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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 71 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 79 found the following review helpful:
 The REAL DEAL on the v55 Jul 09, 2007
By Rufus McGregor
What you should know if you are considering this device:
1) The screen is REALLY REALLY GOOD but not quite AMAZING. The case, however, is exceedingly rugged and well designed. It "feels" well built, if you know what that means.
2) Tactile button response can be a little frustrating at times. Sometimes you have to hit a button twice to get it to work. But this isn't a video game. You get it right once and then you don't touch any buttons at all for at least half an hour. Definitely not a deal breaker.
3) This device INCLUDES a stereo 8mm to three-way FEMALE RCA adapter. Very handy if you want to watch stuff on the "real" TV. In this setup, the much belittled hide-away remote is actually very useful.
4) The battery life is really good. Often better than your iPod video. That can get frustrating when your iPod Video dies but your V55 is still good to go.
5) HOWEVER, it does charge your iPod when it is plugged in so if you are in the car using the INCLUDED cigarette lighter adapter or are near a power outlet using the INCLUDED AC adpater, the above complaint does not apply.
6) Several reviewers have faulted this device for failing to properly select between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect rations. Unsuprisingly, the fault is ACTUALLY with the operator and not the device.
As it is described in the (admittedly somewhat lengthy but intelligently written) instructions, the 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio selection is actually on the iPod and not in the V55.
I could cite several technical reasons why it HAS to be this way given the way the iPod handles video output, but suffice it to say that this one "tiny hink" is clearly explained in the little book that comes with your purchase if you choose to read it.
7) Next, the guy who said this product is for 2.35 aspect ratio videos doesn't know how aspect ratios work. Movies come in 1.33 (like your TV); 1.85 widescreen, and 2.35 (Panavision, etc) widescreen aspect rations. This product -- like widescreen HDTVs -- is designed in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Why? To make professional cinematographers (who rallied for a 2:1 aspect ratio) angry. No, really. I'm not actually kidding.
Anyhow, when you watch a 4:3 (old-style TV) video on this product, it pillarboxes the image. This means there are black vertical bars on either side of the correctly proportioned image.
Unlike some TVs, this product does not allow you to digitally zoom in to remove those side bars or allow you to perform a "cinema-wide" expansion. I believe this is because iPod video does not contain enough information to digitally (straight bicubic expansion) zoom in a pretty way and the chip that widescreens a 4:3 image (the aforementioned cinema-wide conversion) or performs an intelligent scalar algorythm would make this device ridiculously unaffordable.
8) All that said, in my opinion, this product plus iPod + iTunes plus free downloadable Handbrake software is really, bar none, the ultimate portable video set up. While the "menu-challenged" may experience a minor learning curve figuring out how to use the aspect ratio setting, the end result of these three products combined is nothing short of miraculous.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Neat little device Jan 09, 2007
By Grouchy Dude
I got this for Xmas and love this little gem. I am able to watch movies that I converted from my personal DVD collection and let the kids watch them in the back seat while traveling. The reason why this is better than a portable DVD player is that you can store about 30 movies on the iPod which lessens the hassle of bringing DVDs while on vacation or traveling far distances. Also, the speakers are wonderfully loud and I use it to play my tunes when I use my home gym. I am also able to mount the unit on my treadmill and I can watch it there also. You can go to websites and download movies or cartoons or women in bikinis ([...]), convert it and watch on this unit. Speaking of converting, I don't find that my wide screen movies get stretched. Everything looks fine to me. Perhaps people are using a bad converting software? I converted my dvd collection of old television classics like Leave it to Beaver or the Andy Griffith show (all in 4:3 format) and wide screen movies like Ricky Bobby or Monster house. All look good and not stretched. The wide screen movies are smaller in order to fit the proper aspect ratio, but it is still good quality. Try using PQ DVD to ipod conversion suite.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I wish the unit would use it's internal battery to power the ipod. Because I have a 5th generation (not 5.5 gen) 30gig iPod, the movies only last 2.5 hours on a single charge. After watching a movie, my ipod is drained, but the Sonic Impact still has more power. The Memorex iFlip is better here in this case. After hours of use, the unit is drained but the ipod is still fully charged ( or so I read in online reviews).
The Sonic Impact CAN charge the iPOD but the power adapter needs to be plugged in. Also, the ipod can stay inside the Sonic Impact and still sych to the computer via usb ports on the side of the Sonic Impact.
21 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Great little item Dec 08, 2006
By eckinusa
"eckinusa"
I got this item about a month ago and I absolutely love it.
Great picture, great sound, could have a nicer carrying case
to come with it.
I do not have a problem with it not turning on after not using
it for a while, it turns on days after I used it last time. It
is a little tricky: Make sure you have it completely turned off
(none of the green lights on the side on no more) and then put
it on hold or it will still drain the battery.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
All I wanted and More...... Jan 13, 2007
By gadget lover
This product is amazing. I expected it to be able to take the video from my ipod and put it on a larger screen but I never expected it to be able to go through a tv as well with no loss of picture quality. The sound is extraordinarly clear. When I was watching a downloaded program, I thought I was watching the original broadcast due to the sound and video being so clear. The size is easily transported. It comes with a bonus of a car adapter so I can use it for car trips. I think the battery will be sufficient for plane rides. The ipod is secure in the player and I would recommend this product to anyone who wants to have a larger picture than the ipod screen.
51 of 65 found the following review helpful:
 Very well built, but 2 bad flaws Jan 12, 2007
By jimn367
Based on C/Net reviews, Amazon.com reviews and reviews by ilounge I decided to get the V55 versus the iFlip. The reviews I had seen on-line were fairly accurate, but I think [the reviewers] were too enamored with style over function.
The V55 is very well built. It's solid, ipod integration is very nice, and there is excellent fit and finish. The speakers provide pretty good sound, and make a good portable system for use on the road. In fact, the reviews used this as one of the real descriminators. But when am I going to use this without headphones? For me at least, a better sounding audio system isn't as important on a device like this. Additionally, the importance of an IR remote is over-sold for a personal device, at least for my personal use profile in airplanes and other vehicles.
All else being the same - these would have been selling points for the V55. However, all else is not equal. There are two flaws which are driving me to return the product:
1) No 4:3 aspect ratio selection. Now many posters at ilounge had discussed this issue, and recent posts claimed this problem was fixed with a menu selection, but the unit I bought on Dec 30, 2006 does not allow selection of 4:3. I sent multiple messages to SI and received a response from Nick stating that there was not a firmware fix available for the unit. That leaves only a few possible conclusions:
a) There is no fix and the few posts of a fix are 'planted'
b) There is a fix in new units, but the vendor is unwilling to offer a firmware upgrade
c) There is a fix and there is no way to upgrade the unit's firmware
C) is the most likely scenario, but in any case it's a deal breaker. To me - watching i-tunes downloaded video in 'wide-head' mode is simply not acceptable for a product in this price category. I don't mind re-ripping my DVDs with the proper wide screen aspect ratio, but there is no way to play native 4:3 video without video stretching.
2) The V55 battery doesn't provide power to the ipod. The ipod battery drains as the V55 system is being used. The cheaper competition keeps the ipod battery topped off, so when the video system drains you still have a fully charged ipod for your portable use. Also if your ipod battery is drained you cannot use the V55. Again, not so with the cheaper competing product.
I'll do my wrap-up by repeating the V55 is a very well built product. It's look and feel is very nice, and if I didn't have to contend with issue #1 I would probably live with issue #2. However, there appears to be no way to assure you'll get a unit with the firmware upgrade (if it exists).
I cannot recommend the V55.
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