LG 55LH50 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV, Gloss Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I selected this specific television because of the integrated Netflix player. Set up took literally minutes and everything worked great until I tried to activate the built in Netflix player. I was not able to get an activation code from netflix because, although the tv could hit my home network and the internet, the player was unable to log into the Netflix activation server. I first called Netflix and was transfered to LG customer support, who were more interested in getting my phone number than working through the issue. We fumbled through a couple of things becore they informed me that they would need to send out a service tech and I would have to be available for 4 hours on a Tuesday for them to show up. Not finding this acceptable, I reached out to Netflix again. This time I got someone on the level 2 helpdesk who worked with me for about an hour on network things. Basically we determined that there was nothing wrong with my network, but that the problem resided in the television. He was willing to sit on the phone another hour with me while we brought up the LG tech on what had been done. After he walked through several remedial steps that didn't really have anything to do with the situation, the LG tech gave up and tried to schedule another on site visit. I insisted on talking to a supervisor who informed me that there was no Level 2 help desk for LG. After I pressed hard enough, she put me on hold and called someone she knew in Advanced techncal support (aparently an internal departmement). I got a promise for some to call me back. Everyone I had talked to was extremely friendly and told me over and over they wanted to help, but their depth of knowledge on this product was very weak.
After spending an hour with the advanced technical guys, they finally conceeded that they had never actaully set up a Netflix connection, but had seen one working. They also told me that there are known issues with Belkin routers (of course, that is the router I use.) I now have no less than 6 hours invested in getting Netflix to work on this tv and it still doesn't. I will now have to wait for a field tech to come out, do exactly the same things I've done over the last 6 hours and then inform me that I'll need a new board or something, but it'll have to be ordered. I should note that the other web applications integrated into the television work great, it's a shame I didn't buy the TV for them.
I already have a Roku Netflix player (it's even wireless) and I get great results on my Toshiba plasma TV. I should have just bought the tv I really wanted and went with a second Roku device for the new television.
UPDATE - After working with an authorized repair company, the main mother board was replaced and all issues with NETFLIX connectivity were resolved. I am still using the Belkin router and it works like a charm. There were some issues also with the speakers (they crackled at certain frequencies) but once they were replaced, everything seems to be working well.

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55-Inch LCD Broadband HDTV, 1920 x 1080 Resolution, 120Hz, 70,000:1 Contrast Ratio, ATSC/NTSC/Clear QAM - 1 Tuner, SRS TruSurround XT, 4 HDMI input

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Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P50G10 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The P50G10 is my second HD Plasma experience, the first being a 2004 Panasonic, which still looks and works quite well. It has found another spot in our home to make room for the new G10 in our family room. When searching for and finally selecting the new Panasonic G10, I was comparing choices against this first experience considering both the manufacturer and the plasma technology. While I have a few smaller sized LCD's, mostly in the 20-32" range, I have never been overly impressed with the picture. The seem a bit cartoonish, even in HD mode, so I quickly settled on a plasma as my technology choice. Having made that decision the alternatives in terms of manufacturers narrowed quickly. Wh Pioneer exiting the Plasma business, and considering my experience with my original Panasonic plasma the brand decision was made. Selecting which model from Panasonic boiled down to scouring the 2009 product announcements and available reviews (CNET), and making the trade-offs on size, cost and availability. This all led me to the P50G10, which was a good fit on all points.
I have had the unit installed and working for 4 weeks now, and must say its been an extremely satisfying time. The G10 is a major step up, from my previous plasma, in terms of picture, inputs i.e. 3 HDMI vs 1, and ability to control each picture setting independently. I have tweaked the picture setting on the Standard and THX settings a bit to sharpen and brighten the picture a bit, but most of the other settings are very good out of the box. As the unit is stand mounted, and in a room with mostly indirect and overhead lighting there are no issues with glare or light reflection, from the main glass or its glossy black bezel.
In the process I also moved up to a Panasonic BMP-BD60 (will write a separate review on it) Blu Ray player and the 1080P picture is nothing short of amazing. As these are both Panasonic units they inter-operate with VieraLink which simplifies and automates the way the two units operate together, a nice but not essential feature. I setup a Wireless ethernet bridge (Linksys WET54G) to feed the VieraCast function on the G10, and it works flawlessly. At this time the amount of content available is limited, but one can see the potential, if Panasonic can bring more content services to this function. The G10 does employ a set of power consumption controls. There are both Input Idle and In-Activity based auto-power off modes to save on power consumption, which is good as plasma's are a bit power hungry.
To be balanced the G10 does have a few shortcomings. The sound from the onboard speakers is a bit thin. You can mitigate this some by pumping up the Bass control and turning on the Bass Boost, but its just not a rich sound experience. I think Panasonic can do better with some higher quality speakers and a small sub-woofer. I, and I suspect most others, have a surround system connected and utilize it for a better sound experience.
I also preferred when Panasonic placed the additional inputs into a trap door on the front of the plasma, the G10 has these on the left (facing) edge. To me it was more convenient and accessible to have these set of inputs up-front.
All in all, the G10 is a high quality Plasma with terrific features and future expandability. If offers a near perfect picture across multiple inputs and types of content.


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50" Plasma, 1080p, THX, Viera Cast, H.264, IP Camera Ready, PC Input, NEO PDP Panel which is brighter, Full-time 1080p TV lines of moving picture resolution, 3 HDMI, Native contrast ratio 40,000:1, Dynamic contrast infinite black 2,000,000:1, Game Mode, Anti Reflective Filter, 600 Hz Subfield Drive

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MSI Wind Nettop 120 Desktop - Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)>>>> UPDATE! sun 27 dec 2009 > UPDATE! mon 20 july 2009 > UPDATE! sun 27 dec 2009 Atoms dual core performance is great, don't worry about it if you are planning using it like a server 24/7
BAD
> There is no wifi card
> Intel GMA video chip is slowly and crappy. Here is my recomendation:
You will realize, that you actually can't play high definition videos with the wife of the Atom processor, the Intel Graphics Media "Accelerator" (GMA). Frame skipping and audio cuts, will be totally a mess.
Can be frustrating, but there is a solution:
> Deactivate deblocking filter on all the codecs that support it (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC)
How ?
Install klite codec pack, and at the end of the setup, choose deactivate deblocking.
If you use build-in codecs player programs such GOMPlayer, there are options for quit deblocking filters.
This way you can play even 720p hardly encoded videos, you will see some blocks here and there, but no frame skipping or audio cuts.
Alternately, if you need more performance, you can choose 16bit of color depth.
FEATURES:
There is a:
1) cdrom/dvd bay, 2) mini pcie port, 3) wifi antenna -and rear socket for it- 4) rear jacks for 7.1 speakers system -and line-in/out and mic- 5) one frontal speakers jack 6) one frontal microfone jack 7) two frontal usb ports 8) four rear usb ports 9) one rear ethernet jack 10) one rear VGA port 11) one frontal SD/MMC card slot 11) two SATA internal ports -sata only- 12) CF internal port -compact flash port- 13) one DDR2 200-Pin SODIMM Laptop Memory RAM slot 14) 3.5 hard disk bay 15) one power button 16) one power supply 17) one disc with drivers/controllers 18) one vertical stand adapter 19) one multilanguage user manual
There is no:
1) reset button 2) wifi card 3) DVI port 4) IDE ports -sata only- 5) hard disk -must get it- 6) compact flash drive 7) dvd/cd drive 8) ram memory -must get it-
Enjoy your hardware.

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WIND NETTOP CS120 ATM/1.6 1GB 160GB WLS DVDR WXPH

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Buffalo LinkStation Live LS-CH500L - NAS - 500 GB - Serial ATA-150 - HD 500 GB x 1 - Gigabit Ethernet Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Bought one for home and found out it does such an excellent job, I bought one for my small office as well.
For home, i needed a NAS to store media on an always on device to stream to PS3 and XBox 360. This Buffalo device does this very well, with hardly any set-up at all on these two DLNA devices. Just enable 'Media Server' from the very easy to use browser based admin utility and your set.
Other great features: web access is a very simple page to access (buffalonas.com), combined with comprehensive, but easy to use user management. Also the Bittorrent feature is so easy and so convenient, you'll use it even if you dont know at the moment what this does. It works while the computer is off - obviously, and works quietly - actually silently, because this device is so quiet even while accessing files.
Not 5 stars because: silly really - on PS3, Photos are selected as Videos, and Videos are selected as Photos. But you get used to that. The web access could have slightly easier interfaces that dont return you to the home directory, and easier tools to save the files rather than viewing pictures in web pages.

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LinkStation is a single-drive NAS that makes it easy to add shared storage space to your network. All of your computers and network devices can access files from a LinkStation connected to your network. Ideal for homes and small offices that want easy to use easy to manage centralized network storage.

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Encore Wireless Enuwi-N 802.11N Wireless Usb Adapter Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this product because it was the cheapest adapter i could find and it was a good choice. I opened the box and it had the usb adapter, a usb extension, and the set-up disc. I set it up using the included the disc that also contained the manual as a .pdf file. Everything set up and it required a restart so i did. Everything loaded up and it connected to my DIR-655 wireless b/g/n router. At first i only got speeds of 130-150Mbps and thats because my router was not using channel bonding and was using 20MHz. changed my router settings to 20/40MHz auto(channel bonding) and i got the full 270-300Mbps. By the way if you have neighbors using wireless n, channel bonding won't work because of the interference, so get a router thats 5.0GHz not 2.4GHz.

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ENCORE ENUWI-N 802.11n Wireless USB adapter provides users to launch IEEE 802.11n wireless network at 300 Mbps in the 2.4GHz band, which is also compatible with IEEE 802.11b/g wireless devices at 11/54 Mbps. You can configure this adapter with ad-hoc mode to connect to other 2.4GHz wireless computers, or with Infrastructure mode to connect to a wireless AP or router for accessing to Internet. This adapter includes a convenient Utility for scanning available networks and saving preferred networks that users usually connected with. Security encryption can also be configured by this utility.

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NETGEAR SPH200D - Cordless phone / VoIP phone - DECT - Skype Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've always wanted one of these because I really wanted to give the voip thing a shot and save some cash too, but the initial price tag of these things were crazy, $700 all the way up to nearly $1,000 when availability got tight, NUTS! Now you can get them at about 60% to 70% off those prices and at that, while still not next to nothing, is still much more of a viable option for the masses. The thing to remember is that this is a dated phone, although it still does its job fine, it just doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the newer models. While you can hook it up to your standard phone line and your modem line I prefer to leave it just hooked up to the modem and use it as my Long Distance phone. Some say why bother with it when you can get skype via your cpu for free regardless but just call me old fashioned, I like using the phone. Also I'm on the cpu way to much in my life already, whatever I can do to get away from it I've decided is worth doing. It's really just a phone and that's what I wanted. I would 100% recommend using the setup disk or simply setting up your account online with Skype instead of doing all the stuff through the handset. Once set up the program really does transition flawlessly from your online settings and contacts right to the handset.
I do have one technical recommendation and fix I'll detail here. For the record I found this fix on one of the other reviews on this site but expanded upon it so the very basic cpu user can do it, and this fix is only needed if you have a cpu in conjunction with the phone, because as stated this phone only needs a modem you technically don't have to have a cpu to use it, all the setup can be done right on the handset. But of course if you're on this site I'll just assume you have a cpu. Now you will need a pencil and paper:
1st- On the handset hit the menu button, scroll to the settings tab and press select.
2nd- Scroll to the Network tab and press select
3rd- Press select on the DHCP, write down the IP address (all numbers and dots in exact sequence)
4th- On your CPUs address bar type in the exact IP address you wrote down, NO http or WWW (all numbers and dots in exact sequence)
5th- When prompted use the user name - admin and the password - password.
6th- On the left side of the Blue and White Netgear page select the Network option.
7th- there are two selections, the 2nd, Link Speed, should be set to Auto. It comes factory set to 10M, which is a low quality link compatible for older systems. Even if you have an older system in most cases you pull more than 10M and being in auto means your system won't be held slave to a set point.
Also you should save the IP address for future reference and system tweaks along with status info.
Thanks and hoped that helped.


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Simply plug the Dual-mode Cordless Phone Station into your Internet router (Ethernet port) to enjoy making Skype calls. In addition, you can plug the base station into your phone line (PSTN) wall jack to make landline calls - from the same cordless phone. Up to 3 additional phones can be added - so you can replace your current cordless phones throughout your home with NETGEAR's Dual-mode Cordless Phone with Skype.

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HP Pavilion G70-250US 17.0-Inch Laptop Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I don't know about the other reviewer's experience, but I can say that I love everything about this computer. The screen is bright and the colors are vivid. I have listened to other laptop speakers, and these sound very good. The keyboard is wonderful to type on. I had to uninstall some bloatware, but that was expected. Will upgrade to a 12 cell battery as soon as I can afford to. I highly recommend this laptop to anyone who wants a well made machine. Read the specs listed above and you will find that this machine has everything you would want in a laptop or desktop replacement. Con: somewhat large and slightly heavy, but then again your going to carry it in a bag anyways!

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Eliminate the black bars that appear when you're watching DVD movies or HDTV content when you view them on the HP Pavilion g70-250us notebook PC, which has a 17-inch screen. Pared down to the essentials, HP's G60 series is defined by minimalist lines. High-gloss reflective top cover and palm rest area surfaces contrast cleanly with matte surface everywhere else, and the streamlined look is enhanced with a color-matched keyboard and touchpad.
Chat face to face, or take pictures and video clips with the webcam and integrated digital microphone. Play games and enhance multimedia with the Intel GMA 4500M with up to 1309 MB of total available graphics memory. And enjoy movies or music in seconds with the external DVD or music buttons to launch HP QuickPlay (which bypasses the boot process).
It offers dual-core productivity from its 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium T4200 processor for excellent multitasking. Other features include a 320 GB hard drive, 3 GB of installed RAM (4 GB maximum capacity), dual-layer DVD±RW drive (which also burns CDs), quad-mode Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), 5-in-1 memory card reader, and pre-installed Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1).
The Basics
Processor: The 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium T4200 dual-core processor delivers additional computing resources and help expand the PC's capabilities by providing higher throughput and simultaneous computing. You'll be able to perform multiple tasks such as digital rendering and gaming all while running virus scan or other background tasks seamlessly. And its Intel 64 architecture is also ready for tomorrow's 64-bit applications, and offers enhanced performance through improved virtual memory. Each core shares 1 MB of L2 cache (for a 2 MB total), and they have an 800 MHz front-side bus. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

Hard Drive: The generous 320 GB Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive (7200 RPM) offers a wealth of storage space, perfect for storing a vast multimedia collection or for editing digital video. This SATA hard drive has a 3Gb/s interface speed that enables up to 300MB/s data transfer rates (double the speed of the current SATA interface of 1.5Gb/s).

Memory: The 3 GB of installed RAM (PC6400, 1 x 2 GB, 2 x 1 GB) helps boost the amount of available video RAM that's shared with this notebook's video card. It also offers a fast 800 MHz speed. This notebook has a 4 GB maximum RAM capacity (2 x 2 GB). To receive the faster data transfer benefits of the dual-channel DDR2 RAM, any RAM additions require memory modules of same capacity and clockspeed.

DVD/CD Drive: This multiformat DVD/CD drive is compatible with writing both DVD+ and DVD- disc formats as well as dual-layer (DL) DVD+/-R discs, which can store up to 8.5 GB of data. It features 4x DVD-R DL Write Once, 2.4x DVD+R DL Write Once, 8x DVD+R, 4x DVD+RW, 8x DVD-R, 4x DVD-RW, 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CD-R, 24x CD-RW, and 40x CD-ROM speeds.
This LightScribe DVD±RW drive lets you laser-etch silkscreen quality text and images on to CDs and DVDs . Your software, PC and discs work together for a no-hassle way to burn just the labels you want. After you burn content, just flip the disc over, reinsert and burn your label--anything from a simple title to a full-disc work of art.

Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a 101-key keyboard and a touchpad with on/off button and dedicated vertical/horizontal Scroll Up/Down pad. It also includes two quick-launch buttons (HP QuickPlay Music and DVD).
Screen, Video & Audio You'll enjoy razor-sharp graphics and widescreen movies with the 17-inch WXGA high-definition screen, which has a widescreen resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels--perfect for watching DVD movies the way they were meant to be seen. Video is powered by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M, which uses shared video memory (up to 1309 MB allocated from the system memory). This graphics card is built with Intel Clear Video technology, which delivers clearer, more detailed images by eliminating many of the jagged edges and video artifacts seen when viewing interlaced content and features powerful color control to ensure videos are not too dark, overly bright, or washed out. The Altec Lansing speakers provide exceptional sound.
Networking, Connectivity & Expansion Be ready for the next platform in wireless connectivity with the integrated quad-mode Wi-Fi chip. Based on the draft 802.11n Wi-Fi specification, it offers up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range as existing 802.11g wireless. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and Wi-Fi hotspots) as well as 802.11a networks (which has a higher throughput, but more limited range--great for closed office environments). It comes with the following external connectors:
3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
1 HDMI output (for connecting to a compatible HDTV or home theater receiver for uncompressed digital audio and video via a single cable)
Analog video output: 1 VGA
1 headphone jack
1 microphone jack
5-in-1 memory card reader (Secure Digital, MultiMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, xD Picture Card)
10/100 Fast Ethernet networking
56K modem (V.90)

Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 (32-bit) is the operating system for users with advanced computer needs, and it includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center for watching DVD movies and accessing your digital audio library. You can also use Windows Media Center to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV) and to access new kinds of online entertainment content. Computers that include Windows Vista Home Premium and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access key data even when your computer is off. It is also easier than ever to share files between other PCs in your household and to manage your laptop computer settings to more securely connect via Wi-Fi.
Every edition of Windows Vista provides the essential tools and technologies to help protect you whether you are browsing the Internet, connecting to a wireless network, or just reading e-mail. All editions of Windows Vista include new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures long before you have lost any important personal data. And, all Windows Vista editions include parental control features that allow you to manage and monitor your family's use of games, the Internet, instant messaging, and other activities.
Preloaded Software
HP MediaSmart Software Suite: Your one-stop multimedia and entertainment center to create photo slideshows, share personal videos, listen to your favorite music playlists and watch DVD movies.
muvee autoProducer Basic: Automatically create professional looking home videos and burn to DVD.
Cyberlink DVD Suite Deluxe: Automatically fix and edit videos and create CDs and DVDs. Edit, burn and archive data to discs.
Microsoft Works 9: Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database and calendar.
Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 (60-day trial version).
Adobe Reader 8: Read and print PDF files.
Norton Internet Security 2009 protects your PC and your identity when you email, bank and shop online; 60 days of protection updates included.

Dimensions & Weight This notebook PC measures 15.59 x 11.22 x 1.63 inches and weighs 7.55 pounds.
Power It's powered by a 6-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of up to 1.5 hours (depending on usage).
What's in the Box This package contains the HP Pavilion g70-250us notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a limited warranty for parts and labor for one year from date of purchase as well as technical telephone assistance for one year. Software is also covered for 30 days from date of purchase.
Reduce your impact on the environment with this Energy Star-certified system and HP's innovative take-back options, including trade-in, recycling and donation.

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