera File System (DCF)*, Exif 2.2**, and Digital Print Order
Format (DPOF) File formats: RAW (NEF) and TIFF-RGB
(uncompressed), JPEG-baseline-compliant (1:2, 1:4, 1:8, 1:16)
(compressed), QuickTime (movies), WAV (sound files). *A standard
widely used in the digital camera industry to ensure compatibility
among different makes of camera. ** Exchangeable Image File
Format for digital still cameras. Version 2.2 allows information
stored with pictures to be used for optimal color reproduction when
images are output on Exif-compliant printers.

Viewfinder: 0.44-inch type, 235,000-dot, polysilicon TFT color
LCD viewfinder; Diopter adjustment:-3 to +1m(-1)

White Balance Settings: 1) Auto White Balance with TTL
control, 2) 6-mode Manual with fine tuning (Daylight, Incandescent,
Fluorescent, Cloud, Speedlight, Shade), 3) Preset, 4) White
Balance Bracketing

Digital Zoom: Up to 4x

Capture Modes: 1) Single, 2) Continuous H (2.3 fps; up to 5
frames), 3) Continuous L (1.2 fps; up to 11 frames), 4) Multi-shot
16 (consecutive 16 frames at 1.6 fps), 5) Ultra HS (high-speed)
(640 x 480 pixels; 30 fps, up to 100 frames), 6) 5 shot buffer
(0.7 fps), 7) Interval Timer Shooting, 8)TV movie 640
(640 x 480 pixels) with audio at 30 fps; up to 60 seconds, or Small
movie 320 (320 x 240 pixels) with audio at 15 fps; up to 895
seconds**, Time-lapse movie (640 x 480 pixels) at 30 fps; up to
35 seconds; Sepia movie 320 (320 x 240 pixels) with audio at 5
fps; up to 895 seconds**; B/W movie 320 (320 x 240 pixels)
with audio at 15 fps; up to 895 seconds** are selectable

Storage Media: CompactFlash(TM) (CF) Card (Type I and II )
and Microdrive(TM)

Flash Sync Modes: 1) Auto Flash, 2) Flash Cancel (off), 3)
Red-Eye Reduction (In-Camera Red-Eye Fix(TM)), 4)
Anytime Flash, 5) Night Portrait (Slow Sync Flash), 6) Rear Curtain
Sync; Sync method: Standard i-TTL flash

Focus Range: 19.7 in. [50cm] to infinity (W)/ 39.4 in. [1m] to
infinity (T); 1.2 in. [3cm] to infinity (W) in macro and manual
focus modes