how is the quality? on my computer the quality of rentals is mediocre. does it have to do with speed of connection? i don't want to invest in this seemingly great product if i will get same sub par quality. and what does HD really mean? thank you for your response. how is the quality? on my computer the quality of rentals is mediocre. does it have to do with speed of connection? i don't want to invest in this seemingly great product if i will get same sub... » Read More how is the quality? on my computer the quality of rentals is mediocre. does it have to do with speed of connection? i don't want to invest in this seemingly great product if i will get same sub par quality. and what does HD really mean? thank you for your response. « Show Less
1693269
Yes, you can use your laptop or desktop to do all of the same functions. I do this very successfully with no more effort than hooking up the HDMI cable to both the laptop and the HDTV. The main downside for me is that my HDTV and laptop are normally at opposite ends of the house. I have to disconnect the laptop, set up a small table next to the HDTV and then connect the power and HDMI. In addition, my mouse won't work on the laptop from 18 feet away so I have to get up and go to the PC to pause/start the movies. I am seriously considering either the RUKO or a Blu-Ray player to simplify the process. Yes, you can use your laptop or desktop to do all of the same functions. I do this very successfully with no more effort than hooking up the HDMI cable to both the laptop and the HDTV. The main downside for me is that my HDTV and laptop are normally at opposite ends of the house. I have to disconnect the laptop, set up a small table next to the HDTV and then connect the power and HDMI. In addition, my mouse won't work on the laptop from 18 feet away so I have to get up and go to the PC to pause/start the movies. I am seriously considering either the RUKO or a Blu-Ray player to simplify the... » Read More Yes, you can use your laptop or desktop to do all of the same functions. I do this very successfully with no more effort than hooking up the HDMI cable to both the laptop and the HDTV. The main downside for me is that my HDTV and laptop are normally at opposite ends of the house. I have to disconnect the laptop, set up a small table next to the HDTV and then connect the power and HDMI. In addition, my mouse won't work on the laptop from 18 feet away so I have to get up and go to the PC to pause/start the movies. I am seriously considering either the RUKO or a Blu-Ray player to simplify the process. « Show Less
1693270
USB Port on the HR Plus Are wmv or MP4 or jpg files stored on a thumb drive attached to the USB port accessible with ROKU?
1693271
Wouldn't a laptop or desktop with wireless internet capability be able to do the same thing and more as a Roku if you used your tv as a monitor (simply requires a HD tv with a old PC video pin connector or HDMI/DVI out from the computer?If your a DirecTV subscriber with a DVR, you can also use the computer with DirecTV2PC to play whats on your DVR in another room in very high quality.
791240
Hook up your cable box with an hdmi cable for the best picture quality. I have a 1080p tv and my sd cable chanels look almost as good as hd. If you have an old cable box have them bring you a new one (put a few drops of water on it to fry it and say it fryed itself and theyll replace if for free). Also i got an upconverting dvd player for free with my tv and when its hooked up with an hdmi cable it has basically the same picture quality as HD dvd, just not as good sound quality as HD.
1856452
Roger... The image quality on this is probably the best you can buy for a web cam. If you don't mind spending extra, just get the retail box model with the CDs and whatnot. There other plug and play items out there from Microsoft which will take all the guesswork out of getting a webcam going... just sacrificing a SMALL amount of image quality.
482354
Thank you David Simon for your in depth analysis. It sucks that the Zi8 doesn't have it's standard definition also set at 60 fps for my liking since I will not be burning any footage to Blu Ray anytime soon and will be burning to DVD. Sure it's great watching 720p on a High Def TV by connecting to HDMI, but eventually the data will be sent to my hardrive for safe keeping and burning a DVD copy to play on a stand alone player is key for me. For sure though, I'll be using the 720p @ 60fps mode in the near future, ( when I get a Blu-Ray writer, or when I get a high end comp that can handle Hi Def video editing) until then SD quality for me lol. Thank you David Simon for your in depth analysis. It sucks that the Zi8 doesn't have it's standard definition also set at 60 fps for my liking since I will not be burning any footage to Blu Ray anytime soon and will be burning to DVD. Sure it's great watching 720p on a High Def TV by connecting to HDMI, but eventually the data will be sent to my hardrive for safe keeping and burning a DVD copy to play on a stand alone player is key for me. For sure though, I'll be using the 720p @ 60fps mode in the near future, ( when I get a Blu-Ray writer, or when I get a high end comp that can handle Hi... » Read More Thank you David Simon for your in depth analysis. It sucks that the Zi8 doesn't have it's standard definition also set at 60 fps for my liking since I will not be burning any footage to Blu Ray anytime soon and will be burning to DVD. Sure it's great watching 720p on a High Def TV by connecting to HDMI, but eventually the data will be sent to my hardrive for safe keeping and burning a DVD copy to play on a stand alone player is key for me. For sure though, I'll be using the 720p @ 60fps mode in the near future, ( when I get a Blu-Ray writer, or when I get a high end comp that can handle Hi Def video editing) until then SD quality for me lol. « Show Less
485015
Thanks for your response. So... Is there any difference in picture quality?
1666687
Hi,This is a pretty good machine with no obvious shortcoming that I could find (I have this one for a few weeks). The best thing is this is one of the best buy for this price range. I will be cautious about the DVD drive thought - it seems somwhat flimsy./Abhijit
98675
Hello Aaron. I wish I have the Glidecam to compare both units. I can tell you the Opteka works and do good videos. If you read the reviews on other brands, you'll see lot of complains on setup and quality. Well, that is not a problem with this unit. Setup is really easy and the quality is pretty decent. My "concern" is that it's heavy and after some time, you will feel the weight. I wish Opteka could replace some parts and use aluminum to make it a "perfect" unit (price v/s quality). Now, keep on mind this is for fun... I tried on some parties and all my friends got in love with the unit. BUT if you want to make some money and do it professional, then you'll need to pay more. I hope this helps.... Hello Aaron. I wish I have the Glidecam to compare both units. I can tell you the Opteka works and do good videos. If you read the reviews on other brands, you'll see lot of complains on setup and quality. Well, that is not a problem with this unit. Setup is really easy and the quality is pretty decent. My "concern" is that it's heavy and after some time, you will feel the weight. I wish Opteka could replace some parts and use aluminum to make it a "perfect" unit (price v/s quality). Now, keep on mind this is for fun... I tried on some parties and all my friends got in... » Read More Hello Aaron. I wish I have the Glidecam to compare both units. I can tell you the Opteka works and do good videos. If you read the reviews on other brands, you'll see lot of complains on setup and quality. Well, that is not a problem with this unit. Setup is really easy and the quality is pretty decent. My "concern" is that it's heavy and after some time, you will feel the weight. I wish Opteka could replace some parts and use aluminum to make it a "perfect" unit (price v/s quality). Now, keep on mind this is for fun... I tried on some parties and all my friends got in love with the unit. BUT if you want to make some money and do it professional, then you'll need to pay more. I hope this helps.... « Show Less
1223009
I honestly don't know about the speed comparisons you're citing, or the HD connections. The person for whom I bought this machine doesn't care about either one! I'd guess "No" on the HD, but I wouldn't want my life to depend on the answer. Sorry!
29655
Thanks Dale --That sounds great! Almost too easy to be true? I guess the big hang up with those old camcorders was getting the video onto a PC, connections, storage space, firewire's, etc.... I just want to put them on a dvd so this sounds like it would work for me. It is just home video of the kids growing up so top image quality isn't really a concern. The only other question is, what do you think the 'playability' of the recorded disc would be on devices going forward, meaning our PC, parents PC, whatever dvd player we have, etc.....? Any special type of disc to ensure compatability with multiple devices?If I spend hours converting but then can't watch, I haven't really accomplished anything. Thanks Dale --That sounds great! Almost too easy to be true? I guess the big hang up with those old camcorders was getting the video onto a PC, connections, storage space, firewire's, etc.... I just want to put them on a dvd so this sounds like it would work for me. It is just home video of the kids growing up so top image quality isn't really a concern. The only other question is, what do you think the 'playability' of the recorded disc would be on devices going forward, meaning our PC, parents PC, whatever dvd player we have, etc.....? Any special type of disc to ensure... » Read More Thanks Dale --That sounds great! Almost too easy to be true? I guess the big hang up with those old camcorders was getting the video onto a PC, connections, storage space, firewire's, etc.... I just want to put them on a dvd so this sounds like it would work for me. It is just home video of the kids growing up so top image quality isn't really a concern. The only other question is, what do you think the 'playability' of the recorded disc would be on devices going forward, meaning our PC, parents PC, whatever dvd player we have, etc.....? Any special type of disc to ensure compatability with multiple devices?If I spend hours converting but then can't watch, I haven't really accomplished anything. « Show Less
1075767
Yes, see Gary and LIz answers. I have found the quality to be quite good and reliable.
1202864
You will not be able to stream HD at that speed. If you are streaming HD then you were incorrect about your speed.See my guide for further details about speed requirements for various streams.
1571742
Quality was good but the "video" was more like a set of fast still pictures vs full motion. I may have had a bad unit. Returned it and did not get another one. Good luck!
825927
Not sure how that would help. It is not an issue of video quality. The problem is the zoom function stopped working. The zoom did work for two days, then quit working.
1735040
While doing my own tests, I found that there was very little quality difference between taping at one hour and two hour speeds (i.e.: XP and SP). However, I'm not a very picky person when it comes to video quality (just glad to have my beloved tapes backed up) and even I could see a difference between two hour and four hour (SP and LP). I began by copying two movies onto one DVD and very quickly stopped that. I figured that for the price of the disc, I'd rather have the noticeable quality upgrade. "Bill M." mentions double density discs. I haven't tried one, but it's certainly something to look into if video quality means anything at all to you. While doing my own tests, I found that there was very little quality difference between taping at one hour and two hour speeds (i.e.: XP and SP). However, I'm not a very picky person when it comes to video quality (just glad to have my beloved tapes backed up) and even I could see a difference between two hour and four hour (SP and LP). I began by copying two movies onto one DVD and very quickly stopped that. I figured that for the price of the disc, I'd rather have the noticeable quality upgrade. "Bill M." mentions double density discs. I haven't tried one, but it's certainly... » Read More While doing my own tests, I found that there was very little quality difference between taping at one hour and two hour speeds (i.e.: XP and SP). However, I'm not a very picky person when it comes to video quality (just glad to have my beloved tapes backed up) and even I could see a difference between two hour and four hour (SP and LP). I began by copying two movies onto one DVD and very quickly stopped that. I figured that for the price of the disc, I'd rather have the noticeable quality upgrade. "Bill M." mentions double density discs. I haven't tried one, but it's certainly something to look into if video quality means anything at all to you. « Show Less
1320978
It make good CDs but I can get it to make movies. It takes a long time encoding it and never finish. I waited three hours one night and stopped it. I feel like I have been ripped off. That's what I do make DVDs for people who want certain movies. Will this response pay my money back or send me a better software.
2127237
I have MANY movies stored on it and I can watch them normally, no issues detected. Audio and video run smoothly. I have both Black and Green. I think you'll have no problems using Blue. It's transfer speed is: 6 GB/sJust an advise: the movies for an 80" display/TV should be downloaded in 1080p resolution (full HD), so that you don't get a grainy image. You can also store the movies in the HD, copy them into a pen drive, plug it on the TV and playback them directly from the pen drive, I do this every time I want to watch my movies. Anything else you need, please, feel free to ask me. :-) I have MANY movies stored on it and I can watch them normally, no issues detected. Audio and video run smoothly. I have both Black and Green. I think you'll have no problems using Blue. It's transfer speed is: 6 GB/sJust an advise: the movies for an 80" display/TV should be downloaded in 1080p resolution (full HD), so that you don't get a grainy image. You can also store the movies in the HD, copy them into a pen drive, plug it on the TV and playback them directly from the pen drive, I do this every time I want to watch my movies. Anything else you need, please, feel free to ask... » Read More I have MANY movies stored on it and I can watch them normally, no issues detected. Audio and video run smoothly. I have both Black and Green. I think you'll have no problems using Blue. It's transfer speed is: 6 GB/sJust an advise: the movies for an 80" display/TV should be downloaded in 1080p resolution (full HD), so that you don't get a grainy image. You can also store the movies in the HD, copy them into a pen drive, plug it on the TV and playback them directly from the pen drive, I do this every time I want to watch my movies. Anything else you need, please, feel free to ask me. :-) « Show Less
1472984
Hey my Friend, Thanks for your imput. Just want to get a clear understanding about HDMI and Composite connection differences. My HDTV is 3 years old with composite only connection. Will HD DVD give me 1080i reception capabilty. I now have the Dish 622 reciever and get HD quality no problem. Simply put does the Toshiba HD-A1 HDDVD player have composite connections along with HDMI. Hope I've made myself clear enough. Thanks Much ... RD