Best Seller Products

Apex DRX9000 Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder Apex Digital provides you with home entertainment solutions at a reasonable price. Technology, efficient processes, strategic partnering, and a focus on providing the consumer with the best value hallmark the success of Apex Digital.PRODUCT FEATURES:DVD +R/+RW Recorder;181 Channel Tuner;MP3 Playback;Audio CD/CD-R/CD-RW Playback;Progressive Scan Output.

Apex DRX9000 DVD Recorder

For the features and price the DRX9000 DVD recorder is a very good buy. It has a great picture plus digital sound. It is even better when used with HD progressive scan TV. Audio CD’s sound great played on this unit too.I have not had any problems recording or playing back the DVD+R or +RW disc. Also, the recorded disc play just fine in my computer DVD drive.
There is one thing I would like to say to potentail buyers, or someone who has just purchased a new DRX9000. There is a hookup flyer that comes in the box with the DRX9000, that states, Do not connect this DVD recorder to a VCR or TV/VCR combination, it will cause picture distortion. APEX has addressed this problem with a firmware update. You can download this file off their web site and burn your own disc, or contact them by telephone and they will send you a disc with the new firmware update on it. This update takes about 20 to 30 seconds to do, and it works.
Anybody thinking about purchasing a new DVD recorder that has great features and good price. I would highly recommend the Apex DRX9000.

A computer in a set-top case

This machine is good for the money, but don’t expect it to be fantastic. DVD set-top technology is still immature and this machine is initially quite confusing to use. I had the Philips/Magnavox DVD+RW unit prior to this and it was much more intuitive, just more ugly (and it died totally after 2 weeks, which is why I exchanged it for the Apex). The Apex has worked fine for a month now, and overall I’m pleased with it.

So what is it? I opened it up (I don’t care about the warranty sticker) to find it’s a basic computer NEC ND1100A DVD+RW drive exactly as you’d get in your PC, complete with IDE connector and standard power plug. The rest of the circuitry is LSI and effectively an embedded PC/Display unit. This is why it takes fifteen seconds to “boot” when you power it on. It also has one really nasty feature that you don’t know about till you get it home - a huge noisy fan on the back which makes it sound like having your PC on all the time. I plan to fit a quieter fan.

The manual is amusing. The writer clearly doesn’t speak English and it is full of inaccuracies.

Regionalisation is an issue for me, I have R1 and R2 DVDS (lots of them). This unit is strictly Region 1 and so far there is no region patch. I suspect that there never will be, because that PC DVD+RW drive is internally regionalised (RPC2) and the average set-top user will never know how to put it in a PC and patch its firmware. I did - it’s RPC1 now - but the APEX still refuses R2 discs so I guess its own operating system needs patching too.

Interestingly, you can both record and play (multi-region) discs with a PAL signal, the circuitry handles the color perfectly but you lose the bottom 100 lines of the picture.

The mpeg-2 compression is performed on the input, so you can see on your TV what your picture will be like before recording. The Apex brightens the picture and can “flare-out” on very bright shots. Recording from digital cable, which is already mpeg2 compressed, can be somewhat disappointing occasionally. A bad cable picture is made marginally worse. A good cable picture doesn’t show degradation at all.

Quality overall is very good; I would like the ability to choose other compression levels since EP is not quite good enough and SP doesn’t record more than 2hrs 10 minutes. A halfway setting would be great. The forgetful memory is no problem if you invest in a cheap computer UPS ($40) to power it.

I’m very happy with my unit despite its limitations. It has enabled me to save all my precious VHS tapes to DVD without messing with PC capture cards, which are still too flaky to be valuable despite the marketing blurb. For recording programs off cable it’s great. Its compatibility with set-top and PC is first class and you can manipulate its VOB files on your PC with no trouble. I know if its drive packs up, I can just buy another one and put it in the case.

Another couple of issues - it will only FF/FRW its own DVD+RW discs at 2x. This is odd, commercial DVDs can be FF/FRW at 16x, and the +RW work at any speed in other players. And I don’t like having to switch through all the inputs to go from play mode to monitor/record. The Philips “monitor” button was great. Also don’t expect to insert a blank disk and hit record, you have to press record about three times with a wait inbetween each press before it’s ready to go. I usually record a little video and then re-erase the disc before recording anything important so I know it will record without delay.

Apex still produce their units with a poorly designed remote control. Sling it out and buy a learning universal remote.

One last gripe -that big blue power LED is just too bright! Mine is covered with a piece of black sticky tape.

Bottom line - if you can put up with the noisy fan, R1/NTSC only, complicated menu and forgetful memory, it’s great value for money. However if you don’t need a set-top DVD recorder just yet, wait six months or so and the technology will have matured. Prices should fall too. But don’t invest in DVD-R or DVD-RAM, those formats are already losing ground.

If anyone from APEX reads this, take heart - it’s a good product, just spoiled with irritations. Fix those, and you’ve got an excellent machine.

GOOD for ANT Recording, REALLY BAD for VHS conversion

I bought this unit…with hopes of having a faster way of converting home movies to DVD faster than it would take using a computer capture card and program and waiting for it to render the entire DVD movie.

The manual was confusing to figure out how to setup the player/recorder and once I got my vcr to send a signal to the DVD recorder it ended up looking like a cable box signal when it’s scrambled. The picture quality wasn’t quite as bad as that but it certainly jumped around and flickered in and out. Definitely not something people wanna watch. The picture input was not stable at all coming from a vcr and I do not mean copyrighted materials, but personal home movies. However its ability to take antenna signals and save them to DVD was great. I had no quams about that part.

The user-interface was quite confusing. One thing I did NOT like about recording to DVD on this machine was that there is no way of telling the recorder to start a new dvd chapter as you’re recording. You have to hit stop recording and then start again, which does not make for a seamless footage dvd…

LG KG800 Chocolate Unlocked Cell Phone with MP3/Video Player–International Version with No Warranty (Black) LG Bluetooth Camera “Chocolate” MP3 Cellular Phone (Unlocked) If you’re looking for stand-out style without compromising on usability, you’ll appreciate the LG Chocolate KG800. The LG KG800 is also known as the LG Chocolate & this is due to its luxurious & sleek design. The phone comes with a touch sensitive pad & navigation. The touch pad is activated by a warm touch alone which will ensure that the touch pad will not be activated when in the users bag, briefcase or coat pocket. The touch pad simply disappears when not in use & all that is shown is the beautiful black handset with a subtle red glow which indicates the hidden touch pad. The handset is truly luxurious & compact in design which measures 95 x 48 x 15.2 mm. The LG KG800 Chocolate weighs 83 grams including the fitted battery which provides the user with a light weight phone to carry around at all times. The phone comes with 128 Mbytes of shared memory which allows the user to save their all important messages, emails, photos & video recordings. The phone comes with a high resolution TFT LCD screen which provides a 256k colour display. The user can slide open the handset or press a button to activate the screen & see the outstanding quality display. The KG800 Chocolate comes with a user friendly 1.3 megapixel digital camera feature & the user can use the LCD screen as a viewfinder. The camera comes with a built in flash & 4 x digital zoom. The user can activate the camera feature by using the easily accessible camera button. The camera comes with a photo album for storing all the users snaps & with a multi shot mode which will take nine consecutive shots with one press of the camera button. The multi shot mode will give the user nine chances of capturing the perfect shot. The LG KG800 Chocolate comes with a built in video feature which allows the user to record, play & store video in the gallery. The user can record & watch 3GP video

mEXICO MANUAL AND CHEAP QUALITY

I bought it from Amazon shiping to me fast. But next day I call Amazon to return it with the reason the manual book written in Spanish which I can’t read or undwerstand and it look very cheap quality.Many customers like me complaint Amazone not reveal in small detail or correct something written on the goods( like Motorola V8 orV9.It is high end cell and expensive, the customers want to know what content it had in box?where it made from? The other sellers online Ebay, Bestbuy said very detail in box)

but it works fine in spain

many bubbles in casing…phone keeps demanding i install a sim card that was not received…best of all, the charger is european, not american…co. rep has offered to work with these “issues” but i do not expect them to repay the time and $30.00 it cost to replace the charger, and i do not have the time to waste trading the phone for one that is not marred.

Disappointing transaction

The item was fine. However, it would not work on my wireless network (not at all clear from the description), so I had to return it. I was promised credit minus a 10% restocking fee IF AND ONLY IF I wrote a review favorable to the seller, which I did. To date (February 8, 2008) my card has not been credited. I have never had a bad transaction through Amazon until this one, but I would not recommend that anyone do business with this ethically challenged seller.

Sharper Image Slim 3-CD Stereo (SA248) Winner of a prestigious Innovations award at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, the Sharper Image wall-mountable stereo system is less than 6 inches deep and features an ultra-modern vertical-loading 3-CD player. The motorized doors slide open with the touch of a button to reveal a trio of illuminated disc compartments. The three independent, fully programmable CD drives mean there’s no delay waiting for rotating disc carousels.Features digital AM/FM stereo tuner with 40 station presets. Powerful two-way detachable speakers offer crisp, clear sound; three interchangeable pairs of speaker grills are included: blue, black and silver. Also has electronic volume control, surround sound, treble/bass controls and dynamic bass control.SUREWAKE alarm clock system lets you sleep or wake to the radio or a CD. Line in and out, headphone and subwoofer jacks. Backlit LCD. Plugs into wall outlet; optional backup uses 2 AA batteries. Comes with wall-mounting kit and antenna. Ten-key remote control is powered by 2 AA batteries (order separately).

Good appearance, poor performance

The problem lies in the cd player. If you are listening to quiet music, there is an overbearing noise from the unit, weather a bad bearing or poor design. It sounds metallic in nature. I tried two independent units and they both exhibited this metallic rubbing noise. If all you listen to is loud music, this is good for you. If you listen to classical, etc. Stay away.

SONY KV-40XBR800 FD Trinitron(R) XBR(R) Wega(TM) Color TV This 40” HDTV monitor delivers brilliant images and sound you have to hear to believe. A flat screen diminishes distortion, and a Memory Stick« slot lets you display your favorite digital photos on-screen. Immerse yourself in the richness of TruSurround(TM) sound, and use 2-tuner picture-in-picture to watch 2 shows at once without a VCR. Hook up a high-definition receiver for the realism of HDTV broadcasts. It’s home entertainment at its finest. Not available in all stores.

Great Television, Bad back!!

I have owned this television for 3 years now and I am just as satisfied today when I power it up as I was the day I took it out of the box. The color is superb and the 40″ screen is the ONLY one of its kind in a tube television. Sony has definitely proven itself worthy with this television. It’s HD ready and the color/picture quality is unmatched by other tubes. You will even be hard pressed to find a LCD/Plasma in this size to compare w/ the quality. Definitely worth the time/money IF you can find one!!!! The ONLY drawback is this beauty’s size/weight, find a good/strong friend to help you load/unload this beast!! Otherwise, you will get to experience EVERY single feature of this tv as you nurse your hernia!!!!!

Great TV with amazing features!!

i bought this tv as my first dip into the HD TV world, and i am shockingly impressed. the sound is amazing, the picture is flawless and the fact that it does NOT have a $300 bulb that needs to be replaced every few years makes it even better. yes, this TV is a monster, it is big and heavy but once you get it where you want it, it is 100% worth it. the features on the TV are great, and the fact that it has 7 inputs (3 of which are HD) means that i can plug in everything without having to worry about switching cables when it comes time to play a game or watch a DVD.

Overall this tv gets a 9/10. it would be a 10 if it were not so heavy, that is the ONLY downside.

Great Picture, Great Price

I bought this TV a year ago and I love it and would get it today if I could. Picture is as good as plasma if not better. It is a 4:3 ratio, but you should just ask yourself what you watch more of TV or Movies. Right now the HD media that is coming out is getting to be everywhere. 5 NFL games on Sunday. 4-5 Xbox games in HD. HBO in HD, ESPN in HD, Discovery in HD, Prime time TV for the most part in HD. The picture has so much color and detail it is like night and day. Like putting black and white up against color and this TV is a great product to showcase that. Only knock on it is it ways 300 lbs so the stand (which has bevel edges) is recommended on carpet. With the stand anyone could move it anyplace in the room with ease. Great Buy!

Canon Digital Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit (Black) Kit includes:anddiams;andnbsp;1) Canon Digital Rebel XSanddiams;andnbsp;2) Canon 18-55mm Lensanddiams;andnbsp;3) Tamron 70-300mm Lensanddiams;andnbsp;4) Transcend 8 GB SDHC Memory Cardanddiams;andnbsp;5) Precision Design 1000 Deluxe SLR Pro Carrying Caseanddiams;andnbsp;6) Spare LP-E5 Batteryanddiams;andnbsp;7) Precision Design USB 2.0 High Speed SecureDigital (SD/SDHC) Card Readeranddiams;andnbsp;8) Image Recall Digital Image Recovery Softwareanddiams;andnbsp;9) Precision Design Memory Card Storage Walletanddiams;andnbsp;10) Cameta Microfiber Cleaning ClothThe Canon EOS Rebel XS Digital Camera incorporates a 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor; enhanced sensitivity up to ISO 1600; High-ISO Noise Reduction; Auto Image Optimization technology; and a precise 7-point autofocus system. The large, 2.5-inch LCD monitor makes it a pleasure to review images and scroll through menus. The Live View feature allows you to frame shots using the LCD screen rather than the viewfinder. Canon’s Integrated Self Cleaning System removes dust automatically from the sensor using ultrasonic vibration.The Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Zoom Lens is designed with Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer technology to allow sharp hand-held shots at shutter speeds up to four stops slower than otherwise possible.The Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Lens is a quality, compact ultra tele zoom which covers the 70mm to 300mm telephoto range, with a macro magnification ratio of 1:2 at the 300mm setting - ideal for shooting sporting and theatrical events. Di lenses are designed for superior use on both digital and film SLR cameras.The Transcend 8 GB SDHC Memory Card is large enough to hold hundreds and hundreds andmdash; a whole vacation’s worth andmdash; of pictures.Made from durable nylon, and outfitted with a leather reinforced handle, this multi-compartment case will easily hold your camera, lenses, flash, and accessories.

Rebel XS kit a great buy

I bought the kit, and was pleased with everything but the camera bag.

Pros: The rebel xs is simply an underrated D SLR…thank GOD for this as I got it at a very good price. The XS is a very quick cam, great entry level pro cam pics. Auto mode is fantastic, Manual mode is awesome. Live view is incredible, not actually great for moving shots, but o.k. in that use, but it’s an amazing feature, works almost exactly like on a point and shoot, but not exactly.(meaning you see clearly on the lcd, but it focuses slower, and pans slower, it shuts off when you half press the shutter to allow the camea to do the rest. The view finder is fabulous, clean clear, represents the lens perfectly

2. 8GB transcend card is really a high speed card, no problems whatsoever.

3. Tamron 70-300mm F4-5.6 auto focus lens. It’s a good telephoto lens, does really nice and sharp macros. Great buy!

4. The other accessories work well. Spare battery has allowed me well over 700 shots, and it still reads full bars

Cons: 1 Canon EOS software is problematic to work with, constantly beach balls and requires a force quit. MAC version.

2. Camera bag is really cheap looking and cheap quality. ” Leather handle” ???? too small to have any effect, would have at least been good if the strap were long enough to wrap around your body good enough, and I am just shy of skinny at 175 pounds. Bag is also not secure in it’s locks and clips, in fact one clip broke before I opened the plastic. terrible

Would have given 5 stars if it were just camera and lens, but DSLR’s need a competent bag because you need to carry around lenses most times.

I wish amazon ( cameta camera) puts together a Lens kit with a 50mm F2.8 prime lens with a 18-270mm F3.5-5.6 Telephoto and a 3piece filter set. No tripod necessary, too expensive to ship to the caribbean.

Complete kit is worth it. I would buy this again but with a different camera bag definitely.

Great Camera!

The Canon Rebel is almost perfect. It’s easy to use, and it’s versatile. I have been using it for snapshots of family and friends, and I’ve been using it for serious photographs taken at various local landmarks. The Rebel works well in both situations. Even a beginner can learn to use this camera, and they can be taking great pictures right out of the box.

My first digital slr

This is my first digital camera. I went from a 35mm to a digital SLR, which is a huge change. I purchased the kit, so it came with 2 lenses, an 8gb memory card, batteries, case, etc. - VERY good deal. I’m having so much fun taking pictures and “experimenting” with my new camera, however, I hardly know the first thing about using it. I’m just learning a lot by reading the manual and playing around with it, so, if anyone has any “tips”, feel free to let me know. I was going back and forth between a Nikon vs Canon. One of the reasons I decided on the Canon was because of the “live view” option. I am a little disappointed, however, that when in the live view mode, you cannot look thru the eyepiece at the same time. Maybe this is normal? (I still love my camera, tho.)

Mitsubishi WD-65737 65-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV With picture perfomance that outpaces todays smaller flat panels, Mitsubishi Home Theater TVs offer a larger than life, intensely vivid viewing experience. In screen sizes ranging from 60 inches to 82 inches, Mitsubishi Home Theater TVs define the large screeen entertainment category by offering incomparable value and stronger performance than smaller flat panel televisions!

marvelous Mitsubishi

I had been looking/researching HDTVs for several years. Price watching, bargain hunting etc. Plasma is awesome, but still much higher in price when comparing similar sized models. Plus I play video games, watch ESPN etc, so Burn In has to be considered. LCDs are nice too, better price points, but I could not find a similar size and 120hz refresh model for less than $2000.

And really that was my determining factor. I could not stomach paying more than $2000 for a TV. I paid $1299 for my TV on special at Tiger Direct. It was 1599 online, but 1299 if you picked it up in store.

With this particular model, no quality is sacrificed. The only negative I have so far is when I put in GTA 4 for PS3. There was a lot of light in the room and some of the shadows in the game made it impossible to play. I adjusted some of the default GAME settings and that helped, but I think the light/glare issue is just too bad. So my wife is making curtains to fix the issue. Fixed the Display issues when I used the HDMI vs Component. WOW…..Blue Ray source 1080p over HDMI…that is the best picture money can buy, no matter what TV you get.

I also popped in a Star Wars DVD and ran the THX tuning program that comes with the disc.

This TV does not disappoint. Does not wall mount, but that was preferred for me. Also buy your HDMI cables from Amazon, in stores there are at least $30 vs Amazon where they are less than $5 with shipping.

Great price, Great Picute, Average Sound, Crap Remote

My WD 55589 had the dreaded blinking green light. I tried fixing it, but NO go. Long Story short I called Mitsubishi and they gave me an in store credit for $925 for a like TV. The 65737 was the closest model so I went back to my original place of purchase and I got the Mitsubishi WD-65737 65-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV on sale at Ultimate Electronics for $1,083.74 (including tax). With my $925 credit I ended up paying $158.74 for a new 60″ 1080P TV that replaced a 55″ 1080i 7 year old TV.

First let me say I cannot express how good Mitsubishi was to me. Sure I bought the extended warranty, but if was five years and I was two years outside of the warranty. They didn’t have to do anything, but did. This in its self bumps Mitsubishi up to five stars in customer service! The only drawback was I had to take my old TV to the store to receive my $925 credit. Getting a 300+ pound TV to the store in the rain was no easy task, but alas I did it.

After waiting for over an hour for Ultimate Electronics to create what they call a “Wizard” ticket I was ready to leave. I would like to note that I did have to purchase a TV stand because the new TV was much lower than the old one. However I was given a $225 credit for a purchase of a new stand providing it was over $399 dollars.

TV set up. READ the manual before you begin, and LOOK at the remote very closely. They suggested I have everything hooked up, and on before I turned on the TV (tell you why later). I did that. When I turned on the TV up came a menu and it was automatically finding my devices. So far so good. Then came the part where it asked for my language preferences I choose English. The menu asked me to press the arrow key to go to the next screen I press WHAT I THOUGHT was the arrow key. It wasn’t. I accidentally changed the language to Spanish. Since I don’t read Spanish I was now in a myriad of menus I wasn’t quite sure of. After spending over an hour trying to change the language back to English I finally saw that inside the buttons was another set of buttons, and was able to change the language back.

I hooked up a DVD player, DVR (Dish 622), VCR, and Pioneer Receiver. I made two hook ups from the 622 one HDMI, one component, and fiber optic cable to the receiver (the receiver doesn’t have HDMI). NO sound. Went back and read the manual this time, followed the trouble shooting guide to no avail. I checked the mute, the connections, and the source nothing worked. I reset the TV to the factory defaults, still nothing. I was beginning to think that nothing would work.

Finally with the TV on I unhooked everything, turned the TV off, then back on with nothing hooked up. Turned the TV off again, re-connected everything, powered them on, and turned the TV back on. This time the menus came up in English, all of my devices were recognized and wa-la I had sound. I am assuming the plug and play needs a bit of work, but yes I realize it could be me.

Now I have sound. On my old TV I could run the TV speaker and surround sound at the same time with NO problems. On this TV the sound is off by about ½ a second so when I turn on the surround sound I have to mute the TV.

TV Review

The BAD first:

The remote is not back lit. The buttons are small, and the selection buttons when you are in the Menu/Setup mode are just plain ridiculous. Trying to push the buttons resulted in many miss-keys. The Volume up and down are marked with a speaker, which is by a +/- keys. I continually kept pressing the +/- to change the volume.

Menus: What were they thinking? Sometimes you press enter to get to the next menu, sometimes the inside arrow key, sometimes the outside arrow key. Can anyone say consistency?

Manual: Nowhere did it state you may need to unhook your devices so the unit could re-find and properly assign them.

TV Speaker sound: It is very tinny and weak. Yes I know I have surround sound, but at night I don’t turn it on so as not to wake the other s in the house. It would be nice to have a bit better speaker for these occasions.

Recovery Time: If you accidentally turn the TV off it can (not always) take up to 60 seconds for the TV to come back on. I believe this is because of the heat of the lamp, how long it was on, etc. Other times it takes only about 10 seconds.

The Good:

Plug & Play: 4 Stars If done properly it’s easy and straight forward. Just make sure you have ALL your connections in place and on before you turn the device on.

Picture Quality (HD Source): 5 Stars Stunning picture. On par with my other two 1080p plasma & LCD TV’s.

Picture Quality (SD Source): 4 Stars With a TV this big you will see more artifacts, yet I found the SD sources on Dish to be acceptable. (Note I am 12-14 feet from the TV).

Looks: 4 Stars. I have an inset in my theater room so I am able to push the stand and TV into the inset so they are flush with the walls. If I did not have the inset I believe looking at the slopped back from an angle would be a bit annoying. However in my set up I would give it 5 stars since it looks flat.

Price: For 60″ it’s a great deal.

excellent picture quality

The colors on this tv are so vibrant, the picture will not disappoint. I haven’t had any problems with window glare and my tv sits across from a 3′ x 4′ window. Hubby had no problems connecting everything, didn’t even glance at the manual.

Canon CanoScan 4400F Color Image Scanner (1306B002) optical resolution: 4800 x 9600 dpi (19,200 x 19,200 dpi interpolated) * 48-bit color depth * scan up to six frames of 35mm film or four mounted slides at a time * high-speed USB interface * hinged expansion top allows scanning of thick items *

Great value and film resolution

I like this a lot. I’ve been using an Epson Perfection 1670 and this beats it by a longshot. I especially like the (4) 35mm slide copying capability. The highest resolution takes a long time but the quality is very good. For the price I don’t think you can beat it.

Scanned thousands of photos pretty easily!

I bought this scanner to scan all of my pre-digital photos. First it is REALLY easy to use. The quality is great. I did have some trouble with what looked like pixels on the scans but that was just in the scanner software. The scans in every other application were perfect. While it isn’t the fastest scanner around. I could do at least 50 4X6 prints in 30 minutes at 600dpi. I also scanned some books, negatives, and slides. The books were fine, the negatives pretty good, but of course every little flaw is visible but the film never looked that good. BE SURE TO RECALIBRATE BEFORE SCANNING SLIDES OR NEGATIVES. Overall, well worth the money!

Works Great! Easy to Use.

I’ve only had this scanner for a couple of weeks, but I have already used to scan dozens of photos, multi-color printed materials, and documents. I have saved to various image formats and PDF. No problems at all. The software is easy to install and relatively intuitive to use.

Onkyo TX-SR506 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (Black) In the case of Onkyo A/V receivers, ?entry level? means a whole lot more than just affordability and standard functionality. You won’t find a better example than the TX-SR506, which also offers high-definition media capability and advanced sound correction technologies. With an HDMI platform handling 1080p video from three sources, the TX-SR506 brings polish and peak performance to high-definition displays and sources. Legendary Onkyo amplification drive and power set the foundation for delivering bass crunch and vocal clarity. The TX-SR506 uses Audyssey 2EQ to counter distortion created by walls, furniture and other objects. This technology detects speaker distance, and then sets levels, delays, and crossovers, while also measuring room acoustics and you get to enjoy a sweeping soundstage even at low volumes. Easily holding its own among higher-priced A/V receivers, the TX-SR506 adds serious impetus to entry-level home theater. THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) - 0.08% (Rated power) Damping Factor - 60 (Front, 1 kHz, 8 ohms) Input Sensitivity and Impedance - 200 mV/47 k-ohms (Line) Output Level and Impedance - 200 mV/2.2 k-ohms (Rec out) Frequency Response - 5 Hz-100 kHz/+1 dB, -3 dB Tone Control - +-10 dB, 50 Hz (Bass), +-10 dB, 20 kHz (Treble) Signal-to-Noise Ratio - 100 dB (Line, IHF-A) Speaker Impedance - 6 ohms-16 ohms Video - 1 Vp-p/75 ohms (Component and S-Video Y), 0.7 Vp-p/75 ohms (Component PB/CB, PR/CR), 0.28 Vp-p/75 ohms (S-Video C), 1 Vp-p/75 ohms (Composite) Approximate Unit Dimensions - 17.12? (W) x 5.87? (H) x 14.83? (D) Approximate Unit Weight - 21.56 pounds

Great Entry Level Unit

I bought this for the bedroom. My wife wanted something to play music, and I figured I might as well install a 5.1 system. You can’t be Onkyo when it comes to “bang for your buck”. If you don’t attend to add a bluray, this is the unit to buy.

Onkyo Receiver 506

A good choice for my home entertainment center. Zone B or 2 takes a bit of time to get sound and is only analog. The zone A fiber optics digital sound is superb. It’s a lot of receiver for the buck. The price is right.

Good basic receiver

This is a good basic A/V receiver. I got this for my computer to drive the 7.1 speakers I already had. I’m strictly using it for amplification so I’m not concerned with the lack of audio through HDMI. Audessy is a nice plus for easy setup. I would definitely recommend this receiver as long as it is not a center piece for a home theater setup with HDMI.

Toshiba 72HM195 72-Inch Diagonal Theaterwide Integrated (1080p) HD DLP Rear Projection TV Reliability. Performance. Technology. Leadership. The Toshiba name means all this and more. Toshiba builds upon this heritage by delivering the industry’s most innovative, high-quality solutions.PRODUCT FEATURES:Integrated HD DLP Projection TV with ATSC/QAM Tuners;TV Guide On Screen Interactive Program Guide;HDMI, IEEE 1394 (2) Ports (DTV Link) & Optical Digital Audio Output;New TALEN X (Toshiba Advanced Light Engine) 1080p DLP Engine;Xtreme BLAC (Balanced Lens Aperture Control) Lens System Toshiba PixelPure AT (Adaptive Technology) Digital Video Processing;CableClear DNR+ (by Input);SRS WOW;Separate Woofers and Tweeters;StableSound;40-Watts Total Wattage;Digital Cable Ready (DCR) with CableCARD Slot;New Radiance 150 Hi-Bright Lamp with Quick Restart;6-Item Illuminated Universal Remote Control;HD Window POP with Split Screen and 9 Multi-Windows;Tri-Lingual Color Icon On-Screen Display;Off/Sleep Timer.

TV NOT WORTH CONTINUED INVESTMENT

We are extremely disappointed in this T.V. We’ve had it for a year and a half and have already replaced the lamp twice. Once it was under warranty, but this time we had to shell out the money out of our own pockets, and the lamps are not cheap. We found a “deal” for the lamp and “only” had to pay 180 dollars for it. Toshiba states that the lamp should last an average of 8000 hours, both times we were at about 1200-1500 hours of viewing. Wrote a letter to Toshiba with no response. Buyers beware, this T.V.requires a continued investment.

Horrible Quality, Not 1080p, Do Not Buy!!!

Am am a electronics junkie who is well informed of the latest and greatest however this is not a 1080p TV like they say it is! Toshiba is lying to get stupid people like me to believe them. Thought is was a great deal to get a 1080p for about 2000 less than the bigger names. Should have listened to my instincts. 1080p DLP HDTV is the name of the “engine” used to make the pictures but has absolutely nothing to do with actual picture quality. It only will ACCEPT and DISPLAY 10801!!!!!! The quality is also horrible. At 480 or 720 resolution (both p and i) you cannot even see the faces of basketball players. 1080i is ok but you will have to stand 20+ (Manufacturers suggestion is 10-25) feet back to even get a decent picture. . We replaced a pioneer HDTV from 3 years ago, no HDMI, 1080i is the best it can do, and it is by far better than this one. I REPEAT, DO NOT THIS PRODUCT IT IS NOT 1080p! HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are already here so if you buy this tv you are screwed for the next few years. If only I had found these reviews earlier I would have saved over 3000!

Good TV, bad marketing

I bought this TV in Dec ‘05 and have enjoyed its picture quality very much. It does suffer, like most TVs in this design, from the fuzzies during scenes of fire, rain, lightning, etc. Other than that, the picture quality is excellent. The speaks are ok if you’ve never owned a receiver before, but I’m pretty sure my factory car radio sounds better.

My only two real complaints about this TV are the size auto adjustments and the false (or at least hidden) advertisements in 1080p. First, get ready for a fun ride if you have multiple sources (or just HD vs non-HD programming) at varying source resolution. Switching between channels of HD/non-HD causes the TV to blank out for a bit while it tries to reset itself to the correct format. I’ve also enjoyed (not) watching it go from full screen to standard size (4:3) after I’ve tried to tell it to stay in widescreen.

*****

Second, as another reviewer stated, this TV only accepts up to 1080i input. I feel very cheated on this. Reason? Xbox 360 recently (11/1) updated to support 1080p output. Does this TV work in that mode? NO! Is there a real picture quality difference? Beats me because I’ll never know on this TV. To advertise a TV as a 1080p, but then to find out (on Google no less - Toshiba’s site itself is nothing but marketing bull) that it can only do magic on 1080i inputs to make them 1080p output sickens me.

So to wrap it up, this is an excellent TV from my experience overall. I did find on Toshiba’s website that there’s a known bulb issue and they will extend your warranty on the bulb for an extra year if your s/n is in the range.

5.1 Channel Surround Cinema Speaker System 5.1-Channel Surround Cinema Speaker System

Fantastic system for its size

We have these in two different rooms and have never once felt they were underpowered or unbalanced. These speakers are stealthy; they almost invisibly fill the room with crisp (but not tinny), powerful sound. If you are looking to impress people with how big your speakers are, these are not for you. If you are looking for a system to annoy neighbors in surrounding houses, you will need a bigger (10″ or more) subwoofer and bigger mids.

Great Speakers!

This is my first home theater system. The speakers work great. Other then the need to switch out the stock speaker wire for something a little more hefty like say, 12 gauge, the sound quality is far more then I expected. The powered subwoofer is Ok, but I wanted something heavier - at least a 10″. I got a 12″, 400 watt subwoofer, and I think my neighbors don’t like me anymore I would recommend JBL speakers over BOSE speakers any day!