The Reviews Factory

Features:
This Panasonic 3D TV is a fully featured three-dimension machine. It has all the basic hookup capabilities, including one composite and one component video input, as well as digital and analog audio inputs and outputs. These are clearly labeled on the back of the television. You can connect your 3D TV to your personal computer and your local area network. The TV also has three USB ports and four HDMI inputs for your DVD player, your 3D Blu-ray player and all your gaming systems. You don't have to worry about unplugging your Xbox to hook up your Blu-ray player; there is plenty of room for all your connection needs.

Those basics are to be expected. More importantly and excitingly, this television is capable of converting two-dimensional images into immersive, three-dimensional environments. This is made possible by technology unique to Panasonic's line of Viera HDTVs that produces detailed, 3D depth for 2D images. With this conversion feature, you can watch DVDs, Blu-rays and ordinary television broadcasts in three clear dimensions. However, when you use your TV to convert 2D images into 3D, the 3D effect is marginally less pronounced than when you enjoy material from 3D sources on your TV. This 3D TV also has a game mode for decreased lag and increased clarity, and intuitive settings to provide the best images possible, even in dark scenes.

Display:

As one of the only plasma HDTVs on our lineup, this Panasonic 3D TV has an incredibly high refresh rate of 600Hz. The television uses its 600Hz subfield drive to cultivate the best possible picture in either 2D or 3D mode. Most LED TVs have a refresh rate of up to 480Hz, tops. Like all plasma TVs, this one displays images using electrically charged ionized gases instead of light-emitting diodes. Plasma TVs are thin and can create rich colors and deep blacks. This 3D TV and all Panasonic HDTVs also use fast-switching phosphors that reduce afterglow and create clear images.

We reviewed the 55-inch Panasonic, but the Viera VT line also has a 65-inch model for consumers who are especially ambitious about their home theaters. It has excellent resolution, 1920 x 1080. The TV's default aspect ratio is the standard HDTV wide-screen 16:9. However, you also have aspect control so you can zoom in for traditional 4:3 broadcasts. The aspect ratio is the measurement of the TV's width compared to its height.

This 55-inch Panasonic has a contrast ratio of 2 million pixels to one, and a viewing angle of 178 degrees. The contrast ratio indicates the contrast of the brightest white the TV can produce to the darkest black. The scale of this measurement is not universal; it varies with each manufacturer. The viewing angle refers to the maximum angle at which you can effectively view 3D and HD images. The three-dimensional effect is greater on the Panasonic 3D TV the further you are from the television. As you increase this distance, the images seem to have greater depth and the 3D seems more realistic.

Accessories:

The Panasonic 3D TV does not come with any active 3D glasses. The glasses aren't too heavy and are perfectly fashionable, as far as 3D glasses go. Some vendors include additional pairs of glasses as well as other accessories in one all-inclusive bundle. The television also comes with a tabletop stand that measures 1.5 inches tall, and a Viera Touch Pad controller, compatible with most of your connected devices. It also features built-in Wi-Fi.

You can find and download the owner's manual and installation guide for the Panasonic 3D TV on the Panasonic website.

Help & Support:

Panasonic has an outstanding line of customer help and support. At the top of any window in which you're browsing through products, you can click on the Get Support tab and search for your product by model number, keyword or product type. Once you select the product of your choice, you are provided with a lineup of support including operating instructions, help and tutorials, a comprehensive selection of FAQs, technical specs, parts and accessories, and more. Here you can also review the warranty options. Panasonic provides a one-year warranty on their 3D TVs, but you can purchase additional coverage of two or three years if you so choose.

You can contact Panasonic directly via phone, mail, email or their convenient live chat option. The representatives we spoke with on Panasonic's live chat support were attentive and quick to answer our questions competently and completely. They also email you a transcript of your live correspondence so you can file it away for future reference.

Summary:

With technology ever improving, it's senseless to spend your hard-earned entertainment budget on a 3D television that is already trumped by a more advanced option. Invest in a top-of-the-line 3D machine. We recommend the Panasonic TC-P55VT50 because it is simply the best 3D TV on the market from the leading name in 3D technology. We found that its picture is superior to other models and its 3D is the most lifelike. This plasma television has an astounding color variety, deep blacks and bright whites. Panasonic is a name you can trust with a reputable line of customer service to back it up. If you want three dimensions in your entertainment, this is an investment worth making.

The Creative Zen 32GB is easily the high watermark in flash MP3 players, providing impressive audio, video and other multimedia capabilities without breaking the bank, or taking up more space than a pocket. This flash MP3 player comes equipped with a 2.5 inch LCD screen, which renders images at an impressive resolution ratio of 320x240, and includes, among other things, a digital radio tuner and a voice recorder.

While its weight and size make the Creative Zen 32GB flash MP3 player capable of going anywhere, its multimedia features make it capable of doing just about anything. While it might lack the memory to host an entire video or audio library, it extends itself beyond entertainment functions, without forgetting them for a moment.

Experts praise the Creative Zen 32GB flash MP3 player for its attractive design. Housed in a sleek, black body, this flash MP3 player offers an easy-to-use set of controls housed safely and discretely on the right side for a better aesthetic feel and added protection against weathering and damage. Users love the Creative Zen 32GB flash MP3 player for its versatility and user-friendliness. Despite having a diminished memory capacity, this flash MP3 player is ideal for everyday use and makes certain of this by including everyday features like a digital radio tuner, voice recorder and card reader.

There really is no getting around it, the Creative Zen 32GB MP3 player is in a class of its own.

The Walkman X-Series isn’t just an iPod rival. It’s a Walkman saviour. Sony invented portable music in the late 1970s and dominated for two decades. Then the Apple iPod appeared and Sony didn’t so much drop the ball as meekly hand it to Apple. The Tokyo giant refused to support MP3, put out a succession of horrible-looking novelty players and looked on in horror as Apple sauntered off with its crown. That’s all history now, though. The X-Series is where the Walkman fight-back begins.

beefed up by both digital noise cancelling and an advanced digital sound processor. Extraneous hubbub, from chit-chat to moderate train noise, is comfortably filtered out by the noise cancelling, while the S-Master digital sound processor ensures that even if you’re playing music loud, it still remains crystal clear.

The X-Series isn’t fussy about what it’ll play, with MP3, WMA and AAC supported. With iTunes Store music now DRM-free, there’s nothing stopping you from putting tracks purchased there on your X-Series. Although there’s still nothing as elegant as Apple’s iTunes software for managing tunes, you can drag and drop tunes, in fuss-free style.

The X-Series offers a slightly smaller screen than the iPod Touch – 3 inches compared to 3.5 – but what it lacks in girth, it makes up for in crispness and vibrancy. Put simply, the OLED screen here thrashes the iPod’s LED one, putting in a better performance with video and photos alike. It does make you long to live in Japan, though – their X-Series can receive digital TV broadcasts, which look stunning. Over here we’ve got YouTube, which is a pretty poor consolation, visually.

The X-Series’ touchscreen is a tad basic compared to the Touch’s, a little unresponsive at times and lacking multi-touch or an accelerometer. You do get a coverflow view if you want to finger your way through your collection, as well as more traditional list views.

Looks-wise, the X-Series is a more butch counterpoint to Apple’s curvier, more attractive Touch. It’s slightly smaller and more pocket-friendly, while the granite sides give it a look and feel that’s tough yet tactile. The rough edges also house oft-used buttons including the noise-cancelling switch. It’s not as tidy as the ’Pod, sure, but it also saves you fishing the X-Series from your pocket every time you want to fast forward or adjust the volume.

This is a superb PMP. Things like a poorer interface and lack of Mac compatibility put it at a slight disadvantage to the iPod Touch, but its screen and audio quality really shine. After numerous false starts and a general drubbing from the iPod, the X-Series puts the Walkman right back in the game.

The Apple iPod Nano was been one of the leading MP3 players in the world for quite a while. It’s light weight, compact and has a sleek design which makes the portable aspect very nice. Probably for that very reason this has become a popular MP3 player to people who want something for on the go. After only about a year, it seems Apple decided to move on from the fourth generation Nano and brought out the latest fifth generation. The back to back releases sort of make sense because the fifth generation is almost the same as the forth. It seems like they basically just added a few little goodies to boost sales with the “new” factor. Although it may make been just a marketing tactic, there are some decent new additions.

Features:

One thing that iPods have been missing until now has been the lack of radio. Radio is a very good thing. Sometimes it is just fun to step away from your music collection and listen to something different. Plus, radio stations frequently get songs before they’re actually available to the public, singles that are nearly impossible to find, etc. There are also many of us that have a radio show or two that we enjoy listening to like National Public Radio for example. Things like that make radio valuable and the addition of the FM tuner was much needed. They didn’t go all out and throw in HD radio but FM is a great start and good enough for now.

The one unique thing that they added to set them apart from everyone else is the ability to pause live radio. How is that possible? Well first of all the Nano has support for RDS data which does a few things that are quite nice. First of all it basically gives you all the information about what the name of the song and artist is that is playing. When it downloads that information it basically works like the old portable CD players that had anti skip. All anti skip was usually, was the player would record x number of seconds in advance so that if the player got jostled, rather than skipping, it would play the prerecorded file. In this case it records the information from the RDS data and allows you to pause live radio for 15 seconds. RDS data also makes it so you can tag songs that you like on the radio so that you can download them the next time you sync up with iTunes. The only problem people have had is if the songs don’t have a data file, then you can’t tag it. Also reception varies depending on your area. If you don’t get reception in your car then you probably won’t on the iPod.

One more minute addition is the fitness program. It’s basically just a pedometer unless you get the Nike + iPod Sport Kit to go with it. If this is important to you than the extra kit is essential since knowing how many steps you take isn’t the most useful information. With a few more numbers and some quick math it could but those other numbers like distance walked, aren’t available without the Nike kit. The other thing is that the pedometer works based off the accelerometer which means when it gets jostled it reads as a step. With all the potential jostling of everyday life, many are skeptical to how accurate it can be.

The final major point we’d like to mention is the video recording. This feature probably doesn’t deserve the hype that Apple gave it. The video quality is equal to that of the camera on your cell phone. That is basically what it is except that it can’t take still frames like your phone can. If your cell phone is one of the rare ones that doesn’t have a camera yet or you don’t take your phone with you always but you do take your iPod, then the video could be nice. For most thought that isn’t the case so it’s a feature that ends up not being used. Another downside to this camera is the location of it. It sits right where most people would naturally hold the thing to shoot video or do anything else on it. Not one of Apple’s most brilliant moments.

For an MP3 player, the Apple iPod Nano is still one of the best. On the other hand though, most of the extras have a long ways to go before they become a main reason to get this iPod. Get it for music or go with something else. We’ll let Apple finish whatever thought process they were having when they decided to make these additions. Surely the fully realized idea will be better.

Model: HD 32GB

With the success of Apple’s iPod Touch, Microsoft was not about to leave that well untapped. So in spirit of competition, their response was to come out with the Zune HD to battle it out for the leading touch screen MP3 player. The war still rages but some of the dust has settled and it’s pretty close. Each has its little things that owners always talk up and throw in the face of the others users but really it’s pretty much neck and neck. So what are the differences? Is the Zune HD better than the iPod Touch? Let’s examine the Zune HD and then you can decide for yourself what one is best for you because it comes down to what works better for you.

So here we go with the much debated Zune HD. Before it came out, there were two other versions of the Zune. Both of the first two versions weren’t the “iPod killer” that some expected or boasted. As a general rule, unless you had a defective unit, those first Zune models were fine but nothing special. They had their users that loved them and they had some that didn’t. With the HD they finally put the pressure on Apple. The Zune HD integrated many of the key selling points of the iPod Touch with the key points of the Zune. The result was a pretty amazing piece technology.

The biggest win for the Zune is still music. Although the Zune is a multi media device as well, it is also still a true blue MP3 player. No other player on the market can compete with the Zune when it comes to music for a couple reasons. First of all the player supports MP3, WMA, WMA lossless and AAC formats (with AAC support you can put your iTunes songs on the Zune) as well as audio book files from Audible and OverDrive. You store your music like most MP3 players, by artist, album, song, genre and playlist. However, the Zune has gone the next step and added a little extra to it. If you pull up an artist it gives you about all the information you would want about that individual or group as far as what they have done (albums released and such). The background is an image of that person or band, and then you have the option to browse their albums, profile, more images and even a list of related artists. It is always nice to know about all the music an artist has out so that you can be sure download it all. The only bad things to say about the Zune, as far as music is concerned, is that there isn’t any custom equalizer options, still only presets, and you’ll want to replace the ear phones it comes with some of your own.

With Wi-Fi the Zune breaks the norm of music players and opens up a chasm of joy for music lovers. With a monthly fee of 15 bucks you get the Zune Pass which gives you unlimited access to all the music you can handle. On top of that you get 10 songs per month that you download and keep for life. Ten songs for keeps and access to all the online music you want is a music dream. All the great songs you listen too you can “pin” into the Quickplay screen and build a playlist on the go as you discover more and more songs you enjoy.

If you still haven’t had enough music after that, then you can always pull the final major music card out of the sleeve and enjoy the radio. Whether you just feel like listening to the radio as a change or need a little inspiration for what to download next, sometimes the radio is just handy to have. The Zune has always had FM radio on it. The best thing about the FM tuner on the Zune is that the Zune lets you know the name of the song playing and allows you to tag it so you can download. How many times have we heard a song on the radio and wished we knew who sang it or wished we had it in our own library right that very moment? The Zune already had this wonderful ability but with this new Zune they now have HD radio as well.

Where the Zune does not completely dominate is in the video and game area. It’s not that the Zune is worse than anyone else, it’s just that they’re about par. One plus though is the new 3.3 inch OLED screen that gives a fairly vivid 16:9 display. The image quality is quite nice but it probably doesn’t replace the big screen in your living room for obvious size reasons. Also, the OLED screen doesn’t show up well in direct sunlight so you’ll want to find a little shade. Along those same lines the Zune HD can stream 720p high definition to your TV. The catch to that one is that you have to buy the Zune’s AV Dock (HDMI and composite). Like most handhelds, the Zune offers only a limited amount of video formats that it supports. Thankfully they added a few important ones like Xvid in the last upgrade.

So there it is, the Zune HD in a nutshell. Its strongest point is easily its music and the weakest is easily the apps, or in this case, near complete lack of apps. They have some of the main ones like a calculator, weather, Facebook and Twitter but aside from that they really need to step it up if they expect to compete with iPod apps. In everything else though the Zune HD excels or is at least at the same level as the competition.

Manufacturer: Apple

Model: Touch Third Generation 64GB

Pros: The Apple iPod Touch can hold 64GB of storage.

Cons: This MP3 player does not have an FM tuner.

The Verdict: If you are looking for an MP3 player that offers more than just music, this is the best option for you.

Every once in a while there is a company that comes out with something quite extraordinary. When they do that creation redefines the way things are or the way they work. The Apple iPod Touch is one of those things. Sine 2001 Apple has been making iPods and they started right off changing MP3 players by adding an unbelievable amount of storage for that time. It wasn’t until 2007 that they really went outside the box and released the iPod Touch. Though typically more expensive, Apple’s products are well engineered and user friendly which makes it all worth it for a large proportion of MP3 users.

Still to this day there are very few other manufactures that have decided to step up to the plate and take their MP3 players to the next level with the Touch. The closest competition is with the Zune HD and the Creative Zen X-Fi2. Aside from those two products and the iPod Touch, flash drive MP3s drop off to smaller players with less storage, which isn’t as comparable. Those smaller players are significantly cheaper but they don’t have the capabilities as the Touch.

As far as music goes the Touch is about the same as any other MP3 player. It plays the songs and sounds good, plain and simple. The things that set it apart are the interface and user functionality. First of all you can get up to 64GB of storage space which ends up being around 14,000 songs and 30 hours of playback. That’s about the most you can get currently without going to a MP3 player with a hard drive. That’s a lot of music so Apple made the interface so you can browse by albums, artists and songs. “Flick” through the alphabetical lists quickly and find specific songs. You can also create playlists for your favorites or genres. Lastly there is a built in microphone that really sweetens the deal. With Voice Control you can speak simple commands that you want the iPod to do. Some examples would be like “random”, “play”, “next song”, and even ones like “play artist Linkin Park” or ask to play a certain playlist or album. Along with that, if you dump a friend’s playlist on to your Touch and you aren’t familiar with some of the songs, when you come across of those songs you can ask what song is playing and your iPod will answer you. That feature is especially nice when you are using the Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic so you can leave your iPod in your pocket.

Like the name indicates, the iPod Touch is a touch screen player. Apple uses a multi-touch interface and an “accelerometer” which gives the Touch some very convenient advantages. Multi-touch basically allows for “flicking” through photo albums, “pinching” to zoom in and out and is integrated into some of the games. What does that mean? It means less menu navigation and no more single click scrolling through your media. Single click navigation can be quite slow but with touch screens navigating anything is substantially faster.

The accelerometer basically senses the position of the iPod and adjusts the screen accordingly. This gives you the ability to use portrait (the iPod vertical) and landscape (the iPod horizontal) with most anything. A good example would be the photo album again. Let’s say this particular album has a combination of single person pictures (like in a yearbook or on your I.D.) as well as the family photos. Typically single person is shot vertically to capture as much of the person as possible and be close up. Then with the family pictures you usually get horizontal shots so everyone makes it into the picture as well as stay as close up as possible. The problem with viewing the family photo with the screen vertical is that you’d end up with empty space above and below the picture (like the black bars when watching a widescreen movie on a standard TV). With the iPod Touch you simple rotate the device so that it’s horizontal and the image rotates and goes full screen. It also works the other way around but with vertical pictures.

The last few goodies are the icing on the cake. The iPod Touch obviously doesn’t stop at music but includes all kinds of media you can put on it. The iTunes store gives you access to download music, movies, games and always growing population of apps. There are apps for just about everything now days. You can do photo editing, learn a language, get news, track finances, fitness programs and the list goes on. All the features like the Accelerometer, Voice Control, and touch screen are all foundations to limitless possibilities for all kinds of media.

As we have explored the vast realm of the Apple iPod Touch, you can see what a great product this is. It’s an excellent combination of usability with enough possibilities to do about anything you need. It really isn’t hard to see why this is one of the best MP3 players in the world.

Your Favorite Music at Your Fingertips
Flash MP3 players combine light weight with great storage capacity to create a mobile entertainment center you can take anywhere. Watch videos, play games and, best of all, listen to your favorite music and podcasts.

Why Buy a Flash Drive MP3 Player?

Flash MP3 players are built to groove. These tiny players do not contain moving parts, so they are 100% skip-proof, unlike other players that are merely skip-resistant. They come in a variety of sizes ranging from 2GB to 16GB and are reasonably priced.

Don't be fooled by the dimensions of these players, despite their size they can:

• Play Music – Flash MP3 players can play music files, like MP3, wav, ogg and wma as well as FM radio.
• Play Audio Files – Go on the road; with a flash player you can take your audio files with you, so you can listen to your favorite audio books or podcasts without being strapped to your computer.
• Display Images – View full-color jpeg images, some even support other file types like bmp or gif. You can even build slide shows to share.
• Display Video – Watch video clips and music videos; many music download services also offer video downloads like music videos, TV shows or humorous clips.
• Record – Record music from a CD, streaming audio, FM radio or record other sounds like voice through an integrated microphone.
• Play Games – Never get bored; many players come with free games or you can download games from download service sites.
• Time Management – Watch the clock, these little portables have clocks and alarms; some can even sync up with Outlook or have calendars and stopwatches.
• Accessorize – Play music anywhere. Many of these players can be connected to compatible speakers or an FM transmitter for playing in the car. For maximum portability, you can accessorize with armbands, finger straps or other devices that can offer hands free playing.

What to Look for in a Flash MP3 Player

The best Flash MP3 players are compatible with a variety of audio files and have long lasting batteries. Additionally, it is helpful if they have easy-to-use menus and playlist options for browsing files. Advanced players also display video and images.

Look for a product that is compatible with the type of download service you are interested in, for example most sites offer wma files, but the iTunes Music Store uses aac files. You also want to consider screen sizes. If you plan on watching a lot of videos and viewing photos, a larger screen will be much easier on the eyes.

Below are the criteria used to evaluate Flash MP3 Players:

• Features – This criterion refers to the players essential features, including what they can play and display, what they can record from and their organization tools. The best products in this review can play music, radio and video, can display images and text, can record from any source and have a clock and alarm.
• Music Formats – The most practical MP3 flash players can play a variety of music formats including mp3, wma and wav and aac.
• Photo and Video Formats – In order to offer the best photo and video viewing options, a flash MPin a 3 player needs to display the most common formats. This means jpegs for photos and mp4, mov, wmv and avi formats for video, just to name a few.
• Physical Features – Physical features include dimensions, appearance and the type of controls. We also looked at the screen size, resolution, weight, menu navigation and battery life. A good battery will give around 25 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video playback on a single charge.
• Music Browse – It is helpful if the player offers a variety of search and sort options to find songs. Many display album art and can sort and search by genre, artist, track or album.
• Help/Support – Customer service is vital to customer satisfaction; considerate manufactures provide numerous ways to contact the company, including by email, telephone or chat. It is also helpful if they post comprehensive online product information and useful downloads.