Good Deals on Home Entertainment Products
Some advice from Jim Zim on specific home entertainment products
that are both high quality and attractively priced
Good Deals on Home Entertainment ProductsSome advice from Jim Zim on specific home entertainment products |
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I spent many years as a salesman of home entertainment technology for The Goodguys! electronics store chain in the San Francisco Bay area. Even though it's now been a long time since I moved on to a different career, I'm still very interested in technology products... and always keep my eye out for high quality gear that is also affordably priced. It's easy to find inexpensive electronics, and it's easy to find high quality electronics... to find an item that fits both criteria, that's the trick!
What you see on this page is a list of products I personally recommend. Each one is a product that I happen to know has specific advantages over competing products... and also sells at what I consider a good price. There isn't even one item on this page that I wouldn't want to own... in fact, I do own quite a few of them!
You can just scroll down the page and see all of the products, or jump directly to these specific categories: digital cameras, camcorders, printers, DVD players, high definition televisions, high definition movies, MP3 players, and computer accessories. If you see a product you like, move your mouse pointer over the name of the product and you should see current pricing information from Amazon.com Click on the picture if you want more product information, or if you are ready to order one from Amazon. Any product ordered from Amazon after clicking through from this page will result in a small commission being sent my way... even if you order a different product than the one I recommend. Placing your order through Amazon after clicking through this page is the best way you can thank me for this web site and this tech advice.
In each category, I'll start with the lowest priced items and work up to the
higher end models as we go.
I'm going to recommend three specific types of cameras that I have had very good experiences with.
Let's start with the very basic point-and-shoot digital camera. A point-and-shoot is perfect for someone that doesn't want to think much about photography... they just want to snap some photos and have them turn out well.
Canon SD800-IS compact camera with image stabilized zoom lens
The point-and-shoot camera that I recommend is the Canon SD800-IS... and what's special about it is the tiny size. It's only three and a half inches wide, and one inch thick! This is truly a small and lightweight camera you can toss in your purse or shirt pocket and carry around Disneyland all day. Canon makes GREAT electronic equipment... my house if full of Canon products. I'm very much sold on them... and have never owned a Canon product that I didn't like. Besides the tiny size, the extraordinary thing about this camera is the image stabilized zoom lens. This helps you to get sharp pictures even if your hand moves the camera a tiny bit when you go to depress the shutter release button. One problem with many small cameras is they have a small LCD on the back, or no LCD at all. This camera has one of the largest LCDs in its class... which makes it easy to see what you're doing when you go to take the picture. It's a 7 megapixel camera... so you'll get some great high resolution images out of it.
Now let's move on to a more advanced style of digital camera. The little SD800 camera is great... but there are tradeoffs that come with a camera that small. If you're willing to carry around a little larger camera, you'll get a more full-featured camera that will take better pictures. The mid-sized cameras that I think offer the best value right now are the Panasonic Lumix cameras with the big 12x zoom lenses...
Panasonic DMC-FZ8 with 12x image stabilized zoom lens
I've owned two different Panasonic Lumix digital cameras, and they both offered an awful lot of "bang for the buck". In other words, they give you a lot of camera for not much money. The real bargain in the Panasonic line right now is the DMC-FZ8. For a very affordable price, you get a seven megapixel camera with a huge 12x image stabilized zoom lens. This allows you to zoom in much, much closer than you would with most digital cameras. To get this kind of zoom capability in the camera I own now, I would have to spend over $1000 just for a lens. To have that capability built in to this Panasonic camera at this price point is absolutely amazing to me.
If you want the advanced capabilities of a digital SLR camera without spending the kind of money it takes to buy a digital SLR and all the lenses... a good compromise is another model in the Panasonic Lumix line...
Panasonic DMC-FZ50 with 12x image stabilized zoom lens
When you step up to the DMC-FZ50, you get a camera with a lot of the advantages of a digital SLR camera, without the huge cost of a digital SLR and all the additional lenses. It's also quite a bit smaller and lighter than carrying around a digital SLR camera. The FZ50 is a 10 megapixel camera and has a lot of nice little extras (like a hot shoe for an external flash) that were not included in the budget-minded FZ8.
If you're willing to pay the extra money to get the absolute best pictures possible from a digital camera, you're ready to step in to the world of digital SLR cameras. In the digital SLR world, one brand dominates: Canon.
Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera with 18-55mm zoom lens
I've got so many great things to say about the Digital Rebel that I had to write a whole page just about this one camera. Head on over to my Digital Rebel page to find out what's so great about it, and to learn about all the best accessories for it!
This is a slightly simpler subject! Once again, I'm extremely impressed with Canon's product in this category. In fact, I used a Canon camcorder to make the grooming DVD... and my son, Jeff, who works for a television station, has used Canon camcorders for many video projects in the past. So, let's start with a very reasonably priced Canon camcorder that will be perfect for what many people want to do...
Canon ZR800 mini-DV camcorder with 35x optical zoom
Considering how little this camcorder sells for... this thing is a
steal! In the world of digital cameras, a 3x zoom lens is the norm... and a 12x zoom is spectacular.
This Canon camcorder has a 35x zoom lens! It records digitally on to a mini-DV tape, so the quality of the
recordings is excellent. Not that many years ago, this thing would have been considered "broadcast quality".
I happen to like mini-DV tapes... they're inexpensive and the quality is great. You can hook the camcorder
up directly to your TV to watch the tapes... or in to a computer if you would like to do digital editing and then
burn the final production on to a DVD. (Like I did with the grooming DVD.) But if you would prefer to record
directly on to a DVD... get
the DC210
This is a slightly awkward time to buy a camcorder, though... as the USA is right in the middle of a major shift in television technology. In the not-too-distant future, you won't have any conventional televisions in your house any longer... everything will be high definition. The two camcorders I already mentioned use conventional television technology... 480 vertical lines of resolution. They'll look fine on a conventional TV set, but can't produce the kind of detail found in the new breed of high definition televisions. (780 lines, or 1080 on the best high definition sets.) So, you'll be disappointed with the picture quality if you connect a standard definition camcorder to a high definition TV. This is an important consideration since many people are taping things now with the hopes of enjoying watching them years from now. Well, even if you don't have a high definition TV now... you will. It's just a matter of time. The solution to the problem is to get a high definition camcorder. The problem is that the technology is pretty new, so it's still a bit expensive.
Canon HV20 high definition mini-DV camcorder
At this point, you're probably going to think I work for Canon or something... as not only do I like their cameras and camcorders, but I happen to think that they make the best photo printers on the market today. I've owned LOTS of different printers over the years, but three have been Canon and each one of those Canons was great... like every other Canon product I've ever owned.
Canon ip3500 photo quality inkjet printer
This is a good, inexpensive inkjet printer which makes very nice photo prints if you buy the glossy photo quality paper. Two especially nice things about this printer are the speed and the noise level... it prints quickly and quietly. A 4x6 photo quality print takes way less than a minute. It uses four individual ink tanks.
Canon MF4270 multifunction laser printer/copier/scanner/fax
If you don't need to do color prints, want a super-fast printer, and don't want to mess around with replacing a bunch of individual ink cartridges... a multifunction laser printer is for you! This new model in Canon's line offers a LOT of bang for the buck. It prints at up to 21 pages per minute, has a 35-sheet document feeder for copying or scanning, and will even print in duplex mode. (Both sides of the page.)
Canon Pro9000 wide format photo quality inkjet printer
Back to photo printers now... this is for the person that wants the very best. If you're serious about your photography and want to make large prints (up to 13x19 inches) to frame and hang on a wall somewhere... this is the printer for you. It's BIG, since it's set up to take 13x19" paper. It uses EIGHT individual ink tanks to provide the best possible print quality. This is not for the average guy... this is a printer for someone with a really good digital camera and the desire to make professional quality prints at sizes from 4x6 all the way up to 13x19 inches.
Finally, we're out of the Canon zone!
The big thing happening in TVs today is, of course, the switchover from our very outdated TV standard to the new era of high definition television. As far as my recommendations... there's no way I'm not going to be suggesting you buy a conventional TV set! Unless you're looking to buy a very small TV for your kitchen, RV, garage, or children's bedroom... I think you'd be an idiot to buy anything but a high definition TV today.
The main thing to understand about today's choices in televisions is the difference between 720P and 1080P technology. Conventional TVs had 480 vertical lines of resolution. When flat panel TV technology first hit the market a few years ago, those TVs offered 720 pixels vertically... a big improvement over what we were all used to. But if you really want to watch TV shows and movies with the highest possible picture quality... what you need to get is a TV that will do 1080P. That's progressive scanning at 1080 pixels vertically... and you'll find it on the best TVs available today. If you're really short on money and you absolutely can't afford a 1080P set... you'll have to settle for one of the less expensive 720P sets. But if you want the best picture quality and you don't want to be unhappy with your TV a few years down the road when everybody else has 1080P sets in their houses... spend the extra money to get 1080P now.
I did a lot of research and looked at a lot of TVs on display in electronics stores prior to forking over the big bucks for a high definition TV this summer. Even though I've already made my big purchase, I haven't stopped keeping up with the latest developments... now I play the game of "did I buy the right thing?" and "is there something better?" So far, I've been very happy with my purchase of a Sharp Aquos LCD TV.
As you may know, there are three main styles of high definition TVs on the market: projection, LCD, and plasma. I ruled out projection technology after reading about how much more likely they are to require servicing as the years go by. I also know from my experience with projection TVs in the 1980s that any kind of projection technology is very finicky... due to the tendency of the red, green, and blue colors to not line up correctly on top of each other. Over time, things get out of alignment.
I pretty much ruled out plasma technology after witnessing a horrible burn-in problem that some friends had with their plasma TV. After watching standard-definition TV shows on their plasma TV, you would see lines burned in on the screen where the edges of the picture were. (Because standard definition shows do not fill the entire width of the screen.) The other big strike against plasma sets is that they use HUGE amounts of electricity... way more than a conventional TV or even a high def LCD TV. So, after ruling out plasma and projection systems... my choice, by default, was an LCD TV.
The problem with LCD televisions is the difficulty they have creating a true black. Things that should be black often look grey on an LCD TV. Go to a TV store, watch some LCD TVs (especially the low price ones) and see what happens when a show fades to black between scenes. If it really looks black, and not grey, that's a good TV. I read that the Sharp Aquos line of LCD televisions was very good at producing a true black... and when I sat and watched one on display at a store, I confirmed that it was true. Another thing that Sharp LCD TVs are really good about is providing a good picture in a very bright room. The windows in our house let in a lot of light when we're watching TV during the day... and that's a problem for some brands of TVs. The Sharp looked really good in a bright TV showroom... and here in my house, it looks even better! In fact, the only time I have an issue with the TV not displaying a true black is when I watch TV at night with all the room lights out. In a completely dark room, the blacks are just a little bit gray.
Sharp Aquos 1080P LCD High Definition TV
Choose from three screen sizes:
32" - LC32D62U
42" - LC42D62U
52" - LC52D62U
If you'd prefer a plasma TV instead of an LCD, consider the new 1080P plasma models by Panasonic. There are very few plasma TVs that can do 1080P... most are only 720P at best. Most plasma sets that can do 1080P are quite expensive. This year, however, Panasonic has made a breakthrough and they offer several 1080P plasma sets that aren't outrageously expensive:
Panasonic 1080P Plasma High Definition TV
Choose from three screen sizes:
42" - TH-42PZ700U
50" - TH-50PZ700U
58" - TH-58PZ700U
In DVD players, you've got three main choices: a standard definition (480 lines of resolution) player, or either a blu-ray player or HD-DVD player... either of which will give you 1080 lines of resolution and the widescreen format you'll want for playback on a high-definition TV. As I pointed out earlier, this is kind of a funny time in the evolution of video equipment in the USA... as we're in the middle of phasing out standard resolution TV and heading towards a day when everything will be high definition. So, my advice is to consider the future when making a purchase today.
Philips DVP5982 upscaling DVD player
If you just want an inexpensive DVD player, my best advice is to "future proof" your purchase by at least getting a DVD player that can "upscale" conventional DVDs from their standard resolution of 480 vertical lines to the high definition standard: 1080P. Even if you don't have a high definition TV yet... you will someday! Don't buy a DVD player that can't deliver the kind of resolution you're going to want someday on that high definition set. Also, remember that not all upscaling DVD players can convert standard DVD pictures to 1080P... some only do 1080i, which is an interlaced signal, not a progressive-scan like the best high def TVs use. Check out the price, and I think you'll agree that this Phillips DVD offers an awful lot for very little money!
Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray high definition disc player
If you've got a high definition TV already, don't monkey around with inexpensive DVD players... get either a Blu-ray or an HD-DVD disc player (or both!) so you can watch movies with the highest possible picture quality. If you've got kids at home, get the Blu-ray player... Disney movies are only on Blu-ray. No kids at home... get the HD-DVD player because it's cheaper. If you can afford it, get both. It may be a few years before there's a clear winner in the Blu-ray versus HD-DVD war. Don't wait for one format to win over the other... that's just too long to wait! Watching movies in high definition is too much fun to not enjoy right now.
A word of caution regarding HD-DVD players: some of the inexpensive ones can only do 1080i (which is an interlaced high def output) and can't do 1080P. The one I recommended is one the least expensive models that can actually give you full 1080P video output.
What good is a great TV if you don't have anything to watch on it?!? Here are a few great movies to play on your high definition DVD player:
Blu-Ray format
HD DVD format
It seems like everyone else in the world has one, so
click here
If you already own an MP3 player... did you know that Amazon.com has music downloads? They've got over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists represented by over 20,000 major and independent labels! Most songs are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than 1 million of the 2 million songs priced at 89 cents. Every song on Amazon MP3 is in the MP3 format and encoded at 256 kilobits per second, which gives very high audio quality at a manageable file size.
But here's the best part: every song and album on Amazon MP3 is available exclusively without digital rights management (DRM) software. This means that Amazon MP3 customers are free to enjoy their music downloads using any hardware device, organize their music using any music management application, burn songs to CDs, and make copies of the songs, too. You may have heard people complain about all the hassles encountered when trying to make copies of songs downloaded from Apple's iTunes store. That's because of DRM. Just say no to DRM! Download your music from Amazon MP3 instead of from iTunes and send a message to Apple and the music companies that you no longer are willing to put up with DRM! Amazon MP3 has the world's biggest selection of a la carte, DRM-free MP3 music!
If you spend a lot of time at the computer, do yourself a favor and upgrade the picture and the sound! A few new accessories will make your old computer much more enjoyable to use.
A new widescreen monitor will make a huge difference on any computer... especially if you are still using one of those old fashioned monitors that uses a TV tube to display the picture on. The larger the monitor, the more dramatic the improvement in picture. I like the 22" screen size... it seems to be the "sweet spot" with the largest monitor size before the prices get totally outrageous. Most 22" widescreen monitors are over $300, but this Acer AL2216Wbd 22" monitor is priced significantly less than that... and if you read the reviews written by people that own one, they seem to love it!
Another great way to make your old computer more fun to use is by upgrading the sound system. I've got one of these Logitech Z4 speaker systems on my computer, and I really like it! The price is reasonable, and it puts out some nice sound... thanks to the large subwoofer. Put the subwoofer under your desk somewhere and put the smaller speakers on either side of your monitor. The Z4 also has an input you can hook your MP3 player up to... if you want to listen to some songs from your MP3 player while you are sitting at your computer.
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