Perfect replacement for a VCR (plus good upconverting DVD player)

This unit is really great! We recently got a 40" HD TV and needed a replacement for the VCR -- we wanted to record shows (and On-Demand movies) at a good enough quality for HD viewing.



One option was DVR from Comcast for $10/month (which might or might not allow recording of On-Demand movies and transfer to computer for disc-burning). Another option was using a computer with a video acquisition device and record to hard drive. The third option was this unit for $110 delivered from Amazon -- hands down the most practical choice.



Though this unit doesn't record in true HD resolution the quality is about the same (in 2 hour mode 16x9) as regular 16x9 enhanced DVDs. At first I was worried the recorded discs might not play on other DVD players; but they did no problem at all on any of our equipment (that is after the recording is finalized). The recording time for a DVD-R disc (on high quality mode) was 2 hours and 8 minutes. (On lower quality modes it's 4+ hours and 8+ hours.)



Navigating the menu system is easy enough and each recorded disk is given a simple menu with the various recordings available to choose from (which by default have the date & time of recording as the title but can be renamed).



Upconversion of commercial DVDs is quite good (enough so that we're not that motivated to get a Blu-Ray player yet ;-).



Our only complaints (which are very minor) are that the tray-eject is a little slow & noisy and that there isn't component video inputs (just composite video & S-Video inputs). But it was easy enough to hook up to our cable box (or TV) to record from their outputs.



This will be a great unit to have until Blu-Ray recorders become less expensive.More detail ...

So Far Great!

This is my first Blue Ray player and I love it.



Took a chance on this Samsung and ordered it without a lot of information availabe because it is so new but glad I did.

Just got it out of the box today and everything works great. Easily set up the wireless to my home network (and it saved the IP address and encryption key info so I do not need to sign on each time).



There are few units (if any) with all the features this unit offers at this price.



This unit offers solid access to You Tube various videos on demand services Pandora (love Pandora!) and it sees all my videos and photos on my computer in multiple ways (with their Samsung PC Share Manager and direct acess) all through the network. The pics load a little slow but the files are big. Pretty sure if I reduce them down access will speed up.



Decent You Tube search feature (for a TV remote as a typing device). Easily found my own You Tube videos.



In any case all locked in solid with minimal hassle.



I would give it 5 stars except there is still a learning curve on managing my PC folders and I am still getting the hang of some Samsungs apps but I am confident it will all work out. I initially entered the encyption key incorrectly and did not get a password error but instead it just said the IP address was wrong. A restart with the right key resolved all.



The first HD video I played was a home video made on my Canon HD Vixia HF200 consumer video camera and it looked absolutely great. For a first view this player is excellent. Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 15x Optical Zoom



I already have a Samsung 40 inch LCD HD TV so I also figured they would compliment each other.



Oh by the way I had a customer service issue that was not the fault of Amazon and they resolved it in grand fashion. Absolutely superb customer serivce. Superb.



Yep I am a happy camper with the whole deal



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March 17 - update



I continue to enjoy this player. I had one blue-ray disc that did not work right - a rental subsequent discs worked fine. I also see services being added. A few free games (nothing great but there) Blockbuster on Demand is now installed weather USA today and more is coming. Still my favorite feature by far is being able to view shared files on the TV from my laptop computer through a wireless connection via the home network.



Viewing seemed a bit slow at first but once I began compressing the JPEG's to a more "uploadable" size they snapped through slideshows with ease. Camcorder videos formatted to WMV are easily played from my laptop and watched on the TV - and they are smooth. It is just so cool to create it on my laptop and watch it on my TV. Just amazing stuff. Love it.



Had to re-enter my encyption key once right after a software update but other than that one time have not had to enter a password again. One other software update had no effect.



I upped the rating to 5 star. It is excellent. I am already beginning to take it for granted like a good chair that always just works. Not sure what else I can possibly expect at this price.More detail ...

Great Bang for your buck

5 Stars sounds really generous but for the money this is a GREAT Network ready BDP.

This is the third network BDP I have set up and used I recently reviewed the Samsung BD-P1590 - Blu-Ray disc player - upscaling - Netflix Pandora against which (for similar money) this is a far superior machine. I also think the picture quality and upscaling for SD DVD's in much better than the similar priced LG BD 370 Network Blu-ray Disc Player



Running several Blu-Ray movies for testing including BD live enabled content boot times were very fast. The quick set up guide asks you about this and explains that it uses more power in standby mode but it's worth it for very quick loading.

Blu Ray looks SUPERB - Panasonic web site says (PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus is a high quality image-processing technology developed to precisely process each pixel of the Blu-ray Disc video signal in the vertical direction) Sounds geeky but the picture is great at both 1080i and 1080p. By default the 24fps is set to off but if you have a home set up that supports it it's easy to switch back.

SD Card slot and USB interface great for home pictures movies and photo's very easy to use. Nicely tucked away under a discreet panel in the front so no fiddling among the back wires.



Out of the box set up for networking took me about 15 minutes.

Very easy on screen instruction easy to use remote and set up can be either set to easy mode or you can revisit the main menu at any time for finer adjustments on audio video output resolution and aspect ratio etc.

The more involved set up options are however a little limited if you are used to close to pro tweaking on high end visual and audio equipment. But then again this is an entry level kind of priced machine.



What do you get for network? The VIERA system is a breeze nice graphics menu screen and options.

I hard wired mine to the back Ethernet port with a Cat6 cable - Cat5 works without a problem but for streaming (especially HD content) the Cat6 made the Netflix signal bar light up to HD most of the time.

It is wireless ready. You can use a USB dongle (takes some tweaking) or better still a Linksys by Cisco Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming and Video Adapter. What's nice is that(unlike Samsung) you don't have to buy a special adapter.

My preference would always be to hard line but if that's not an option and you must have wireless (assuming you have boat loads of bandwidth) you can buy an adapter or pay $80 more and buy it's big brother the Panasonic DMP-BD85 WiFi Enabled Blu-Ray Disc Player (Black)



Whats on the Network?



1)Netflix - unlimited free streaming movies (a lot in HD if your connection is good enough) documentaries and TV shows from their "Watch Instantly" library if you are a current subscriber of at least their $8.99 plan - free trial available.

2)Amazon on Demand - Bags of movies and content to rent buy or even view free webisodes trailers documentaries and so on. Not a huge thing for me personally as I like Netflix but very nice to have. Simply activate online at Amazon and you're there - very easy on screen user friendly menus.

3)Blomberg - Sort of on screen RSS feed with stocks bonds and news headlines. Nice to have but not essential.

4) Weather forecast enter your zip code and set to default or store multiple sites across the US for up to date weather news and information. Again not something I need but nice to have.

5)Picasa Web albums - share pictures with friends and family look at your own and other albums on your TV. Nice feature.

6)You Tube - browse or log into your account online

7)Coming Soon?? - Your guess is as good as mine could be for VUDU or something else at least they are thinking ahead and have the settings already started.



What you don't get.....



1)Pandora - a quirky to use online streaming internet radio site that's free with a lot of music. Doesn't float my boat either I don't like radio sites that choose my music based on a song or an artist - there are over 30000 online internet radio stations that are free Pandora doesn't let you search any particular station in any part of the World just their selections on what they think you like.

2) Blockbuster Online - unless you have an account and use the in store returns on DVD and Blu stick with Netflix their watch instantly movies are free with membership.

3)VUDU - next generation 1080p streaming to rent and buy this would have been nice to have but I can live without it for now. Amazon more than makes up for it as far as I'm concerned.

4) Any others I may have forgotten about (I'm sure there are more out there)



Sum up



PROS



Excellent value for money

Looks sleek discreet and runs quickly AND quietly (unlike some BDP's)

Very easy to Set Up - VIERA interface for online content is great.

Superior BD playback picture and sound quality - just when you thought it couldn't get better

Great upscaling best I've seen on a machine of this price or on any machine without a REON chipset.

USB SD slots on front convenient and discreet

Optional "wireless ready"

Nice Remote



CONS



No 3D - even if the content isn't there yet on BD live you know it's coming. Only the Sony BDP-S470 Blu-ray Disc Player in this price range is equipped. This would have been nice

No onboard memory - BD live requires a USB or SD but that's the same for most machines

No VUDU on networking - not a deal breaker but may be for some.



Bottom line.................Great machine if you want to get into network and streaming movies. Quality and everything else for the price is unbeatable.More detail ...

No Complaints At All!!

My husband and I have several long road trips coming up and purchased this player to keep me and our daughter contented on the long drives. We looked at a bunch of different units and finally settled on this one. We are not disappointed.



Its excellent especially in the price range its in! The picture is awesome and the sound is phenomenal for being so small and inexpensive. The battery has a good life and its just a nice bonus that in addition to the AC adapter it also comes with a car adapter. The construction is solid and the controls are well laid out and easy to use.



We're very happy with the purchase and would definitely recommend this little player to anyone looking for something quality at a decent price.More detail ...

Yes I still have VHS movies to watch

Why would someone want to buy a video player that accepts both the latest Blu-Ray format and the perhaps obsolete VHS formats? Well as someone who has their foot in both the past and the future let me tell you why I love this player.



Yes I can definitely appreciate the crispness and clarity of the high definition Blu-Ray format and I wish to experience that format. But Blu-Ray discs are pricey so I will likely choose to purchase only a few new select and favorite films in that format. I feel no need and don't have the wallet to replace my entire film library in a Blu-Ray format.



I also have a collection of nearly 500 VHS tapes most of them unwatched which I mostly purchased in thrift stores. (current standard price for VHS tape in a thrift - $1) I also have a fair number of films that have not yet been released on DVD yet.



It is nice to have a player that will accept both VHS and Blu-Ray along with standard DVD formats. No switching back and forth of cables etc.



The DMP-BD70V upconversion of the VHS to 1080p is really quite amazing. My current television is a 42" HDTV (one year ago it was a 19 inch color set) When I connected my previous standard VHS player to the HDTV the picture quality as expected was quite poor with much of the image being rather pixelated - it was quite painful and distracting to watch.



Then I hooked up the DMP-BD70V and lone behold the picture quality was much much better - and very watchable. At first I almost thought that the VHS tape had been replaced by a DVD - the improvement was that great. There was no pixelation at all and the colors were quite bright. The overall quality of the picture was much better than the picture obtained with my old 19" color TV and VHS player. The upscaling features of the DMP-BD70V is almost as if a magician had waved his wand over your entire library of VHS tapes and suddenly replaced them Cinderella-like with a much higher quality product.



There are some things you cannot do with a VHS tape. The picture size remains at the older 4:3 format - meaning there is considerable empty space at the left and right sides of the HDTV screen. You also won't get the added commentary tracks that appear on DVD and Blu-Ray discs but sometimes all one really wants to do is simply watch a movie with no other frills involved.



For a few years I will have several options for my home movie viewing. On one end the $1 VHS tapes (upgraded to 1080p) in the middle the standard DVD format and on the high side the Blu-Ray format. This DMP-BD70V allows me to watch all three formats and allows me to choose whether I want to pay $1 $15 or $30 for each movie format. That is what I call flexibility.



I did a comparison price check for the DMP-BD70V model versus a similar model without the VHS tape compatibility - the difference was about $50 more. For me it was well worth it.



Obviously those without VHS tapes do not need this DMP-BD70V model. But those who do have some older VHS tapes and wish to still view them will love this model.



More detail ...

Great player that works without hassle

I'll start with the bottom line about this player-it just works! If you're looking for a nice fully functional Blu Ray player that's going to just WORK as you'd expect it to on anything you throw at it this is a nice safe buy. You'll have no problems upgrading from a normal DVD player to it.



Like a lot of people my first Blu Ray player was my Playstation 3 which I bought last year. If you don't already have a PS3 that's worth considering instead of a stand alone player because it doesn't cost much more handles Blu Rays (and DVDs) well and of course plays Playstation 3 games.

I even toyed with getting a second one but decided a stand alone player would be a bit cheaper and I didn't really need the second Playstation 3. (I've also since bought a Blu Ray drive for my computer so I can watch Blu Rays on it too.)



Impressions of the s360:

-Audio and video are excellent. I can't notice any difference from my PS3.



-The unit is physically SMALL. It's actually smaller than my two stand alone DVD players (though is the same width as normal stereo components so fits in fine)



-The unit is very quiet in operation-quieter than my two stand alone DVD players in fact. I don't think I can hear it at all except when it's first starting up loading up a disc (and that only if the room is dead silent). Interestingly the disc drive's seek sounds sound IDENTICAL to the drive in my Playstation 3! I'd be shocked if it's not basically the same drive.



-Remote is decent-I mean no remotes aside from Tivo's are particularly good but this works as well as any other (the oft-noted omission of an eject button is a bit surprising but not really missed since you have to get up anyway and the eject button on the unit is pretty large). (And thankfully unlike the PS3 remote it's normal infrared not Bluetooth.)



-Performance is very good. I think it takes SLIGHTLY longer than my PS3/PC to load the fancy interfaces some discs use (some discs replace the normal fast forward/rewind interfaces with their own themed interfaces and loading that interface adds a few more seconds before the disc's ready-so far I've only run across this on two discs and it's kind of pointless but this player DOES seem to handle them just fine). Rewinding/fast forwarding on this isn't quite as smooth as my Playstation 3 but it works as you'd expect a normal DVD player to.



-Power usage is very low-the unit says it draws a *MAX* of 22 watts in operation



-Boot time takes...well I haven't timed it but I'd guess maybe 15 seconds. To me that's plenty fast but that can actually be cut by setting the player to use more power when it's "off" (essentially it presumably actually stays on so it appears to boot faster). Players that claim they have faster boot times are probably just doing that same thing without giving you the option of actually shutting the unit off.



-It has all the features and ports you'd expect from a unit like this and has an excellent menu system that's ripped straight off of the Playstation 3 and Portable (of course once you've set it up with the settings you want you'll probably never really use the menu again but it's easier than any DVD player's menus I've ever used).



-Unlike some players it doesn't have internal memory to store "BD Live" internet features but it does have a USB port where you can connect a USB memory device to enable those features. I have a spare one lying around but haven't bothered hooking it up because I never use those features. I mean Blu Ray has some great additions over DVD like the pop up menus that can adjust settings without going back to the main menu-but the internet features are pretty gimicky to me and I've never used them. Still this player does support all of that if you care.

(Also unlike many of this year's players it lacks support for online services like Netflix's streaming service etc. I don't use those (I just use Netflix's disc service) and if I did use them I already have other devices that connect to them but if you check reviews the s360 is a better BLU RAY PLAYER than those other devices-and I'm buying this to be a good Blu Ray player.



I'm probably forgetting something I'd like to mention but honestly I could have quit after the first paragraph. If you're like me and just want something that WORKS without hassle this is a great choice.More detail ...

Great on the go Portable DVD/CD/JPEG/MPEG Player

I had been looking at the previous Sony model that had over 300 reviews and CNET had it as their choice in the portable DVD products in the 7"-10" screen sizes.



I am very please with the latest Sony model what has changed is they made the screen an inch larger and placed touch buttons on the newer model. This FX 930 looks more modern sleek although it is a little larger.



I am very pleased as I have played various DVD's using full and normal settings that you can select for wide or standard screen formats. I have played many CD's from the actual artists to my own made CD's at home and played music files from my PC and taken along photos like a photo album when I want to share or have those close to me with me so to speak when traveling.



Sound is fine for the little speakers but 99% of the time I use really good headphones and you get two jacks so you can share when sitting with someone on a plane train or in the car as long as you are not driving. Had to toss that in! ;)



It is not too heavy compared to many certainly much less than a laptop and still small enough screen size to know you are not luggin around a laptop. Battery life is standard I have it run out yet but have not been on pure battery for 6 hours yet either. I try to have it plugged in most of the time during use and for the car you get a car charger included in the box.



Being it is smaller it makes it more mobile for your travels whether local or abroad.



I have been using this item non-stop almost without any issues. Could it be improved yes almost any product can be and as with any electronics they seem to improve with almost each iteration.



With this said you can save $30-$40 by buying the previous model. It is an inch smaller but the screen resolution is the same and many of the features are almost identical.



Take it for a test drive and remember you've got 30 days to test it and if it is not what you like or expect return it and try another but choices on these products are quite limited since many use their PSP iPhone or iPods to watch movies/videos etc.More detail ...

AWESOME LITTLE TV...

This little TV is great for a kitchen or as a small tv for a guest room or childs room. The remote is simple and concise. Setup is a breeze. Wall mounts easily. The picture is excellent. The viewing angle is excellent. I researched alot of 19" LCD TV's and decided on this one. Many other 19" tv's have a poor viewing angle...this one does not. The picture is clear. You will not go wrong with this TV. I have mine connected to a small radio shack Hi-DEF off-air antenna for the kitchen. I was amazed that I gets over 20 HD channels on it. The antenna is small and mounted outside. I would really compare this TV to Sony Samsung. Its just as good. Not to mention the price..wow..it was about the same price as the bargain off-brand TV"s. You wont go wrong with this little beauty! Youll see every pimple on American Idol! Whew hooh!!!!More detail ...