I bought the 42-inch 720p plasma Panasonic TH-42PX80U for my mother's bedroom, where it has been hanging on the wall for the last 3.5 years (as of 03/2012). The TV was less than $700 delivered (after the Live! rebate). Obviously, it is smaller than the 50-inch 1080p Panasonic TH-50PZ800U I reviewed earlier, has slightly lower resolution and costs about 50% less, but is it much worse?
My other point of comparison is the Hitachi P50H401 50-inch plasma TV that I bought for $1,150 (delivery and taxes included) at about the same time.
Features
The Panasonic TH-42PX80U is a 42-inch plasma HDTV with 720p resolution. It features 3 HDMI inputs (including one in front), 2 S-video (1 in front), 2 component video and 2 composite video inputs (1 in front). There is also an antenna jack and an SD card slot for viewing pictures.
The HDMI inputs are v 1.3 compliant and TV features Deep Color and x.v.Color support.
The screen has a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, Motion Adaptive 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter, MPEG noise reduction and a built-in HD tuner. It also has a Game Mode, Cinema Mode, Standard, Vivid and Custom modes and features anti-reflective coating to reduce unwanted light reflections.
The TV weighs only 57 lbs without the stand or 62 lbs with it (included). The TV features 2 built-in speakers with audio output of up to 20W qt 10% THD at 70-17,000 Hz.
The TV also features VIERA Link, which allows you operate other compatible Panasonic devices connected to it via HDMI using one remote.
Usage
The TV comes with a stand that requires minimal assembly. As I mentioned before, I mounted this TV on the wall using a generic TV mounting bracket. The mounting was rather straightforward. I removed four plastic plugs on the rear panel of the TV, attached the two metal plates to the back of the TV with the supplied bolts using the holes exposed by removing the aforementioned plugs.
Then, I attached the bracket to the wall and hung the TV on it.
The TV is very nice looking and will match seemingly any decor. The 50PZ800U looks slightly better though. Thus far, I used the TV with off the air programming, as well as with the Philips DVP5990 upconverting DVD player. The player was connected to the TV using its HDMI input.
I also briefly tried the TV's component video connections (the image quality was almost as good, but slightly softer).
Unlike some other HDTVs (namely my Hitachi), the powering on and switching between channels (as well as menu operations) are rather fast. When switching channels, the sound appears within one second and image within two. The menus appear almost instantaneously. My Hitachi is almost infuriatingly slow in this regard, especially after using this Panasonic.
The menus are intuitive and the setup was easy. In fact, the TV offered me to select the menu language and scan for channels. After channel scan, you can select/deselect channels that will be stored or skipped.
The remote control is relatively intuitive with large buttons for primary functions. The buttons are not backlit, but the layout is intuitive and they have great tactile response.
One more feature that makes this TV better than my Hitachi is the fact that you don't have to enter the entire channel number, e.g. 4-4. If you hit 4 and Select and the TV goes to the first channel that is not unselected while setting the channels up.
Picture Quality
Out of the box, the TV produced very good picture, but (as is always the case) had over-boosted color and sharpness. It has Cinema mode, which is better. With other TVs, I use AVIA calibration DVD, but I was able to find recommended settings for this TV online and they did work very well (I adjusted Custom setting).
The settings removed over-boosted color saturation, edge enhancement and contrast, making picture appear more natural and film-like.
The TV produces excellent image quality. It produces excellent contrast, great colors, shadow and highlight detail. The skin tones are very good also.
The colors are vivid, yet natural. The foliage is very natural as well and the textures are well-defined due to great shadow detail and dynamic range.
The off the air programming, especially 1080i sports broadcasts, look excellent. The TV has a good tuner that can pull in as many channels as my Hitachi's.
Thanks to the anti-reflective coating, the TV, unlike many plasmas, does not suffer from excessive glare and is even better in this aspect that a CRT TV. It is even slightly better than my Hitachi and unlike Hitachi it does not sacrifice black level. The black level of Panasonic TVs is excellent and is among the best in business (same as Pioneer Kuro without its steep piece tag).
In this aspect, as well as in natural colors Panasonic TVs are among the best plasma or LCD TVs and this TV is no exception. It also holds details perfectly in both shadows and highlights. No LCD TVs cannot compare to the color reproduction or smooth motion of this TV - the areas where LCD TVs are lagging plasma technology.
The viewing angle is also excellent. I can see the images on TV while watching it almost perpendicular to the normal angle of view, which is not something LCD TVs can offer either.
I use the DVD player set to 720p over HDMI connection as well as off the air HD programming. Each input remembers its own settings, so make sure you adjust contrast, etc. for all of them.
Despite being a 720p TV (as opposed to 1080p resolution of pricier PZ800 series), the pictures have excellent cinema-like appearance in either 1080i or 720p resolution. For the size and viewing distance (about 7 feet), the 720p is as high of a resolution as is needed. The detail level is excellent.
The standard-def programming is slightly fuzzy after watching high-def, but it is not something I would be concerned about.
Resolutions: The TV can display material at resolutions of up to 1080p (inlcuding 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i). Standard-definition signal looks slightly soft comparing to high-definition signal, but resolution is great overall.
Sound
The TV has 2 speakers, which are definitely adequate for watching news or sports, but I would suggest using dedicated 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup with a good receiver for movies and music shows.
Pros: Price, looks, features, picture quality, ease of use, good remote, great black level
Cons: "Only" 720p (but I don't care)
Conclusion
I am very happy with this TV. For the price, I can only find smallest issues with it, e.g. non-backlit remote. Its image quality is excellent, especially with high-definition sources. The excellent resolution, detail level in both shadows and highlights, black level, good color reproduction and ease of use are commendable.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Pioneer Elite DV-49AV Universal Upconverting DVD Player - DVD-Audio, SACD, 1080p, HDMI, DivX and USB
Having used the Pioneer DV-410V for a while, I liked it a lot and had no intention to switch to another DVD player. After all, it had all I needed (or so I thought).
I also have had the original king of DivX, a.k.a. Philips DVP642 for a while and considering its impressive feature list (including PAL playback, DivX playback and progressive scan), I was relatively happy with it for $41 that I paid. I was not happy with it overall however, and would not have paid its original price (my unit was Philips-refurbished).
One of the issues I had with it was the fact that although it played most DivX videos, it stuttered on some others and showed terrible block noise on some others, making them unwatchable. That was in addition to it having fast scan speed of no higher than 8x and its resume functionality requiring you to push Play while it said Loadining. Miss Loading and you are stuck trying to find the point where you stopped watching last time. Exciting.
To improve on the above and to supplement my then-new 50-inch 1080p Hitachi plasma TV, I decided to get a DVD player that would further improve on DivX playback, have HDMI and upscaling to 1080p (or at least to 1080i) and, for the love of progress and file sharing, a USB port.
I tried newer Philips DVD players, namely Philips DVP5982 and Philips DVP5960 and, although they were both improvements on the DVP 642, they were not perfect. I got the Pioneer DV-400V in black color and kept the Philips DVP642 for the sole use as a CD transport.
With its features, fast response and sleek GUI, the DV-410V was all I needed. Then I upgraded my receiver from Panasonic SA-XR55 to Panasonic SA-XR57. The XR57 has an HDMI input and can play DVD-Audio (including multi-channel) when passed over HDMI. Since wasting HDMI inputs is not what I like to do, I adopted a "no HDMI input left behind" policy.
Plus I always wanted better sound quality than what CD or DTS CD can provide. Although some well-mastered CDs sound very good, in most cases I felt I needed better SQ. The above is to make a short story long. To make a long story short though, I saw the universal (SACD and DVD-Audio) Pioneer Elite DV-49AV on sale and bought it.
The Switch
Once the player arrived, I disconnected the DV-410V and put the DV-49AV in its place. The two look very similar. The size, control placement and even USB port location are the same. There are things that aren't, however. Weight is one of them. The Elite DV-49AV is appreciably heavier, which makes me happy. Perhaps it is well-made (not that I have complaints about its predecessor).
Another positive is the back panel. Or rather the number of jacks on it. The Elite has both an optical and coaxial digital audio outs (the 410V only had a coax). The 49AV also has a 5.1. analog out for those who need or want to use the player's decoding abilities for DVD-Audio, SACD, DD or DTS.
The remote is also more substantial and has more buttons, so I knew that at least I am getting a better button/$ ratio. The remote also feels more substantial, can control some TV functions and, unlike the DV-410V's remote is black in color to match the player itself.
So far I connected the player to my receiver (the aforementioned Panasonic SA-XR57) with both a coaxial cable and an HDMI cable. The coaxial cable is redundant, but I have extra cables.
Features
The Pioneer Elite DV-49AV is a "universal" DVD player with upconversion to 480p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p. It can play DivX, WMV, AAC, MP3 and WMA as well as display JPEG pictures of up to 6MP. You do not need to create a VCD disc structure, just copy the files to a CD-R/W disc or DVD and insert it into this player and it will play them. Same applies to the USB port that the player has: you can copy files onto a USB drive and the player will play them, albeit sometimes with some slight issues.
The player supports slow and fast scan, even in DivX files. Even though the manual does not say anything about it, it will play (and even upconvert) European PAL discs on an NTSC TV. Nice!
For audio, in addition to CD Audio, the player can play both high-resolution audio formats: DVD-Audio and Sony's Super Audio CD (SACD), including outputting them over HDMI to compatible receivers (bitstream), converting them to PCM or outputting them over digital outs (downmixed) or outputting them through the analog 5.1 connections.
It has an optical and coaxial digital audio outs, HDMI out, component video out, S-Video and composite video out. It also has an analog 5.1 audio out for playback of DD, DTS, DVD-Audio and SACD. Unlike so many recent DVD players, it has buttons on the front panel to control its menus, USB/DVD switching and playback and has a very intuitive remote control.
One more "bang for buck" variable to consider. The player comes with full 2-year parts and labor warranty.
Operation
Once the player arrived, I immediately checked whether it could play European PAL discs on my non-PAL TV. It turned out it plays them and plays them well, without stuttering. It even upconverts them.
The player is medium-sized and is rather hefty, which gives it a very solid feel. The front panel is not Spartan like so many recent DVD players. It has menu control buttons as well as playback control buttons, all of which look stylish and have good tactile response.
The display is bright and informative with the remote control button letting you switch between several levels of brightness. The onscreen displays are excellent and are very well designed. The look very similar to the ones of my previous DV-400V. I adjusted some settings and was watching movies in no time.
Again, the player is connected to my receiver and the receiver is connected to the TV using HDMI. The TV is Hitachi P50H401 50-inch plasma. I also had to switch the sharpness mode to "Soft" to get rid of oversharpening. The player also has adjustments for brightness/contrast and Gamma.
One strange issue I discovered was that you cannot adjust any of the digital (non-HDMI) outs' settings unless you disable HDMI first. Also, speaker management (distances, etc.) for 5.1 analog outs are disabled when HDMI is set to "on". Not that I needed it anyway, but I checked out the picture of the room you are presented with when the speaker settings are adjusted. Then I set the HDMI to "Auto" and never looked back.
Ah, but not so fast. The first issue was that the sound coming from speakers when I played a 5.1 DVD-Audio disc in 96kHz/24 bit was definitely stereo, even though HDMI light on the receiver was on. Lame.
After switching back and forth between various HDMI settings on the player, the sound mysteriously appeared in all speakers. Currently, I have the HDMI option set to Auto.
One interesting item is that when I turn the TV off, the resolution on the TV player changes to 480p and once I turn the TV on, it changes back to 1080i. But not always. Strange.
Usability
I was immediately impressed with how convenient and informative the menus and onscreen displays are. From colors to presentation, the menus are among the best I have seen.
For example, the onscreen display shows at the same time the total time of the current chapter, remaining time and running time. It also can show bit rate in real time, which is not always useful (DVD), but interesting nonetheless.
And another impressive asset in this player is how Resume functionality is implemented. In some DVD players you have to jump through the hoops to ensure the movie starts playing from where you left off last time. This Pioneer just does it seamlessly and it has resume functionality even in the MPEG or DivX files! Very convenient. But (and it is a significant "but") there is no Resume functionality for DVD-Audio or SACD.
Remote Control
Most DVD players have remote controls you have to look at when using or struggle to remember the button locations. The DV400 had a remote control that is pretty close to perfection. The one for this player is close. The buttons have excellent tactile response. They do not require high effort yet have good positive feedback.
The buttons are located in intuitive order and the most frequently used buttons are larger than secondary ones. The remote is almost perfect. The lower part of it has buttons to control the TV. The only issue I have with that is that there is no "Select" button and on my Hitachi, hitting Input cycles through inputs, but never actually selects them. No big deal though.
Picture Quality
The 1080p output over HDMI is excellent: razor sharp and clear. It does not quite have the smallest detail of the HD DVD or Blu-Ray, but it is pretty close. And I saw definite improvement over passing 480p signal from my old Philips DVP642 over component out to my TV.
The in-player 1080p upconversion of the DV-49AV is very good. It is not perfect though. You can see the stairstep artifacts, especially obvious when watch "South Park" - the diagonal lines are not smooth but resemble steps. But what can we expect at this price point?
Since I have not expected it to rival an HD DVD disc in my Toshiba HD-A3, I am very happy with the image quality. I have to use the player at 1080i though since the receiver claims to support up to 1080i.
The sound during movies is excellent as well (using coaxial digital connection as well as HDMI to my Panasonic XR57 receiver). The player also passes sound over HDMI, which is convenient. The player plays most of my MPEG and AVI computer files flawlessly. The files can be burned on a CD-R/W disc just as a regular data CD with no VCD structure needed. I say most, because although it stutters on fewer files than my Philips did, it still has issues with some files, which it refuses to play completely.
The front USB port is a great feature and lets you use a USB drive or any similar device, provided it does not require much power. USB-powered hard drive will most likely not work. Still, it is a great feature as I can copy over a bunch of MP3 or WMA files onto a USB drive, plug it into the USB port of this player and play it through my receiver and speakers. Ditto the video files. The only issue is the player asks you if you want to play audio or video when the USB mode is turned on. So you have to use the onscreen menu to select that. But after that you can switch the TV off and just play your music.
The front panel display says GUI when you are using the menus or shows numbers if the GUI mode is off.
DVD-Audio and SACD
I have not yet tried SACD and not sure if I will. One issue is the fact that my receiver does not decode DSD over HDMI, so I would have to use the player's 5.1 analog connection. I already ordered the cables, but I would use the 5.1 connection as the last resort. The first reason is the fact that the bass management on the player itself is not as good as on the receiver. The other is that the receiver has a fully digital amplifier, so using the 5.1 analog connection would result in an extra trip through the DAC in the player and then ADC in the receiver to convert the signal from digital to analog and to digital again.
What I have used the player's "universal-ness" is to play DVD-Audio discs over HDMI. I have it connected to the Panasonic SA-XR57 7x100W receiver with full digital amplification and dual-amped front channels. The speakers are Athena AS-F1 fronts, Athena S.5 rears, Athena C.5 center and an Athena AS-P400 subwoofer. I use Phoenix Gold M-1250 Super Oxygen Free Copper 12-Gauge speaker cable.
The sound quality from DVD-Audio is amazing. The sound is smooth, has huge dynamic range and expansive frequency range. The imaging and instrument separation are great. CD Audio sounds slightly harsh by contrast and even worse if it is not mastered well. So far I listened to 96 kHz 24 bit discs and they sound amazing. The DVD-Audio has sonic advantages of vinyl/LP without hissing or clicks and with higher dynamic range. But maybe I overestimate LP, since the last time I listened to LP was about 11 years ago. Still, once I heard DVD-Audio, I immediately thought that is sounds somewhat similar to LP. But maybe it is just because I have been consuming Glenlivet.
The most noticeable improvement over CD Audio seems to be smoother treble. Which makes sense, since at 44 kHz 16 bit CD Audio does not have much resolution in the highest frequencies. Fewer than three 16-bit samples to be exact. Oh, and no center or surround channels.
The 192 kHz stereo DVD-Audio sounds amazing as well. Is it better than 96 kHz? Hard to tell, but it sure seems like it.
Warranty
Unlike many other DVD players, which only have 90-day labor warranty, and the Pioneer DV-400V with 1-year warranty for both parts and labor, this Elite model has full 2-year warranty.
So far, after 6 months, the unit performs flawlessly. Aside from occassional refusal to turn off if the receiver is turned off before the player. Might be a slight glitch in the HDMI implementation.
What I Like
Amazing sound from DVD-Audio, connectivity and low price for feature set, PAL playback and conversion to NTSC, computer video file playback, USB, 1080p. Very good build quality, excellent video and sound, great remote control, menus, responsiveness. 2-year warranty does not hurt either.
What I Dislike
The initial startup takes several seconds. The player switches HDMI output resolution randomly (but most of the time not to detriment of video output and there is a remote button to cycle through resolutions instantly). I now have to spend lots of money of DVD-Audio discs.
Reliability
As of 11/2011, I have had this player for 3 years and it works perfectly.
Pros: DVD-Audio, SACD, connectivity, price, features, DivX, USB, upconversion, remote, menus, responsiveness, 2-year warranty
Cons: Slow startup
Bottom Line
The Pioneer Elite DV-49AV excels on all fronts. It plays virtually any format short of Blu-Ray. It plays both DVD-Audio and SACD. It is also a very good upconverting DVD player with a USB port, DivX playback and even PAL playback on an NTSC TV. If you need to play PAL discs on an NTSC TV, play computer files and DivX, play media files from a USB drive and upconvert up to 1080p, the DV400 is an excellent choice. And it is an excellent choice for regular DVD playback as well. With its 2-year warranty and solid build quality, I highly recommend it. It is my current #1 pick for a DVD player.
I also have had the original king of DivX, a.k.a. Philips DVP642 for a while and considering its impressive feature list (including PAL playback, DivX playback and progressive scan), I was relatively happy with it for $41 that I paid. I was not happy with it overall however, and would not have paid its original price (my unit was Philips-refurbished).
One of the issues I had with it was the fact that although it played most DivX videos, it stuttered on some others and showed terrible block noise on some others, making them unwatchable. That was in addition to it having fast scan speed of no higher than 8x and its resume functionality requiring you to push Play while it said Loadining. Miss Loading and you are stuck trying to find the point where you stopped watching last time. Exciting.
To improve on the above and to supplement my then-new 50-inch 1080p Hitachi plasma TV, I decided to get a DVD player that would further improve on DivX playback, have HDMI and upscaling to 1080p (or at least to 1080i) and, for the love of progress and file sharing, a USB port.
I tried newer Philips DVD players, namely Philips DVP5982 and Philips DVP5960 and, although they were both improvements on the DVP 642, they were not perfect. I got the Pioneer DV-400V in black color and kept the Philips DVP642 for the sole use as a CD transport.
With its features, fast response and sleek GUI, the DV-410V was all I needed. Then I upgraded my receiver from Panasonic SA-XR55 to Panasonic SA-XR57. The XR57 has an HDMI input and can play DVD-Audio (including multi-channel) when passed over HDMI. Since wasting HDMI inputs is not what I like to do, I adopted a "no HDMI input left behind" policy.
Plus I always wanted better sound quality than what CD or DTS CD can provide. Although some well-mastered CDs sound very good, in most cases I felt I needed better SQ. The above is to make a short story long. To make a long story short though, I saw the universal (SACD and DVD-Audio) Pioneer Elite DV-49AV on sale and bought it.
The Switch
Once the player arrived, I disconnected the DV-410V and put the DV-49AV in its place. The two look very similar. The size, control placement and even USB port location are the same. There are things that aren't, however. Weight is one of them. The Elite DV-49AV is appreciably heavier, which makes me happy. Perhaps it is well-made (not that I have complaints about its predecessor).
Another positive is the back panel. Or rather the number of jacks on it. The Elite has both an optical and coaxial digital audio outs (the 410V only had a coax). The 49AV also has a 5.1. analog out for those who need or want to use the player's decoding abilities for DVD-Audio, SACD, DD or DTS.
The remote is also more substantial and has more buttons, so I knew that at least I am getting a better button/$ ratio. The remote also feels more substantial, can control some TV functions and, unlike the DV-410V's remote is black in color to match the player itself.
So far I connected the player to my receiver (the aforementioned Panasonic SA-XR57) with both a coaxial cable and an HDMI cable. The coaxial cable is redundant, but I have extra cables.
Features
The Pioneer Elite DV-49AV is a "universal" DVD player with upconversion to 480p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p. It can play DivX, WMV, AAC, MP3 and WMA as well as display JPEG pictures of up to 6MP. You do not need to create a VCD disc structure, just copy the files to a CD-R/W disc or DVD and insert it into this player and it will play them. Same applies to the USB port that the player has: you can copy files onto a USB drive and the player will play them, albeit sometimes with some slight issues.
The player supports slow and fast scan, even in DivX files. Even though the manual does not say anything about it, it will play (and even upconvert) European PAL discs on an NTSC TV. Nice!
For audio, in addition to CD Audio, the player can play both high-resolution audio formats: DVD-Audio and Sony's Super Audio CD (SACD), including outputting them over HDMI to compatible receivers (bitstream), converting them to PCM or outputting them over digital outs (downmixed) or outputting them through the analog 5.1 connections.
It has an optical and coaxial digital audio outs, HDMI out, component video out, S-Video and composite video out. It also has an analog 5.1 audio out for playback of DD, DTS, DVD-Audio and SACD. Unlike so many recent DVD players, it has buttons on the front panel to control its menus, USB/DVD switching and playback and has a very intuitive remote control.
One more "bang for buck" variable to consider. The player comes with full 2-year parts and labor warranty.
Operation
Once the player arrived, I immediately checked whether it could play European PAL discs on my non-PAL TV. It turned out it plays them and plays them well, without stuttering. It even upconverts them.
The player is medium-sized and is rather hefty, which gives it a very solid feel. The front panel is not Spartan like so many recent DVD players. It has menu control buttons as well as playback control buttons, all of which look stylish and have good tactile response.
The display is bright and informative with the remote control button letting you switch between several levels of brightness. The onscreen displays are excellent and are very well designed. The look very similar to the ones of my previous DV-400V. I adjusted some settings and was watching movies in no time.
Again, the player is connected to my receiver and the receiver is connected to the TV using HDMI. The TV is Hitachi P50H401 50-inch plasma. I also had to switch the sharpness mode to "Soft" to get rid of oversharpening. The player also has adjustments for brightness/contrast and Gamma.
One strange issue I discovered was that you cannot adjust any of the digital (non-HDMI) outs' settings unless you disable HDMI first. Also, speaker management (distances, etc.) for 5.1 analog outs are disabled when HDMI is set to "on". Not that I needed it anyway, but I checked out the picture of the room you are presented with when the speaker settings are adjusted. Then I set the HDMI to "Auto" and never looked back.
Ah, but not so fast. The first issue was that the sound coming from speakers when I played a 5.1 DVD-Audio disc in 96kHz/24 bit was definitely stereo, even though HDMI light on the receiver was on. Lame.
After switching back and forth between various HDMI settings on the player, the sound mysteriously appeared in all speakers. Currently, I have the HDMI option set to Auto.
One interesting item is that when I turn the TV off, the resolution on the TV player changes to 480p and once I turn the TV on, it changes back to 1080i. But not always. Strange.
Usability
I was immediately impressed with how convenient and informative the menus and onscreen displays are. From colors to presentation, the menus are among the best I have seen.
For example, the onscreen display shows at the same time the total time of the current chapter, remaining time and running time. It also can show bit rate in real time, which is not always useful (DVD), but interesting nonetheless.
And another impressive asset in this player is how Resume functionality is implemented. In some DVD players you have to jump through the hoops to ensure the movie starts playing from where you left off last time. This Pioneer just does it seamlessly and it has resume functionality even in the MPEG or DivX files! Very convenient. But (and it is a significant "but") there is no Resume functionality for DVD-Audio or SACD.
Remote Control
Most DVD players have remote controls you have to look at when using or struggle to remember the button locations. The DV400 had a remote control that is pretty close to perfection. The one for this player is close. The buttons have excellent tactile response. They do not require high effort yet have good positive feedback.
The buttons are located in intuitive order and the most frequently used buttons are larger than secondary ones. The remote is almost perfect. The lower part of it has buttons to control the TV. The only issue I have with that is that there is no "Select" button and on my Hitachi, hitting Input cycles through inputs, but never actually selects them. No big deal though.
Picture Quality
The 1080p output over HDMI is excellent: razor sharp and clear. It does not quite have the smallest detail of the HD DVD or Blu-Ray, but it is pretty close. And I saw definite improvement over passing 480p signal from my old Philips DVP642 over component out to my TV.
The in-player 1080p upconversion of the DV-49AV is very good. It is not perfect though. You can see the stairstep artifacts, especially obvious when watch "South Park" - the diagonal lines are not smooth but resemble steps. But what can we expect at this price point?
Since I have not expected it to rival an HD DVD disc in my Toshiba HD-A3, I am very happy with the image quality. I have to use the player at 1080i though since the receiver claims to support up to 1080i.
The sound during movies is excellent as well (using coaxial digital connection as well as HDMI to my Panasonic XR57 receiver). The player also passes sound over HDMI, which is convenient. The player plays most of my MPEG and AVI computer files flawlessly. The files can be burned on a CD-R/W disc just as a regular data CD with no VCD structure needed. I say most, because although it stutters on fewer files than my Philips did, it still has issues with some files, which it refuses to play completely.
The front USB port is a great feature and lets you use a USB drive or any similar device, provided it does not require much power. USB-powered hard drive will most likely not work. Still, it is a great feature as I can copy over a bunch of MP3 or WMA files onto a USB drive, plug it into the USB port of this player and play it through my receiver and speakers. Ditto the video files. The only issue is the player asks you if you want to play audio or video when the USB mode is turned on. So you have to use the onscreen menu to select that. But after that you can switch the TV off and just play your music.
The front panel display says GUI when you are using the menus or shows numbers if the GUI mode is off.
DVD-Audio and SACD
I have not yet tried SACD and not sure if I will. One issue is the fact that my receiver does not decode DSD over HDMI, so I would have to use the player's 5.1 analog connection. I already ordered the cables, but I would use the 5.1 connection as the last resort. The first reason is the fact that the bass management on the player itself is not as good as on the receiver. The other is that the receiver has a fully digital amplifier, so using the 5.1 analog connection would result in an extra trip through the DAC in the player and then ADC in the receiver to convert the signal from digital to analog and to digital again.
What I have used the player's "universal-ness" is to play DVD-Audio discs over HDMI. I have it connected to the Panasonic SA-XR57 7x100W receiver with full digital amplification and dual-amped front channels. The speakers are Athena AS-F1 fronts, Athena S.5 rears, Athena C.5 center and an Athena AS-P400 subwoofer. I use Phoenix Gold M-1250 Super Oxygen Free Copper 12-Gauge speaker cable.
The sound quality from DVD-Audio is amazing. The sound is smooth, has huge dynamic range and expansive frequency range. The imaging and instrument separation are great. CD Audio sounds slightly harsh by contrast and even worse if it is not mastered well. So far I listened to 96 kHz 24 bit discs and they sound amazing. The DVD-Audio has sonic advantages of vinyl/LP without hissing or clicks and with higher dynamic range. But maybe I overestimate LP, since the last time I listened to LP was about 11 years ago. Still, once I heard DVD-Audio, I immediately thought that is sounds somewhat similar to LP. But maybe it is just because I have been consuming Glenlivet.
The most noticeable improvement over CD Audio seems to be smoother treble. Which makes sense, since at 44 kHz 16 bit CD Audio does not have much resolution in the highest frequencies. Fewer than three 16-bit samples to be exact. Oh, and no center or surround channels.
The 192 kHz stereo DVD-Audio sounds amazing as well. Is it better than 96 kHz? Hard to tell, but it sure seems like it.
Warranty
Unlike many other DVD players, which only have 90-day labor warranty, and the Pioneer DV-400V with 1-year warranty for both parts and labor, this Elite model has full 2-year warranty.
So far, after 6 months, the unit performs flawlessly. Aside from occassional refusal to turn off if the receiver is turned off before the player. Might be a slight glitch in the HDMI implementation.
What I Like
Amazing sound from DVD-Audio, connectivity and low price for feature set, PAL playback and conversion to NTSC, computer video file playback, USB, 1080p. Very good build quality, excellent video and sound, great remote control, menus, responsiveness. 2-year warranty does not hurt either.
What I Dislike
The initial startup takes several seconds. The player switches HDMI output resolution randomly (but most of the time not to detriment of video output and there is a remote button to cycle through resolutions instantly). I now have to spend lots of money of DVD-Audio discs.
Reliability
As of 11/2011, I have had this player for 3 years and it works perfectly.
Pros: DVD-Audio, SACD, connectivity, price, features, DivX, USB, upconversion, remote, menus, responsiveness, 2-year warranty
Cons: Slow startup
Bottom Line
The Pioneer Elite DV-49AV excels on all fronts. It plays virtually any format short of Blu-Ray. It plays both DVD-Audio and SACD. It is also a very good upconverting DVD player with a USB port, DivX playback and even PAL playback on an NTSC TV. If you need to play PAL discs on an NTSC TV, play computer files and DivX, play media files from a USB drive and upconvert up to 1080p, the DV400 is an excellent choice. And it is an excellent choice for regular DVD playback as well. With its 2-year warranty and solid build quality, I highly recommend it. It is my current #1 pick for a DVD player.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Canon PowerShot SX10 IS 10-Megapixel Digital Camera with 20x Optical Stabilized Zoom
Mega-zoom cameras (cameras that have 10x optical zoom or over) are fun. Before digital mega-zoom cameras were available, you would have to buy and, not less important, carry around a bunch of lenses and a camera body to be able to get to 10x magnification. Now you can get a digital camera with 10x optical zoom and over for less than $500 and frequently even for less than $300 and put it in a compact bag.
Why is having 10x or more optical zoom fun? You can zoom in to magnify far-away objects while staying far from them. Alas, not all mega-zoom cameras are created equal. Some cameras have no image stabilization at all, resulting in blurry images at high magnification levels and/or in dim light. Some cameras rely on increased sensitivity setting (ISO) to increase the shutter speed thereby reducing blur caused by the shake when the camera is handheld, but sometimes at an expense of increased noise or detail.
At the top of the mega-zoom hierarchy are cameras with optically-stabilized zooms. These cameras move an optical element within the lens (some shift the CCD sensor itself) to reduce or eliminate blur caused by shooting handheld. The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is on of these cameras and a successor to the well-respected Canon S5 IS.
I have used many mega-zoom cameras, including the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8, the new 18x-zoom Panasonic FZ18, the Canon PowerShot S5 IS, the Fuji S6000fd, the Fuji S700 and others.
Although all mega-zoom cameras are fun, the most fun to use cameras for me are the ones with over 15x optical zoom, optical image stabilization and 28mm wide angle. I wanted to try the new Canon PowerShot SX10 IS in part because of its 20x optical zoom, image stabilization and 28mm wide angle (35mm-equivalent). I purchased the Canon SX10 IS and after using it and comparing it to other stabilized-zoom cameras, I sold it on eBay (just as the previous Canon S-series models and other cameras that I get to try).
In this case, I sold it not because it is a bad camera or there is a better mega-zoom alternative. I simply am happy to have a digital SLR and mega-zoom feature of this camera is not something I need on a daily basis.
An Improvement Over the Canon S5 IS?
A replacement for the last year's popular Canon PowerShot S5 IS, the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is a digital camera with optical image stabilization, 20x zoom (vs. 12x), 10-Megapixel resolution (vs. 8MP), ISO up to 3200 (vs. 1600) and 2.5-inch LCD. The camera has face detection and features improved DIGIC 4 with servo AF tracking.
Just as the S5 IS before it, the SX10 IS has an articulated LCD screen, uses 4 AA batteries and stores photos on SD memory cards. The amazing 20x optical zoom and optical image stabilization work together to give you sharp pictures when shooting handheld and/or at long distances. This is probably the highest optical zoom on the market today and optical image stabilization makes this 20x optical zoom usable without introducing blurriness when shooting handheld (of course to reasonable level).
The Canon S5 IS and the S3 IS before it were impressive and very popular cameras. The only things I did not like about them were their use of 4 AA batteries, the fact that the filter adaptors were sold separately, whereas Panasonic FZ cameras came with them and the flimsy lens cap, as well as the fact that the flash had to be raised manually (unlike Panasonic cameras where you could just push a button).
The S5 IS added a hot shoe adapter for external flashes, moving it closer to semi-pro category and the SX10 IS retains this feature. The SX10 still has not improved in the areas I criticized (ever since S2 IS), but did improve in the area of resolution, and most importantly zoom level and wide angle coverage. And although the changes are evolutionary rather than revolutionary the SX10 IS is a major leap forward due to aforementioned.
About Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
The Canon S10 IS is a 10-Megapixel digital camera with 20x optical zoom (28-560mm in 35-mm equivalent), optical image stabilization with maximum apertures of f/2.8 at wide angle and f/5.7 at full telephoto. It stores images on an SD card in JPEG format (including SDHC).
The camera is only available in black color. It has a 2.5-inch fully-articulated LCD screen. The camera is relatively compact and feels solid, features USB 2.0 connectivity that is fast.
The 20x optical zoom optics features optical image stabilization. In addition to digital still photographs, the camera can record video clips with stereo sound. You can output video and sound to your TV (be it your pictures or video clips) using the supplied audio/video cable. It has face detection that works in conjunction with automatic white balance, focus and exposure.
Features
The camera lets you shoot at the resolutions of up to 10 Megapixels and lets you print enlargements or crop the part of the picture and print it with excellent results. And, of course, it is more than enough for the standard 6x4 prints.
The camera features selectable ISO between 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 as well as Auto and High ISO Auto. It also has manual focus (with focus bracketing) in addition to automatic 1-spot focus (the focus spot in auto mode can be moved to any position on the screen by using [SET] and arrow buttons) as well as face detection.
The camera has an autofocus assist light for better and faster focusing in low-light conditions. It works well in dim light.
Metering and Exposure
The exposure modes include Program AE, Aperture and Shutter Priority mode, and even full Manual mode. The shutter speed can be set between 15 and 1/3,200 sec with speeds slower than 1.3 sec available in Shutter Priority or Manual mode and operating with noise reduction.
The light metering can be selected between Evaluative, Center-Weighted and Spot (center or AF point). I find Spot and Center-Weighted modes useful when taking pictures of people at distances where the flash doesn't reach in backlight. In Evaluative metering mode, the faces might turn out underexposed, unless you dial some exposure compensation.
In Spot mode, you can set metering to properly expose the face. Also, the Spot metering mode can help you figure out the proper exposure in difficult lighting conditions be metering off the object with known tonal characteristics and then dialing some exposure compensation. The camera even has a live histogram. The evaluative metering incorporates data from the face detection system to ensure that faces are properly exposed.
Movie Mode
The camera has a built-in stereo microphone for recording sounds while filming video clips and a speaker, which can be used for operational sounds or to play back the sounds recorded. The camera can record AVI movie clips at up to 640x480 pixels at 30 fps with stereo sound; also available is 320x240 resolution at 24 fps at up to 4GB or 60 minutes.
Focusing
The camera has a Macro mode as well as Super Macro mode, in which it can focus as close as 0 inches. That's right - zero inches!
Focus Range:
Normal: 50 cm (1.6 ft.) - infinity (W)/ 1 m (3.3 ft.) - infinity (T)
Macro: 1 - 50 cm (0.39 in. to 1.6 ft.)
Super Macro: 0 - 10 cm (0 to 3.9 in.)
LCD and Viewfinder
The camera has a fully articulated 2.5-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels that covers 100% of the view. The LCD requires quite a lot of force to flip outward or rotate, but feels sturdy as a result.
In addition to the LCD, there is an electronic viewfinder (EVF). Since it is expensive (and difficult if not impossible) to make a 20x zooming optical viewfinder and impossible to easily confirm focus in a non-SLR optical viewfinder, the Canon S5 IS has an EVF.
Both the LCD and EVF are fluid, has pleasing colors and good resolution. Both are fluid, even in low light.
I found that the LCD is well-visible in regular conditions, but in sunlight, visibility decreases and you have to use the EVF, which works well in sunlight.
Power
The power is supplied by 4 AA-sized batteries. Canon includes four alkaline batteries with the camera, but obviously you have to get your rechargeable batteries, preferably NiMH of high capacity and a charger if you plan to use the camera at all as the alkaline batteries that are included don't last long and cannot be recharged. I have used 4 Rayovac 2300 mAh NiMH batteries. This is much better for environment and your pocket.
I personally dislike cameras that don't come with rechargeable batteries, unless they are inexpensive. The advantage of using AA batteries is the ease of finding replacement rechargeable or disposable batteries. Also, if you use high-capacity rechargeable NiMH batteries, you can get 600 shots out of the SX10, according to Canon, comparing to about 300 shots I used to get from my Panasonic FZ5 on one battery charge.
The disadvantage is the price of batteries and the charger, the weight and inconvenience of having to deal with 4 batteries instead of one. The SX10 IS was already heavier than the Panasonic FZ18 and got even heavier when batteries were loaded. It is also more expensive without the batteries than the FZ18 with its rechargeable battery and a charger.
One thing to note: the camera comes preset to continuous focus and continuous image stabilization, both of which are battery hogs. I recommend that you disable both of them (and switch to focusing and OIS only after the shutter release button is depressed), unless you like and have an opportunity to recharge your batteries often.
On Resolution
The difference between 8MP and 10MP is minimal. For majority of people who only print 6x4 or 5x7 photos and do not crop, there is no difference at all.
Operation
After my camera arrived (I bought it for $360, which is a pleasant benefit of progress since the predecessor, S5 IS, cost me $434 last year), I found it to be well built and have a solid feel. The camera has a SLR-style body and is relatively convenient to hold. Upon arrival, I loaded my four 2300 mAh Rayovac NiMH batteries in the camera, inserted my 512 MB SD card and was ready to shoot.
In the Box
The camera comes with 4 AA-sized disposable batteries, a neck strap, a stereo video cable, USB cable, a lens cap, CD-ROM and manuals.
Performance
The camera's operation is fast. The power-up takes less than 2 seconds (mostly taken by the lens extension) and is relatively quiet. The camera focuses very fast as well (under a second), seemingly as fast as the Panasonic FZ18.
The zooming is the most impressive aspect of this camera. It is precise and rather fast (and seemingly quieter that that of the S5's, perhaps due to the use of the VCM motor). And the slower speed lets you fine-tune the composition precisely.
The shutter lag when pre-focused is virtually absent and the picture is taken almost instantaneously. The shot-to-shot delay is a bit more than one second. In high-speed shooting modes, the images were captured at about 2 fps.
Shooting with flash is slower since the flash needs time to recharge. I was not surprised to see that the flash recycle time still can reach 7 seconds (shooting indoors at f/5.7. At least the screen did not go blank in the meantime, unlike some 2-AA battery equipped Canons of the A-line. And the 2-AA models recycle their flashes even slower.
The flash has red-eye reduction modes, which work rather well, but sometimes don't eliminate the red eye completely. No worries - I can fix that in Photoshop CS2 very easily.
Battery Life
The image stabilization has several modes: Off, Continuous, Shoot Only, Panning. The camera comes with mode set to Continuous by default, which is a battery hog.
I haven't used the continuous image stabilization as it reduces battery life and, more importantly, produces slightly more motion blur in images in comparison to the image stabilization during the shutter release only. I got good pictures, but still not so good battery life.
I was able to take more than 220 pictures without seeing a low-battery warning.
Manual Focus
I liked the camera's manual focus ability. When focusing manually, you see the focus area enlarged to help you fine-tune your focus and you also see the distance markings. Truth be told, I find manual focus rarely needed as the automatic focus works really well. Still, bulkier cameras with focus rings, e.g. Fuji S6000fd or real SLRs work best for fine-tuning focus at telephoto.
Focusing
The camera focuses fast, even in dim light and even at full telephoto. It had no issues in any kind of light indoors. Pretty impressive stuff.
Picture Quality
When friends ask me for camera recommendations without being able to specify the exact usage criteria, I catch myself thinking (and frequently recommending) Canon cameras. One of the reasons is the fact that they (at least currently) simply do not have poorly-designed cameras. Other manufacturers have better (in my opinion) cameras in some specific areas. But as far as the overall lineup goes, Canon is the best.
One of the outcomes of this is the uniformly excellent picture quality of Canon cameras. True, some of them (e.g. small SD-series cameras) have slightly blurry corners. But overall, Canon cameras have uniformly excellent colors, good sharpness and produce images that look good printed and displayed on computer screen.
This model is no exception. It produces excellent pictures, even though some of them were slightly overexposed for my taste. They are richly saturated, sharp from wide angle to telephoto and have pleasing colors. I really like the sky colors and the way the camera renders clouds.
The image stabilization worked well and let me take handheld photos at full telephoto at 1/150 and sometimes at slower speeds. I also could take some handheld photos at 1/10 at full wide angle. This is much better than the rule of the recommended slowest handheld shutter speeds (1/equivalent focal length) suggests. Without image stabilization I wouldn't be able to take pictures at the above shutter speeds. 1/1000 at telephoto and 1/25 at wide angle would be the slowest I could use.
The lens of the SX10 exhibits very slight barrel distortion and no noticeable pincushion distortion at telephoto. There is some chromatic aberration (CA) to be found in high-contrast scenes, especially at the telephoto end of the zoom. As is usually the case with mega-zoom cameras, the telephoto shots have slightly soft corners, but nothing major. And the sharper pictures are attainable if you stay away from the extremes of the focal lengths and apertures.
I mostly used the lowest ISO available (ISO 80) and saw no noise. At higher ISO settings, the noise starts to appear. At ISO 200, you can see noise appear in the shadows/darker areas and ISO 400 has quite detectable noise, the ISO 800 features even worse noise, which becomes rather bad and the detail level suffers too. Fortunately, you can avoid having to use it in most situations by simply using a slower shutter speed and/or larger apertures (e.g. F2.8 at wide angle). Image stabilization lets you use those slower speeds handheld without fear of motion blur appearing on your pictures.
But if you have to have a faster shutter speed, then you have to use ISO 400-1,600. Surprisingly, the noise at ISO 800 is not as bad as I expected and ISO 800 photos can be printed at 4x6. You can print ISO 1,600 or 3,200 pictures, but I would only recommend it in situations where you have no other choice.
Ease of Use
Once you get used to Canon menu systems, they are pretty easy to use. Overall, the ease of use is very high and almost reaches my all-time favorite (Panasonic). And obviously, if you used a Canon camera before, you will feel "at home".
Computer Connectivity
The USB 2.0 on this Canon is a "real" USB 2.0 High Speed however - the transfer speeds are fast. I always prefer to use my memory card reader however: for speed and convenience.
Face Detection
Just as many other recent cameras, the SX10 IS features face detection technology. The face detection works surprisingly well, finding faces in the frame, showing you that it found them by displaying focusing rectangles over them, focusing on them and making sure they are focused on. I played with it (I just had to) and discovered that you can defeat it by covering an eye or covering the mouth.
Overall, I feel it is a useful technology and a cool one too. Not only it helps you focus, but it helps camera select correct exposure (ensuring the correct brightness of faces), white balance (color of faces).
So Is It An Improvement Over The Canon S5 IS?
Although the SX10 IS is similar to the Canon S5 IS, it features major improvements over the S5. The improvements are in the most important areas: zoom, wide angle, price, resolution, ISO 3200. And the S5 IS was itself a very good camera.
The new 20x zoom, 28mm wide angle and low price make the SX10 IS an excellent choice.
Durability
Based on experience with previous models of the same series (e.g. S5 IS, S3 IS) and on the perceived build quality of this SX10, the camera should be durable.
Move Mode
The SX10 features up to 640x480 at 30 fps. Update 05/2009: If this is insufficient, the newer (but more expensive) Canon SX1 IS features a CMOS-based sensor for up to full 1080p (1,920x1,080) video and an HDMI out for viewing on HDTV.
Competition
You can get the Panasonic FZ28 with 18x optical stabilized zoom, 10MP resolution and battery pack with charger and other accessories for much less (under $290 currently). For my money, I would probably prefer the FZ28 to the SX10. But with such a small price difference, I need to look at the FZ28 in more detail.
Pros: Price, 20x zoom, 28mm wide angle, solid build, features, face detection, battery life, resolution
Cons: Uses 4 AA batteries, heavier than Panasonic
Bottom Line
The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is an excellent choice if you need a camera with a monster 20x optical zoom, wide angle coverage and optical image stabilization. It is even priced lower than the last year's 12x zoom S5 IS. I highly recommend the SX10, unless you hate dealing with 4 AA batteries.
Why is having 10x or more optical zoom fun? You can zoom in to magnify far-away objects while staying far from them. Alas, not all mega-zoom cameras are created equal. Some cameras have no image stabilization at all, resulting in blurry images at high magnification levels and/or in dim light. Some cameras rely on increased sensitivity setting (ISO) to increase the shutter speed thereby reducing blur caused by the shake when the camera is handheld, but sometimes at an expense of increased noise or detail.
At the top of the mega-zoom hierarchy are cameras with optically-stabilized zooms. These cameras move an optical element within the lens (some shift the CCD sensor itself) to reduce or eliminate blur caused by shooting handheld. The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is on of these cameras and a successor to the well-respected Canon S5 IS.
I have used many mega-zoom cameras, including the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8, the new 18x-zoom Panasonic FZ18, the Canon PowerShot S5 IS, the Fuji S6000fd, the Fuji S700 and others.
Although all mega-zoom cameras are fun, the most fun to use cameras for me are the ones with over 15x optical zoom, optical image stabilization and 28mm wide angle. I wanted to try the new Canon PowerShot SX10 IS in part because of its 20x optical zoom, image stabilization and 28mm wide angle (35mm-equivalent). I purchased the Canon SX10 IS and after using it and comparing it to other stabilized-zoom cameras, I sold it on eBay (just as the previous Canon S-series models and other cameras that I get to try).
In this case, I sold it not because it is a bad camera or there is a better mega-zoom alternative. I simply am happy to have a digital SLR and mega-zoom feature of this camera is not something I need on a daily basis.
An Improvement Over the Canon S5 IS?
A replacement for the last year's popular Canon PowerShot S5 IS, the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is a digital camera with optical image stabilization, 20x zoom (vs. 12x), 10-Megapixel resolution (vs. 8MP), ISO up to 3200 (vs. 1600) and 2.5-inch LCD. The camera has face detection and features improved DIGIC 4 with servo AF tracking.
Just as the S5 IS before it, the SX10 IS has an articulated LCD screen, uses 4 AA batteries and stores photos on SD memory cards. The amazing 20x optical zoom and optical image stabilization work together to give you sharp pictures when shooting handheld and/or at long distances. This is probably the highest optical zoom on the market today and optical image stabilization makes this 20x optical zoom usable without introducing blurriness when shooting handheld (of course to reasonable level).
The Canon S5 IS and the S3 IS before it were impressive and very popular cameras. The only things I did not like about them were their use of 4 AA batteries, the fact that the filter adaptors were sold separately, whereas Panasonic FZ cameras came with them and the flimsy lens cap, as well as the fact that the flash had to be raised manually (unlike Panasonic cameras where you could just push a button).
The S5 IS added a hot shoe adapter for external flashes, moving it closer to semi-pro category and the SX10 IS retains this feature. The SX10 still has not improved in the areas I criticized (ever since S2 IS), but did improve in the area of resolution, and most importantly zoom level and wide angle coverage. And although the changes are evolutionary rather than revolutionary the SX10 IS is a major leap forward due to aforementioned.
About Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
The Canon S10 IS is a 10-Megapixel digital camera with 20x optical zoom (28-560mm in 35-mm equivalent), optical image stabilization with maximum apertures of f/2.8 at wide angle and f/5.7 at full telephoto. It stores images on an SD card in JPEG format (including SDHC).
The camera is only available in black color. It has a 2.5-inch fully-articulated LCD screen. The camera is relatively compact and feels solid, features USB 2.0 connectivity that is fast.
The 20x optical zoom optics features optical image stabilization. In addition to digital still photographs, the camera can record video clips with stereo sound. You can output video and sound to your TV (be it your pictures or video clips) using the supplied audio/video cable. It has face detection that works in conjunction with automatic white balance, focus and exposure.
Features
The camera lets you shoot at the resolutions of up to 10 Megapixels and lets you print enlargements or crop the part of the picture and print it with excellent results. And, of course, it is more than enough for the standard 6x4 prints.
The camera features selectable ISO between 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 as well as Auto and High ISO Auto. It also has manual focus (with focus bracketing) in addition to automatic 1-spot focus (the focus spot in auto mode can be moved to any position on the screen by using [SET] and arrow buttons) as well as face detection.
The camera has an autofocus assist light for better and faster focusing in low-light conditions. It works well in dim light.
Metering and Exposure
The exposure modes include Program AE, Aperture and Shutter Priority mode, and even full Manual mode. The shutter speed can be set between 15 and 1/3,200 sec with speeds slower than 1.3 sec available in Shutter Priority or Manual mode and operating with noise reduction.
The light metering can be selected between Evaluative, Center-Weighted and Spot (center or AF point). I find Spot and Center-Weighted modes useful when taking pictures of people at distances where the flash doesn't reach in backlight. In Evaluative metering mode, the faces might turn out underexposed, unless you dial some exposure compensation.
In Spot mode, you can set metering to properly expose the face. Also, the Spot metering mode can help you figure out the proper exposure in difficult lighting conditions be metering off the object with known tonal characteristics and then dialing some exposure compensation. The camera even has a live histogram. The evaluative metering incorporates data from the face detection system to ensure that faces are properly exposed.
Movie Mode
The camera has a built-in stereo microphone for recording sounds while filming video clips and a speaker, which can be used for operational sounds or to play back the sounds recorded. The camera can record AVI movie clips at up to 640x480 pixels at 30 fps with stereo sound; also available is 320x240 resolution at 24 fps at up to 4GB or 60 minutes.
Focusing
The camera has a Macro mode as well as Super Macro mode, in which it can focus as close as 0 inches. That's right - zero inches!
Focus Range:
Normal: 50 cm (1.6 ft.) - infinity (W)/ 1 m (3.3 ft.) - infinity (T)
Macro: 1 - 50 cm (0.39 in. to 1.6 ft.)
Super Macro: 0 - 10 cm (0 to 3.9 in.)
LCD and Viewfinder
The camera has a fully articulated 2.5-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels that covers 100% of the view. The LCD requires quite a lot of force to flip outward or rotate, but feels sturdy as a result.
In addition to the LCD, there is an electronic viewfinder (EVF). Since it is expensive (and difficult if not impossible) to make a 20x zooming optical viewfinder and impossible to easily confirm focus in a non-SLR optical viewfinder, the Canon S5 IS has an EVF.
Both the LCD and EVF are fluid, has pleasing colors and good resolution. Both are fluid, even in low light.
I found that the LCD is well-visible in regular conditions, but in sunlight, visibility decreases and you have to use the EVF, which works well in sunlight.
Power
The power is supplied by 4 AA-sized batteries. Canon includes four alkaline batteries with the camera, but obviously you have to get your rechargeable batteries, preferably NiMH of high capacity and a charger if you plan to use the camera at all as the alkaline batteries that are included don't last long and cannot be recharged. I have used 4 Rayovac 2300 mAh NiMH batteries. This is much better for environment and your pocket.
I personally dislike cameras that don't come with rechargeable batteries, unless they are inexpensive. The advantage of using AA batteries is the ease of finding replacement rechargeable or disposable batteries. Also, if you use high-capacity rechargeable NiMH batteries, you can get 600 shots out of the SX10, according to Canon, comparing to about 300 shots I used to get from my Panasonic FZ5 on one battery charge.
The disadvantage is the price of batteries and the charger, the weight and inconvenience of having to deal with 4 batteries instead of one. The SX10 IS was already heavier than the Panasonic FZ18 and got even heavier when batteries were loaded. It is also more expensive without the batteries than the FZ18 with its rechargeable battery and a charger.
One thing to note: the camera comes preset to continuous focus and continuous image stabilization, both of which are battery hogs. I recommend that you disable both of them (and switch to focusing and OIS only after the shutter release button is depressed), unless you like and have an opportunity to recharge your batteries often.
On Resolution
The difference between 8MP and 10MP is minimal. For majority of people who only print 6x4 or 5x7 photos and do not crop, there is no difference at all.
Operation
After my camera arrived (I bought it for $360, which is a pleasant benefit of progress since the predecessor, S5 IS, cost me $434 last year), I found it to be well built and have a solid feel. The camera has a SLR-style body and is relatively convenient to hold. Upon arrival, I loaded my four 2300 mAh Rayovac NiMH batteries in the camera, inserted my 512 MB SD card and was ready to shoot.
In the Box
The camera comes with 4 AA-sized disposable batteries, a neck strap, a stereo video cable, USB cable, a lens cap, CD-ROM and manuals.
Performance
The camera's operation is fast. The power-up takes less than 2 seconds (mostly taken by the lens extension) and is relatively quiet. The camera focuses very fast as well (under a second), seemingly as fast as the Panasonic FZ18.
The zooming is the most impressive aspect of this camera. It is precise and rather fast (and seemingly quieter that that of the S5's, perhaps due to the use of the VCM motor). And the slower speed lets you fine-tune the composition precisely.
The shutter lag when pre-focused is virtually absent and the picture is taken almost instantaneously. The shot-to-shot delay is a bit more than one second. In high-speed shooting modes, the images were captured at about 2 fps.
Shooting with flash is slower since the flash needs time to recharge. I was not surprised to see that the flash recycle time still can reach 7 seconds (shooting indoors at f/5.7. At least the screen did not go blank in the meantime, unlike some 2-AA battery equipped Canons of the A-line. And the 2-AA models recycle their flashes even slower.
The flash has red-eye reduction modes, which work rather well, but sometimes don't eliminate the red eye completely. No worries - I can fix that in Photoshop CS2 very easily.
Battery Life
The image stabilization has several modes: Off, Continuous, Shoot Only, Panning. The camera comes with mode set to Continuous by default, which is a battery hog.
I haven't used the continuous image stabilization as it reduces battery life and, more importantly, produces slightly more motion blur in images in comparison to the image stabilization during the shutter release only. I got good pictures, but still not so good battery life.
I was able to take more than 220 pictures without seeing a low-battery warning.
Manual Focus
I liked the camera's manual focus ability. When focusing manually, you see the focus area enlarged to help you fine-tune your focus and you also see the distance markings. Truth be told, I find manual focus rarely needed as the automatic focus works really well. Still, bulkier cameras with focus rings, e.g. Fuji S6000fd or real SLRs work best for fine-tuning focus at telephoto.
Focusing
The camera focuses fast, even in dim light and even at full telephoto. It had no issues in any kind of light indoors. Pretty impressive stuff.
Picture Quality
When friends ask me for camera recommendations without being able to specify the exact usage criteria, I catch myself thinking (and frequently recommending) Canon cameras. One of the reasons is the fact that they (at least currently) simply do not have poorly-designed cameras. Other manufacturers have better (in my opinion) cameras in some specific areas. But as far as the overall lineup goes, Canon is the best.
One of the outcomes of this is the uniformly excellent picture quality of Canon cameras. True, some of them (e.g. small SD-series cameras) have slightly blurry corners. But overall, Canon cameras have uniformly excellent colors, good sharpness and produce images that look good printed and displayed on computer screen.
This model is no exception. It produces excellent pictures, even though some of them were slightly overexposed for my taste. They are richly saturated, sharp from wide angle to telephoto and have pleasing colors. I really like the sky colors and the way the camera renders clouds.
The image stabilization worked well and let me take handheld photos at full telephoto at 1/150 and sometimes at slower speeds. I also could take some handheld photos at 1/10 at full wide angle. This is much better than the rule of the recommended slowest handheld shutter speeds (1/equivalent focal length) suggests. Without image stabilization I wouldn't be able to take pictures at the above shutter speeds. 1/1000 at telephoto and 1/25 at wide angle would be the slowest I could use.
The lens of the SX10 exhibits very slight barrel distortion and no noticeable pincushion distortion at telephoto. There is some chromatic aberration (CA) to be found in high-contrast scenes, especially at the telephoto end of the zoom. As is usually the case with mega-zoom cameras, the telephoto shots have slightly soft corners, but nothing major. And the sharper pictures are attainable if you stay away from the extremes of the focal lengths and apertures.
I mostly used the lowest ISO available (ISO 80) and saw no noise. At higher ISO settings, the noise starts to appear. At ISO 200, you can see noise appear in the shadows/darker areas and ISO 400 has quite detectable noise, the ISO 800 features even worse noise, which becomes rather bad and the detail level suffers too. Fortunately, you can avoid having to use it in most situations by simply using a slower shutter speed and/or larger apertures (e.g. F2.8 at wide angle). Image stabilization lets you use those slower speeds handheld without fear of motion blur appearing on your pictures.
But if you have to have a faster shutter speed, then you have to use ISO 400-1,600. Surprisingly, the noise at ISO 800 is not as bad as I expected and ISO 800 photos can be printed at 4x6. You can print ISO 1,600 or 3,200 pictures, but I would only recommend it in situations where you have no other choice.
Ease of Use
Once you get used to Canon menu systems, they are pretty easy to use. Overall, the ease of use is very high and almost reaches my all-time favorite (Panasonic). And obviously, if you used a Canon camera before, you will feel "at home".
Computer Connectivity
The USB 2.0 on this Canon is a "real" USB 2.0 High Speed however - the transfer speeds are fast. I always prefer to use my memory card reader however: for speed and convenience.
Face Detection
Just as many other recent cameras, the SX10 IS features face detection technology. The face detection works surprisingly well, finding faces in the frame, showing you that it found them by displaying focusing rectangles over them, focusing on them and making sure they are focused on. I played with it (I just had to) and discovered that you can defeat it by covering an eye or covering the mouth.
Overall, I feel it is a useful technology and a cool one too. Not only it helps you focus, but it helps camera select correct exposure (ensuring the correct brightness of faces), white balance (color of faces).
So Is It An Improvement Over The Canon S5 IS?
Although the SX10 IS is similar to the Canon S5 IS, it features major improvements over the S5. The improvements are in the most important areas: zoom, wide angle, price, resolution, ISO 3200. And the S5 IS was itself a very good camera.
The new 20x zoom, 28mm wide angle and low price make the SX10 IS an excellent choice.
Durability
Based on experience with previous models of the same series (e.g. S5 IS, S3 IS) and on the perceived build quality of this SX10, the camera should be durable.
Move Mode
The SX10 features up to 640x480 at 30 fps. Update 05/2009: If this is insufficient, the newer (but more expensive) Canon SX1 IS features a CMOS-based sensor for up to full 1080p (1,920x1,080) video and an HDMI out for viewing on HDTV.
Competition
You can get the Panasonic FZ28 with 18x optical stabilized zoom, 10MP resolution and battery pack with charger and other accessories for much less (under $290 currently). For my money, I would probably prefer the FZ28 to the SX10. But with such a small price difference, I need to look at the FZ28 in more detail.
Pros: Price, 20x zoom, 28mm wide angle, solid build, features, face detection, battery life, resolution
Cons: Uses 4 AA batteries, heavier than Panasonic
Bottom Line
The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS is an excellent choice if you need a camera with a monster 20x optical zoom, wide angle coverage and optical image stabilization. It is even priced lower than the last year's 12x zoom S5 IS. I highly recommend the SX10, unless you hate dealing with 4 AA batteries.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
New Pioneer DV-430V Upconverting DVD Player with HDMI
Pioneer DV-430V Upconverting DVD Player
Reviewed by Dmiko on
.
Not too long ago I discovered Pioneer DVD players. Not in a sense that I stumbled upon them while hiking up a mountain in my vicinity, but in a sense that I found out that they were really good. Previously, I mostly used Panasonic DVD players and, later, Philips.
Panasonic players were always producing top-notch images, were easy to use and pretty reliable. I saw "pretty" because I had at least two of them die on me with a drive motor failure. Granted they were in severe use for over 3 years each, but still, when you shell out decent bucks (Panasonic DVD players were never exactly cheap), you expect the product to last.
In light of the above and for DivX, MPEG/AVI, PAL, etc. playback I switched to Philips players. They were pretty inexpensive and played the aforementioned formats well. But their ergonomics/menus/displays/remote controls were not exactly pleasing.
And then I discovered Pioneer DVD players. I have used the Pioneer DV-400V, the Pioneer DV-410V and the Pioneer Elite DV-48AV (which I currently use for DVD-Audio playback among other things). I also tried out the Philips DVP5982, 5960 and DVP5990 (which my mother is currently using). Although Pioneer players are somewhat more expensive, it is easy to see why.
Whereas the Philips models have usability shortcomings and some previous models had DivX files stuttering and freezing on them, both the DV-400V and the DV-48AV were much better in some aspects. From there on, the trend continues as I compare the latest model (Pioneer DV-430V, a.k.a. DV-430V-K, where K stands for black color, perhaps due to the word Kuro having it as a first letter) with my current Pioneer Elite DV-48AV and the Philips DVP5992.
I have to mention that I have been using the original king of DivX, a.k.a. Philips DVP642, although now I use it exclusively for CD playback. Considering its impressive feature list (including PAL playback on NTSC TV, DivX playback and progressive scan), I was relatively happy with it for $41 that I paid. And unlike my past Panasonic players, this Philips is still very much alive.
As mentioned before, I was not happy with it overall however, and would not have paid its original price (my unit was Philips-refurbished). Things have improved significantly since then, Both Philips and competition produced numerous DVD player models with similar features and added even more to the mix: USB ports, HDMI outs, upconversion and better DivX playback, while retaining things like PAL playback on NTSC TVs.
One of the issues I had with the original DVP642 was the fact that although it played most DivX videos, it stuttered on some others and showed terrible block noise on some others, making them unwatchable. That was in addition to it having fast scan speed of no higher than 8x and its resume functionality requiring you to push Play while it said Loading.
If you miss Loading and you are stuck trying to find the point where you stopped watching last time. Exciting! I will not miss having to use the DVP642 for video playback much since there are so many great choices. And with large HDTVs and the advent of HDMI, I replaced my DVD players multiple times at this point.
I personally use the 50-inch 1080p Hitachi P50H401 plasma TV, and I tried to get a DVD player that would further improve on DivX playback, would have HDMI and upscaling to 1080p (or at least to 1080i) and, for the love of progress and file sharing, a USB port. In doing so I went through some Philips models and some Pioneer models as well.
I tried some Philips DVD players, e.g. Philips DVP5982 and Philips DVP5960 and, although they were both improvements on the DVP 642, they were not perfect. I got the Pioneer DV-400V in black color and used it for quite some time. The Pioneer Elite DV-48AV replaced it since I like to listen to DVD-Audio, but I tried the new Pioneer DV-420V and DV-430V and found them remarkably similar to the DV-400 and not much worse than my Elite DV-48AV (sans DVD-Audio and SACD). Having cool features of Philips players without ergonomics shortcomings, Pioneer models are my current players of choice.
Features
The Pioneer DV-430V - All Multi Region Code Free 1080p DVD Player with HDMI 1080p Upconverting & USB - Black
is
a DVD player with upconversion to 480p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p over HDMI.
It can play DivX, Xvid and JPEG files, WMV, MP3 and WMA. You do not
need to create a VCD disc structure, just copy the files to a CD-R/W
disc or DVD and insert it into this player and it will play them. Same
applies to the USB port that the player has: you can copy files onto a
USB drive and the player will play them, albeit with some slight issues
in that regard.
The DV-420 supports slow and fast scan, even in DivX files. Even though the manual does not say anything about it, it will play (and even upconvert) European PAL discs on an NTSC TV. It has a coaxial digital audio out, HDMI out, component video out, S-Video and composite video out. Unlike so many recent DVD players, it has buttons on the front panel to control its menus, USB/DVD switching and playback and has a very intuitive remote control.
It is slightly heavier than the older DV-400 but lighter than the DV-48AV and lacks the latter's optical digital out and 5.1 analog outs, the latter of which is not important since it does not play DVD-Audio or SACD and I don't even use the 5.1 out on my DV-48AV, since I play DVD-Audio over HDMI (hurray to the progress).
Operation
The DV-420V is medium-sized and is not too lightweight, which gives it a solid feel. The front panel is not Spartan like so many recent DVD players. It has menu control buttons as well as playback control buttons, all of which look stylish and have good tactile response.
The player features a display that is bright and informative. The onscreen displays are excellent and are very well designed. They are very similar to the ones of the other recent Pioneer DVD players and are better than the ones on recent Philips models.
As usual, adjustments were required for the best image quality. I had to switch the DV-420's sharpness mode to "Soft" to get rid of oversharpening. The player also has adjustments for brightness/contrast and Gamma. There are a lot of other settings to play with, or leave alone.
Usability
When unpacking the player I was pleasantly surprised that unlike the DV-400 or the DV-48AV, this model has a detachable power cord. This makes it easier to replace if broken and easier to unplug if the unit is placed or removed from an entertainment center.
I saw the usually-impressive (for Pioneer), convenient and informative menus and onscreen displays. From colors to presentation, the menus are among the best I have seen. For example, the onscreen display shows at the same time the total time of the current chapter, remaining time and running time. It also can show bit rate in real time, which is not always useful (DVD), but interesting nonetheless.
And another impressive asset in this player is how Resume functionality is implemented. In some DVD players you have to jump through the hoops to ensure the movie starts playing from where you left off last time. This Pioneer just does it seamlessly and it has resume functionality even in the MPEG or DivX files! Very convenient. I wish my DV-48AV had this functionality in DVD-Audio files. The DV-420V remembers it for up to 5 different DVDs (or one MPEG/DivX disc).
Remote Control
Most DVD players have remote controls you have to look at when using or struggle to remember the button locations. The player has a remote control that is pretty close to perfection. The buttons have excellent tactile response. They do not require high effort yet have good positive feedback.
The buttons are located in intuitive order and the most frequently used buttons are larger than secondary ones. The remote is almost perfect, aside from the location of the "0" button, which I never use anyway. And unlike the older (DV400) model's, the remote control matches the player color (black).
The remote of my Pioneer Elite DV-48AV is larger and has buttons to control TV's power, volume, channel and input select - features that this remote lacks. But the button layout and weight of this remote are better.
Picture Quality
I tested the player with my 50-inch Hitachi plasma (P50H401). The 1080p output over HDMI is excellent: razor sharp and clear. It does not quite have the smallest detail of the HD DVD or Blu-Ray, but it is rather good and definitely better than that of the non-upconverting player over an analog connection.
I saw definite improvement over passing 480p signal from my old Philips DVP642 over component out to my TV. The latter looked foggy by comparison and generated significant artifacts in scenes with motion.
The in-player 1080p upconversion of the DV-420V is very good. It is not perfect though. You can see the stairstep artifacts, especially obvious when watch "South Park" - the diagonal lines are not smooth but resemble steps. But what can we expect at this price point?
Since I have not expected it to rival an HD DVD disc in my Toshiba HD-A3, I am very happy with the image quality. But, later I tried a comparison with the upconversion of regular DVDs by my Toshiba HD-A3 and the A3 does have a small, but distinctive edge.
The sound is excellent as well (using coaxial digital connection to my Panasonic XR57 receiver). The player also passes sound over HDMI, which is convenient. The player plays most of my MPEG and AVI computer files flawlessly.
Well, make it semi-flawlessly. It doesn't play some DivX files that my mother's Philips DVP5990 plays fine. Still, the DivX playback is very good overall.
The files can be burned on a CD-R/W disc just as a regular data CD with no VCD structure needed. I say most, because although it stutters on fewer files than my Philips did, it still has issues with some files, which it refuses to play completely.
The front USB port is a great feature and lets you use a USB drive or any similar device, provided it does not require much power. USB-powered hard drive will most likely not work. Still, it is a great feature as I can copy over a bunch of MP3 or WMA files onto a USB drive, plug it into the USB port of this player and play it through my receiver and speakers. Ditto the video files. The only issue is the player asks you if you want to play audio or video when the USB mode is turned on. So you have to use the onscreen menu to select that. But after that you can switch the TV off and just play your music.
I am not quite sure why they moved the USB port location from the left of the player to lower-right portion (comparing to the DV-400V).
Warranty
Unlike many other DVD players, which only have 90-day labor warranty, this Pioneer has 1-year warranty for both parts and labor. My Pioneer Elite has a 3-year full warranty though, but Elite models are more expensive.
What I Like
I like the player's relatively low price for feature set, its connectivity options, features, PAL playback and conversion to NTSC, computer video file playback, USB, 1080p. Very good build quality, excellent video and sound, great remote control, menus, and responsiveness are also very impressive.
Dislikes
The startup time is stll longer than with most other DVD players. I noticed this about other Pioneer DVD players also. Perhaps caused by having to load the extensive menu system. At least it is nowhere near as bad as the startup times of HD DVD or BluRay players.
Pros: Price, features, performance, build quality, USB, up to 1080p over HDMI, DivX, MP3/WMA, good remote.
Cons: Some newer Philips players play DivX better, slightly slow startup.
Bottom Line
Unlike the Philips DVP5990 or DVP5992, the Pioneer DV-430V is simply excellent. There is no need to sacrifice usability for DivX playback and the price is right. This Pioneer is a very good 1080p upconverting DVD player with a USB port, DivX playback and even PAL playback on an NTSC TV. It is an excellent choice for regular DVD playback as well and I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5 stars out of 5.
Not too long ago I discovered Pioneer DVD players. Not in a sense that I stumbled upon them while hiking up a mountain in my vicinity, but in a sense that I found out that they were really good. Previously, I mostly used Panasonic DVD players and, later, Philips.
Panasonic players were always producing top-notch images, were easy to use and pretty reliable. I saw "pretty" because I had at least two of them die on me with a drive motor failure. Granted they were in severe use for over 3 years each, but still, when you shell out decent bucks (Panasonic DVD players were never exactly cheap), you expect the product to last.
In light of the above and for DivX, MPEG/AVI, PAL, etc. playback I switched to Philips players. They were pretty inexpensive and played the aforementioned formats well. But their ergonomics/menus/displays/remote controls were not exactly pleasing.
And then I discovered Pioneer DVD players. I have used the Pioneer DV-400V, the Pioneer DV-410V and the Pioneer Elite DV-48AV (which I currently use for DVD-Audio playback among other things). I also tried out the Philips DVP5982, 5960 and DVP5990 (which my mother is currently using). Although Pioneer players are somewhat more expensive, it is easy to see why.
Whereas the Philips models have usability shortcomings and some previous models had DivX files stuttering and freezing on them, both the DV-400V and the DV-48AV were much better in some aspects. From there on, the trend continues as I compare the latest model (Pioneer DV-430V, a.k.a. DV-430V-K, where K stands for black color, perhaps due to the word Kuro having it as a first letter) with my current Pioneer Elite DV-48AV and the Philips DVP5992.
I have to mention that I have been using the original king of DivX, a.k.a. Philips DVP642, although now I use it exclusively for CD playback. Considering its impressive feature list (including PAL playback on NTSC TV, DivX playback and progressive scan), I was relatively happy with it for $41 that I paid. And unlike my past Panasonic players, this Philips is still very much alive.
As mentioned before, I was not happy with it overall however, and would not have paid its original price (my unit was Philips-refurbished). Things have improved significantly since then, Both Philips and competition produced numerous DVD player models with similar features and added even more to the mix: USB ports, HDMI outs, upconversion and better DivX playback, while retaining things like PAL playback on NTSC TVs.
One of the issues I had with the original DVP642 was the fact that although it played most DivX videos, it stuttered on some others and showed terrible block noise on some others, making them unwatchable. That was in addition to it having fast scan speed of no higher than 8x and its resume functionality requiring you to push Play while it said Loading.
If you miss Loading and you are stuck trying to find the point where you stopped watching last time. Exciting! I will not miss having to use the DVP642 for video playback much since there are so many great choices. And with large HDTVs and the advent of HDMI, I replaced my DVD players multiple times at this point.
I personally use the 50-inch 1080p Hitachi P50H401 plasma TV, and I tried to get a DVD player that would further improve on DivX playback, would have HDMI and upscaling to 1080p (or at least to 1080i) and, for the love of progress and file sharing, a USB port. In doing so I went through some Philips models and some Pioneer models as well.
I tried some Philips DVD players, e.g. Philips DVP5982 and Philips DVP5960 and, although they were both improvements on the DVP 642, they were not perfect. I got the Pioneer DV-400V in black color and used it for quite some time. The Pioneer Elite DV-48AV replaced it since I like to listen to DVD-Audio, but I tried the new Pioneer DV-420V and DV-430V and found them remarkably similar to the DV-400 and not much worse than my Elite DV-48AV (sans DVD-Audio and SACD). Having cool features of Philips players without ergonomics shortcomings, Pioneer models are my current players of choice.
Features
The Pioneer DV-430V - All Multi Region Code Free 1080p DVD Player with HDMI 1080p Upconverting & USB - Black
is
a DVD player with upconversion to 480p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p over HDMI.
It can play DivX, Xvid and JPEG files, WMV, MP3 and WMA. You do not
need to create a VCD disc structure, just copy the files to a CD-R/W
disc or DVD and insert it into this player and it will play them. Same
applies to the USB port that the player has: you can copy files onto a
USB drive and the player will play them, albeit with some slight issues
in that regard.The DV-420 supports slow and fast scan, even in DivX files. Even though the manual does not say anything about it, it will play (and even upconvert) European PAL discs on an NTSC TV. It has a coaxial digital audio out, HDMI out, component video out, S-Video and composite video out. Unlike so many recent DVD players, it has buttons on the front panel to control its menus, USB/DVD switching and playback and has a very intuitive remote control.
It is slightly heavier than the older DV-400 but lighter than the DV-48AV and lacks the latter's optical digital out and 5.1 analog outs, the latter of which is not important since it does not play DVD-Audio or SACD and I don't even use the 5.1 out on my DV-48AV, since I play DVD-Audio over HDMI (hurray to the progress).
Operation
The DV-420V is medium-sized and is not too lightweight, which gives it a solid feel. The front panel is not Spartan like so many recent DVD players. It has menu control buttons as well as playback control buttons, all of which look stylish and have good tactile response.
The player features a display that is bright and informative. The onscreen displays are excellent and are very well designed. They are very similar to the ones of the other recent Pioneer DVD players and are better than the ones on recent Philips models.
As usual, adjustments were required for the best image quality. I had to switch the DV-420's sharpness mode to "Soft" to get rid of oversharpening. The player also has adjustments for brightness/contrast and Gamma. There are a lot of other settings to play with, or leave alone.
Usability
When unpacking the player I was pleasantly surprised that unlike the DV-400 or the DV-48AV, this model has a detachable power cord. This makes it easier to replace if broken and easier to unplug if the unit is placed or removed from an entertainment center.
I saw the usually-impressive (for Pioneer), convenient and informative menus and onscreen displays. From colors to presentation, the menus are among the best I have seen. For example, the onscreen display shows at the same time the total time of the current chapter, remaining time and running time. It also can show bit rate in real time, which is not always useful (DVD), but interesting nonetheless.
And another impressive asset in this player is how Resume functionality is implemented. In some DVD players you have to jump through the hoops to ensure the movie starts playing from where you left off last time. This Pioneer just does it seamlessly and it has resume functionality even in the MPEG or DivX files! Very convenient. I wish my DV-48AV had this functionality in DVD-Audio files. The DV-420V remembers it for up to 5 different DVDs (or one MPEG/DivX disc).
Remote Control
Most DVD players have remote controls you have to look at when using or struggle to remember the button locations. The player has a remote control that is pretty close to perfection. The buttons have excellent tactile response. They do not require high effort yet have good positive feedback.
The buttons are located in intuitive order and the most frequently used buttons are larger than secondary ones. The remote is almost perfect, aside from the location of the "0" button, which I never use anyway. And unlike the older (DV400) model's, the remote control matches the player color (black).
The remote of my Pioneer Elite DV-48AV is larger and has buttons to control TV's power, volume, channel and input select - features that this remote lacks. But the button layout and weight of this remote are better.
Picture Quality
I tested the player with my 50-inch Hitachi plasma (P50H401). The 1080p output over HDMI is excellent: razor sharp and clear. It does not quite have the smallest detail of the HD DVD or Blu-Ray, but it is rather good and definitely better than that of the non-upconverting player over an analog connection.
I saw definite improvement over passing 480p signal from my old Philips DVP642 over component out to my TV. The latter looked foggy by comparison and generated significant artifacts in scenes with motion.
The in-player 1080p upconversion of the DV-420V is very good. It is not perfect though. You can see the stairstep artifacts, especially obvious when watch "South Park" - the diagonal lines are not smooth but resemble steps. But what can we expect at this price point?
Since I have not expected it to rival an HD DVD disc in my Toshiba HD-A3, I am very happy with the image quality. But, later I tried a comparison with the upconversion of regular DVDs by my Toshiba HD-A3 and the A3 does have a small, but distinctive edge.
The sound is excellent as well (using coaxial digital connection to my Panasonic XR57 receiver). The player also passes sound over HDMI, which is convenient. The player plays most of my MPEG and AVI computer files flawlessly.
Well, make it semi-flawlessly. It doesn't play some DivX files that my mother's Philips DVP5990 plays fine. Still, the DivX playback is very good overall.
The files can be burned on a CD-R/W disc just as a regular data CD with no VCD structure needed. I say most, because although it stutters on fewer files than my Philips did, it still has issues with some files, which it refuses to play completely.
The front USB port is a great feature and lets you use a USB drive or any similar device, provided it does not require much power. USB-powered hard drive will most likely not work. Still, it is a great feature as I can copy over a bunch of MP3 or WMA files onto a USB drive, plug it into the USB port of this player and play it through my receiver and speakers. Ditto the video files. The only issue is the player asks you if you want to play audio or video when the USB mode is turned on. So you have to use the onscreen menu to select that. But after that you can switch the TV off and just play your music.
I am not quite sure why they moved the USB port location from the left of the player to lower-right portion (comparing to the DV-400V).
Warranty
Unlike many other DVD players, which only have 90-day labor warranty, this Pioneer has 1-year warranty for both parts and labor. My Pioneer Elite has a 3-year full warranty though, but Elite models are more expensive.
What I Like
I like the player's relatively low price for feature set, its connectivity options, features, PAL playback and conversion to NTSC, computer video file playback, USB, 1080p. Very good build quality, excellent video and sound, great remote control, menus, and responsiveness are also very impressive.
Dislikes
The startup time is stll longer than with most other DVD players. I noticed this about other Pioneer DVD players also. Perhaps caused by having to load the extensive menu system. At least it is nowhere near as bad as the startup times of HD DVD or BluRay players.
Pros: Price, features, performance, build quality, USB, up to 1080p over HDMI, DivX, MP3/WMA, good remote.
Cons: Some newer Philips players play DivX better, slightly slow startup.
Bottom Line
Unlike the Philips DVP5990 or DVP5992, the Pioneer DV-430V is simply excellent. There is no need to sacrifice usability for DivX playback and the price is right. This Pioneer is a very good 1080p upconverting DVD player with a USB port, DivX playback and even PAL playback on an NTSC TV. It is an excellent choice for regular DVD playback as well and I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5 stars out of 5.
Pioneer DV-410V Upconverting DVD Player - 1080p over HDMI, MP3, DivX and USB
I have used both the Pioneer DV-400V (the DV410's predecessor) and the Pioneer Elite DV-48AV (which I currently use for DVD-Audio playback among other things). I also tried out the Philips DVP5982, 5960 and DVP5990 (which my mother is currently using). Although Pioneer players are somewhat more expensive, can see why. The Philips models have usability shortcomings and some previous models had DivX files stuttering and freezing on them. Both the DV-400V and the DV-48AV were much better in some aspects. I will compare the new Pioneer DV-410V with my current Pioneer Elite DV-48AV and the Philips DVP5990.
For a long time, I have had the original king of DivX, a.k.a. Philips DVP642 and still use it for CD playback. Considering its impressive feature list (including PAL playback on NTSC TV, DivX playback and progressive scan), I was relatively happy with it for $41 that I paid. I was not happy with it overall however, and would not have paid its original price (my unit was Philips-refurbished). Things have improved significantly since then, Both Philips and competition produced numerous DVD player models with similar features and added even more to the mix: USB ports, HDMI outs, upconversion and better DivX plyback.
One of the issues I had with the original DVP642 was the fact that although it played most DivX videos, it stuttered on some others and showed terrible block noise on some others, making them unwatchable. That was in addition to it having fast scan speed of no higher than 8x and its resume functionality requiring you to push Play while it said Loadining. Miss Loading and you are stuck trying to find the point where you stopped watching last time. Exciting! I will not miss having to use the DVP642 much since there are so many great choices. And with large HDTVs and the advent of HDMI, I replaced my DVD players several times already.
I personally use the 50-inch 1080p Hitachi P50H401 plasma TV, and I tried to get a DVD player that would further improve on DivX playback, have HDMI and upscaling to 1080p (or at least to 1080i) and, for the love of progress and file sharing, a USB port. In doing so I went through some Philips models and some Pioneer models.
I tried newer Philips DVD players, namely Philips DVP5982 and Philips DVP5960 and, although they were both improvements on the DVP 642, they were not perfect. I got the Pioneer DV-400V in black color and used it for quite some time. The Pioneer Elite DV-48AV replaced it since I like to listen to DVD-Audio, but I tried the new Pioneer DV-410V and found it remarkably similar to the DV-400 and not much worse than my Elite DV-48AV (sans DVD-Audio and SACD).
Features
The Pioneer DV-410V is an upconverting DVD player with upconversion to 480p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p over HDMI. It can play DivX, Xvid and JPEG files, WMV, MP3 and WMA. You do not need to create a VCD disc structure, just copy the files to a CD-R/W disc or DVD and insert it into this player and it will play them. Same applies to the USB port that the player has: you can copy files onto a USB drive and the player will play them, albeit with some slight issues.
The player supports slow and fast scan, even in DivX files. Even though the manual does not say anything about it, it will play (and even upconvert) European PAL discs on an NTSC TV. It has a coaxial digital audio out, HDMI out, component video out, S-Video and composite video out. Unlike so many recent DVD players, it has buttons on the front panel to control its menus, USB/DVD switching and playback and has a very intuitive remote control.
It is slightly heavier than the DV-400 but lighter than the DV-48AV and lacks the latter's optical digital out and 5.1 analog outs, which is not important since it does not play DVD-Audio or SACD and I don't even use the 5.1 out on my DV-48AV, since I play DVD_Audio over HDMI.
Operation
The player is medium-sized and is not too lightweight, which gives it a solid feel. The front panel is not Spartan like so many recent DVD players. It has menu control buttons as well as playback control buttons, all of which look stylish and have good tactile response.
The display is bright and informative. The onscreen displays are excellent and are very well designed. They are very similar to the ones of the other recent Pioneer DVD players and are better than the ones on recent Philips models.
I had to switch the sharpness mode to "Soft" to get rid of oversharpening. The player also has adjustments for brightness/contrast and Gamma. There are a lot of other settings to play with, or leave alone.
Usability
When unpacking the player I was pleasantly surprised that unlike the DV-400 or the DV-48AV, this model has a detachable power cord. This makes it easier to replace if broken and easier to unplug if the unit is placed or removed from an entertainment center.
I was immediately impressed, albeit not surprised, with how convenient and informative the menus and onscreen displays were. From colors to presentation, the menus are among the best I have seen.
For example, the onscreen display shows at the same time the total time of the current chapter, remaining time and running time. It also can show bit rate in real time, which is not always useful (DVD), but interesting nonetheless.
And another impressive asset in this player is how Resume functionality is implemented. In some DVD players you have to jump through the hoops to ensure the movie starts playing from where you left off last time. This Pioneer just does it seamlessly and it has resume functionality even in the MPEG or DivX files! Very convenient. I wish my DV-48AV had this functionality in DVD-Audio files.
Remote Control
Most DVD players have remote controls you have to look at when using or struggle to remember the button locations. The DV-410V has a remote control that is pretty close to perfection. The buttons have excellent tactile response. They do not require high effort yet have good positive feedback.
The buttons are located in intuitive order and the most frequently used buttons are larger than secondary ones. The remote is almost perfect, aside from the location of the "0" button, which I never use anyway. And unlike the previous model, the remote control matches the player color (black).
The remote of my Pioneer Elite DV-48AV is larger and has buttons to control TV's power, volume, channel and input select - features that this remote lacks. But the button layout and weight of this remote are better.
Picture Quality
I tested the player with my 50-inch Hitachi plasma (P50H401). The 1080p output over HDMI is excellent: razor sharp and clear. It does not quite have the smallest detail of the HD DVD or Blu-Ray, but it is rather good and definitely better than that of the non-upconverting player over an analog connection.
I saw definite improvement over passing 480p signal from my old Philips DVP642 over component out to my TV. The latter looked foggy by comparison and generated significant artifacts in scenes with motion.
The in-player 1080p upconversion of the DV-410 is very good. It is not perfect though. You can see the stairstep artifacts, especially obvious when watch "South Park" - the diagonal lines are not smooth but resemble steps. But what can we expect at this price point?
Since I have not expected it to rival an HD DVD disc in my Toshiba HD-A3, I am very happy with the image quality. But, later I tried a comparison with the upconversion of regular DVDs by my Toshiba HD-A3 and the A3 does have a small, but distinctive edge.
The sound is excellent as well (using coaxial digital connection to my Panasonic XR57 receiver). The player also passes sound over HDMI, which is convenient. The player plays most of my MPEG and AVI computer files flawlessly.
Well, make it semi-flawlessly. It doesn't play some DivX files that my mother's Philips DVP5990 plays fine.
The files can be burned on a CD-R/W disc just as a regular data CD with no VCD structure needed. I say most, because although it stutters on fewer files than my Philips did, it still has issues with some files, which it refuses to play completely.
The front USB port is a great feature and lets you use a USB drive or any similar device, provided it does not require much power. USB-powered hard drive will most likely not work. Still, it is a great feature as I can copy over a bunch of MP3 or WMA files onto a USB drive, plug it into the USB port of this player and play it through my receiver and speakers. Ditto the video files. The only issue is the player asks you if you want to play audio or video when the USB mode is turned on. So you have to use the onscreen menu to select that. But after that you can switch the TV off and just play your music.
I am not quite sure why they moved the USB port location from the left of the player to lower-right portion (comparing to the DV-400V).
One other convenient feature: the front panel display says GUI when you are using the menus or shows numbers if the GUI mode is off.
Warranty
Unlike many other DVD players, which only have 90-day labor warranty, this Pioneer has 1-year warranty for both parts and labor.
What I Like
I like the player's relatively low price for feature set, its connectivity options, features, PAL playback and conversion to NTSC, computer video file playback, USB, 1080p. Very good build quality, excellent video and sound, great remote control, menus, and responsiveness are also very impressive.
Dislikes
The startup time is longer than with most other DVD players. I noticed this about other recent Pioneer DVD players as well. Perhaps caused by having to load the extensive menu system.
Pros: Performance, features, excellent build quality, USB, up to 1080p over HDMI, DivX, MP3/WMA, remote
Cons: Slightly slow startup, some newer Philips players play DivX better
Bottom Line
Unlike the Philips DVP5982 or DVP5990, the Pioneer DV-410V excels in all areas. There is no need to sacrifice usability for DivX playback anymore. The DV-410 is a very good upconverting DVD player with a USB port, DivX playback and even PAL playback on an NTSC TV. If you need to play PAL discs on an NTSC TV, play computer files and DivX, play media files from a USB drive and upconvert up to 1080p, the DV410 is an excellent choice. And it is an excellent choice for regular DVD playback as well.
I highly recommend it. But if you want a very similar DVD player with DVD-Audio and SACD playback, check out my favorite: the Pioneer Elite DV-48AV. I have had it for years and it is very good.
For a long time, I have had the original king of DivX, a.k.a. Philips DVP642 and still use it for CD playback. Considering its impressive feature list (including PAL playback on NTSC TV, DivX playback and progressive scan), I was relatively happy with it for $41 that I paid. I was not happy with it overall however, and would not have paid its original price (my unit was Philips-refurbished). Things have improved significantly since then, Both Philips and competition produced numerous DVD player models with similar features and added even more to the mix: USB ports, HDMI outs, upconversion and better DivX plyback.
One of the issues I had with the original DVP642 was the fact that although it played most DivX videos, it stuttered on some others and showed terrible block noise on some others, making them unwatchable. That was in addition to it having fast scan speed of no higher than 8x and its resume functionality requiring you to push Play while it said Loadining. Miss Loading and you are stuck trying to find the point where you stopped watching last time. Exciting! I will not miss having to use the DVP642 much since there are so many great choices. And with large HDTVs and the advent of HDMI, I replaced my DVD players several times already.
I personally use the 50-inch 1080p Hitachi P50H401 plasma TV, and I tried to get a DVD player that would further improve on DivX playback, have HDMI and upscaling to 1080p (or at least to 1080i) and, for the love of progress and file sharing, a USB port. In doing so I went through some Philips models and some Pioneer models.
I tried newer Philips DVD players, namely Philips DVP5982 and Philips DVP5960 and, although they were both improvements on the DVP 642, they were not perfect. I got the Pioneer DV-400V in black color and used it for quite some time. The Pioneer Elite DV-48AV replaced it since I like to listen to DVD-Audio, but I tried the new Pioneer DV-410V and found it remarkably similar to the DV-400 and not much worse than my Elite DV-48AV (sans DVD-Audio and SACD).
Features
The Pioneer DV-410V is an upconverting DVD player with upconversion to 480p, 720p, 1080i or 1080p over HDMI. It can play DivX, Xvid and JPEG files, WMV, MP3 and WMA. You do not need to create a VCD disc structure, just copy the files to a CD-R/W disc or DVD and insert it into this player and it will play them. Same applies to the USB port that the player has: you can copy files onto a USB drive and the player will play them, albeit with some slight issues.
The player supports slow and fast scan, even in DivX files. Even though the manual does not say anything about it, it will play (and even upconvert) European PAL discs on an NTSC TV. It has a coaxial digital audio out, HDMI out, component video out, S-Video and composite video out. Unlike so many recent DVD players, it has buttons on the front panel to control its menus, USB/DVD switching and playback and has a very intuitive remote control.
It is slightly heavier than the DV-400 but lighter than the DV-48AV and lacks the latter's optical digital out and 5.1 analog outs, which is not important since it does not play DVD-Audio or SACD and I don't even use the 5.1 out on my DV-48AV, since I play DVD_Audio over HDMI.
Operation
The player is medium-sized and is not too lightweight, which gives it a solid feel. The front panel is not Spartan like so many recent DVD players. It has menu control buttons as well as playback control buttons, all of which look stylish and have good tactile response.
The display is bright and informative. The onscreen displays are excellent and are very well designed. They are very similar to the ones of the other recent Pioneer DVD players and are better than the ones on recent Philips models.
I had to switch the sharpness mode to "Soft" to get rid of oversharpening. The player also has adjustments for brightness/contrast and Gamma. There are a lot of other settings to play with, or leave alone.
Usability
When unpacking the player I was pleasantly surprised that unlike the DV-400 or the DV-48AV, this model has a detachable power cord. This makes it easier to replace if broken and easier to unplug if the unit is placed or removed from an entertainment center.
I was immediately impressed, albeit not surprised, with how convenient and informative the menus and onscreen displays were. From colors to presentation, the menus are among the best I have seen.
For example, the onscreen display shows at the same time the total time of the current chapter, remaining time and running time. It also can show bit rate in real time, which is not always useful (DVD), but interesting nonetheless.
And another impressive asset in this player is how Resume functionality is implemented. In some DVD players you have to jump through the hoops to ensure the movie starts playing from where you left off last time. This Pioneer just does it seamlessly and it has resume functionality even in the MPEG or DivX files! Very convenient. I wish my DV-48AV had this functionality in DVD-Audio files.
Remote Control
Most DVD players have remote controls you have to look at when using or struggle to remember the button locations. The DV-410V has a remote control that is pretty close to perfection. The buttons have excellent tactile response. They do not require high effort yet have good positive feedback.
The buttons are located in intuitive order and the most frequently used buttons are larger than secondary ones. The remote is almost perfect, aside from the location of the "0" button, which I never use anyway. And unlike the previous model, the remote control matches the player color (black).
The remote of my Pioneer Elite DV-48AV is larger and has buttons to control TV's power, volume, channel and input select - features that this remote lacks. But the button layout and weight of this remote are better.
Picture Quality
I tested the player with my 50-inch Hitachi plasma (P50H401). The 1080p output over HDMI is excellent: razor sharp and clear. It does not quite have the smallest detail of the HD DVD or Blu-Ray, but it is rather good and definitely better than that of the non-upconverting player over an analog connection.
I saw definite improvement over passing 480p signal from my old Philips DVP642 over component out to my TV. The latter looked foggy by comparison and generated significant artifacts in scenes with motion.
The in-player 1080p upconversion of the DV-410 is very good. It is not perfect though. You can see the stairstep artifacts, especially obvious when watch "South Park" - the diagonal lines are not smooth but resemble steps. But what can we expect at this price point?
Since I have not expected it to rival an HD DVD disc in my Toshiba HD-A3, I am very happy with the image quality. But, later I tried a comparison with the upconversion of regular DVDs by my Toshiba HD-A3 and the A3 does have a small, but distinctive edge.
The sound is excellent as well (using coaxial digital connection to my Panasonic XR57 receiver). The player also passes sound over HDMI, which is convenient. The player plays most of my MPEG and AVI computer files flawlessly.
Well, make it semi-flawlessly. It doesn't play some DivX files that my mother's Philips DVP5990 plays fine.
The files can be burned on a CD-R/W disc just as a regular data CD with no VCD structure needed. I say most, because although it stutters on fewer files than my Philips did, it still has issues with some files, which it refuses to play completely.
The front USB port is a great feature and lets you use a USB drive or any similar device, provided it does not require much power. USB-powered hard drive will most likely not work. Still, it is a great feature as I can copy over a bunch of MP3 or WMA files onto a USB drive, plug it into the USB port of this player and play it through my receiver and speakers. Ditto the video files. The only issue is the player asks you if you want to play audio or video when the USB mode is turned on. So you have to use the onscreen menu to select that. But after that you can switch the TV off and just play your music.
I am not quite sure why they moved the USB port location from the left of the player to lower-right portion (comparing to the DV-400V).
One other convenient feature: the front panel display says GUI when you are using the menus or shows numbers if the GUI mode is off.
Warranty
Unlike many other DVD players, which only have 90-day labor warranty, this Pioneer has 1-year warranty for both parts and labor.
What I Like
I like the player's relatively low price for feature set, its connectivity options, features, PAL playback and conversion to NTSC, computer video file playback, USB, 1080p. Very good build quality, excellent video and sound, great remote control, menus, and responsiveness are also very impressive.
Dislikes
The startup time is longer than with most other DVD players. I noticed this about other recent Pioneer DVD players as well. Perhaps caused by having to load the extensive menu system.
Pros: Performance, features, excellent build quality, USB, up to 1080p over HDMI, DivX, MP3/WMA, remote
Cons: Slightly slow startup, some newer Philips players play DivX better
Bottom Line
Unlike the Philips DVP5982 or DVP5990, the Pioneer DV-410V excels in all areas. There is no need to sacrifice usability for DivX playback anymore. The DV-410 is a very good upconverting DVD player with a USB port, DivX playback and even PAL playback on an NTSC TV. If you need to play PAL discs on an NTSC TV, play computer files and DivX, play media files from a USB drive and upconvert up to 1080p, the DV410 is an excellent choice. And it is an excellent choice for regular DVD playback as well.
I highly recommend it. But if you want a very similar DVD player with DVD-Audio and SACD playback, check out my favorite: the Pioneer Elite DV-48AV. I have had it for years and it is very good.
Acer Ferrari F-20 (Black, Red) 20 inch LCD Monitor - Another Excellent Ferrari
I have been using the 19-inch Dell UltraSharp 1905FP LCD monitor for over 3 years, but I wanted a slightly larger monitor and preferably with a smooth glass-like surface. So when I saw a good deal on the Acer Ferrari F-20 20-inch widescreen LCD monitor, I pulled the trigger. I did not care for its Ferrari logos, but the black/red color scheme looked nice and it had all the specs I needed. It is also a non-TN model, so it has great colors. This was unlike most cheap LCD monitors and virtually all 22-inch models, that at the time used cheaper TN panels.
Although you could find a 22-inch model for the price comparable to the one I paid, color reproduction and the view angle are very important to me and those cheap, large and fast-response-rate monitors lack that.
Why not just any cheap LCD monitor?
The fact that I would not be able to coexist with a 6-bit TN-based monitor became apparent to me during my ordeal with a broken power button on my Dell UltraSharp 1905FP, when Dell shipped me a replacement (Dell 1907FP).
That monitor was also a 19-inch digital LCD flat panel TFT (Active Matrix) with both digital DVI-D and analog VGA inputs. It also featured a built-in USB 2.0 hub with 4 jacks, including two on the side.
On paper, the 1907FP looked better than my older 1905FP in some respects and worse in some others. It had much faster response time of 8ms (gray to gray) vs. 16ms of the 1905FP. Its brightness was higher by 20% (300 vs 250 cd/m^2). But its contrast ratio was less than the 1905FP (500:1 vs 800:1) and the angle of view was only 140/130 (H/V) degrees versus 170 for the 1905.
At the time, I heard that the manufacturers improve the response time by switching form the more color-accurate 8-bit models to less color-accurate 6-bit models. I am afraid the 1907 is one of the results of the switch. I could see the result and I was not happy.
Unfortunately since consumers most of the time care about size and prices, but not over specifics, the newer models can perform slightly worse as long as the price is lower and people will buy them.
The problem that newer monitor was its performance in the area of picture quality. The images were sharp and clear, especially over the DVI input (I use its native resolution of 1280x1024 at 32 bit color). I used the monitor over DVI with the Chaintech XGI Volari V3 DVI-equipped video card and over VGA with a Dell Dimension 3100 computer. But however much I tried, the colors just look cartoonish and overly saturated. The gradations in photographs are coarse, which was definitely not the case with the 1905. No doubt this is the result of use of a 6-bit panel instead of the 8-bit one to reduce response time. The contrast ratio also suffers.
This will not be a big deal if you do not work with photos but only use business applications and/or games. But I work with photos and find this kind of tradeoff unacceptable.
And another, very annoying, issue with this monitor was its viewing angle. Whereas my old monitor had 170-degree viewing angle, the newer 1907 was rated at 130/140 (vertical/horizontal). Although on paper the difference seems minimal, in reality it is huge. If you look at the new monitor at an angle even slightly different from the optimal 90 degrees, the contrast and brightness change dramatically. So much so that it is difficult to distinguish yellow unread emails in Hotmal from the read white ones.
I had to call Dell again and request that they sent me the same model as I had before. Originally the tech rep told me that they do not produce the 1905FP anymore and they cannot send one to me.
After going back and forth for almost an hour, he told me that he has, quote "great news" for me. They decided to give me a, quote "top of the line" model that currently sells for $460+. When I asked him what model it was, he said it is 1905FP. Which is the same model I had before. When I told him that, he said that the "model number might be the same, but this is a different, top of the line monitor". Yeah, sure.
The new "top of the line" model turned out the same as my previous monitor. And although it still has stiff buttons and slow DVI/VGA switching, the image quality more than makes up for it.
So I Got the Acer Ferrari F-20
The monitor arrived in a nice-looking black box with a handle. The packaging was first-rate. The monitor comes with an audio cable, VGA cable, DVI cable, power cable and a brick-style power supply, small manuals and a CD with manuals. It even comes with a black microfiber cloth for wiping the screen.
The monitor itself is pretty heavy, but features excellent, durable construction. It features black/red color combination with red touches on the back panel and the stand. The front panel is shiny black and features a large Ferrari logo underneath the screen. Pretty lame, but I don't care. The frame around the screen is rather wide and there is an area underneath the screen houses the speakers (two speakers, 5W).
If we disregard the tackiness of the logo, the monitor actually looks very nice, if unusual.
The stand is not height-adjustable and does not let the monitor rotate side to side, but lets you tilt it up and down, albeit you have to apply a lot of force to do so.
The ports on the back are located in strange places. The DVI port is under a large rubber plug on the back panel. The rest of the ports are right under the hinge where the stand is attached.
Some Specifications
The monitor is a 20-inch widescreen model with a native resolution of 1680x1050. The contrast ratio is 800:1. The brightness is 200 cd/m². The response time is 8 ms.
The monitor has both DVI-D and VGA inputs and built-in sound. The maximum viewing angle is 176 degrees in both H/V.
For the sharpest picture possible, you need to run the monitor at its native resolution. I used it with my Dell Dimension 3100 and with my laptop: Lenovo T60.
Usability
The monitor has nice-looking menus and a lot of adjustability. Its controls are red buttons on its side. The monitor arrived with its brightness set way too high. After I dialed it down some, the picture quality proved to be amazingly good.
Picture Quality
The picture quality is excellent. The images are sharp, the colors are vivid, yet true to life and the colors or brightness do not change when viewed at an angle. The contrast is great and the blacks are very deep.
Not only the photos look natural, video works great also. I see a definite improvement in comparison with my Dell 1905FP when it comes to black level, response time/fluidity of video, contrast, sharpness and even (unexpectedly) color. And it blows away the newer Dell 1907FP and any TN-based panel (which is virtually any 22 and most larger LCD monitors).
Speakers
The built-in speakers cannot play very loud and are not really suitable for music. The somehow also produced a quiet ticking sound when the volume is over 50% as soon as the audio cable was inserted.
Durability
I have had this monitor for about 6 years and it works well.
Pros: Excellent construction, image quality, features, looks, warranty, non-TN panel, supplied accessories
Cons: Tacky Ferrari logo, no one-button source switching, no height adjustment
Bottom Line
I am very impressed by this monitor and wish my video card supported its native resolution. It looks stylish, features super-sturdy construction, produces excellent picture quality in all respects. And it is a kind of Ferrari most people can afford. I highly recommend it.
Although you could find a 22-inch model for the price comparable to the one I paid, color reproduction and the view angle are very important to me and those cheap, large and fast-response-rate monitors lack that.
Why not just any cheap LCD monitor?
The fact that I would not be able to coexist with a 6-bit TN-based monitor became apparent to me during my ordeal with a broken power button on my Dell UltraSharp 1905FP, when Dell shipped me a replacement (Dell 1907FP).
That monitor was also a 19-inch digital LCD flat panel TFT (Active Matrix) with both digital DVI-D and analog VGA inputs. It also featured a built-in USB 2.0 hub with 4 jacks, including two on the side.
On paper, the 1907FP looked better than my older 1905FP in some respects and worse in some others. It had much faster response time of 8ms (gray to gray) vs. 16ms of the 1905FP. Its brightness was higher by 20% (300 vs 250 cd/m^2). But its contrast ratio was less than the 1905FP (500:1 vs 800:1) and the angle of view was only 140/130 (H/V) degrees versus 170 for the 1905.
At the time, I heard that the manufacturers improve the response time by switching form the more color-accurate 8-bit models to less color-accurate 6-bit models. I am afraid the 1907 is one of the results of the switch. I could see the result and I was not happy.
Unfortunately since consumers most of the time care about size and prices, but not over specifics, the newer models can perform slightly worse as long as the price is lower and people will buy them.
The problem that newer monitor was its performance in the area of picture quality. The images were sharp and clear, especially over the DVI input (I use its native resolution of 1280x1024 at 32 bit color). I used the monitor over DVI with the Chaintech XGI Volari V3 DVI-equipped video card and over VGA with a Dell Dimension 3100 computer. But however much I tried, the colors just look cartoonish and overly saturated. The gradations in photographs are coarse, which was definitely not the case with the 1905. No doubt this is the result of use of a 6-bit panel instead of the 8-bit one to reduce response time. The contrast ratio also suffers.
This will not be a big deal if you do not work with photos but only use business applications and/or games. But I work with photos and find this kind of tradeoff unacceptable.
And another, very annoying, issue with this monitor was its viewing angle. Whereas my old monitor had 170-degree viewing angle, the newer 1907 was rated at 130/140 (vertical/horizontal). Although on paper the difference seems minimal, in reality it is huge. If you look at the new monitor at an angle even slightly different from the optimal 90 degrees, the contrast and brightness change dramatically. So much so that it is difficult to distinguish yellow unread emails in Hotmal from the read white ones.
I had to call Dell again and request that they sent me the same model as I had before. Originally the tech rep told me that they do not produce the 1905FP anymore and they cannot send one to me.
After going back and forth for almost an hour, he told me that he has, quote "great news" for me. They decided to give me a, quote "top of the line" model that currently sells for $460+. When I asked him what model it was, he said it is 1905FP. Which is the same model I had before. When I told him that, he said that the "model number might be the same, but this is a different, top of the line monitor". Yeah, sure.
The new "top of the line" model turned out the same as my previous monitor. And although it still has stiff buttons and slow DVI/VGA switching, the image quality more than makes up for it.
So I Got the Acer Ferrari F-20
The monitor arrived in a nice-looking black box with a handle. The packaging was first-rate. The monitor comes with an audio cable, VGA cable, DVI cable, power cable and a brick-style power supply, small manuals and a CD with manuals. It even comes with a black microfiber cloth for wiping the screen.
The monitor itself is pretty heavy, but features excellent, durable construction. It features black/red color combination with red touches on the back panel and the stand. The front panel is shiny black and features a large Ferrari logo underneath the screen. Pretty lame, but I don't care. The frame around the screen is rather wide and there is an area underneath the screen houses the speakers (two speakers, 5W).
If we disregard the tackiness of the logo, the monitor actually looks very nice, if unusual.
The stand is not height-adjustable and does not let the monitor rotate side to side, but lets you tilt it up and down, albeit you have to apply a lot of force to do so.
The ports on the back are located in strange places. The DVI port is under a large rubber plug on the back panel. The rest of the ports are right under the hinge where the stand is attached.
Some Specifications
The monitor is a 20-inch widescreen model with a native resolution of 1680x1050. The contrast ratio is 800:1. The brightness is 200 cd/m². The response time is 8 ms.
The monitor has both DVI-D and VGA inputs and built-in sound. The maximum viewing angle is 176 degrees in both H/V.
For the sharpest picture possible, you need to run the monitor at its native resolution. I used it with my Dell Dimension 3100 and with my laptop: Lenovo T60.
Usability
The monitor has nice-looking menus and a lot of adjustability. Its controls are red buttons on its side. The monitor arrived with its brightness set way too high. After I dialed it down some, the picture quality proved to be amazingly good.
Picture Quality
The picture quality is excellent. The images are sharp, the colors are vivid, yet true to life and the colors or brightness do not change when viewed at an angle. The contrast is great and the blacks are very deep.
Not only the photos look natural, video works great also. I see a definite improvement in comparison with my Dell 1905FP when it comes to black level, response time/fluidity of video, contrast, sharpness and even (unexpectedly) color. And it blows away the newer Dell 1907FP and any TN-based panel (which is virtually any 22 and most larger LCD monitors).
Speakers
The built-in speakers cannot play very loud and are not really suitable for music. The somehow also produced a quiet ticking sound when the volume is over 50% as soon as the audio cable was inserted.
Durability
I have had this monitor for about 6 years and it works well.
Pros: Excellent construction, image quality, features, looks, warranty, non-TN panel, supplied accessories
Cons: Tacky Ferrari logo, no one-button source switching, no height adjustment
Bottom Line
I am very impressed by this monitor and wish my video card supported its native resolution. It looks stylish, features super-sturdy construction, produces excellent picture quality in all respects. And it is a kind of Ferrari most people can afford. I highly recommend it.
Panasonic Lumix® DMC-FZ28 10.1-Megapixel Digital Camera with 18x Zoom
Having used and tested Panasonic cameras for quite some time (beginning with their original mega-zoom camera the FZ1 with 12x optical zoom, image stabilization and 2-megapixel resolution), I have come to expect excellent performance and good prices from them. The new Panasonic DMC-FZ28 features 18x optical zoom (with optical image stabilization Panasonic is known for), 10.1-megapixel resolution and a very reasonable street price.
What is Panasonic FZ28
The Panasonic DMC-FZ28 is a digital 10.1-megapixel camera with 18x optical zoom, including wide angle of 27mm (27-486mm), 2.7-inch LCD and a custom Li-Ion battery. The camera stores photos and videos on the SD (or SDHC) memory cards and weighs only 14.7 oz.
The Leica-branded lens features maximum apertures of f/2.8 at wide angle and f/4.8 at full telephoto. Face detection and video recording are also present. The camera is available in black (FZ28K) or in silver-grey (FZ28S).
Usage
The FZ28 looks like a miniature SLR. Not surprisingly, just as the previous cameras of the FZ line, the FZ28 is easy to use with intuitive menus and controls. The min SLR-like shape and optical image stabilization make it easy to shoot in dim light and/or at high magnification levels.
I found the camera very similar in shape, controls and use to the previous Panasonic FZ cameras, especially with its predecessor, the FZ18. The camera is so easy to use, I have not read the manual but was able to figure out to use all its features in no time.
The electronic viewfinder has very good resolution (201,600 pixels) and lets you use the camera in bright light. The zooming is smooth and uses two speeds, depending on how hard you push on the zoom lever.
The range of zoom is amazing. The wide angle of the lens is 27 mm, which is as wide as it gets with digital mega-zoom cameras, The full telephoto of 486 mm magnifies far-away objects extremely well.
The mega-zoom cameras are fun to use and this one is no exception. In addition to full manual modes, which let you use the camera without having to think about such things as aperture of shutter speed, there are modes where you can enable manual control of aperture and shutter speed.
Preset scene modes provide a good middle ground and the face recognition works really well and lets camera figure out where to focus, which is especially important at telephoto.
The camera is powered by a proprietary Li-Ion battery, which looks similar to an SLR battery and provides enough power to last through over 460 shots.
The camera provides RAW mode if you want to edit photos on your computer before it is compressed to JPEG. I used JPEG however.
The excellent Panasonic image stabilization really works and lets you obtain sharp pictures with no motion blur in low light and/or telephoto. I was able to get sharp results at up to 2-3 stops beyond normal.
The camera comes with 50 MB of built-in memory. I used my 2-GB SD card with it. The camera can also use high-capacity SD cards (SDHD - Secure Digital High Capacity). Also included are the USB cable, the A/V cable, CD-ROM with software (I haven't installed it and probably never will), the battery pack and charger, lens hood, lens filter adaptor, lens cap with a strap and a shoulder strap, manuals.
The camera comes with a filter adaptor and a lens hood. The lens hood is very useful to avoid flare, which has a potential to reveal itself if shooting on a sunny day with the sun ahead. The hood is not very easy to attach, but it works well.
The camera has features that enthusiasts will find appealing such as Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual mode. The aperture range is up to f/8 and the shutter speed is up to 60 seconds.
Mega-Zoom and Optical Image Stabilization
Consumers like cameras that provide high optical zoom numbers (e.g. 5x and higher). I like them too. Having a camera with an optical zoom over 5x lets you magnify images far away without loss of sharpness. But not all mega-zoom cameras are created equal. Some of them have no optical image stabilization, which makes images shot at high magnification or in dim light blurry.
Optical image stabilization lets you have substantially sharper images in low light or at high zoom levels. It lets you shoot handheld in many situations that would otherwise require a tripod. I would never buy a camera with high optical zoom unless it has optical image stabilization (see exception below). All mega-zoom cameras of Panasonic FZ (including this FZ28) line have optical image stabilization.
One exception to this rule is the S-series of Fuji cameras, some of which are equipped with Super-CCD sensors that have very low noise at high ISO settings. This lets you increase ISO and thereby shoot at faster shutter speeds decreasing blur.
LCD
The camera has a 2.7-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels (an improvement in resolution over the previous models) that covers 100% of the view. You can also use the electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a diopter adjustment. The LCD screen is fluid, has pleasing colors and good resolution. The LCD is well-visible in regular conditions, but in sunlight, visibility decreases and you have to use the EVF, which works well in sunlight.
The optical viewfinder would be better, but it would not have been possible to make an optical viewfinder that would fit in such a small space and work with such a monster 18x optical zoom.
In the shooting mode, the "Display" button cycles through the image with no information, image with basic shooting parameters and a live histogram, image with lines that split the screen in nine areas and help you compose the shot better or image that is slightly decreased in size and the area around it filled with shooting parameters, etc.
At any time you can see the estimated remaining amount of pictures that will fit on the memory card as well as the battery status. The icons are descriptive and the information is displayed in easy to understand format.
Performance
The camera takes a couple of seconds to extend its lens when powered on, but is speedy otherwise. There are no delays between shots, unless the flash needs to be recharged. Even in that case, the delays are shorter than from AA-powered cameras.
The burst mode is very fast and the bracketing mode burst is fast as well. The flash is powerful at wide angle. And the focusing is fast, even in dim light.
The camera is very fast overall. It focuses very fast as well (well under a second, almost instantaneously).
The AF illuminator helps with faster focusing in dim light, but even if it cannot reach its target, the camera still focuses fairly fast. This is in contrast with many other cameras that try to focus in the same conditions for several seconds, at times successfully, at times failing to focus at all.
Overall, the focusing performance of the FZ28 is probably the best I have seen so far, even better than the already excellent Panasonic FZ18.
The camera has focus confirmation - it shows you a small or larger rectangle around the area where the camera is currently focused. The shutter lag when pre-focused is virtually absent and the picture is taken almost instantaneously. You can select to have the taken picture appear on the screen for 1 or couple of seconds after it's taken to confirm if it is good or you can select not to have this, so-called, quick preview at all. In the latter case, the LCD goes blank only momentarily.
Overall, depending on the focus mode, the shot-to-shot delay ranges between less than a second (High-Speed Autofocus) to a little more than a second (9-point autofocus). Since RAW images are much large than JPEGs, the delay is longer, depending on the SD card speed. Obviously, the times above are with no flash use.
Shooting with flash is slower since the flash needs time to recharge. Depending on battery condition and the subject distance, you can expect the flash recharge time of 2-5 seconds, which is still very good.
Again, I cannot emphasize the importance of the wide angle capaility of this camera. It makes the camera more useful than other cameras that do not go as wide, especially indoors and while taking pictures on narrow streets.
Image Quality
The camera features excellent optics, which is very sharp. There is little chromatic aberration (purple fringing) at full wide angle and more at telephoto. The corners are a little soft at full telephoto. But the sharpness is excellent overall with sharp image at telephoto.
The barrel and pincussion distortion is virtually absent. Overall, the lens is excellent.
Unfortunately, Panasonic cameras still do not feature the best CCD sensors and it shows. The sensitivity is up to ISO 6,400. There is a little chroma noise even to lowest sensitivity (ISO) settings and it grows at higher ISO. The image processing tames noise but makes fine detail softer. If this issue was solved, this camera would be pretty much perfect.
The softness and slight noise are not by any means bad or intrusive. They are not visible on prints and you can print up to 11x14 at lower ISO settings, 5x7 or even 8x10 at ISO 800. The higher-ISO photos are adequate at 5x7 or 4x6, aside from ISO 3,200 or 6,440, which are barely usable.
Computer Connectivity
I was able to connect the camera to my Windows 2000 SP4 Professional computer with no need to install any drivers or software. After that, the camera appeared as a removable drive in my system and I could copy the files from it. But the speeds were slow and I usually remove the SD card from the camera and just use my memory card reader, which accepts SD cards and is fast.
Pricing
When new, the camera was quite cheap at less than $290. With 18x optical zoom, 10MP resolution and even 720p high-definition video recording it was a bargain.
Pros: Low price, excellent performance, zoom range, photo quality, ease of use, battery included
Cons: Slight chromatic aberration at telephoto, slight noise at higher ISO.
Conclusion
The FZ28 is an excellent camera for traveling, sporting events and more. With its combination of high resolution, 18x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, ease of use and excellent performance, it is a great choice and I highly recommend it, especially at its incredibly low price.
What is Panasonic FZ28
The Panasonic DMC-FZ28 is a digital 10.1-megapixel camera with 18x optical zoom, including wide angle of 27mm (27-486mm), 2.7-inch LCD and a custom Li-Ion battery. The camera stores photos and videos on the SD (or SDHC) memory cards and weighs only 14.7 oz.
The Leica-branded lens features maximum apertures of f/2.8 at wide angle and f/4.8 at full telephoto. Face detection and video recording are also present. The camera is available in black (FZ28K) or in silver-grey (FZ28S).
Usage
The FZ28 looks like a miniature SLR. Not surprisingly, just as the previous cameras of the FZ line, the FZ28 is easy to use with intuitive menus and controls. The min SLR-like shape and optical image stabilization make it easy to shoot in dim light and/or at high magnification levels.
I found the camera very similar in shape, controls and use to the previous Panasonic FZ cameras, especially with its predecessor, the FZ18. The camera is so easy to use, I have not read the manual but was able to figure out to use all its features in no time.
The electronic viewfinder has very good resolution (201,600 pixels) and lets you use the camera in bright light. The zooming is smooth and uses two speeds, depending on how hard you push on the zoom lever.
The range of zoom is amazing. The wide angle of the lens is 27 mm, which is as wide as it gets with digital mega-zoom cameras, The full telephoto of 486 mm magnifies far-away objects extremely well.
The mega-zoom cameras are fun to use and this one is no exception. In addition to full manual modes, which let you use the camera without having to think about such things as aperture of shutter speed, there are modes where you can enable manual control of aperture and shutter speed.
Preset scene modes provide a good middle ground and the face recognition works really well and lets camera figure out where to focus, which is especially important at telephoto.
The camera is powered by a proprietary Li-Ion battery, which looks similar to an SLR battery and provides enough power to last through over 460 shots.
The camera provides RAW mode if you want to edit photos on your computer before it is compressed to JPEG. I used JPEG however.
The excellent Panasonic image stabilization really works and lets you obtain sharp pictures with no motion blur in low light and/or telephoto. I was able to get sharp results at up to 2-3 stops beyond normal.
The camera comes with 50 MB of built-in memory. I used my 2-GB SD card with it. The camera can also use high-capacity SD cards (SDHD - Secure Digital High Capacity). Also included are the USB cable, the A/V cable, CD-ROM with software (I haven't installed it and probably never will), the battery pack and charger, lens hood, lens filter adaptor, lens cap with a strap and a shoulder strap, manuals.
The camera comes with a filter adaptor and a lens hood. The lens hood is very useful to avoid flare, which has a potential to reveal itself if shooting on a sunny day with the sun ahead. The hood is not very easy to attach, but it works well.
The camera has features that enthusiasts will find appealing such as Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual mode. The aperture range is up to f/8 and the shutter speed is up to 60 seconds.
Mega-Zoom and Optical Image Stabilization
Consumers like cameras that provide high optical zoom numbers (e.g. 5x and higher). I like them too. Having a camera with an optical zoom over 5x lets you magnify images far away without loss of sharpness. But not all mega-zoom cameras are created equal. Some of them have no optical image stabilization, which makes images shot at high magnification or in dim light blurry.
Optical image stabilization lets you have substantially sharper images in low light or at high zoom levels. It lets you shoot handheld in many situations that would otherwise require a tripod. I would never buy a camera with high optical zoom unless it has optical image stabilization (see exception below). All mega-zoom cameras of Panasonic FZ (including this FZ28) line have optical image stabilization.
One exception to this rule is the S-series of Fuji cameras, some of which are equipped with Super-CCD sensors that have very low noise at high ISO settings. This lets you increase ISO and thereby shoot at faster shutter speeds decreasing blur.
LCD
The camera has a 2.7-inch LCD with 230,000 pixels (an improvement in resolution over the previous models) that covers 100% of the view. You can also use the electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a diopter adjustment. The LCD screen is fluid, has pleasing colors and good resolution. The LCD is well-visible in regular conditions, but in sunlight, visibility decreases and you have to use the EVF, which works well in sunlight.
The optical viewfinder would be better, but it would not have been possible to make an optical viewfinder that would fit in such a small space and work with such a monster 18x optical zoom.
In the shooting mode, the "Display" button cycles through the image with no information, image with basic shooting parameters and a live histogram, image with lines that split the screen in nine areas and help you compose the shot better or image that is slightly decreased in size and the area around it filled with shooting parameters, etc.
At any time you can see the estimated remaining amount of pictures that will fit on the memory card as well as the battery status. The icons are descriptive and the information is displayed in easy to understand format.
Performance
The camera takes a couple of seconds to extend its lens when powered on, but is speedy otherwise. There are no delays between shots, unless the flash needs to be recharged. Even in that case, the delays are shorter than from AA-powered cameras.
The burst mode is very fast and the bracketing mode burst is fast as well. The flash is powerful at wide angle. And the focusing is fast, even in dim light.
The camera is very fast overall. It focuses very fast as well (well under a second, almost instantaneously).
The AF illuminator helps with faster focusing in dim light, but even if it cannot reach its target, the camera still focuses fairly fast. This is in contrast with many other cameras that try to focus in the same conditions for several seconds, at times successfully, at times failing to focus at all.
Overall, the focusing performance of the FZ28 is probably the best I have seen so far, even better than the already excellent Panasonic FZ18.
The camera has focus confirmation - it shows you a small or larger rectangle around the area where the camera is currently focused. The shutter lag when pre-focused is virtually absent and the picture is taken almost instantaneously. You can select to have the taken picture appear on the screen for 1 or couple of seconds after it's taken to confirm if it is good or you can select not to have this, so-called, quick preview at all. In the latter case, the LCD goes blank only momentarily.
Overall, depending on the focus mode, the shot-to-shot delay ranges between less than a second (High-Speed Autofocus) to a little more than a second (9-point autofocus). Since RAW images are much large than JPEGs, the delay is longer, depending on the SD card speed. Obviously, the times above are with no flash use.
Shooting with flash is slower since the flash needs time to recharge. Depending on battery condition and the subject distance, you can expect the flash recharge time of 2-5 seconds, which is still very good.
Again, I cannot emphasize the importance of the wide angle capaility of this camera. It makes the camera more useful than other cameras that do not go as wide, especially indoors and while taking pictures on narrow streets.
Image Quality
The camera features excellent optics, which is very sharp. There is little chromatic aberration (purple fringing) at full wide angle and more at telephoto. The corners are a little soft at full telephoto. But the sharpness is excellent overall with sharp image at telephoto.
The barrel and pincussion distortion is virtually absent. Overall, the lens is excellent.
Unfortunately, Panasonic cameras still do not feature the best CCD sensors and it shows. The sensitivity is up to ISO 6,400. There is a little chroma noise even to lowest sensitivity (ISO) settings and it grows at higher ISO. The image processing tames noise but makes fine detail softer. If this issue was solved, this camera would be pretty much perfect.
The softness and slight noise are not by any means bad or intrusive. They are not visible on prints and you can print up to 11x14 at lower ISO settings, 5x7 or even 8x10 at ISO 800. The higher-ISO photos are adequate at 5x7 or 4x6, aside from ISO 3,200 or 6,440, which are barely usable.
Computer Connectivity
I was able to connect the camera to my Windows 2000 SP4 Professional computer with no need to install any drivers or software. After that, the camera appeared as a removable drive in my system and I could copy the files from it. But the speeds were slow and I usually remove the SD card from the camera and just use my memory card reader, which accepts SD cards and is fast.
Pricing
When new, the camera was quite cheap at less than $290. With 18x optical zoom, 10MP resolution and even 720p high-definition video recording it was a bargain.
Pros: Low price, excellent performance, zoom range, photo quality, ease of use, battery included
Cons: Slight chromatic aberration at telephoto, slight noise at higher ISO.
Conclusion
The FZ28 is an excellent camera for traveling, sporting events and more. With its combination of high resolution, 18x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, ease of use and excellent performance, it is a great choice and I highly recommend it, especially at its incredibly low price.
Panasonic DMP-BD55 1080p Blu-Ray Player - Excellent And Fast
I have to confess that I jumped on the HD bandwagon a while ago and have used the Toshiba HD-A3 for a while. Since HD DVD lost and Blu-Ray won, I have been looking at the newer Blu-Ray players. I had good experience with Panasonic DVD players as well as other A/V gear, so checking out the new Panasonic BMP-BD55 was a logical step to take.
No longer priced in the stratosphere, newer Blu-Ray players that conform to BD profile 2.0 are also faster in operation than the previous models. I got the BD55 for $340, shipping included.
I did not expect anything less than stunning image quality, but hoped for better load times than the earlier models' as well as better usability and better standard DVD playback (although I can use my Toshiba HD-A3 for that).
About the Panasonic DMP-BD55
The Panasonic DMP-BD55 is a high-definition Blu-Ray DVD player with HDMI (up to 1080p resolution, including 24 fps), component video outs (up to 720p/1080i), standard-resolution DVD upconversion through HDMI 1.3 (720p/1080i/1080p), S-Video, stereo analog audio and 7.1 analog audio as well as coaxial and optical digital audio outs.
The player plays Blu-Ray DVD, DVD-Video, CD-Audio, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD and DVD-Audio. It plays CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM. It also decodes Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Digital Plus.
It also features onboard decoding for the Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. There is even an SD card slot for easier sharing of photos.
In Use
I was surprised with how light the player is, at least comparing to earlier designs. The build quality is pretty solid though. It looks quite stylish. I connected the player through its HDMI to my Hitachi P50H401 50-inch plasma TV and watched Mission Impossible-III Blu-Ray disc. A pretty bad movie, but a good test for the player.
First of all, the load time is very short, both comparing to earlier BR players and my Toshiba A3. IN about 20 seconds the player is on and the disc is playing. Standard DVDs are as fast as in a regular DVD player.
The player supports playback at the material's (BR DVD) native resolution through either component video out (up to 1080i) or the HDMI out (in other words, 1080p is only available through HDMI). The player supports all the latest features, including 24 fps video output and Dolby True HD as well as DTS-HD.
I discovered that if you have an HDMI-equipped player that cannot decode newer audio standard, you have to use "PCM" output option of the player, so that it converts the new formats into PCM and passes them to the receiver over HDMI. Make sure you experiment and get the best possible option that your receiver supports. Maybe subjectively (most likely not), but PCM output of newer audio format sounds better over HDMI converted to PCM than does regular DD or DTS.
Performance and Image Quality
Just as I expected, the image quality when watching Blu-Ray discs is excellent and is pretty much amazing. I cannot see much difference in playback quality of the BD55 and the HD DVD Toshiba A3, but that is no longer relevant since HD DVD is pretty much dead, although I can still get HD DVD discs through Blockbuster Online. So it is more like a living dead/zombie. Still scary.
But back to the BD55. The images are three-dimensional, comparing to DVDs that look somewhat flat (even upconverted in any of my players). Also, there are details you would never see on standard-resolution DVD. The colors are great and the sound is better than what I get from regular DVDs.
Unlike the earlier Samsung BR player I tried a while ago (Samsung DB-P1000 Blu-Ray High-Definition DVD player ), this Panasonic excels at standard DVD playback as well. The standard DVD playback (with upconversion or without, but still over HDMI) is simply excellent. Although no match for true high-definition DVD playback, the player produces excellent detail level, which is as good as with better standard DVD players I have seen and my Toshiba HD-A3.
The layer change is pretty fast as well. Overall, the player is very impressive.
Remote Control
The remote control is pretty good (although not backlit or of the "glow in the dark" type). It is similar in button shape and color to other recent Panasonic remotes, including the remote of Viera TVs and my Panasonic SA-XR57 receiver. And although the remote is not backlit, the button layout is very intuitive and the buttons are large and easy to find in darkness.
Connections
I use the following connections: the player is connected to the Panasonic SA-XR57 class-D receiver using an HDMI connection (through a passive HDMI switch, along with the Toshiba HD-A3 and the Pioneer Elite DV-48AV, since the receiver only has one HDMI input). The HDMI out of the receiver is connected to my TV. Both HD players output PCM over HDMI. Pioneer can output DD/DTS and DVD-Audio over HDMI (up to 192 KHz).
Pros: Features, performance, picture quality playing both Blu-Ray and standard DVD, good remote
Cons: Could be cheaper still
Bottom Line
If you want an excellent Blu-Ray DVD player that also excels playing standard DVDs, the Panasonic DMP-BD55 is an excellent choice. In addition to solid performance it is also easy to use, loads discs fast and has a good remote control.
No longer priced in the stratosphere, newer Blu-Ray players that conform to BD profile 2.0 are also faster in operation than the previous models. I got the BD55 for $340, shipping included.
I did not expect anything less than stunning image quality, but hoped for better load times than the earlier models' as well as better usability and better standard DVD playback (although I can use my Toshiba HD-A3 for that).
About the Panasonic DMP-BD55
The Panasonic DMP-BD55 is a high-definition Blu-Ray DVD player with HDMI (up to 1080p resolution, including 24 fps), component video outs (up to 720p/1080i), standard-resolution DVD upconversion through HDMI 1.3 (720p/1080i/1080p), S-Video, stereo analog audio and 7.1 analog audio as well as coaxial and optical digital audio outs.
The player plays Blu-Ray DVD, DVD-Video, CD-Audio, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD and DVD-Audio. It plays CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM. It also decodes Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Digital Plus.
It also features onboard decoding for the Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. There is even an SD card slot for easier sharing of photos.
In Use
I was surprised with how light the player is, at least comparing to earlier designs. The build quality is pretty solid though. It looks quite stylish. I connected the player through its HDMI to my Hitachi P50H401 50-inch plasma TV and watched Mission Impossible-III Blu-Ray disc. A pretty bad movie, but a good test for the player.
First of all, the load time is very short, both comparing to earlier BR players and my Toshiba A3. IN about 20 seconds the player is on and the disc is playing. Standard DVDs are as fast as in a regular DVD player.
The player supports playback at the material's (BR DVD) native resolution through either component video out (up to 1080i) or the HDMI out (in other words, 1080p is only available through HDMI). The player supports all the latest features, including 24 fps video output and Dolby True HD as well as DTS-HD.
I discovered that if you have an HDMI-equipped player that cannot decode newer audio standard, you have to use "PCM" output option of the player, so that it converts the new formats into PCM and passes them to the receiver over HDMI. Make sure you experiment and get the best possible option that your receiver supports. Maybe subjectively (most likely not), but PCM output of newer audio format sounds better over HDMI converted to PCM than does regular DD or DTS.
Performance and Image Quality
Just as I expected, the image quality when watching Blu-Ray discs is excellent and is pretty much amazing. I cannot see much difference in playback quality of the BD55 and the HD DVD Toshiba A3, but that is no longer relevant since HD DVD is pretty much dead, although I can still get HD DVD discs through Blockbuster Online. So it is more like a living dead/zombie. Still scary.
But back to the BD55. The images are three-dimensional, comparing to DVDs that look somewhat flat (even upconverted in any of my players). Also, there are details you would never see on standard-resolution DVD. The colors are great and the sound is better than what I get from regular DVDs.
Unlike the earlier Samsung BR player I tried a while ago (Samsung DB-P1000 Blu-Ray High-Definition DVD player ), this Panasonic excels at standard DVD playback as well. The standard DVD playback (with upconversion or without, but still over HDMI) is simply excellent. Although no match for true high-definition DVD playback, the player produces excellent detail level, which is as good as with better standard DVD players I have seen and my Toshiba HD-A3.
The layer change is pretty fast as well. Overall, the player is very impressive.
Remote Control
The remote control is pretty good (although not backlit or of the "glow in the dark" type). It is similar in button shape and color to other recent Panasonic remotes, including the remote of Viera TVs and my Panasonic SA-XR57 receiver. And although the remote is not backlit, the button layout is very intuitive and the buttons are large and easy to find in darkness.
Connections
I use the following connections: the player is connected to the Panasonic SA-XR57 class-D receiver using an HDMI connection (through a passive HDMI switch, along with the Toshiba HD-A3 and the Pioneer Elite DV-48AV, since the receiver only has one HDMI input). The HDMI out of the receiver is connected to my TV. Both HD players output PCM over HDMI. Pioneer can output DD/DTS and DVD-Audio over HDMI (up to 192 KHz).
Pros: Features, performance, picture quality playing both Blu-Ray and standard DVD, good remote
Cons: Could be cheaper still
Bottom Line
If you want an excellent Blu-Ray DVD player that also excels playing standard DVDs, the Panasonic DMP-BD55 is an excellent choice. In addition to solid performance it is also easy to use, loads discs fast and has a good remote control.
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