Tag Archive: digital


Western Digital WD TV Live Hub 1 TB Media Center – The BEST

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June 13, 2012

Western Digital WD TV Live Hub 1 TB Media Center review by Steve Taylor

My Overall Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5


Western Digital WD TV Live Hub 1 TB Media Center
Western Digital WD TV Live Hub 1 TB Media Center

This Western Digital Media centre is just what I was looking for, I wanted a way to store all of my music and movies so that I could watch them in any room, rather than having to copy a movie from my computer onto a DVD, or onto a memory stick to put on my laptop which I would then have to connect via cable to the back of my TV. This WD Hub and Media Centre does everything that I want it to. As well as being able to access my movies, music and photos from anywhere in the house I can also play YouTube videos and play music from Spotify or Pandora through the media centre and again then access this in any room in my house.

The quality of the video playback is brilliant so long as the files you have downloaded to the hub are good quality. The Media Centre will play back your movies at full HD 1080p quality. The centre plays pretty much any type of file you can throw at it, including HD camcorder video formats. You can also connect your camcorder or digital camera directly to the media centre to upload files without using a PC.

The hub is fairly easy to use and is a versatile media player. It’s hard drive is 1 TB in size, so it will store the equivalent of around 200 DVD quality movies and the hard drive is expandable. You can connect a PC, XBOX, PS3 or Network Attached Storage (NAS) to the hub via a USB drive, so you will never run out of space. The hub can by synced with any content that it finds on your home network, so literally all of your audio visual files will be accessible through the media centre.

Key Features
A high capacity 1 terabyte hard drive and network HD media player in one
Play media from USB drives, home network, and the Internet on your TV
Beautifully simple user interface for everyone in the family to use
Access your Netflix unlimited membership or Blockbuster On Demand and watch movies and TV episodes instantly.
Collect your media in one place and stream it anywhere in the house.

If you want to buy one of these universal remotes they are currently on sale at Amazon through this link.

Here is what current buyers think of the Western Digital WD TV Live Hub 1 TB Media Center:

Alberto,
It was a matter of time, the product is responding to customers’ demands. Now you can
manage your audio and video library from your phone. TVs and smartphones will be the only survivors. This is just the first step. Read Original Review

Juan Bernal,
I have used this device for more than 8 months, I haven’t found any problems with it. Great reception when watching internet content, and keeps all my digital media available right when I need it. Read Original Review

Steve Taylor Steve Taylor

Steve is a professional technology reviewer and writer. He has been reviewing console accessories since 2004 and has reviewed over 100 products.
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Stunning video and sound from the Samsung BD-D6700 3D Blu-ray Disc Player

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December 10, 2011

Samsung BD-D6700 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Silver) review by Steve Taylor

My Overall Review: 4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5


Samsung BD-D6700 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Silver)
Samsung BD-D6700 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Silver)

This Samsung BD-D6700 is my first Blu-ray player. I finally decided to take the plunge from standard definition DVDs to Blu Ray discs. This player looks great – it is sleek and compact, and it has dual HDMI outputs, something lacking from a lot of Blu-Ray players on the market.

Having two HDMI outputs means you can use this machine with a receiver that doesn’t support 3D. You use one HDMI output to connect directly to your TV and the other connecting to your receiver, for your audio. Without the second HDMI output you’d need to either upgrade your receiver or use the analog audio outputs to connect to your current receiver, which would mean your sound would be sub-standard. Using HD sound, means as well as a stunning picture quality, the sound is also incredible. 

This Blu-Ray player comes with built in Wi-Fi, so I can stream video content straight from the net to my TV, without any untidy cables. You can search for content on your TV or online through the player, so it is fast to get to any content you have stored. You can play any video, music and show photos that are saved on other computers in the house, through a network connection. The player has 1GB of onboard memory, which I use to store photos and home movies, and it has USB inputs, so you can connect pen drives, digital cameras and MP3 players.

You can play standard DVDs in the player, as well as Blu Ray discs (obviously). The machine will play 3D discs, so if you have a 3D TV this is the Blu-Ray player that you need. If you don’t have a 3D TV the player will upscale 2D movies to near 3D quality, playing full HD image and audio quality. The BD-D6700 will also play recordable DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and CD-R/RW discs.
Key Features

  • WiFi Built-in
  • Samsung Smart 3D TV
  • Enhanced Picture Quality
  • Slot-in loading mechanism
  • 3D – 2D to 3D conversion

If you want to buy one of these universal remotes they are currently on sale at Amazon through this link.

Here is what current buyers think of the Samsung BD-D6700 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Silver):

Marc Landow,
A great Blu Ray Player. It does so much more than just play discs, with Internet access, games, and more. I highly recommend it. It has great picture quality, it is easy to use and to set up. Read Original Review

RJQ Man,
This player is only about an inch thick, and the top surface is shiny chromed metal with a brush finish. When the device is on, there is a soft blue light right above the DVD slot, so it is easy to see where to insert the CD’s.
There are three touch-symbols to control the player. These are a little cryptic, but when you get used to them, they are fine. The remote, on the other hand, has enough buttons to control the national power grid. However, they are clearly marked and easy to use.
It seems to take a little long to boot up a disk, but once it is up, the quality of the video on HDMI is great. The machine makes a slight sound when shifting modes – a little more noise than I would have expected, but not objectionable in any way.
So far, I am very satisfied with the product.
Read Original Review

Steve Taylor Steve Taylor

Steve is a professional technology reviewer and writer. He has been reviewing console accessories since 2004 and has reviewed over 100 products.

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URC Mastercontrol remote – 10 remotes in 1

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October 16, 2011

URC MasterControl RF20 Universal Learning Remote w/ RF Capability review by Steve Taylor

My Overall Review: 4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5


URC MasterControl RF20 Universal Learning Remote w/ RF Capability
URC MasterControl RF20 Universal Learning Remote w/ RF Capability

The URC Mastercontrol RF20 is a universal remote control that operates up to 10 different audio-visual components. I bought this remote because I had some many different remotes for various components, such as my television, digital television box, dvd player, ipod dock, Xbox and stereo and I was always losing different remotes – I could never find the remote I wanted at the time, and they really cluttered up the place. I’ve replaced all of those remotes with this one controller! I wish I’d done it sooner, because it’s so so much better.

This URC Mastercontrol remote uses amazing technology, you don’t have to point it at the component for it to work, and it works through doors, walls and ceilings and from the backyard too – so you can control components that are in different rooms. The remote will also turn all of your components on or off at the same time, by pressing just one button. You can set up the remote so that it controls the volume over all your components, so you don’t need to switch back and forth between TV and DVD on the remote.

The remote control is backlit, so it’s easy to use in the dark – ideal if you’re like me and turn the lights out to watch a movie in the dark, you can easily see where the buttons are if you need to pause the movie. The light isn’t on the whole time – so it doesn’t distract from the television or drain the battery. The button is on the side of the remote and is easy to find by touch in the dark – press the button and the backlight turns on – it then turns off after 10 seconds (or you can press it again to turn it off sooner).

If you want to buy one of these universal remotes they are currently on sale at Amazon through this link.

Here is what current buyers think of the URC MasterControl RF20 Universal Learning Remote w/ RF Capability:

Endre B Gastony,
It is solidly built and fits the hand well. The buttons are easy to press because there is plenty of space around them. Once I got going, it was not too difficult to program, though the DVD instructions did not play on my computer, but the printed brochure did the trick.
Using the macro feature of one button ON/OFF is very helpful and the macro CHANNEL selection also works okay for my setup. In contrast to my $10 universal remote, it is a major step up, both in ease and speed of operation. I can’t see how the expensive fancy-*** remotes would be more desirable for the average person, especially for the $50 I paid for it with free shipping. :) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for the average TV, cable box, VCR, DVD setup.
Read Original Review

Jermone A Ambrose,
My wife complained about all the remotes on her end tables. I bought this for her. I just finished programming it for her and she loves it. Considering how old some of my equipment is I really got a charge out of the learning ability of this remote. I kept my wife in the room so she could pick out which button on the remote did what she wanted. I took me about an hour but it was time well spent. I truly recommend this for the husband who is techno savvy with a wife that isn’t. Read Original Review

Steve Taylor Steve Taylor

Steve is a professional technology reviewer and writer. He has been reviewing console accessories since 2004 and has reviewed over 100 products.

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Yamaha Surround Sound Receiver – Home Movie Heaven

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October 4, 2011

Yamaha RX-V367BL 5.1 Channel 500 Watt AV Receiver (Each, Black) review by Steve Taylor

My Overall Review: 4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5


Yamaha RX-V367BL 5.1 Channel 500 Watt AV Receiver (Each, Black)
Yamaha RX-V367BL 5.1 Channel 500 Watt AV Receiver (Each, Black)

The Yamaha RX-V367BL 5.1-Channel AV Receiver is a great home cinema, surround sound product. It has HDMI inputs and outputs, it works with iPods, and is 3D ready (it just needs a firmware upgrade) – so it’s future-proof.

The receiver looks good – I opted for the black design (it also comes in silver and titanium). Its sleek and the small silver feet look good – it fits nicely on my black glass and silver television stand.

The layout of the front panel works well – although there are a lot of buttons, they’re in a logical order and the display panel is easy to read. I plug my laptop into the receiver and play my iTunes library and also stream television programs and films from the Internet. On the back panel there are four HDMI inputs and one output. There’s also a subwoofer connection.

There’s a huge number of sound modes on this receiver. There are different sound settings for all types of film and telly including Sports, Drama and Sci-Fi. There’s also a good choice for playing music through the surround sound speakers.

This receiver is easy to set up – it does most of the work for you. It comes with a microphone that picks up test noises and adjusts the sound depending on the acoustics of the room the receiver is in. Pretty clever! Using the receiver is also fairly straight forward and the remote is a snap.

I’m more than impressed with the sound that this receiver projects – it’s a great home cinema experience. The surround sound really submerges you in the film – you feel like you’re a part of it. The sound is clear, there’s lots of deep bass and voices have a realistic tone. It really sounds like the person is right behind you at times… spooky!

If you want to buy one of these universal remotes they are currently on sale at Amazon through this link.

Here is what current buyers think of the Yamaha RX-V367BL 5.1 Channel 500 Watt AV Receiver (Each, Black):

Eric S,
The Yamaha RX-V367 AV receiver is a true performer. For a long time I owned a JVC 884VBK, an old AV Dolby Digital receiver. It sounded good when VHS was leaving the scene and DVD’s took over. Though JVC really never got it right when it came to true cinema sound production as well as its expensive price tag. It lasted 13 yrs and still counting but as digital sound got more sophisticated and HDMI now being the new sound king, it sounded more and more boring as time moved on. Especially since it was made back in the day when there was optical and coaxial but no HDMI sound. That’s when I decided to replace it with the Yamaha.
Wow what a difference $179 dollars make. The sound was crisp and accurate on my JBL 181 ‘s, Bose center channel and surround sound speakers all while playing my Roku, Comcast box, DVD’s or ipod. It even makes my old Hsu Research TN 1225 subwoofer boom like its never done before.
The only draw back is that it doesn’t have pass through technology. You have to listen to what you are watching or not watch TV because you have the amp on a music input. I wanted both, watch TV while listening to music. I did get around this by buying a quality J-Tech Digital HDMI splitter. I simply split the HDMI signal coming out from my Comcast cable box. One going straight to the HDMI input on the TV and the other going to the amp then to the second input on the TV. That way I can, for instance watch a sporting event and listen to music at the same time while all on the same system. I can also watch TV without turning the amp on. I also have an old 900mhz Recoton wireless speaker system with 25 watt speakers and 50 watt subs all through out the house and the new amp makes these speakers sound incredible. Undoubtedly, this is simply the best deal for an AV receiver out there. Thanks Yamaha for making a great product! Read Original Review

Evan,
Simply put, you will get a whole lot for relatively not much when you purchase the Yamaha RX-V367 AV Receiver. Setup was easy; I connected my LG television, MacBook Pro, and Klipsch 5.1 surround sound system with absolutely no hassle. Audio and video quality are top notch. Enjoy! Read Original Review

Steve Taylor Steve Taylor

Steve is a professional technology reviewer and writer. He has been reviewing console accessories since 2004 and has reviewed over 100 products.

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