JVC XV-S302SL DVD Player (Silver)

JVC XV-S302SL DVD Player (Silver)
Manufacturer: JVC
Product Type: CE

Editorial Review:
Product Description
This JVC XV-S302 introduces a new slim design for an "all-in-one" player that people are looking for. Not only does it play DVD and CD; it also plays the new CD-R/RW recordable CD formats, SVCD, VCD and MP3 formats. Don't let the slim design fool you, the XV-S302 is packed with many exciting features such as three theater positions, 3-D Phonic sound, variable and slow search, zoom, digest and strobe play, angle list and resume function. Coaxial digital audio outputs with Dolby Digital and DTS pass-through are provided for easy connection to any system.
Amazon.com Product Description
JVC's affordable XV-S302SL DVD player is bound to excite all home theater enthusiasts, especially music lovers. The unit's component-video output is ideal for use with the latest high-resolution televisions (and a standard composite-video output works with most older TVs). You get more or less standard DVD features like variable and slow search, picture zoom, and resume play, as well as more advanced features like chapter digest and strobe play, which displays video in grids of nine consecutive still images, letting you search out exactly the frame you want to study. The unit is also compatible with SVCD (super video CD) and VCD formats, which are popular for many Asian films.

The XV-S302SL really shines because of JVC's proprietary 1-bit P.E.M. D.D. audio decoder, which minimizes clock jitter and other sonically degrading artifacts and offers an analog stage with an impressive 106 dB dynamic range (in stereo), so music sounds as true to life as possible. The decoder's 96 kHz/24-bit resolution ensures optimal decoding of all disc formats, from high-resolution music on DVD-Video discs to standard CDs, audio CD-Rs and CD-RWs, and discs encoded with MP3 audio files. (CD-R/CD-RW playability may vary depending on contents and discs.) Also, 3-D Phonic virtual surround simulates surround-sound effects using only two speakers.

The XV-S302SL's traditional audio connections include one set of left/right analog-audio outputs for compatibility with stereo Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions and one coaxial digital-audio output to route Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel signals to a surround-decoding audio/video receiver. The back panel offers one output each for standard composite-video, S-video, and top-of-the-line component-video.

Average customer rating: 4.5

Excellent Choice
Money Well Spent
Great Laptop. Let an expert clear soem things up.
Basic home laptop, nice bang for buck

Compaq Presario V2555US 14" Notebook PC (Mobile AMD Sempron Processor 3000+, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard Office
Product Group: Personal Computer
Binding: Personal Computers
ASIN: B000E1PJH4

Related Categories:

Notebooks

Presario Notebooks

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Amazon.com Product Description

Take your computing life with you wherever you roam with the Compaq Presario V2555US, designed for the budget-minded mobile professional. Featuring a cool, modern metallic design, the V2555US weighs only 5.4 pounds and is as thin as 1.29 inches. The widescreen 14-inch BrightView display is easily viewable even in direct sunlight and is great for watching DVD movies in their natural aspect ratio. It's powered by a powerful 1.8 GHz Mobile AMD Sempron 3000+ processor, and also offers a 40 GB hard drive, 512 MB of installed RAM (2 GB maximum), DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, and 54g wireless connectivity with 125HSM/SpeedBooster support.

The Basics
<ul>

Hard Drive: The 40 GB IDE hard drive (4200 RPM) is on the small side compared to other notebooks. However, it does offer a decent enough capacity for storing documents and productivity software for road warriors--but not enough for much multimedia storage.

Processor: A lower-end cousin to AMD's XP processor line, the 1.8 GHz Mobile AMD Sempron 3000+ found in this notebook is speedy enough for everyday computing needs and running office productivity software, but won't be quite enough for higher-end video editing or 3D gaming. This processor features AMD's Cool'n'Quiet Technology, which conserves power while also keeping the notebook's decibels to a minimum. It also features up to a 1600 MHz front-side bus (FSB) and a 128 KB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance.)

Memory: The 512 MB of installed RAM (PC3200) is enough to get you started, but you'll want to add more RAM to handle today's demanding multimedia and productivity suites. This notebook has a 2 GB maximum RAM capacity.

CD/DVD Drive: With the included DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, you'll be able to watch DVD movies as well as burn data and your favorite music mixes to CD. It has 24x write, 10x rewrite, and 24x read speeds for CDs, and a 8x DVD read speed.

Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a full-sized 101-key keyboard and touchpad with four-way scroll zone on/off button and dedicated vertical scroll up/down pad. </ul> Screen, Graphics and Sound
The 14-inch BrightView WXGA high-definition widescreen display has a 16:9 aspect ratio and 1280 x 768-pixel resolution, providing 25 percent more screen information and the same widescreen film picture size as a standard 15-inch XGA screen. You'll get TV-quality images, even in direct sunlight. Video is powered by the ATI Radeon XPress 200M IGP video/graphics card, which delivers good, though not high-end, 3D graphics. It delivers 32 MB of video RAM shared with the system memory, which is configurable up to 128 MB. ATI's HyperMemory technology allows the chipset to run in either Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) mode or with dedicated frame buffer memory to enhance graphics performance. It also features an integrated audio card with microphone and headphone jacks.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The V2555US has an integrated 54g wireless LAN that's fully compatible with 802.11b/g wireless networks. The 125 HSM/SpeedBooster support will enable it to be ready for tomorrow's 125 Mbps wireless LANs. You get a basic offering of connectivity options, which does not include FireWire: <ul>

2 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players

1 VGA monitor port

1 S-Video port for connecting to a TV

1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type I/II, 32-bit)

1 headphone jack and 1 microphone jack

1 notebook expansion port </ul> It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
This system comes with the Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 operating system with Advanced Security Technologies, which helps to reduce unwanted downloads and pop-ups while surfing the Web. It also comes preloaded with Microsoft Works (for working with word processing and spreadsheet documents), Symantec Norton Internet Security 2005 (with 60 days of LiveUpdate), Adobe Acrobat Reader, Sonic Digital Media Plus, InterVideo WinDVD, Apple iTunes, Adobe PhotoShop Album STE, Muvee autoProducer, Microsoft Money, MSN Encarta Plus, and Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition (60 Day Trial Version).

Dimensions and Weight
This lightweight notebook is easily portable at just 5.4 pounds. It measures 13.15 x 9.1 x 1.29/1.53 inches (LxWxH).

Power
This notebook is powered by a 6-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which offers up to 3 hours of battery life (dependent upon computing conditions).

What's in the Box
This package contains the Compaq V2555US notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a limited warranty for parts and labor for one year from date of purchase as well as technical telephone assistance for one year. Software is also covered for 30 days from date of purchase.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Choice.......2007-01-31

I've owned this computer for about eight months and I like it so well that I recommended it to my mother. If you use a laptop primarily for writing and Internet this one is a great value. The screen is excellent and the keyboard has the best feel of any I have tried (though I have not tried them all). As a writer the keyboard is particularly important, and I am completely happy with this one. The mouse pad works fine, but I prefer a track ball so I've added a wireless Logitech. The wi-fi feature is wonderful.

If you spend much time on the Internet, the file cache should be purged frequently because it will bog down with unused files. It has no problem, however, with book-sized manuscripts, the writing of which is my primary use for this machine. Overall, I am quite satisfied with it.

J Douglas Bottorff, author of The Whisper of Pialigos

Money Well Spent.......2006-08-06

For what you'd pay for this Compaq V2555US, you get more than what you'd expect from a value-priced laptop. I bought this system to be used as part of a home business and I'm very glad I did.

The 14.1" hi-def screen is perhaps delivers some of the brightest, cleanest images I've seen, which makes it very good for playing DVDs. The Altec-Lansing speakers sound pretty descent for a laptop. The Sempron 3000+ is the fastest chip I've seen from any computer in this price range. It's easily portable: not too big, not too bulky and not too heavy. In terms of performance, it multitasks very well with E-mail, websurfing and working with apps like OpenOffice. Fit and finish is also very nice. The system looks and feels like it's put together for the long haul, nor does it have that cheap, flimsy feel that I've seen from other brands in this price range.

This thing can run kinda warm from the tight confines within the system, so you don't want to keep it in your lap for very long. As I said a minute ago, this notebook is best for things like web surfing and firing off the occasional E-mail. Even though the Radeon Xpress 200M *is* capable of running most newer titles, this is not a hardcore game machine. There are no FireWire ports, but since I have no need for them, it doesn't matter. A lot of the pre-installed software was unnecessary, though it was nothing a visit to the Add or Remove Programs panel couldn't fix. Performance isn't too bad, but the shared video memory and system memory can be a bottleneck if set to 128 MB. An upgrade will go a long way in boosting performance, and you can always resell the old sticks on Amazon or eBay to offset the cost.

Overall, this is a great laptop for the budget conscious with a nice set of features and good performance. Hardcore gamers or multimedia buffs may want to look elsewhere.

Great Laptop. Let an expert clear soem things up........2006-04-06

This laptop is very good for its price range. The pros far outweigh the cons. The LCD is one of the best I have seen on any laptop including Apple, it is bright, responsive and the image quality is second to none. mainstream application performance is very good, I upgraded from an Athlon XP 1800+ and there is simply no comparison. The laptop is light yet sturdy, battery life is above average and the onboard GPU is excellent for this price range. Contrary to popular belief the Radeon Xpress 200M is very capable of running all modern games with the settings tweaked for performance. Examples I run Need For Speed Underground at Medium resolution with all of the eye candy turned on except for motion blur and it runs smooth as can be, far better than the Radeon 9000 I had in my old laptop, I have successfully played Far Cry, Unreal Tournament 2004, Worlds of Warcraft, Quake 3, Need For Speed Underground 2 and all te EA sports titles. This laptop is not designed for gaming gurus but it indeed can play games. I was very surprised at the audio quality and the volume and crispness of the speakers. There are a few cons which I will list below but they are not enough to make me rate the laptop lower.

Cons: The latch on the LCD is not the best, the construction while sturdy could have been better for example the optical drive seems slightly loose when you pick the unit up and it generates ever the slightest too much heat under the palmrest but nothing serious and it isnt uncomfortable to the touch.

Overall this is a superb laptop but I would recommend that if you want to run games upgrade to 1GB of ram or at least replace one of the 256 Sodimms with a 512 so you have 768 minimum. I also upgraded my Hard Drive to a 80GB 7200 RPM which helps games alot..

Basic home laptop, nice bang for buck.......2006-02-18

Pros:
Can't beat the price, quiet, wide truebrite screen, wi-fi.

Cons:
2 x 256MB, volume control, 40 GB HDD @ 4200, no firewire, 2 USB ports

The Bottom Line:
Basic home laptop, nice bang for buck. Don't expect to play games on it.

Full Review:
Got this Presario V2555US for $579 after rebate from Office Depot.

Seems to serve well for basic net surfing, word processing, playing movies and listening to songs etc. The integrated video card is set up to use 128 MB from the primary memory, this can be reassigned to 32 MB in the BIOS, since you won't be playing games on this puppy.

Gripes:
. Don't be fooled by the image, I thought it was silver throughout, but its black on the top and bottom of the laptop. Would have been better if it was completely silver.
. Lot of unnecessary HP software.
. Even though memory is 512 MB, it comes in two 256 MB modules, so both DIMMs are occupied.
. The volume up/down buttons are not analog, they directly work on the soft control.
. Overall build is sort of flimsy, especially near the DVD-ROM drive.
. No IEEE Firewire port and only 2 measly USB ports.
. Touchpad could have been better.
. Battery would probably give you something less than 2 hours.

Goods:
. Aptly priced.
. Looks good when opened, except for the black on the top and the bottom.
. Like the 14" true brite widescreen.
. Size: Not too bulky, but a bit on the heavier side for its size.
. Very quite, unlike other laptops that I have used in the past.
. Built-in Wi-fi seems to work like a charm, unlike my previous Toshiba Satellite.

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