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 | Sony Bravia XBR KDL-40XBR4 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV |
 | "Love it... but..." | 2008-05-16 |
LCDs are weak on producing a deep black, esp. compared to plasmas. Sony's LCDs have the richest black of all the LCDs, which mostly explains their superior picture. This Sony has the best blacks and colors yet. I also appreciate the uplevel connections, esp the vga computer connection and the internet possibility.
After watching the display at the store, I expected great things out of the 120hz. But it actually produces some very weird viewing glitches. First, I suspect this review will only be useful to those like myself who do not pay extra for HD cable. My connection is just the simple RF cable plugged into the TV. It carries both standard digital and analog signals to my Sony. The Sony tells you on the screen if the channel you've selected is "analog" or "digital." It labels the digital channels as standard def or HD (even though I don't have HD it upconverts the HD defined channles to 1080). It produces exactly what I hoped when upconverting to HD - an amazingly crisp and crystal clear picture. But when there is some fast movement from the subject on the screen, the HD picture becomes bizzare - jerky and gittering as if the processor cannot handle both the upconverting and fast movements at the same time. I doubt those who pay extra for HD cable boxes will have this issue, although I did read some professional reviews before buying the set that strongly criticized the 120hz for creating an unnatural looking movie pictures. I don't know what's worse - watching the programs in a less high quality and more grainy definition on my old Sharp Aquos, or putting up with this weird jitter on my screen whenever fast action occurs. The jury is out, and hopefully I can find some remedy to this so I'll be happy all the time watching my new Sony.
Still, I have no regrets. The picture on the screen is simply jaw dropping when it's not handling HD conversions and fast movements at the same time.
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 | Garmin StreetPilot 2820 GPS Navigation System with Bluetooth |
 | "Great for Motorcycle Touring... Loaded with features.. But a bit big" | 2008-03-01 |
Going on my third season with the 2820, I can't imagine touring without it. Easy to use with gloves, big enough to see without reading glasses, accurate guide, and more. The connectivity can't be beat either, plus it is a very rough and tumble sturdy unit. I was very happy with the XM radio, and in the car I plug it into my auxiliary jack. I'm happy to report that there has not been one glitch or problem over 8,000 mile of bumpy twisties and harsh riding through the elements on my motorcycle. I had the Garmin Quest before upgrading to this unit. There is no comparison. The Quest was way too cumbersome in controls and directions and screen display to be very useful on while moving fast on the road, espically if you wanted to make changes to it on the fly. My only wish with this 2820 unit is that it wasn't so big. You don't want to leave an expensive unit like this on the bike when you stop, and, although it does fit in my jacket pocket, it's very bulky. Overall, I have been very happy with this unit and highly recommend.
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 | Bosch AquaStar 125B NG Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater |
| "Does what it says - but no more." | 2007-02-03 |
I've switched from a 40 gal conventional water heater to this about a year ago, and it has done all it promised with no problems - and no more. Believe it when it says it will only run one appliance - shower,etc. I was a little disappointed at how long it takes to fill up my tub because the machine only put outs a moderate stream of very hot water. Certainly more than enough to take showers all day long when mixing that hot water with cold, or running the dishwasher. But not very much or very fast when you're looking to fill the tub, like my old hot water heater. But I'm willing to make that trade off in order to save money on my gas bill (which I've done) and never run out of hot water again. Also, I am hoping that the information I read on how these heater units last 20 plus years is true, and that when something fails you can simply replace the part - rather than the entire unit as you must with conventional types. If that proves true combined with the savings on my gas bill I figure this unit will more than pay for itself in a few years. Although this unit is not as energy efficient as the electronic 125 model, I like it better because it has fewer moving parts and is much more simple to repair because of it. Less things to break, and easier to diagnose/replace if they do. If you're not looking to take a bath every day or you're willing to put up with it taking five times as long to fill the tub, I'd say you can't go wrong with this. I am very happy with it.
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 | Archos AV700 100 GB Mobile Digital Media Player |
 | "Don't try to watch on a big screen!" | 2007-01-06 |
I got rid of this after a few months of recording DVDs. I had hoped to replace my DVD with this digital storage, just like I did my CDs. But the resolution on the Archos is so poor (even when you set it to record on its highest resolution, which eats up considerably more storage space)that it broke down into pixels on my 27 inch LCD TV. It works great if all you intend to do is watch it on the Archos player or a tiny TV screen. I guess I should have expected this since the Archos only record thru analog. I also found the recording process very tedious. It is a simple matter of hooking it up to the DVD player and recording, but you have to wait through the 2 plus hour DVD to turn the unit off. You can set it to turn off automatically after a set amount of time, but that dead space at the end of the DVD recording while the machine waits to turn off also eats up your storage space. Overall, a great idea whose time has yet to come for replacing my DVD collection.
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 | Allies in Healing: When the Person You Love Was Sexually Abused as a Child |
| "Helpful but" | 2001-03-15 |
This book has a pro-survivor slant. Don't expect great sympathy or support for your desire to be sexually active with your partner, or to hear how your partner is responsible for making the relationship work too.
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