Panasonic SC-PT753 Home Theater System Review + Manual

Panasonic SC-PT753 Home Theater System, 900 Watt, with 5-DVD Changer


Pros:

• Does 1080p conversion
• Wireless rear speakers
• XM radio ready
• iPod dock that can charge iPods.
• Multiroom wireless capability with an optional SH-FX85 unit
• Dialog enhancer mode makes it easier to follow movie dialogs.
  

Cons:

• Does not play DiVx movies
• The wireless rear speakers setup is somewhat cumbersome
• No digital input (you will not be able to enjoy surround sound from other sources)
  

Manual (same manual for SC-PT750):

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/SCPT750.pdf

Official specs:

Wireless Freedom
With a wireless rear speaker, you can place the speaker wherever you like without the clutter of cables. You can also expand your music listening into three additional rooms with the SH-FX85 wireless multi-room speaker kit (sold separately).

Amazingly Vivid Picture
To give you the astonishingly high image quality of today's HD technology, the 1080p up-conversion function converts standard definition (720 x 480 pixels) images from DVDs to high definition (1920 x 1080 pixels). That means you'll get the most out of your HDMI-compatible HDTV, with sharp and exceptionally detailed high-resolution images. And unlike ordinary video up-converters that produce images with thicker edges and decreased sharpness, the HD Enhancer keeps edges crisp and clear, for outstanding detail.

Intensely Rich Sound
Enhance your home theater system with an incredible combination of Panasonic sound technology and 900 watts of power. Super Surround puts you in the action with lifelike sound from every angle, and a Four-Step Subwoofer Level Control puts you in command, with rich sound effects you can hear and feel.

Enjoy Your Favorite Movies and Music
Panasonic home theater systems are great for watching movies, but that's only where the fun begins. They also come equipped to deliver exceptional sound quality from portable audio players and other new music sources. So go ahead and listen to your favorite music on your iPod^® by adding the Universal Dock for iPod^® (sold separately) or tune into your favorite XM stations¹.

Smart Theater with Simple Operation
It's never been easier to use both Dolby Pro Logic II and Super Surround — functions that create a multi-channel sound effect from disc media and other sources. One button is all it takes: simply press the DPLII/S.SRD button on the remote control and the system recognizes whether the source is a disc or not.

Sony KDL32SL130 TV

Sony KDL32SL130 32" LCD TV



Here is a good tip. I believe that the unit that Costco sell as Sony KDL32SL130 is actually a Sony model found at other stores under the name of 32S3000. This is a familiar Costco tactic. They assume that customers might as well rely upon Costco to do product research. And it most cases it works out well. I did own a TV purchased at Costco. It broke before the extended Costco warranty expired, so I got all my money back. I did not have a problem getting another TV from them - they had discontinued the brand that I had, so apparently they can learn from their mistakes. Bu in the case of KDL32SL130 there is would have been no shame in keeping the product name untouched! Consumer Reports rated 32S3000 as the best 32" LCD HDTV in a recent electronics issue. So, I am forgoing the usual pros and cons run down.


User manual for Sony KDL32SL130 TV:

Sony Bravia DAV-HDX501W home theater review + manual

Sony DAV-HDX501W Bravia 5-Disc Home Theater

This is a Sony Home theater I would recommend if you need a digital input (I do), and can swing over $500 (I don't).

Pros:

• Digital input port
• Wireless speaker connectivity
• Upconverts to 1080p
• Microphone calibration

Cons:

• No Blueray capability
• Maybe, instead of 1080 conversion you should wait for Blueray-based home theaters to be perfected?

Here is the manual for this Sony Bravia hdx501w

Sony BRAVIA DAVHDX265 home theater review + manual

Sony BRAVIA DAV-HDX265 home theater

Pros:

• Affordable
• The sound receives good to great reviews.
• Convenient automatic calibration through a microphone
• You can change the brightness of the front panel (through the System menu) - a very nice feature if you keep this unit in the bedroom, let's say.
• Parental control can be set for up to 40 discs.
• Digital media port for connecting a portable audio device or computer
• Plays DivX videos
• Upconverts DVDs to 1080i
• Theater Sync function - only with Sony TVs.
• DAV-HDX267W is supplied with a WAHT-SD1 wireless kit

Cons:

• Lacks digital input. Not a very important feature for some people, but if you have been assuming that a Sony home theater would have this by default, beware. To put it plaintly, you won't be able to get digital surround sound from any other source, other than the unit itself. You can use stereo input through the Digital media port, but that's just not the same, don't be confused by that.
• Speaker connectors are not standard.
• On-screen menus can be difficult to navigate.
• The disc changer is somewhat slow to respond.

Conclusion? My personal favorite remains Philips HTS3555! This one probably only makes more sense if you have a Sony TV.


Here is the manual that also covers: Sony DAV-HDX266 and Sony DAV-HDX267W:


http://www.sonystyle.com/wcsstore/SonyStyleStorefrontAssetStore/pdf/DAVHDX265.pdf



"Official info":

HDMI™ Output with 1080i upscaling of DVD Media

Reads the data on a standard DVD at 480p and upscales the video resolution up to 1080i resolution for your compatible HDTV. This allows for you to enjoy superb video performance while delivering digital video and audio over one simple cable.

BRAVIA®Theatre Sync™

As a leader in products with HDMI connectivity, Sony has created BRAVIA® Theatre Sync™ technology to go beyond simple audio and video transmission. When combined with a select number of BRAVIA® LCD televisions and other Sony audio and video products, control functions will also be transmitted via the HDMI cable. With “One Touch Play” operations that took several steps have been reduced to one. Press the PLAY button on the remote, watch the audio and/or the video component(s) turn on then the BRAVIA® television will turn on and switch to the correct video input...Simple...Easy...BRAVIA® Theatre Sync™

DIGITAL MEDIA PORT

As the demand for digital content continues to be strong, here's the challenge: how do you integrate music in various forms into a home theater system? The answer: Sony’s DIGITAL MEDIA PORT (DMP). Together with one of the DMP accessories (sold separately), this proprietary interface adds networking and connectivity to the options of home theater systems and components, connects with various devices which provide the ability to control and power devices while making set up easy and operation simple. The DMP accessories will include a PC Client device, Bluetooth® receiver and Audio Docking Stations compatible with Network Walkman™ and iPod® products. So regardless of how you store your music, Sony’s DIGITAL MEDIA PORT offers an access point to integrate your portable music into a traditional home theater system.

Digital Cinema Auto Calibration-2

Now the optimal speaker settings for your living room are only a press of button away. Simply place the included microphone in your listening position and allow the strength of Sony’s Digital Signal Processing to take over. Speaker placement, distance, and delays are all calibrated automatically to ensure a worry free listening experience.

Portable Audio Enhancer

Simplified front audio and video connections are part of what makes the DAV-DX265 ideal for today’s portables. Beyond the simplified connection a powerful Digital Signal Processor is used to expand the quality from any device that is connected.

Multi Speaker Formation

Select from the on screen display to configure the system for different speaker layout.

Music/Movie Mode

System automatically adjusts sound characteristics to match the source (movie vs. music).

Olympus Stylus 820 Digital Camera - Manual and specs

A superb camera, except for one thing: image quality. I have read reviews about the bad quality of pictures taken by this camera and my personal experience from playing with it is just the same. Weather resistance is a big feature on many Olympus Styluses. Image Stabilization is a perfect feature to go with a slightly above average 5x optical zoom. I can only hope that Olympus will manage to improve the image quality. Their website now lists Stylus 840, but I haven't seen in in person just yet.

Olympus Stylus 820 manual

Olympus Stylus 820 specs:

• 5x Optical Zoom
• 2.7-inch HyperCrystal™ LCD
• Digital Image Stabilization
• All-Weather
• Face Detection

Sony Cybershot DSCW80 - one sweet deal at Staples

$130 after savings. Would have gotten it, but they were out of stock, even at "the other store". No rain check either. Really disappointing.


The camera is around $170 at Target, on sale. Unfortunately, I could not find a working model at stores. I did own at least two Cybershots and they held up pretty well. Only had a problem with the zoom mechanism. This model is only slightly heavier that other cameras in this class. The menu seem to be fairly intuitive. Sony cameras use MemorySticks, but memory in general is so cheap that this is only a minor inconvenience.



Here is the manual:

http://129.33.22.12/release/DSCW80.pdf

• 7.2 megapixels, ideal for prints up to 13" x 19"
• 3x optical/2x digital zoom
• Face Detection - reveals faces in shadow, makes skin tones look more natural and eliminates harsh facial glare
• Accepts Memory Stick PRO Duo™ memory cards (31MB internal memory included)
• 2.5" color LCD screen
• Super SteadyShot® optical image stabilization and high sensitivity (ISO 3200) compensate for shaky hands, minimizes blur and brightens images
• Present your pictures with direct HD (high definition) output to compatible HDTV screens
• The HD Slide Show option can be accompanied by your choice of visual effects and any of four preset musical selections stored in memory
• 9-Point Auto Focus gives you greater creative freedom to compose your image
• In-Camera Red-Eye Reduction Reduce irritating "glowing eyes" that can ruin even the most creative photos at the touch of a button
• Color: Silver

Nikon Coolpix s10 digital camera manual and specs

Some people advise against having too much zoom in a camera. My question is: how can you have too much zoom? Nikon s10 is a slightly older model, only 6 megapixels. Truly, though, this is enough, especially if you can zoom in at 10x.

Here is the manual:

http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/noprint/S10_en_noprint.pdf

		Amazing 10x Optical Zoom-Nikkor Glass Lens that fits in your pocket
		Vibration Reduction minimizes the effect of camera shake
		Incredible, Bright 2.5-inch LCD offers 170-degree wide-angle of view, making it easy to show your pictures to family and friends
		Auto adjusts up to ISO 800 for sharp pictures even in lower light
		Nikon In-Camera Innovations which include: In-Camera Red-Eye Fix(TM) to automatically remove most instances of red-eye in the camera, Face-Priority AF Nikon's face-finding technology that automatically finds and focuses on face(s), and D-Lighting which lightens dark images, in-camera, for great prints right out of the camera.
		Pictmotion(TM) creates in-camera slide shows with your music.
		USB and Pictbridge compatible