Sonic Impact V-55 Portable Speaker System with LCD Screen and Remote for iPod (Black) by Sonic Impact Technologies
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List Price: Our Price: $40.00 You Save: $259.99 (87%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Network Media Player See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Sonic Impact V-55 Portable Speaker System with LCD Screen and Remote for iPod (Black)
Digital camera Review: Be careful
Summary: 2 Stars
I just purchased one of these at a greatly reduced price of 50 bucks, and noticed from the start that the screen sucked - no brightness awful color values, bad sharpness, I must have adjusted the settings for over an hour, comparing between full screen/wide screen. When I returned the device they told me all had been returned for the very same reason and taken off the shelf.
Sadly I did like everything else about this product, design, structure, materials, layout...it just didn't work
O and the touch buttons were awful, you had to use the remote for everything.
Digital camera Review: Beware...
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought one of these yesterday. It is the new version that has a 4:3 selection. That works just fine. BUT the bigger issue is that this box will not play ANY 16:9 standard Apple formatted file properly. You cannot download an iTunes wide screen video (wide screen TV, for example) and fill the screen. The unit really wants a 4:3 anamorphic file which is not an Apple standard. So whether you hack a movie with Handbrake or download one from iTUnes, if it is widescreen it will not play properly. Every widescreen movie will be smashed with black bars above and below.
This is to be expected for movies with a 2.35 aspect ratio. But for movies with a 1.85 aspect ratio, they should fill this screen. They will not. I am returning my unit since Sonic is apparently not going to warrant this engineering flaw under their 1 year warranty.
Digital camera Review: Cute Portable device for IPods
Summary: 5 Stars
Sonic Impact Video 55 Portable iPod Speaker System with LCD Screen and Remote (Black) is an excellent little device, Cute and portable, Provides excellent audio output even with this tiny sized speakers, Decent battery life, Good LCD screen with better than average clarity, Designed wonderfully to co-exist with Video IPOD (5G and 5.5G)
Important Note:
(The 3rd-generation iPod nano and the 6th-generation iPod classic no longer will broadcast a video signal to the Video 55 when docked in the docking connector. With Apple's software change, the only way to view video on any existing video player, including the product reviewed here is to purchase Apple's iPod Composite Video Cable, Apple decided to make money by disabling Video-out and forcing people to buy their $50 cable)
Pros:
[+} Small Size, excellent Build Quality, Feels nice to hold in hand with rubber grip surface on the outside.
[+} Superb Sound Quality from built-in Speakers!
[+] Better than average color LCD quality for a similar portable device
[+] Better than average battery life, Most of the time lasts longer than the IPOD's battery when it comes to viewing Videos
[+} Includes complete list of accessories to connect external video sources, Travel Charger and Car lighter adapters, to add touch to the generous list they have included a soft carry case as well as cleaning cloth!
Cons:
[-] Does not keep IPOD's battery topped off with charge when the Video 55 is running on it's battery power, In the end both the devices needs recharging
[-] The famous 16:9 (Widescreen) issue that has been discussed over and over again is still present even with the current models that have 16:9 / 4:3 aspect ration setting on the LCD menu, it is not Video 55's issue, But the issue is that IPOD does not generate a true 16:9 output unless you encode your videos in a custom resolution to match the 16:9 aspect ratio of Video 55. If you do manage to get correct aspect ratio on Video 55 the images look goofy on IPOD screen. (Remember, IPOD has a 320x480 screen, the Video 55 has 480 x 234 display) Whenever you have 4:3 content on IPOD and you select 16:9 on Video 55 the images will look stretched - Enough said on this issue, there are other reviewers who has done extensive research on this and they are correct.
[-] Audio output from the headphone jack on Video 55 is from internal AMP and not from the IPOD and thereby there is considerable amount of HISS if you are audiophile, for regular users it is not than annoying, Sound output from the built-in speakers are clean! There is some issue which Sonic Impact failed to notice.
[-] The glossy surface and the touch controls on Video 55 are prone to smudges and scratches as it is too glossy, Sure! It matches perfectly with IPOD and as you may be aware, IPOD is not immune from these scratches and smudges.
[-] The touch control is hard to get used to, It does not have repeat function, if you want to increase the volume for example you will have to keep tapping the surface till desired level is achieved, I would have preferred to just keep my hand on [+] /[-] and the volume increase/decrease.
[-] The remote keys are sticky and slow to respond, for example if you want to select the next song in the playlist, you can hit the >>| button on the remote, but most of the time it just tells IPOD to fast forward instead of next file - you get the idea.
You must be wondering with so many [-] why have I rated this 5 Stars? Well, the price! You can get this today for less than $50 dollars in most online stores, for that price it is definitely worth the price.
If you have a BLACK Video IPOD (5th generation or 5.5 Generation) this a nice compliment to have with your IPOD. Buy it!
Digital camera Review: Excellent Sound and Picture
Summary: 5 Stars
Great picture and sound. I did push the sound to the highest setting and it started to "rattle". Who needs it that loud anyhow? Overall I am very happy with the price and quality of this product. It was great for our road trip.Digital camera Review: Good
Summary: 4 Stars
Excellent and very moderately priced product although does not work with newer model ipods. I had to purchase an older generation ipod video to get it to function properly.