The OneCall Blog » Lee R

Not enough 3D, how about every DVD you own?

Lee R — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:10:04 +0000

I love going to the movies, and as of late I tend to see my favorites in 3D. To say that I was giddy upon hearing that 3D movies were coming to the smaller screen would be an understatement. It allows you to let go that much more, and step into these worlds brought to us by Hollywood.

Enter the latest models of blu-ray players, which are no longer content to just display 3D discs. They are prepared to take your current collection to the third dimension without having to wait for the latest version to come to blu-ray. They make the perfect companion for your new 3D television, and of course they do add additional connectivity options as well.

First up are the Panasonic DMP-BDT310 and DMP-BDT210, the latest models available from Panasonic. Both models, offer the 2D to 3D conversion, access to Skype, NetFlix, YouTube, and a host of web widgets. The players also offer an ability to adjust the 3D effect on the player. The last of the stand out feature is the Touch-Free Sensor. This allows you to activate the display, by simply waiving you hand in front of the player rather than fumbling around for the buttons.

Samsung’s latest blu-ray players have also started to include the 2D to 3D conversion for standard 2D discs. As always Samsung has a plethora of apps and web widgets available for their players. The Samsung BD-D7500, BD-D6700 and BD-D6500 offer the touch panel control, fast start up time, and Samsung’s new Smart TV interface.

There are sure to be others that will arrive on the market later this year. In the meantime I’m grabbing my glasses and going to the movies.

Lee R

Lee is one of our resident camera experts! Lee joined the retail division of Huppin’s Hi-Fi Photo & Video in 1999 and transferred to the OneCall mail order division in 2006. While Lee is well versed in all the products we carry, he favors cameras and home theater. He uses a Marantz receiver and a Canon SLR. Lee loves to talk to customers, so give him a call!

Denon AVR4310CI Home Theater Receiver Reviewed

Lee R — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:45:49 +0000

Recently I had the opportunity to test drive the Denon AVR-4310CI 7.1 home theater receiver. How does it sound? In a word – Powerful.

Upon opening the box, I pulled out both of the supplied remotes (the main remote control and a simplified secondary remote control), power cable, FM antenna and an AM loop antenna. Although; on a personal note, I recommend definitely upgrade the antennas to something that can receive and boost lower strength radio signals. I hastily made all my connections with HDMI, and connected my speakers. In a flash, I was ready to run the receiver through the Audyssey MultEQ XT speaker setup process. Like most Audessy equipped receivers the process takes roughly 5 to 10 minutes of having the room sound like giant bats are invading your living space.

The Denon AVR-4310CI 7.1 channel receiver boasts an impressive 130 watts of power output per channel and features 6 HDMI 1.3a inputs (5 rear, 1 front), dual HDMI video output, 3 component video inputs, 1 component output, dual USB, Ethernet, Denon link, 3 optical, 3 digital coax and a host of analog connections. In short you will not be want of a place to plug in your gear. The receiver is also equipped generously with decoding for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital Surround EX, Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High Resolution, DTS ES 6.1 Discrete, DTS ES 6.1 Matrix, and DTS Neo:6 decoding. The AVR-4310CI also makes use of Audessy’s speaker calibration and set up system, with supplied microphone.

Now, I have been very happy with my current receiver for the last three years, going on a fourth. The first thing I noticed with the Denon AVR-4310CI, however, was that it really liked my subwoofer. I mean really liked my subwoofer, almost as if they had been long lost friends getting back together after many years apart. My speakers also reacted similarly, taking on a new life. With Denon’s processor amazing high and mid-range frequencies were rendered superbly from a Dolby TruHD music sampler blu-ray disc. Next up was to watch a couple of movies using both of the main HD audio codecs. How to Train Your Dragon, was first on the list. I like the disc for all of the fast motion, and an incredible sound track that offers a lot of sound effects and great orchestral score. The Denon AVR-4310CI deftly handled the challenging opening sequence with the pounding drums and explosions. Next into the PS3 was Master and Commander, another movie with great score and tons of sound effects. Once again, the AVR-4310CI delivered all of the explosions of canon fire and orders barked with ease.

Next up on my testing was to see if the video upconversion was up to par. It did not fail to impress. Every source that I threw at the receiver looked better in some way. Increases in image clarity were clearly visible in all of my non HD sources. My Nintendo Wii, which normally looks fairly soft when stretched to its limits to fill my 1080p screen, was noticeably more detailed.

My overall impression of the receiver is nothing short of astounding. The receivers performance matched with its aggressive price point makes this a must have for an audio enthusiast looking for a huge amount of sound. Anyone looking for a fantastic deal on an amazing piece of audio gear; grab your hip waders and harpoon as the barrel of fish is now before you.

Lee R

A Trio of fantastic speaker deals on sale now!

Lee R — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:59:42 +0000

Who doesn’t like a phenomenal deal on speakers? Anyone? As much as one would think, everyone loves to spend a little less purchasing the products that make life sound so great. We have made every extra effort to make sure that your dollar goes a little further. Here are a few examples.

	Boston Acoustics VR3 loudspeakers Boston Acoustics created a special pair of speakers when it designed the VR3 Floorstanding speakers Dual 7-inch woofers provide deep and rich bass in this classic 3-way tower. They are rounded out by a 4- and ½-inch mid-range driver with a 1-inch VR tweeter. The sound the speaker reproduces is a warm mix of, what I like to call, mellow. The highs are not overly sharp, being a metal dome tweeter, and the lows are not muddy. I would consider this an excellent anchor point to a surround sound system or perfect for a two channel set up as well.
	Definitive Technology BP7006 TheBP7006 bi-polar speaker features a built-in 8-inch 300-watt amplifiedsubwoofer for pulse pounding bass. It is equipped with dual 4 ½-inch woofer and dual 1-inch tweeters. With an impressive frequency response of 17 hz to 30 Khz, you will be hard pressed to find audio thisDefinitive Technology speaker can’t reproduce.
	Polk Audio RTi 8 The soft silk dome tweeter in thePolk Audio RTi 8 speaker provides amazing clear and sweet highs. Dual 6 ½-inch woofers along with Polk’s patented power port allow this speaker to get low with the best of them. Polk’s power handling provides the ability to go with very large amplifiers.

Bargains like these allow you to add to your sound field, so whether you are looking to increase the performance of your surround system or enjoy you music with the detail and clarity you expect to hear. Enjoy and get your ear into the gear!

Lee R

3D TV or not 3D TV, is it really a question?

Lee R — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 03:53:47 +0000

Is 3D TV worth all the hullabaloo? With all of the options for HDTVs today, it can often be difficult to know which features and options are the best. Never was this more apparent than when TV manufacturers started explaining how 3D technology was going to work. We are getting this question frequently in our call center and I’d like to share my take to help you wade through the hype.

So what works for 3D? What can you expect to watch with it? In one word, Everything. The dust is settling and the true form of 3D is starting to emerge. Sporting events take on new life, making it appear as though you are sitting in the stadium. You get first row view of your team on a field, the lay of the golf course, or the exact distance that a play was or wasn’t made. Movies now immerse you in their setting and literally draw you in as the story develops around you.

Bottom line is that 3D TVs are the best 2D TVs on the market. They are the flagships models, each draped in the finest technology that brands have to offer. Incredible video processors, deep black levels and contrast that make even CRT TVs drool. They are connected, offering the best input packages and other levels accessible to the internet. Some will even change the content that you have to better suit their third dimensional delight.

If you are looking for a top of the line HDTV, 3D is going to be your best choice. If you are on the fence, hopefully this will help make your purchase decision that much easier. You can also checkout some of our recent OneCall videos of the latest 3D HDTV sets to hit the market.

Lee R

Acoustic Research Xsight Remote Controls, feel like you are losing control?

Lee R — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:05:39 +0000

So you just purchase a brand new HDTV and found out that you needed more to add to the experience. You decided you wanted to maximize the picture that you now have available, thus adding a Blu-ray player to your system. The picture was fantastic, and everything you could hope for. It seemed to lack something though, so you added a home theater system. Those gorgeous sounding boxes filled your ears and eyes with everything that you were hoping for. Now which remote was it to turn on which device?

As most of us discover the joys of owning your personal home theater we find almost everything is operated by a remote control, quickly amounting to a collection that sits neatly in a basket on the coffee table, or in a drawer of the end table. Rarely are they all in the same place at the same time. One of the remotes in the pile might even be a multi-device remote allowing you to punch in a series of 4 or 5 digit codes, sorting through the codes until you find just the right one for your device. Now that you have tamed half of the system you can settle into the couch, fingers exhausted.

Acoustic Research has introduced a few new solutions to reclaim control of your home theater system and I recently had the opportunity to take the ARRX15G for a test drive. Their new X-sight remotes allow you to control up to either 15 or 18 device. The first is the ARRX15G Xsight Color which is capable of controlling up to 15 different devices also featuring a color LCD display and uses standard AA batteries. The second model, the ARRX18G Xsight Touch offers control of up to 18 different devices with a color touch screen LCD display, rechargeable battery system with charging dock, and an option to utilize RF (Radio Frequency) control with the optional ARRE433B RF receiver.

One feature of these remotes that really wowed me was the simple set up. Both Xsight remote controls offer easy set up using the on-screen display of the remote itself to will walk you through the different devices and add them to different macro functions such as Watch TV, Watch a Movie, Listen to Radio Etc. This is a process that few remotes that offer extensive control of your system include; usually this type of setup requires connecting the remote control to your home computer. However, if you prefer using your computer to program the remote control, that option is available. Acoustic Research offers the EZ-RC set up software allowing you to use a USB connection and follow a simple on-screen step by step set up guide on your computer. With this software your remote control’s programming information is stored directly on the EZ-RC website, so that you can make changes or add devices and not lose all of your programming information.

While using the remote controls I found them to be well balanced in the hand making it easy to navigate and operate with one hand. The back of the remotes is coated in a nice non-slip rubber ensuring the remote stays in your hand until you would like to place it down. I found that all of the buttons also had a reasonable click to them allowing you to know that they had been pressed. Dedicated buttons are used to turn the system either All On (Hello) or All Off (Goodbye), which helps cut down on devices getting out of sync in the start up or close down procedures.

My time with the Xsight remotes was a pleasing experience. They are a very capable system control option that will help you get the maximum use and enjoyment from your home theater system.

Lee R

Panasonic’s Waterproof, Shockproof and Dustproof Digital Camera. Are you tough on your camera?

Lee R — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:35:28 +0000

If your answer is “YES!”, then Panasonic has a new solution for the camera buff who may be less than gentle with their camera. Panasonic has released the successor to their popular DMC-TS1 waterproof, shockproof and dustproof camera. The Panasonic DMC-TS2now sporting a new 14.1 Megapixel sensor means you can capture all of your outdoor adventure with crystal clear detail. The camera is also rated to withstand an impact from a 6.6 foot fall, a dive of up to 33 feet, freezing temperatures down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and is also dust proof. At just under an inch deep, it will conveniently fit into a jacket, or cargo pocket for travel to any destination that you can conceive.

Photos are just the tip of the iceberg with the DMC-TS2. The camera also offers the user the ability to capture HD video to SD/SDHC memory cards with the AVC/HD video format or HD Motion Jpeg. The new Leica 4.6x zoom starts at a robust 28mm wide angle to squeeze in those trees into your nature composition or your extended family’s vacation portrait. You will also be able to capture your images with very little blur largely in part to Panasonic’s Mega Optical Image Stabilization.

What truly makes this camera unique is the new LED light for underwater or low-light photography and videography. The LED can be set to an automatic function that takes most of the guess work as to whether or not the situation demands more light than what is available. This function is separate from the built in flash.

The Panasonic DMC-TS2 is currently available at OneCall in Yellow, Orange and Blue colors.

Lee R

Denon S-5BD Receiver & Blu-ray Player Combo

Lee R — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:07:15 +0000

Convergence is a term this industry is all too familiar with, often times to lesser degrees. “Oh look, my phone is a camera, and my movie player can peruse the internet….” If the Denon S-5BD is anything, it’s an example of how one device can do many things exceptionally well. It also proves that you can get quality audio from non traditional sources.The video and audio sources found on the rear of the unit include two (2) HDMI inputs, two (2) optical inputs, one (1) digital coax, three (3) analog audio inputs, one (1) composite video input, and one (1) S-video input. On the front of the unit, two retractable doors reveal a third HDMI input, a USB port, a Secure Digital memory card slot, as well as a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The SD card slot allow for both music and pictures to be shared through your surround sound. You can easily attach your iPod or iPhone to the USB connector to play your music over your home theater speakers.

I was amazed by how well everything was designed on the unit. The fold-out doors have wire runs to allow you to plug in your equipment from the front such as the USB/iPod connection and then close the door. The HDMI output to the television also supports version 1.4a with the new audio return channel. This feature allows the audio to pass back from your television to the receiver…providing that the television supports the function.

p.s. As a side note, OneCall also has a killer package right now with the Klipsch HD Theater 1000 package.

Lee R

Cable-it Again Sam… Controlling Cable Chaos

Lee R — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:00:01 +0000

Recently I discovered that I have far too many cables in my house. They have a tendency to get into all sorts of bizarre configurations, much like hydras of myth. That is until recently, when I decided to try a Monster Cable Cable-It™.

Cable-It is a cable management productthat works very much like a zipper for all of your cords. You place all of the cables into a threading device and zip the cable sleeve onto your cables. You can either pre-measure the tubing or cut to size when you reach your desired length. Put the Cable-It product on one side, pull and the job is complete. It works great even with cables of varying lengths.

For anyone looking to manage the clutter of the hydra, this is truly an elegant solution. I highly recommend it!

Lee R

The Nikon S1000PJ

Lee R — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:33:29 +0000

A man scrambles to set up his projector before his guests arrive. Struggling with the screen for several minutes, he lets out a breath sighs and gets ready to now set up his projector. The guests arrive and now begin to enjoy a vacation experience set to music. The slide show continues for the next 45 minutes as the painstaking journey that allows its participants to enjoy a part of their friends experience.

Fast forward to present day and we see the arrival of the new Nikon S1000PJ digital camera, the first digital camera with a built in projector. With the ability to project images at a size of 5 to 42 inches you won’t have to crowd around the back of a digital camera to share your images.

This little camera packs a 12.1 megapixel sensor and a 5x optical zoom starting at 28mm. It also couples Nikon’s Vibration Reduction technology to help eliminate shake and vibration for sharp clear photos. The 2.7 inch lcd screen packs in 230,000 pixels of resolution and an anti-glare coating for improved visibility.

Be looking for the Nikon S1000PJ to project into OneCall’s camera section soon!

Lee R

Plasma Vs LCD TV – A Complete Guide

Lee R — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:06:17 +0000

Round 1 Fight!

We here at OneCall have all been asked this question more times than any of us can count. “Which is better Plasma or LCD” Everyone seems to expect an answer to this question as either an LCD Television is better, or a Plasma Television is better. Unfortunately neither is the answer for everyone. With large television sets at an all time low, consumers are ready now to gear up for the long haul with digital television. So let’s take a trip through some of the basics for both Plasma and LCD.

Benefits of Plasma Televisions

Plasma televisions generate their image by electrically charging phosphorus gas to generate their image. Contrary to popular belief, this gas does not have to be and cannot be recharged. It’s a permanent part of the television unless the screen was to become cracked or damaged (No raucous parties or throwing things at the television). Here a few of the major benefits of plasma:

Greater contrast is a standard. Better definition between the whites and blacks.
Smoother motion handling for sports and action. It’s made of glass and metal so, they are of a heartier construction and a little easier to recycle.

Benefits of LCD Televisions

LCD televisions are well known for how bright they are. In well lit rooms, they can easily be seen. Most of the sets have very little glare issues, another perfect fit for a well lit room. LCD’s by their very nature I feel do exceptionally well with computer generated content. The rigid structure of each of the cells makes eaking out every last bit of detail quite easy.

Round 2: Drawbacks

Here is where both camps start flinging the venom.

Plasma TV Drawbacks

You can end up with this little thing called burn-in with very rare situations. Most manufacturers have a solution in place to help eliminate this possibility. Over the last few years we have just about seen this issue disappear. Another huge issue is one that cannot be overcome at least not as of yet. Altitude. If you live over 6500 feet above sea level you may want to stay away from plasma. The further up in altitude we go, the less atmospheric pressure exerts force to keep the plasma gas together. This means that the plasma now has to use more power to keep the gas excited and pulled tightly together to generate the light for the image. As you can imagine this causes an unusually excessive amount of noise or humming from the power supply. Does the TV still work? Yes, if you don’t mind the above annoyance.

LCD TV Drawbacks

Well they are getting faster all of the time, but they still quite haven’t caught up. Most people probably won’t notice at first, but you will occasionally see the set almost freeze in place. It does so rarely that you might think your eyes are playing tricks on you. Here is also where that additional sharpness comes to back to play havoc. Regular definition programming looks incredibly soft on an LCD display. Not so much a failing of the set, and hopefully not an issue that we are going to continue to have.

Round 3 – Connectivity

If this were a prize fight this round would really have to go to you the judges. Everyone now seems to offer just about every level of connectivity on their sets. 3-5 HDMI inputs is now just about the standard jack package. With integration of web widgets and internet connectivity also entering the picture, Ethernet and Wi-Fi options abound. Even if you don’t want that as an option, the manufactures have you covered. So at this time we will have to conclude that this portion is an even draw.

Conclusion — The Fall out.

There is no right or wrong decision when it comes to purchasing either one of these technologies. The best way to really tell is with your own two peepers. Perception of value of the technology that you purchase will make watching your new set the most satisfying experience and provide all out happiness when watching the latest hi-def TV show, or the latest blockbuster on Blu-Ray. We truly live in the best of times.