Macintosh

Click here for more information We've already put these new minis thru the paces here at Macminicolo and they're great. A few things to know:



-The RAM on these minis is VERY easy to upgrade. This machine comes with 2GB but can be upgraded to 8GB. Just twist off the bottom with your fingers and replace the RAM. (Literally, no tools required.)



- If you're looking to use the Mac mini connected to your TV, you'll be glad to hear that it now comes with HDMI. Nearly every current HDTV should have HDMI and it's a great fit.



- Speaking of TV watching, the new GPU (video card) is great. A wonderful upgrade.



- This Mac mini was reduced in power consumption AND the power brick is now internal instead of the big external one from before. That makes for a cleaner looking hookup.



- We use all our Mac minis as servers here and they're great. They run 24 hours a day and have no problems.



- This machine still has the IR capability so it can be controlled with the Apple Remote or one of the Harmony remotes with no problems.



All in all, a good upgrade. Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop

The Mac Mini was updated on June 15th 2010. There are some upgrades and minor changes between the 2010 Mac Mini and 2009's model, detailed below.



UPGRADES



HDMI audio/video output (HDMI version 1.3 and supports up to 1920-by-1200 resolution and multichannel audio.) Allows you to connect the Mac Mini to your HDTV easily.



Nvidia Geforce 320 M integrated graphics processor. More powerful than last years Nvidia Geforce 9400 which was in the 2009 Mac mini. Useful for content creation.



320 gb hard drive - Last years base model had a 160gb hard drive.



Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot - Useful for transferring photos and videos from Cameras.



Unibody aluminum body.





STANDARD FEATURES - from last years model (minor changes noted in brackets) are



Core 2 Duo Processor ( 2.4 ghz - up from 2.26ghz )

2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 Ram

8x slot-loading SuperDrive DVD burner



Mini DisplayPort video output with support for up to 2560-by-1600 resolution

Combined optical digital output/headphone output

Four USB 2.0 ports (1 less than the 2009 Mac Mini)



One FireWire 800 port

Wi-Fi - 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000.



Software included is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is standard.



As one can see, not much has changed. Apple is still using outdated Core 2 Duo processors while the rest of the computer industry has moved on to using Intel's "i" series of processors and it's still shipping the Mac mini with 2gb of ram which is completely inadequate for multi-tasking effectively.



However, whatever little has changed, is for the better.



Apple has finally acknowledged that people connect their Mac Mini's to HDTV's and use them as media centers. So it's added an HDMI port to the machine. This makes hooking up your Mac mini to a HDTV really easy. No Blu-ray drive though.



It's also included an SD card slot at the rear (Which also supports SDXC cards) - so you can transfer your photos / videos / data directly from an SD card without having to connect your camera / card reader to the machine.



Also, new in this year's Mac mini is a removable panel on the bottom of the Mac mini which allows you to easily upgrade the ram. This is a welcome addition considering that accessing the ram slots in earlier Mac mini's was a tedious and time consuming process. And since the Mac mini only comes with 2gb of ram, a ram upgrade should be one of the first things you choose to do. Kingston Apple 4GB Kit (2x2GB Modules) 1066MHz DDR3 SODIMM iMac and Macbook Memory (KTA-MB1066K2/4GR) for [...] currently. The operating system STRUGGLES with multi-tasking when there's only 2gb of ram present. Note to Apple. Stop skimping on the ram. Thanks.



Unfortunately, there are some negatives too.



First up is the power supply unit. In the 2009 Mac mini, the power supply was an external power adapter, which meant if anything went wrong with it, you'd take the adapter for servicing, not the whole machine. However, the power supply unit is now inside the June 2010 Mac mini. This may look better / cleaner from a design / clutter point of view but it also means that if it ever malfunctions, instead of the power adapter, you'll have to take your Mac mini in to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Store Provider and leave it there for repairs which may lead to more downtime.



The SD card slot is at the back of the machine, and reaching behind to insert a card gets tedious fast.



Also, the machine is STILL not designed to not let users access the hard drive easily (or without voiding the warranty). This forces the customer to be dependent on Apple for servicing, replacing or upgrading the hard drive. Considering the amount of confidential data customers store on their computers, they should be allowed to take out the hard drive when they need or feel like instead of being forced to take their machines into an Apple store if there are any issues. This is definitely a privacy / security risk for many customers and Apple should address this in the next iteration of the machine.



Also, because of the closed design of the Mac Mini, Applecare will always be a requirement, since you can't replace anything in the machine if something goes wrong except for the ram. Power supply goes bad - no Applecare - pay Apple big money. Hard drive dies - no Applecare - pay Apple big money. So Applecare becomes a $ 150 requirement to protect yourself from Apple's exorbitant repair costs. It's like a hidden cost, You don't see it until you realize you're probably going to need it.



The price has also gone up by $ 100. Cost is an important aspect to consider. If you decide to upgrade the ram and also need to purchase a LCD monitor, keyboard and mouse, once you total it all up, the Mac mini will end up costing almost as much as a Macbook(which is more portable) or the entry level iMac (21.5 inch screen, 4gb of ram, dedicated graphics and bigger hard drive). If that's the case, you better off examining those machines as purchase options instead of buying a Mini.



The Mac mini is a capable machine for general tasks such as watching videos, working on documents, listening to music and surfing the web. It's small and occupies very little space. It's also very energy efficient which is good for the environment and your energy bill. I would have loved to rate it 4 stars but I can't ignore Apple still including only 2gb of ram which is inadequate for multitasking, not including a Blu-ray drive, STILL not allowing customers to access the hard drive AND increasing the price by $ 100.



If the issues mentioned above don't affect you in any way and you want a small, power efficient and capable machine (After upgrading the ram) the Mac Mini may be the machine for you.



Hope this helps!



NOTE - Mar 18 2011. The Mac Mini is now extremely out of date compared to other computer makers current products. C2D processor, 320 GB 5400 rpm hard drive, 2 gb ram (stutter stutter). In 2011, these specs for $ 700 + $ 150 Applecare = very bad value for money.



Forget about the superficial things like how small it is. Instead buy a $ 700 dollar HTPC(Home theater PC), Excluding the operating system (which is always a matter of personal preference) you'll get a lot more bang for your buck with regards to hardware. IF you must buy a Mac Mini, wait for Apple to update it so that the hardware will justify the cost.
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Macintosh

Speaker Systems - ipod speakers, mini speakers

Click here for more information Alright, before I tell you how awesome this product is, let me preface with this: I was the media supervisor (oversaw mp3 accessories) before becoming the Home Theater supervisor at Best Buy for 3 years. In that time, I demo'd every speaker system from hand-held battery operated to full blown 7.2 systems that passed through those doors. I'm a speaker guy--I spent $6500 on subs for my car. This little $20 speaker is more than impressive. I don't work for Best Buy anymore but if I were there, you can believe that I would sell 10 of these a week in the off season. The mids and highs from this little speaker are exceptional. When hooked up to the iPhone, the distortion in audio is only evident at max volume. Even so, the loss of audio is minimal and not enough to make you turn it down--that occurs when it's just too loud for the area you are trying to fill with sound. In the month that this speaker has been in possession, it has been used outdoors, as the system on my mountain bike, and the radio for our hotel while traveling. In all of these instances, the little iHome speaker was turned down just a tad because it gets so loud. I can't wait to try it out during beach season where we compete with the wind and other radios. The bass is still nice. Although the low frequencies do not "quake" the ways the mids/highs "tweet", for it's size and price, you are still getting more than what you deserve. The quality of audio for a portable speaker system is phenomenal. If you consider the size vs. other portable systems, it's mind-boggling. Most of the stationary iPod docks I've sold over the years don't even compare to the sound you get out of this tiny speaker. The battery life is great; we took it on a trip to a 2 night festival and didn't not need to recharge it at all. I'm still using it off the same charge and it's had at least 8 hours of continuous play. The only con I've found so far is that since it's so small, when played at high volumes, the bass makes the thing almost jump off of hard surfaces. This cause the speaker to either move itself from where it was placed, or cause an unpleasing sound with your tunes. The couple of times this has been an issue (and one I really don't mind), I simply placed a piece of fabric beneath it to absorb the vibrations. I'm a speaker guy. If I had to choose a speaker to demo for people to "wow" them, I would normally choose my Eclipse Titanium subs. I now impress people with this tiny little speaker! This is going to be the gift I give to people until I find another phenomenal product to take its place. If you are looking for a compact unit with clear, loud sound...look no further. This thing is amazing. I would not be shocked if they were charging $80 for this portable system. It seems really durable, but we've only owned it a month. Short of falling to pieces next week, I can't imagine this product not receiving 5 stars from every user. Don't think about buying this product and just BUY IT. You will not be disappointed. Best portable speaker I have ever come across, no doubt. iHome iHM60 Rechargeable Mini Speakers for iPod (Red)

I've barely had this speaker for a little while and I'm raving about it. It charged within 30 minutes (WOW!!), and its bass quality and response is AMAZING. It can handle full bass on around 98% volume from my iPod without giving me any scratchiness! Its general sound for music ranging from classical to rap simply blows me away. Literally.



Overall, this product is just what I needed-a small, portable speaker with decent sound-at an affordable price. The sound is more than decent, and it also works great with vocal podcasts. Clarity of sound is truly amazing.



Its only drawback is that it charges and plays music through the same cable, so you have a bulky USB dongol on one end, in addition to the standard 3.5mm jack at the same end of the cord. All audio is routed through the USB cable, but it won't play audio from your USB-enabled computer.



I would recommend this product to anyone who wants a small, affordable speaker.

Unbelievable mono sound, volume and clarity in such a small package. Had to lower my netbook volume to bare minimum. Pumped up, you could fill a huge room with clear sound. Collapses to approx 2" x 2" for storage or travel. Compared to the Altec-Lansing Orbit Mono - this is a steal. My Toshiba NB205 Netbook only puts out very weak mono but this speaker makes it fully capable of doing full presentations in a huge room. Can't recommend it too highly.

P.S. The Lowepro 1S camera lens case will carry the speaker extended and the case has a pouch in the top for the cables. $9.99 delivered from Sell N Send.

I have the same problem as another reviewer here where when the unit is plugged in to the USB port and the headphones jack, it gives off a horrible buzzing noise that overwhelms whatever you're listening to. I had seen only one review with this problem so I really hoped that the odds were in my favor, but no such luck. It's getting returned first thing tomorrow :(. Maybe it's only the red ones. - Mini Speakers - Ipod Speakers - Speaker Systems - Speakers
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Speaker Systems - ipod speakers, mini speakers

Touch Screen Stylus - stylus, ipad pen

Click here for more information I have been using a Pogo Sketch for quite some time and I can assure you that the Targus stylus beats the Pogo and every other stylus hands down! In fact, I recently was employed by one of the largest wireless carriers in their marketing department and worked closely with the person responsible for buying all accessories that are sold in our stores. She had tested and trialed dozens of styluses a d had determined that pogo was the best available stylus at the time. Last month, I visited her and showed her the Targus stylus. Like me, she was blown away. She is now going to contact Targus for samples to put through their tests. It works great with iPhone and iPad -- and especially great with Penultimate. It is high-quality and feels great in my hand. It is as thick as a normal ballpoint pen, and the clip is made of sturdy metal (not cheap plastic like the Pogo). The tip is soft rubber, but not at all sticky like some other inferior rubber styluses). Using this on an ipad is so silky smooth and a pleasure to use. Buy this, you will not be disappointed!! Targus Stylus for Apple iPad 16GB, 32GB, 64GB WiFi + 3G, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod, Tablet AMM01US (Black)

This stylus is smaller and more precise than my finger, and keeps the screen cleaner. It also works with a touch screen mobile phone and easily distinguishes between a touch and a swipe. Best of all is when using Pages or Numbers on an iPad, as one can hit the small icons with ease. The hemispherical tip ensures contact over a wide range of angles so the stylus can be held as one would a regular pen.



The stylus has a quality appearance with a chrome accent and a metal pocket clip. The top of the pen has a small hole through which a lanyard may be attached. It is only available in black, but that does not detract from its functionality. It is an excellent and inexpensive accessory for the iPad.



Update: After six months of daily use, the rubber tip has perished and the stylus must be replaced. Its replacement will be a stylus with a longer lasting polymeric material and not one with soft rubber.

At a staff meeting a couple weeks ago, we sat around comparing iPad accessories. Everyone agreed that a stylus was a must have for senior software architects with large and somewhat stiff fingers. (God only knows what we have done to stiffen them.) We passed around 3 or 4 different styluses. The general agreement was that the Targus was the best. The tip is has the right degree of softness and the clip is well designed. The electrical engineer who held out for a rolled up piece of raw bacon was ignored. I ordered a Targus stylus because it was sold out locally. It does work well. My only complaint is the silly string. The latch is hard to work and a stylus dangling on a two inch thread is wrong in many ways. The problem is easily and completely solved by throwing the string away.

Here's what I found after trying a multitude of styluses (or is it styli?) after buying an iPad 2. I wanted to use an iPad as a sketch book and the pad like it's name...and go digital rather than filling up notebook after notebook. So the perfect stylus has to feel like a pen and work well enough on the screen to give the tactile feel of drawing or writing on paper.



I learned that styluses tips are of 2 main types - fuzzy fabric and rubber - with some additional quirky ones made of metal (O-Stylus) or even sausage (supposed to work like your finger!).

--Fabric tips:

Pogo stylus- also used by Apple Geniuses - have a fabric tip that's great for typing or selecting or gaming even but not so good for writing or sketching anything more complex than a smiley face.

Sock Stylus - There is a seller on etsy who is selling sock styluses with conductive fabric "sock" stretched over a wooden quill which has been sawed off for the perfect length. I found that stylus a little less sensitive than the Targus and you have to hold it at a certain angle for best results. However, if you're writing pages worth of notes on iPad then it tends to make the hand less tired than the Targus as Targus has a squishy rubber tip that can cause some fatigue.



There are other fuzzy fabric styluses out there sold by small stores - like the ones by the guy who has been advertising on all Mac forums and posting pictures of his store in competitors' item images. They claim that they have the best yet but I haven't tried those yet.

--Rubber tips:

The Targus in question has a rubber tip. Please check my uploaded pic for size comparison against some other styluses.



The rubber tip on this stylus looks pretty thick but is still thinner than our fingers. The problem is that it does block the view when writing or sketching just like our finger. There is also another 2nd gen ACase that has tried to eliminate some of that by creating a longer stylus and a thinner and longer rubber tip but failed to deliver as the thinner tip had to be held at certain angles to write well and became more squishy and less natural.



This Targus has been the best of the 4-5 styluses I tried so far (refer to the pic) overall as it is the most responsive of all and has a matte finish stem rather than ACase's smooth finish which makes it a little less slippery to hold. The iPad 2 is already so slinky, I don't want to worry about dropping the stylus too!! It performed well on Penultimate and UPad writing apps and SketchBook Express the sketching app and captured light strokes as well as the heavier strokes. The performance was a lot better than the Acase 2nd Generation Apple iPad / iPhone / iPod Capacitive Stylus (Jet Black) Newest Modeland a shade better than the Acase 2 in 1 Stylus + Pen for Apple iPad 16GB, 32GB, 64GB WiFi + 3G, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, BlackBerry Playbook (Black). And don't even bother trying the really cheap ones 3 Pack (Red + Black + Silver) of Universal Touch Screen Stylus Pen for Apple iPod Touch 2nd 3rd 4th Gen, iPhone 3G 3GS 4th Gen Generation, they're perhaps ok for tapping a little but not for writing or sketching. Although some people have suggested on forums that roughing up the rubber tip of the cheap styluses with a sandpaper makes them work better.



I've also heard good things about the Boxwave and Alupen but haven't tested them so I can't say if they're better than Targus.



So there you have it, Targus was the winner in writing and sketching on iPad but still not the perfect stylus as it is not as responsive as I would like. I'm still looking for that perfect stylus. - Stylus - Ipad Pen - Targus - Touch Screen Stylus
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Touch Screen Stylus - stylus, ipad pen

Projection Clock - bedroom alarm clock, clock radio

Click here for more information I though I finally found an alarm clock that had all the features I wanted:

Dual alarm

Weekend/weekday

Projection

Two axis projection rotation (so you can project on wall or ceiling)

Projection in red (so it's not too bright like blue)

Decent design



And then, I find out that the projection turns itself off after 10 hours! Why? What's the point? Why would I want the projection to be off after 10 hours? If I want it off, I would turn it off! The whole point is to see the time by just opening your eyes. Now I have to turn the damn thing on every time before I go to bed. And if I forget, I have to turn around, press the button and then see the time. Again, what's the point?!



And if this is to save energy, the life of the LED or reduce heat dissipation, can't you coordinate the projection off with the time of day? There is a built-in clock righ there!



Also, the Alarm Off button is burried in a row of 9 identical buttons. Couldn't you put a dimple on the damn thing so I know which button to push without having to look it up every morning? Or at least put it at the beginning of that row of buttons! Sony ICF-C717PJ Clock Radio Projects Current Time and Alarm Settings In Red Onto Wall Or Ceiling (Silver)

The product is good, the dual alarm works perfectly and the reception of the radion is excellent. The bird singing alarm is great too. The only drawback is the projection not strong enough. At complete darkness works perfectly well but if there is a bit of daylight i.e. after 7:00 in the morning, you can hardly see the projection unless you cover the windows with thick curtain

I really want to LOVE this alarm clock.



It has everything I need and a few things I didn't know I needed but really like:

- An adjustable projector that looks great on the ceiling or the wall at any angle

- Back-up battery so I can move it around the room without loosing my alarm settings

- Automatically sets time (you just have to tell it what time zone) and adjusts for daylight savings

- Alarm starts as a light beep that slowly intensifies as it goes unchecked (nice as it's not jolting me out of bed first thing, but won't let me ignore it either)

- Projector has an indicator that shows if the alarm is on or not

- Snooze button adjusts snooze time from 10 minutes to 60 minutes quickly and easily (nice for those foggy, not quite ready to get up yet mornings)

- SUPER SLEEK looking, this clock is beautiful and feels very nice. The clock display light is a pretty blue that is adjustable between bright, sorta bright and off. This is good as the pretty bright blue light (while pretty) will shine right through your lids.



A few things that I don't really like:

- I don't use the radio and the antenna cord is pretty long and messy looking. Maybe I just haven't figured out where it's supposed to go though? The MP3 cable fits nicely away into a hollow under the clock, surely this one does too?

- The reset alarm button is in the middle of a bunch of other identical buttons which can make it hard to find in the morning(especially if it's still dark!). Solved this problem with a bit of clear nail polish on the button, but a bump or some other identifying feature would be nice.



But what really irritates me about this clock?

The 10 hour limit on the projector light.. This drives me nuts! I would sincerely appreciate if some tech savvy individual figures out how to disable this feature and post their finds, as I would really prefer it stayed on all the time. My husband and I sleep at different hours and if I turn the projector on when I go to bed, it has turned itself off before he is out of bed. Seriously frustrating having to get up to press the projector button all the time. I thought we bought a projector clock so we -wouldn't- have to get up to see the time..



That said, while it feels silly having to turn the projector on each night and morning, I still love the clock. All the good stuff outweighs remembering to press the button, but I would have given it a five if it had the option to disable that 10 hour projector limit.

The display lighting is pretty both on the clock face and the ceiling projection. At night, you can turn the face light off for a dark room and the ceiling display stays crisp and clear.



Two big problems with this clock:

1. They put a 10 hour timer on the projection then it will turn itself off.

2. The thing between the numbers on the ceiling display BINKS! This is not a calming thing to look at!



I wish they would take away the blinking and the 10 hour time limit. It would be nice is the room temperature would also be on the ceiling display.



Came back to add a few things after using the clock a few nights. The numbers in the display face should be a bit more defined and you can't even see the temperature numbers unless you are pretty close.



The speaker sound quality should be better from a product with the name "Sony" on it. Shame, shame!



The soothing sounds would be super fantastic if the speakers were better quality and for heavens sake... KILL the seagulls screaming in the ocean wave sound will ya? It's suppose to be night time and we are suppose to be sleeping! Birds are suppose to sleep at night! If a bird starts singing around my house at night I'm outside throwing rocks at the tree~! Please! Just give me calming, ocean waves without the screaming birds? Because the speakers aren't that great, the rain sounds like hissing. The "under water" sound is ok so that's the one I use.



I would be willing to pay good money if someone would invent the perfect projection clock with quality, soothing sounds to help me be able to sleep.

This is a great radio alarm clock. It is small, silver and sleek. The time projection is clear and you can project the beam on the ceiling or a wall. Lots of features and good radio reception. The only thing that could be better is that there are some controls that are a bit awkward. I would buy this clock for anyone. Great gift. - Projection Clock - Bedroom Alarm Clock - Clock Radio - Birds
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Projection Clock - bedroom alarm clock, clock radio

Cell Phone Signal Booster - signal booster, cell signal booster

Click here for more information Stop wasting your money. This is electronic snake oil!!! I'm an engineer with over 35 years experience in RF communication. Trust me; this device will do nothing to improve your reception. In fact if it does anything, it might actually detune your cell phones internal antenna and decrease its performance.



The cell phone industry is extremely competitive. Cell phone manufactures spend tens of millions of dollars designing their phones for optimum performance. They employ some of the finest engineering minds in the world. Doesn't logic tell you that if a few bits of foil could dramatically improve a phones performance they would have already incorporated it into their designs? Cellular Innovations A-BOOSTER Universal Cell Phone Antenna Booster

These things are just a confidence trick. They don't do a thing. They can't do a thing. If you believe these make your phone work better then you probably find the stripes down the side of cars make them go faster too.

Folks, this is nothing more than a sticker with a design on it.



It can in no way, and does in no way improve reception at all.



They were selling these for $20, now I see they are down to $1, and even that is a rip off, unless you are a collector of quack devices, in which case, you must have this for your collection of quack devices from this century.



I am keeping mine in it's bubble package and display it on the wall near my test bench.



One day these will be worth something as collectors items, but don't get one beleiving that it can actually do what it claims, because that is physically impossible.

I bought a pack of these years ago thinking that it might do something for me.... There is a reason it is so cheap. It is nothing more than a sticker made to look like some kind of super thin circuit board. You are better off putting one of those smiley face or star stickers from the kindergarten "good job" board on your phone.

Bought this in conjunction with an actual WiFi booster device, which for me was equally worthless. But at least this one was like only $3 whereas the Z-Boost wifi booster was considerably more. They should stick these things in Cracker Jack boxes because it's nothing but a gimmick. - Signal Booster - Cell Signal Booster - Antenna Boosters - Cell Phone Accessories
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Cell Phone Signal Booster - signal booster, cell signal booster

How to connect your HDTV to Surround Sound System

In addition to video quality, another advantage of the high-definition television in standard definition is the ability to add surround sound to these issues. When connected to a good home theater system, the sound can rival that of a DVD or Blu-ray can offer. Connect components to take advantage of this improvement in audio cables need and right audio inputs and outputs for the cables.

1. Check that the ports to provide digital audio and video components. The satellite/cable TV, HDTV and most have one or two outputs required for HD-quality digital audio - digital coaxial and optical digital (Toslink).
2. Purchase of digital audio components of the cable holder. If both are present, choose one of the two, with most systems, there is no difference in audio quality.
3. Decide whether you want the sound from the HDTV, or cable / satellite receiver. The receiver is the noise source will be more likely to deliver better sound, does not need to be first passed by the television.
4. Plug the cable into the corresponding input of the theater home stereo. If you are using Toslink, you may need to remove the plastic cover of the cable end and a guard or hood to protect the front port.
5. Connect the other end of the TV out cable / satellite. Then turn the home theater system and TV / digital audio input Component video. Make sure the audio settings of the components is set to "Digital."

Sony Blu-ray Player - netflix, streaming video

Click here for more information I just purchased two of these - one for myself and one for an out-of-state friend. I'm using mine with a Sony Bravia 1080p flat screen; my friend is using hers with an older 30 inch CRT TV (4:3 aspect ratio) until she gets around to taking her flat screen out of its box.



I was thinking about getting a unit with built-in WiFi, but before making the purchase(s), I did some research online and heard (read) some horror stories about streaming via WiFi that were, let's say, somewhat less than complementary (glitches, disconnects, freezes requiring reboots, etc.), so I decided to purchase this unit BECAUSE it didn't have WiFi (why pay for a feature that I'm not going to use?). I already have a Sony BDP-S370 (using it with a Samsung flat screen) and like it a lot; I would have bought two more of them, but they weren't available directly from Amazon when I ordered, so I got these - I prefer buying from Amazon for their returns policy. Also, the BDP-S380 supports 'vudu' AND it has an on-screen digital throughput speed readout (in Mbps) which appears when streaming is starting up - both welcome additions!



My setup took about 15 minutes from the time I opened the box until I was watching discs, Amazon VOD, and Netflix (the only ones that I've set up so far). I connected the BDP-S380 to my TV via HDMI, and my LAN via Ethernet cable and everything just worked (of course, I had to set it up for my Amazon and Netflix accounts, but that took less than five minutes each). After going through the on-screen quick start menus, the unit told me that there was a firmware upgrade available, so I told it to do it, and a few minutes later, it finished and turned itself off (normal when upgrading firmware).



My friend's setup took a bit longer, since she had never set one up before and I couldn't see what was happening while I tried to talk her through everything (from memory). She connected to her TV using the (supplied-in-the-box) AV cable. Because her TV was 4:3 aspect ratio, some of the menus didn't display legibly, which is probably what made things take a bit longer. Anyway, we got everything working properly within about 20-25 minutes.



One thing of note I would like to mention is this: all BD players manufactured after 01/01/2011 have DRM firmware which prevents HD signals from using any output other than HDMI. For me, that was no problem since I was using HDMI; since my friend was using AV, everything was displayed on her TV in SD (not really a problem since that is all it's capable of displaying anyway, and she'll be using HDMI if she ever sets up her flat screen *:^).



I'm very pleased with this unit (and so is she). Its outputs are crisp and solid, its user interface is staight-forward and easy to understand, and its physical size, shape, and appearance should fit in anywhere.



Definitely a 5-star device.



======



NETFLIX Note (04/15/11):



It seems that Netflix is no longer limiting selections to your Instant Queue! There is now a choice entitled "Top Picks For You" -- also, you can now press "Options" on the Remote and when you select "Categories >" you will be presented with a Category list from which you can search and select movies! Yay!! Sony BDP-S380 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)

I really like this player. I've had it about a month now and can't think of anything I dont like about it. It's nice and quiet. Great picture, seems to upconvert well enough. It loads very quickly even with the "quick start" turned off. I have it hard wired to the internet so I have no wireless problems to speak of. Its slim, sick and shiny; goes great with my Sony Bravia LED. I have a PS3 so the whole Netflix "in queue only" thing that others have complained about doesn't bother me. The other internet apps are basically a rehash of whats already on my Bravia. But, Oh Well. I bought it to play Blu-Rays and that it does just fine. This player actually replaced a Samsung BD-C6500 that I had in my possession for less than an hour before taking it back to the store. It was scary awful. Seriously. Overall, I am very satisfied and actually will be buying another in the near future for my bedroom. I have no problems giving this 5 stars and would recommend it to my friends and family. If your looking for an inexpensive, quality, entry level Blu-Ray player, look no further, you just found one.

I bought this Blu Ray disc player so I could stream Amazon Instant videos to my HD TV. It works great both as a disc player and as an instant video streamer. Once it was set up, it was easy to use. I use it several times a week at least, and I can do Netflix through it also.

I purchased this to replace an older blu-ray that had trouble commuinicating with my receiver. It was first gen and I couldn't wait but it still had some bugs.



So far at playing discs this has been awsome, the sound and the picture quality couldn't be better. The load time is much faster than with the older players.



If you're looking for streaming then I think we need to give these guys a couple more years to work out the bugs. Before I purchased this I bought the best rated top of the line model that was supposed to be the best at streaming and I was dissappointed. So I waited six months, bought this and the streaming is a little improved but do not expect to sit through anything uninterupted from Netflix or Hulu. So I still default to my labtop for anything streaming.



Anyway I will not return it as I am very happy with the way it handles my blu-rays. - Netflix - Streaming Video - 1080p - Blu-ray Player
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Sony Blu-ray Player - netflix, streaming video