TV Reviews

I have been a DVR user through Cox Cable for approx. 1 yr, and have always been disappointed. I have kept my eye on Tivo for some time, and when my DVR box went out for the 2nd time, I decided it was time to try Tivo. I got a refurbished Series2 DVR that was free for signing a 1 yr commitment for $12.95 per month.

I received the Tivo only 2 days after I ordered, very impressive since I didn't pay to have it shipped that quickly. The setup was reasonably straight forward. I had heard so much about Tivo that I had very high expectations, and here are the problems I encountered that surprised me:

1) My first mistake was not recognizing that you have to get a Dual tuner unit to be able to record 2 seperate programs (DVR does this automatically). So I ordered the wrong unit. To be honest, I don't see how this service is very useful at all with only a single tuner, my family relies on dual tuners A LOT. I am shocked that Tivo even offers a single tuner system, to me it's like a tricycle compared to a 10 speed, a dual tuner is so much more useful.

2) I thought I would be able to hook up a wireless receiver to connect to my home network. No, you have to buy theirs for $40 to $50. Since I didn't know that, I had to rely on the phone line option. This really stinks, it is very very very slow. I spent 2 hrs trying to download one days programming, the system kept getting interuppted during download (yes I disabled call waiting).

3) When you use the online program guide, it covers up the entire screen. My Cox DVR puts the TV in upper right corner (approx. 1/4) asnd the rest of the screen lets you see the guide. We use this all of the time to see if there is anything better on, but that won't work so well with Tivo. Plus, scrolling up and down is painfully slow, the screen takes for ever to refresh.

4) Similarly to item 3 above, when you review recorded programs the show you are watching is turned off completely, you can only see the Tivo guide. Again, Cox DVR lets me look at my list and delete files etc.. all while my TV program stays visible in the upper right corner.

5) Remote wouldn't work with my 42" Akai plasma. I can't fault Tivo too much on this one, none of the universal remotes seem to work with this TV for some reason.


I did love some of the Tivo features and wish my Cox DVR had them:
1) Wishlist
2) Tivo Suggestions
3) Can access your Tivo through internet
4) View photo's through Tivo.

In the end my items # 3 and 4 were things I just couldn't get past, so I returned my Tivo. They were friendly and helpful and I really wanted to like this product, but in my opinion it's not able to compete with the speed and power of the Cable companies DVR.

TiVo needs to do a better job of explaining that an 80 hour TiVo only records about 40 hours at "High Quality" and about 30 at "Best Quality." High Quality is noticeably granier than your regular television. Had I known this, I would have bought the larger capacity TiVo so as to record at Best Quality for everything. Other than that, TiVo is spectacular.

I have owned this tivo since march and I have not had 1 problem. The 80 hours is MORE than enough recording time. Everyone in my family uses this and loves it. The difference between tivo and other dvr's is the software. It is so much better. You can schedule recording anywhere where there is internet access and you can transfer shows from your tivo to your laptop or handheld device.

Like it very much, but before I get a chance to explore all functions the lamp went out after 10 days of light use. Now waiting for a replacement. It's covered by one year warranty, but might be a week before I get a new lamp. Otherwise, I'd rate it 5 stars.

Very pleased with my new TV...picture and sound are great....free shipping from Amazon was a big savings.....a great overall deal!

Picture quality flat-out beats the competition; the clarity is just unmatched! Sound quality is excellent. Controls are easy to use. I'd buy a Samsung product again!

Pros:
- Loaded with features (pretty much like a cell phone).
- Speaker phone on handset and Base.
- Can maintain separate address books on each of the handset and base. Can transfer individual phone number or entire address book from one unit to another.
- Good Looks and Ease of usage.
- Light weight.

Major Cons:
- Handset speaker phone has very low volume (not good for a decent conversation).

Minor Cons:
- Speed dial is not so 'speedy'. Its a 2 step process - press and hold the number assigned for speed dial and then press the talk button. (the second step could have been eliminated)

I have been using this phone for the past 3 weeks, I bought this to replace my Vtech i5857 which I owned for a year. I loved the color screen for the vtech, the screen on this is orange. This uniden though is loaded with features, I especially like the fact that you can program all the phones at once, without having to do them one at a time. My only problem is with the caller i.d, with the vtech when the number is programmed into the phone, that's the name and number that shows up when that person calls. With the uniden it's different. The phone directory is basically useless with your caller i.d function. Every other feature is good. The range is great, the speaker phone function on all handsets, including the base is perfect for those calls that put you on hold, it leaves your hand free for other things. The volume is good and so is the ringer. I would personally recommend this phone, but I think I should have just bought another vtech i5857 with the accessory handset instead.

best performance, have a lot of futures, from different rings to room monitor, diect link like walkie talkie and multi connection of multiple handset.I bought the set of 2 handset with the base, for 63.00 free shipping a deal. I am very satisfied, and I do raccommend it, Uniden is the best.From 2.4 Ghz to 5.8 Ghz there a big difference, especially if you have a wireless network.

As other reviewers have noted, I encountered a problem with the unit receiving caller id. Even after disconnecting every other phone device in the house(all other telephones, computer fax modem, directv receiver, external caller id boxes) I still could not get the unit to receive caller id on either line. Previous cordless and caller-id units never had a problem

Customer support had me change a line setting (B to A linetype) which didn't help matters, so I packaged the unit up and returned it to staples. The AT&T EP5962 had no problem with caller id, but I would have preferred the Panasonic -- keys weren't as stiff as the AT&T.

A note for those looking at the AT&T EP5962 -- although the unit has a corded handset at the base, it does NOT function without power as a basic telephone. And for those with small kids, the corded handset can be removed with the base still functional (that is, no lines go off-hook)

Here is my quick review after using this phone for several months. I purchased it mainly due to the positive reviews (especially versus the other similar models) and the features it offers. My highest priority was a two line cordless phone that was 5.8Ghz so it wouldn't conflict with our wireless network at home. It has all the features that you would expect including a built in answering machine, speaker phone on handset and base, and good clarity and range.

I have two issues that you should be aware of. First some people report that the volume is too low. That is I can hear the person I'm talking to just fine, but the person on the other end has a little trouble hearing me. I called customer service for Panasonic and they suggested turning off the Voice Enhancer feature, which didn't really seem to help. That feature mostly affects the sound on my end from what I understand. However when I talk at a good volume the person can hear me just fine. The issue is a bigger concern when using a headset, so I always try to speak up when possible.

The other issue is the strange voice interface to the answering machine. You would think it would behave like a typical voicemail system at work, but the menu system is poorly designed. When I call in while on the road, I expect to be given a prompt with all the basic choices (e.g. push 1 for this, 2 for that, etc...), like an option to delete the message I just heard. Well that option is buried several menus deep, unless of course you remember that exact key to press on the phone. So it is a good idea to write down the basic command set on a card and keep it in your wallet.

Overall the phone quality is very good and meets our needs. I just think they could have done a little better at this price point, especially with the voice transmission volume. I don't know if there is a better model out there that will do better so shop around and decide for yourself.

I use the handset with a headset and although I'm hard of hearing, the sound volume and quality is fantastic! The 2-line answering system allows me to keep my personal and business calls separate. Love the phone

The only reason I even gave it one star was that it did turn on. The battery lasts about 1 hour fully charged, which is just sad. I could not communicate with a vessel that was 1 mile from me, which again is sad. Spend a little more money and get a better product.

When we placed our order for the marine midland nautico handheld radios the price on the screen stated that the item price was 49.99 how ever we were billed 59.99 apiece for them. When we called the seller about this price change he informed us that it must be an error that amazon .com made and said they could not refund the difference. If it is on the screen being advertised at one price I would say its pretty convenient to then change the price and tell the customer you cant do anything about it. Over all we are not impressed with the way this was handled and although we had planned to order several more we will now order from a different site. We will also be advising a number of our friends who planned to buy them here not to do so!

This is an exelent product and is one of the few items I have purchased recently that actually exceads my expectations.Not only does it perform as promised but it comes complete with all the accesories that it is advertised with.

These cables have always been too tight on any TV I've used them on. They're hard to get on, and even harded to get off. One of the component cables finally bit the dust after three or four years of use. I'm looking to replace them with a different brand.
To their credit, the picture looked amazing while they worked.

Buyer beware. There seems to be an error in Amazon's inventory. I originally purchased this item on 5/9/06 (as well as signing up for Amazon Prime--my mistake!!) and received a package on 5/11/06. I open it up, I have my receipt stating it is this item, but that is not what is in the box. They sent me the Lightwave 100x audio cables, which have a barcode on the bottom that say they are "Monster Cable XGL400 CVAA-10 AV Xbox to TV and Receiver Interconnect (10 FT)". But if you actually LOOK at the product, you would see they are the Lightwave 100x audio cables. The first hint would be there are only two cables rather than the 5 on this product. So I sent in a request for a replacement which came today. More audio cables! The exact same kind, with the exact same barcode sticker saying they are video cables. My eyes don't deceive me, you're sending me the wrong item! Give it a few days before you purchase this so Amazon can realize their mistake. I requested ANOTHER replacement. I can't wait for more audio cables!

As others have noted, these connectors are way too tight. I assume this is Monster's way of assuring that your connection doesn't become loose and fall out, but I think it's far more likely that you'll break your TV. I had to apply way more force than I felt comfortable with putting on an $800 TV (and I'm sure most people who buy this cable have much more expensive setups than I do). Really irresponsible on their part, I think. It appears that at least one reviewer here broke their TV putting them on, I consider myself lucky that mine seems to have survived. I actually decided on the last connector to bend the connector with pliars rather than push any harder, and I ended up breaking part of the outer ring of the connector, but it made it fit and it works. Now that it's on the picture is great. Big improvement from composite.

Have a elegant design, the tv have a great quality of image its very lightweight, It's ideal for the office or rooms with little space because it's flat, work as monitor of PC in addition, the sound is acceptable, have a video and sound menu and the sleep option to TV, Bad only one is that alone it includes the power cord, the others (pc-vga, video, s-video) it is necessary to acquire them separately. Have a remote control too

Okay, so I've only had this television for a few days now, but it really seems great so far. The picture is very superior to my much larger (39") tv, and it sounds great. I've stuck a number of DVDs in it, from various commercial sources, as well as some homemade ones, and they all play - in fact, I haven't found a format among any of my discs yet that it will not accomodate. The size is perfect for a second set, to go into a bedroom, for instance. It's a bit deeper than I imagined it would be, so that it completely fills the space I have for it, but it does fit nicely. I like that the set has jacks located both front and back - it's convenient, even though it adds to the busy look of the front. Buttons for power and DVD operation are on the set itself as well as the remote, which is a good size and pretty intuitive to use. With the included batteries, I was watching a movie within 5 minutes of opening the box. Setup was so easy, as is operation. The only complaint I have is that the buttons on the remote aren't glow-in-the-dark - that would really help out in a dark bedroom. Pretty minor complaint, overall, and I'd recommend this set to anyone.